Producer Joe’s Big Announcement

Producer Joe’s Big Announcement

Producer Joe has managed to do what Doug says he wants to do: leave the business.

@ProdJoe’s final show will be Friday March 15th.

He has gotten a new job outside of broadcasting, and he will start that job on Monday March 18th.

I have mixed emotions. I’m incredibly happy for Producer Joe, but I’m sad to see him go.

While we have been quite fortunate to be doing this show for close to 10 years now (The Morning Grind started in 2004. The Morning After started in 2007), as those of you know who follow the show closely, it’s not always smooth sailing with the radio industry. The only way to make 100% sure you’re in complete control of your situation is to own a station. Since we don’t currently own a station, we’ve been at the mercy of other ownership groups over the last nine years, and it’s led to a number of different “situations.”

Last year, we had another one of those as our deal was torn up midway through. Both parties kept the situation private, and we worked out a new deal. But, part of the new deal was The One To Three Show---more specifically the 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. timeslot insideSTL owned---was going back to the KFNS ownership group. That meant Producer Joe no longer had a show. Now, even though Joe gets killed for his stuttering and stammering when he’s on the air, he never wanted to be a host. He’s actually had opportunities at other stations to be a host, and he turned them down. But, because we lost that show, he lost some of his pay, and it was at that time (June 2012) that I told him it would be in his best interests to start looking for a job outside of this business, because it’s just so unfortunately unstable.

Producer Joe doesn’t want to go into detail about what he’ll be doing or where he’s working, but I know one of the guys involved in the company as he’s the brother of one of my closest friends, and I know it’s a good situation for him.

That makes me quite happy. Even though Producer Joe can drive me up the wall and has driven me up the wall at times over the close to nine years we’ve worked together, and even though I’m 100% sure I’ve driven him up the wall, I think quite highly of him, and I hate to see him go. But, he deserves to not have to deal with some of the headaches that can come with the radio business, and I’m glad the guys involved with his new job see the qualities in him that we’ve seen and are giving him a great new opportunity. So, with that…here’s Producer Joe:

What is your new job?

I am moving into an industry that interests me because there are going to be different things each day that need to be accomplished.  The past 8.5 years for the most part the tasks required within the show remained essentially the same, with my new job there are going to be different things each and every day that need to be addressed and I look forward to that challenge.  It is going to be virtually impossible for me to move to any place and work with people that are as close as the team I have worked with on this show & I know that going in, but sometimes decisions have to be made.  Stability is one of the biggest reasons I made the choice to leave the show and that is one of the hazards of working in the radio business.

What do you want to say to the fine Americans who have listened to you on the show since 2004?

When it comes to the fine Americans that have listened over the last 8.5 years I want them to know that I had as much fun working on the show as I hope they had listening to the program.   I don't know if there are many people that can constantly take getting made fun of for 3 hours each morning for a long list of things that have no merit to them, but to be honest I wouldn't have had it any other way.  Just to be clear before I leave, I am not a homosexual, I do not prefer the company of a heavy woman, and I do not have any control whatsoever over the signal of the station giving you Mike & Mike.  I have met some really cool people as well that listen to the program.  I also realize that some folks are going to enjoy the fact that I am leaving the show.   I hope that those people find great joy in their lives one day.  I think about some of the things that have taken place on the show regarding my life in these 8.5 years & in a weird way I am glad they were shared.  I have done some really stupid things since moving to St. Louis, but most of them have been learning lessons in one way or another, but I also know they brought a smile to the face of the listeners and at the end of the day we have always wanted to bring enjoyment to the listeners.  More than anything, I am going to miss working with Tim, Jim, Doug, Steadman, Iggy, and Zac's Department.  This job has it's downfalls, but there will never be another situation where I can say that I worked with people that truly enjoyed working with one another like the way we did on this show.

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