![\"WSIU-FM](\"https:\/\/widbnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/50-WIDB-1-27-WSIU.jpg\")
<\/a>WSIU-FM control room 1977<\/p><\/div>\n
Nervous as hell, I flipped on the mic for the obligatory top of the hour ID, and the few other times you were allowed to speak during the NPR show.\u00a0 Then the phone rang.\u00a0 OMG!\u00a0 Who could it be?!\u00a0\u00a0 They didn\u2019t tell me what to do when the phone rang.\u00a0 So I answered timidly, \u201dWSIU Control?\u201d\u00a0 It was the chairman of the department, Dr. Charles Lynch, old crabby pants.\u00a0 OMG!<\/p>\n
<\/a>Dr. Charles T Lynch (pants not shown)<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cMaria\u201d, he began, \u201cIt\u2019s HALLoween, not HOLLoween, All Hallow\u2019s Eve. I died of embarrassment and mumbled something in response. \u00a0\u201cMaria, I\u2019ve seen many aspiring announcers come and go, and I\u2019ve got to tell you, behind the mic is not for you.\u00a0 Contact a Patty Reilly, the sales manager at WIDB Radio.\u00a0 I think that is where you need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was devastated.\u00a0 First of all for being SO bad that I was reprimanded while still on air, and secondly for having to let go of the on-air dream.\u00a0 So I uncovered where they hid WIDB and begrudgingly trudged over to Wright 1, looking for this Patty Reilly gal.<\/p>\n
<\/a>What Maria found when she got to Wright I. (Patty on left).<\/p><\/div>\n
I don\u2019t remember much about our first meeting, but I do remember thinking \u2018Oh my!\u201d when I first walked into the station.\u00a0 What I didn\u2019t know then is that WIDB would be the first step in a long and fulfilling Broadcast Sales Career.\u00a0 And that Ms. Patty Reilly Murphy would end up being a lifelong cherished friend.<\/p>\n
So in retrospect Dr. Lynch was right.\u00a0 I NEEDED TO BE AT WIDB, \u00a0I am forever grateful for his sage advise, although to this day I wish he would have found a kinder way to tell me!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Coming to SIU in the fall of 1977, I was fortunate to land a one time only morning drive shift on WSIU Radio in October.\u00a0 Like many R\/T students, I dreamed of the days of being on air. Nervous as … Continue reading