I had a really rough day Friday.
First, I drank free beer all morning. Then two topless strippers gave me a lap dance while I read the news. To add insult to injury, I then had to meet comedian Harland Williams from the movies “There’s Something About Mary,” “Half Baked” and “Dumb & Dumber.”
Yeah, my day sucked.
This is just a taste of what I experienced when I auditioned for the position of morning show news chick for rock radio station, 99.7 The Blitz.
Recently, the female counterpart of their show, Shannon, was suddenly taken off. According to her MySpace page, she accidentally blurted out the F-bomb a few weeks ago and was fired immediately.
Since then, the show has been auditioning local girls in hopes of finding a Buckeye-loving chick who could hold her own with two sarcastic, tattooed, opinionated, comical men. As of last Wednesday, they had lost hope of finding a Columbus native. The hosts announced that they had given up looking for a local and had placed a national ad looking for a pro to fill the position.
The following day, I showed up for my 15 minutes of fame.
Because I had previously told Grego and Mo that I was planning to write an article about the show, they allowed me to audition, even though I had zero on-air experience.
I arrived at the station expecting the hosts and callers to treat me as horribly as they had all the other chicks and continuously tell me I sucked.
Ready to be the show’s redheaded stepchild, I put on my headphones and crawled up to the mic to receive my verbal ass-beating. Surprisingly, the fans and radio staff were extremely nice to me. After being asked several questions about my love and sex life on-air, some listeners called in saying they liked me. After the show I was asked to come back for Friday and Monday’s shows as well.
Friday morning the gloves came off and the duo made several efforts to see if I would crack under pressure and if I’d be able to take harsh criticism. I had to listen to hate mail that Grego received from three listeners who did not like what I had to say on the previous show. Besides seeing if I could handle getting a lap dance while reading the news, they brought in another news-girl-hopeful and put us in an on-air face-off. After winning by making fun of her flaws (I believe my words were “At least I’m not known on a first- name basis at Hometown Buffet”), I naively started to think I might actually have a shot at getting the job.
Monday I had a very rude awakening.
The Monday morning show started off odd. Something just felt off, and I couldn’t think of anything to say during most of the show’s boring first half.
As the morning show jocks spoke about golf and discussed which is better: Mac or PC, I felt out of place. A lengthy computer discussion? Good Lord, what was next, an in-depth look at gaming conventions and Dungeons and Dragons? Where was the discussion of rock music, pop culture and other stuff I could carry on for hours about? Anxious and hyper, I sat back and let them rant until they gave me a chance to read the news and discuss more personal topics. As the show reached the final hour, I got into a heated debate with Grego and Mo about “checking up on a boyfriend you know is lying and probably cheating.”
I said how I once had a guy that I caught in several obvious lies – such lies like he wouldn’t be at our usual hangout on a specific night. Because he was being shady, I went to the place just to get peace-of-mind and see what was really going on. If he was telling the truth, he wouldn’t be there and everything would be fine. If he was lying, I would find out why and see what was up. My instincts were right and I caught him cheating on me with his ex-girlfriend. Grego and Mo repeatedly called my actions “stalker” and “psycho.”
Honestly, I think it just hit too close to home for them.
Mo has spoken on the show about cheating on his wife and perhaps that’s why he was uncomfortable with a strong female saying that she wouldn’t put up with her man being a lying cheat. My best friend, who happens to be majoring in psychology, said that maybe Grego wasn’t comfortable with having such a feisty female co-host because he was fearful of someone stealing his thunder and stealing the spotlight. Whatever Grego and Mo’s personal or professional motives were, I was given my “final level of suck” for my story and was booted off the show.
Although it didn’t end the way I had hoped, it was still a great experience.
I learned that it takes a certain type of person to be able to do radio. No matter how smart, funny or interesting you are, there will always be listeners who hate you, and they will call and e-mail you to say so.
Also, you have to watch what you say. Not only do the FCC’s stricter laws prohibit what radio jocks are legally allowed to say, but there are personal repercussions as well.
For instance, after I made a comment about sleeping with my ex-boyfriend on the first date (I had known him prior to dating him), I had several co-workers at my job telling me they were horrified that I had “put my business out there like that.” Even my boss called me to say “I heard you on the radio this morning and that you put out.” Being the blunt person I am, I didn’t care, but could see how it could humiliate a shyer person.
Still, I believe things worked out for the best.
For pictures, video, and more information on the Blitz’s Grego Show, check out their Web site at wbzx.com/grego.asp.
Lesley Longstreth is a graduating senior in public affairs journalism. To comment about the Grego show or to call her a hoebag, Lesley can be reached at [email protected].
