Chris Conley in the WSAU studio in Wausau, WI
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I remember the morning of May 27, 2004 like it was yesterday. I was up at 5am. My car was packed the night before. Clothing. Boxes of stuff. My headphones.
It was the day I left home and began my cross-country drive from the suburbs of New York to Wausau, Wisconsin. My family would leave six weeks later, after packing up our duplex and loading things onto the moving van.
None of us had any idea what to expect here. I’d never taken a job this far away from home. All of my impressions about Central Wisconsin and the people I’d be working with were based on one trip, a fly-in fly-out interview. The one lasting impression was that people were friendly here.
Broadcasting is a ratings and revenue business. And the history of radio and television is full of friendly, hard-working, talented people who simply didn’t connect with their audience. If the ratings go down and the commercials aren’t sold, you won’t last in this business.
And as I drove across the George Washington Bridge and through Pennsylvania and Ohio, I simply couldn’t say if you and I would form a connection. New Yorkers like me aren’t particularly liked in other parts of the country. I talk differently than you do… like I’m from somewhere else. Would you like my sometimes-sharp sense of humor? Would we agree on enough issues of the day for us to bond?
Well, that was 18 years ago. And since then I’ve learned that Central Wisconsin is a wonderful place to live and work. Quality of life is high, cost of living is low. I’ve never had so much freedom at work, where I get to create content and write and read these commentaries, and guest-host and cover news and sports. This continues to be a wonderful work and life experience for me.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I have a birthday on Friday. I’m very aware that I exist on the radio and online because of you. If you didn’t lend me your ears, I wouldn’t be here. Broadcasters say “thanks for listening” almost as a throw-away line. It shouldn’t be. Thank you for inviting me along for your car rides or at your breakfast table. Thank you for reading a blog or letting my podcasts through your earbuds. I hope you and your family have a wonderful thanksgiving. One of the many things I’m thankful for is you.
Chris Conley
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