July 2010

I've been asked by a friend of mine to write more on the blog. He's thinking maybe a weekly update or something of the kind. Let's see what I can do. Hopefully, over the weekend, I'll be able to write some things down that at least make sense. I will ask myself only five questions, since I'm the mayor and I know me and I hate the press.
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Q. Randy, how's work and what is work these days?

I enjoy my work. It seems to be challenging and interesting. I feel part hall monitor, father, teacher, firefighter and therapist. I am the advertising director of Lee Enterprise's The Daily Journal in Park Hills, Mo along with weeklies Farmington Press and Fredericktown News Democrat directly overseeing a group of nine. Everyone of my nine are women, sans one. It makes for an interesting dynamic and with each department under a new stress level with more work being added on, it will be interesting and hopefully rewarding to walk them through this. Our technology is exploding and we can offer our clients so much more than just print. Would you like a course on Behavioral Targeting? I can send pre qualified, pre registered customers to my clients. When you sign on any search engine, it keeps information on where you go and develops a portrait of what you are looking for and where. With that info, I can send an ad from a car dealer directly to someone who's looking for a car. You've searched "mortgage" and when you come to my website, an ad for a mortgage guy will pop up. Unbelievable. This is all new. I can create a video ad to run on our website right from my desk. Want a demo? Call me. We are l journeying into uncharted waters and it's cool. But stressful. While learning this, my peeps must be out on the street, not in the conference room. So far, so good.
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Q. Randy, do you miss radio?

Desperately. And I probably always will. I would consider getting back into it, but I don't know if THAT job is available. It would have to be on air and with a side order of management thrown in. I don't think anyone is that stupid. I don't think radio misses me much, I don't think I'm what they're looking for in this PPM world. I have a secure vocation and it's the first time I've felt that way since right before I got fired the last time.

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Q. So how goes the internet station?

I have a small but loyal following of folks that listen all the time. I can go on the site that tells me where people are and there's always someone from Topeka and others all over the world that have this thing on. I've reached the point with it where someone is listening all the time. The numbers continue to creep up, slowly but surely. There's probably about 500 songs too many in there and we're getting ready for an update in a few weeks, so we'll be tweaking the tunes here and there. I really like the way it sounds. Hearing it plugged in the car is very cool and the sound is wonderful. On most days, I can get almost all the way to Park Hills and it'll drop out for a total of about six minutes. Other days, not so well. I find it refreshing that people dig this kind of radio. I knew there was something there.

Q. Do you believe in the "one that got away" theory?
yes.

Q. What do you mean yes and nothing else? Give me more.
I do believe, for what ever reason, the timing with certain individuals wasn't right. You moved away, they lost interest, they cheated, you cheated. There's only one I left behind. And that's five, thanks.