“2026 is The Correction Year: Behind the Scenes Is Where Careers Are Built

As we start off the new year of 2026, remember that the work you do behind the scenes is the work that will catapult you into the opportunities you hope for the most.

The show preparation, the practice, the show simulations to test things in private — that’s the work most talent does not do. Most radio people do not practice their craft off air. Once they get off the air, rehearsal for the next day is never given a thought.

In this new year, if you would just give 60 to 75 percent more thought into what you want to say to your audience every day, you would stand so tall above the mediocre crowd of talent in the world of radio. I keep talking about reading more and definitely writing more in all my articles. It is the cornerstone to becoming a much better communicator.

Back in the day when I started doing mornings at WQMG in Greensboro NC in 1990, they used to call me the stutter master. I was unsure of my next sentence sometimes, so I would stutter in certain moments. It bothered me so much that I started writing a script for myself to help me navigate through my breaks. I was nervous about making mistakes every day until I started doing this.

(I’ll find some of my old show prep material and share it with you one day. You have to do what you have to do to get better.)

Sam Weaver was my PD then, and he stayed on me. I had a great coach who wanted me to shine. And with Jasmine James as my co-host — who was super articulate — I had to go in the woodshed and and get better. I got tired of me being a running joke in our aircheck sessions. So yes I started writing things down. To this day I still like to write for my show. I have a lot to share with you on this subject, because this is what helped me grow. From Greensboro, I got my first big gig doing mornings at V-103 in Baltimore working with Roy Sampson. That period was from 1990 to September of 1992. I went from being a $21,000 morning man to a $72,000 talent in 1992. What a jump in salary and market size for a country boy from Goldsboro, NC. That was from Practice!

I’m including this information only to show you what intentional growth looks like when you strive to become better. This is a personal discipline that nobody can force you into. Make this year a correction year in your personal development as an on-air personality. Stop being lazy and begin being detailed with your work. It is not hard to stand out in the midst of lazy on-air talent in this industry. Separate yourself from that crowd with the intensity you put into your show preparation every day.

I’m hoping for the best for you in 2026. This is a correction year for all of us. I’ve heard it’s also being called a karmic year.

New Beginnings (Universal Year 1): 2026 adds up to a Universal Year 1, signifying fresh starts, innovation, and the courage to initiate new paths.
Karmic Tests (Saturn’s Influence): Ruled by Saturn, the planet of karma, 2026 highlights accountability, discipline, and facing the consequences of past actions to build lasting success.

If this challenged you, stay with me. I’m building something for people who take this craft seriously.” Let me know how I can help.

“You Don’t Need to Be the Next Anybody — You Need to Be the First You”

When you abandon who you are to fit in, you are robbing the world of that originality that can only come from you. This is what you have to really get about who you are. In this short life that we are living, there are things that can only be said by you, in the way you express thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The way you think is original. You just don’t say it, because the Herd (This society) is afraid to stand out on its own merit. YOU MUST LOSE YOUR FEAR OF BEING JUDGED BY OTHERS.

This is why you can tell when people write and use Chat GPT to put together stories. It’s generic and uses a lot of phrases that you do not use. We just don’t trust ourselves—who we are in public. We just can’t face being judged. This is why people are into the copycat game.

In music, all the songs sound the same. Females are using the same riffs when they sing. Auto-Tune has made rappers sound the same. In radio, I have heard people say, “I want to be the Black Howard Stern,” as though we need a Black one. People say, “I want to be the next so-and-so.” No. You need to be the first you.

Things have gotten so generic in our society that it is exhausting. It’s like the mediocre people have taken over the planet. Some technology—the way we use it—has made us less innovative and less creative.

Tech is speed. You can get your original work out quicker to the masses. This is how it should be used.

There is only going to be one Tom Joyner for Black radio. That’s it. Tom did his job, and I hope he is not finished giving us his creativity. I know Tom has another lifetime of content on the digital side. You don’t need to be the next anybody. We have been programmed not to be original. It started in the ’70s with that stupid “more music, less talk” philosophy baked into Black radio. They took the soul of black radio off the radio. It was the beginning. Then consolidation finished us off in the 90's.  A slow death of original black radio.

Black radio created movements. Radio personalities could move people and empower the community. Each had a swag associated with their shows. Colorful commentary. Distinct-sounding voices. Now, in hip-hop radio, DJs talk with the same vernacular and distinction is thrown out the window.

We need to encourage originality again. We need DJs who believe in themselves and are seeking to be great. They need mentors to encourage them to be their original selves.

I remember early in my college days I would mimic radio personalities from all over the country. My goal was to be a big-city DJ, so I thought I had to sound like the people working in New York to get there. It was exhausting, for one (lol), but it did help me with my diction. I’m from Goldsboro, NC, the grandson of a tobacco sharecropper. So I knew I had to get rid of those “dees,” “dems,” and “fintoo” out of my vocabulary. LOL. I was very conscious of learning how to speak well in college at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC.

What will make you better as a radio personality is someone who can help you lean into your natural gift for communicating. I want you to try writing as an exercise to find your voice. Nobody knows where their next thought is coming from. Try it right now. Can you determine what you will think about in the next five minutes? Thoughts travel through you at 24 billion miles per second. How many can you capture that are just for you in this moment?

Real thinking is done in silence. Turn off the noise and get acquainted with yourself. Get to know yourself. There is too much influence coming into your mind every day to know which thoughts are yours and which belong to somebody else. Too much outside stimulation. Get quiet and think. Every day before your show—think.

This is your secret weapon living in a world like this. And guess what? It’s going to get even noisier in 2026. The future belongs to people who can get control of their thinking in silence. This is where originality is born.

When you are riding in the car, turn off the radio. Hear yourself think. Always keep a clipboard in your car to jot down ideas.

The world needs what you have to say. So if you don’t say it, who will say it like you can say it? We want to hear what you have to say. DID YOU HEAR ME?  What did your thinking produce for us to consider? YOU YOU YOU!! You are so smart and don’t even know it. You think other people are smarter than you because they know how to talk that BS. These are the people who sound smart to DUMB PEOPLE.

So don’t be a fraud. Be you. This is your unfair advantage in a room of copycats. A room full of people who talk with no substance. Don’t be one of them. Resist being lazy and looking for the easy way out. There is no replacement for show prep—but also in show prep, are you prepped  to be the real you?

So here are some things I want you to work on in your personal development this week:

1. Find time to be alone every day with a blank piece of paper.
Develop a writing routine. Write how you feel about things. What’s going on in your life. What thoughts you’re considering. Writing helps you form an opinion. You are organizing your mind. It will help you articulate your ideas better. Your mind will recall what you wrote earlier in the day, and you’ll begin to use your ORIGINAL thoughts in conversation. This will happen naturally. This will transfer on air. This is how you fix your articulation problem. Write. Write. Write.

2. Read. Read. Read.
Reading changes your perspective. Reading other people’s ideas is cool. You can take an idea, run it through Chat GPT, and pick out what resonates with you.

3. Practice. Practice. Practice.
I don’t know why radio people don’t think they need to practice and rehearse off-air to get better. Football teams and basketball teams practice. So why would a person who talks for a living not need to get better at their talk game? Talking is a skill that most people don’t do well. Practicing will set you apart from the mediocre radio people in this country. Most people have never been taught that communication is a highly specialized skill. To be excellent on the air is not for lazy people.

Humility will make you great. We all need to get better every day.

If you resonate with anything I said, leave a comment. Can you think of some things I may have left out?

Show Prep Is the Job

Show prep is nothing more than building a road map for your show or podcast.

Finding things you actually care about and turning them into conversations your audience can feel is Show Prep. Talk about what you truly interests you that is going on in the world.  You’ve got to introduce something to your audience they have not thought about yet — and then have an opinion about it.

When you’re building a show, look for the humor. Look for the angles. Look for the moments you can make people lean in. Say the things out loud that most people keep locked in their head. That’s how you become there go to for insight. 

People who rely on generic phrases and safe language usually sound “smart,” but empty. That’s filler.  That’s someone trying not to get exposed. When you play it safe, your material dies. A big Thud. No risk,  just blah blah blah. I can't stand to hear people talking just to be talking. No substance, just generic as hell. It seems nobody is coaching these days. (https://insideurbanmedia.blogspot.com/2025/12/about-blackradiotalentcom.html )

Show prep is content development. Period.

I’d rather have five strong, fully developed ideas than 20 shallow ones that go nowhere. Depth beats volume every time. When you take time to really think through your content, your show stops sounding like everyone else’s and starts sounding like you. This is what I need young talent to understand. People can talk about Donald Trump all they want to, but who is gonna give us the new angle, no one has ever considered. This requires thinking. Go to the library and sketch out your show for the next day. Go somewhere quiet everyday and think out loud on paper. Separate yourself from mediocre broadcasters. This will help you articulate your ideas better on air.

If your job is to create something meaningful every day, how many hours are you putting in after the mic goes off to make tomorrow better than today? That’s the real question. That’s the difference between people who talk on the radio and people who connect with an audience.

ABOUT BLACKRADIOTALENT.COM

Black Radio Talent is for media professionals who’ve outgrown the system but never lost the craft.

This isn’t a space for trend-chasers, or people looking for applause.
It’s for the ones who’ve been in the rooms, built the rooms, and watched others benefit from the work they helped create.

If you’ve ever felt overqualified, underestimated, or quietly pushed aside while less capable voices rose — you’re in the right place.

WHO THIS IS FOR

This is for Up and coming DJs and experienced broadcasters, producers, writers, and creatives who:

• Know their value without needing validation
• Have survived layoffs, politics, and reinvention
• Still care deeply about the work
• Refuse to shrink to stay comfortable

You’re just done pretending.

WHAT THIS SPACE IS

Black Radio Talent is about clarity, ownership, and authorship.

It’s where seasoned professionals reclaim their voice, sharpen their thinking, and speak without permission.

No hustle talk.
No performative inspiration.

Just truth, perspective, and lived experience.

WHAT THIS IS NOT

This is not for:
• People chasing attention
• People who confuse noise for influence

If you value depth, welcome home.

THE PHILOSOPHY

You don’t need to be louder.
You need to be clearer.

You don’t need a platform.
You need ownership.

You don’t need permission.
You need alignment.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

BJ Murphy is a National Black Radio  Hall Of Fame radio personality and media architect with 40+ years of experience building talent, shows, and platforms across major markets.

He’s seen the industry rise, fracture, and repeat itself.

Black Radio Talent exists because some voices don’t fade — they evolve. BJ Is Based in Charlotte

This isn’t content for everyone.

It’s for the ones who know who they are — even when the room forgets.

We Got Receipts On Show Prep From 1994

When you talk about having receipts,  when I talk about show prep is the key, here are some old show prep folders I found from 1994 when I was doing mornings in Kansas City at KPRS Hot 103 Jamz. This shows you that as my career progressed, we kept evolving in preparing for our show over the next two decades. Myron Fears was my partner there when we started the Breakfast Brothers Morning Show in 1994. Later in 1995 in Charlotte, I teamed with Keith Richards and we brought the Breakfast Brothers Brand to Charlotte from 1995-2004. Point I'm making, is that it was show prep that we took pride in everyday. We created a network on talent and we would exchange Ideas via fax machine every morning

Those are some of the sheets from the month of October 1994. I can't believe I still had this. I just wanted the young talent out there to know that we have to be serious in preparing for our shows. Now this is still early in my development as a morning talent, and as I learned more about prep we got more elaborate and intensive in preparing for our shows. I call this our baby level of prep. We were preparing books of prep everyday when we got to Charlotte in 1995. I will share some of those when I find them.

We were swapping prep every morning with others shows via fax in 1994. Keith Richards was in Memphis and Curtis Wilson was in Columbia SC. We had the late Brian Carter from Power 99 Carter and Sanborn, Jasmine James in Greensboro NC and a few others.

 

Eliminate Ego Gymnastics In The Studio: Ego's Must Die for the Show to Live

Secure radio hosts don’t need ego gymnastics to appreciate the excellence of their co-hosts.

What’s wrong with taking the time to single people out and tell them how much they mean to the show?
Is that going to diminish you — No. It will raise your position as a leader and cause people to perform up to your level of expectation?

Balance in the studio matters.

If you want to keep people from getting puffed-up heads, you first have to get your own insecurities in check.

A great lead host will always surround themselves with people who can stand out and deliver powerful content on the show. A great lead host is the director of an orchestra. You hear the show in your head before it ever hits the air. Your job is to bring the right instruments together so they harmonize and create something unduplicable.

A signature sound.

Like Earth, Wind & Fire.
Like The O’Jays.

You can hear who says what. You already know how another person will respond. You hear the exchanges before they happen — and then you bring those voices together and create your show.

BUT FIRST......Your heart has to be right to receive them.

Because when you invite talented people into your circle and then get jealous when they blossom — when they start getting more attention than you in the community — you are not ready yet to scale your show.

Envy and jealousy ruins ensembles. Envy tears great potential apart. Usually it starts with the insecure host of the show. The type of person who wants to hog the mic and then point to you like a peasant when he wants you to talk.(Do you know this clown?)

Don’t invite super-talented people into your studio if you’re not prepared to celebrate them.

This is the number one reason shows with tremendous potential fail: when one person among you starts rising in popularity, and the host doesn’t like it because they are the host.

Listen, lead hosts — you still get credit for pulling that team together.

Celebrate the greatness of your people.
You go get better at leading them.
You go get better yourself.

Work on your on-air performance in private. Accept your role in the show you created. Keep growing. Keep getting coached.

Now when problems arise, talk to your talent individually and correct them in private. Don’t wait weeks to address behavior you don’t like. Be brave and handle it now.

Don’t let yourself get to the despise stage — where every time they open the mic you’re irritated. That’s on you as the leader.

Radio people are some of the quirkiest, most peculiar people you’ll ever meet. Some have dark auras and simply are not good team members. Eventually, you may have to let them go.

But most of the time, it’s our fear of being seen as a player hater that stops us from correcting behavior we don’t like on the show.

We have to learn how to communicate.

Rehearse what you’re going to say.
Give examples.
Show them how they can do it better.

Your job is to make yourself better as the host — and when you do that, you make the entire team better.

I always tell hosts to think of themselves as the quarterback. You’re responsible for getting the team down the field and into the end zone. Your program director is the coach on the sidelines helping you win.

If your PD isn’t good at coaching talent, find someone who is.

Most new PDs don’t yet have the body of experience to diagnose dysfunction in a studio. I do. And if you ever need help, reach out to me.

I hope this helps you better understand your role.

I’ve learned from the greats in Black radio, and I refuse to bury this knowledge with me when I exit the planet. That’s why I write BlackRadioTalent.com — because I care about the next generation of Black radio talent and who Black America will be listening to.

I only teach what I know.

If this article is resonating with you, let me know. Ask me questions about studio dynamics and working with two or more people. At one point, I had seven people in the studio with me on a morning show.

Whew. LOL.

See, I’m a talent guy. I love talent on Radio and TV. I’ve never been an envious person of someone else’s gift. Managing egos is the dilemma many leaders get wrong — because where is your correction coming from? 

A player hater… or a teacher?

To genuinely be a fan of the people you work with every day is rare. But that’s the environment you have to create — one where everyone is performing at their highest level, rooting for each other every time the mic switch is flipped.

We win every break together.
Whoever has the best line — we celebrate it.

That’s how you become the most electrifying show in the country.

The ego must die in order for the show to live.

Only Say What You Can Defend: The Lost Art of Being Honest

Most on-air embarrassment comes from saying things you haven’t thought through.

That’s why being vague will get you hemmed up in conversation every time.
Vague opinions vanish quickly when you run up against a formidable challenger in the studio—or a phone call from a listener.

Can you defend your point of view?

Do you really think it makes you sound smart to repeat a clever line you heard from a talking head on TV, only to get challenged and realize you have no depth behind it?

Can you articulate it well?
Where is this opinion coming from?

And if I’m not 10 toes down on it—why say it at all?

I believe you should never say things you can’t elaborate on intelligently. Some people will go for the jugular on purpose. They want to position you as having no substance, talking just to be talking. That’s a painful lesson to learn on the air. A nemesis co-host who wants your spot will go for the jugular everytime the opportunity presents itself.

This business runs on ego.

So all the lazy, surface-dwelling DJs—this is a warning.

Preparation isn’t optional at the elite level—it’s the separator.

The mic only reveals the work you didn’t do.

YOU MUST PUT MORE THOUGHT INTO YOUR SHOW!

I tell people I mentor: once it comes out of your mouth, you better be able to defend it and expound on it, because your credibility is on the line.

STOP BEING A SURFACE-DWELLER DJ.

For example—interviewing a political candidate you haven’t researched during a critical election in your city. Most people sound ignorant on the air. Most people ask the mayor softball questions and let them skate out of the studio with nothing of consequence revealed.

What is a “Surface Dwelling” Radio Personality?

A surface dweller:

• Gives opinions without reasons

• Reacts instead of thinking

• Repeats popular talking points the rest of America is repeating. Not original

• Pitches softballs as questions

• Hides behind “safe” language because you don't know what you are talking about

• Makes lame jokes to cover lack of substance

They say things like:

• “I just feel like…”

• “People are saying…”

• “Everybody knows…”

No depth. No ownership.

Surface dwellers get snared because they just want attention—but exposure is always waiting.

They:

• Don’t think things through

• Avoid writing things down

• Avoid strong opinions

• Want approval more than authority

• Think prep will make them sound “stiff”

• Just want to be liked

A surface dweller gets on the air just to say something.
No depth.
No conviction.
Just noise.

They chase approval, react instead of prepare, and hide behind what they think is popular.

An elite broadcaster opens their mouth with intention.

They’ve already done the show prepand rehearsed and wrestled with their ideas.
They’re not looking for agreement—they’re standing strong in their opinions.

And you can hear it.

It sounds real. It cuts through the airwaves.

Every broadcaster has been a surface dweller at some point. As I told you before, I really grew out of it in 2004. I was 17 years in my career before I learned to let it go. Somebody taught me. Do you want to learn?

Some grow out of it.
Some build a career around it.

And the mic always exposes which one you chose.

Be great every day.

NON-NEGOTIABLE SHOW PREP PRACTICES FOR ON-AIR DOMINATION

 BJ-Murphy-Style Show Prep Practices

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1. Walk in with the show already done.

If you’re preparing at the station, you’re already behind. The show should be created before you walk through the lobby. You had from the time you got off the air to the next day to prepare for your show. It's just laziness that stops us from growing. People who get to the station 10 minutes before the show starts and jump on the computer to see what the prep services came up with are not serious players.

2. Start prepping the minute you get off the air. 

Everything that happens from that moment you end your show until tomorrow’s show is content. Treat your entire life like show prep material. What can you bring to the air the next day of your lived experience. What happened that you can share? Tom Joyner said, that he and Doug Banks would be talking on the phone at night and Doug would hear their conversation on the air the next day. Everything is show prep.

3. Collect your lived experiences daily.

Your observations, your interactions, your frustrations, your joy — that’s the secret sauce. No one else has your life.

I use to talk about my wife on the air all the time, and people would ask me, how is Vanessa. So people do care, when you make them care. The struggle to be Human in sharing our lives helps them embrace us.

4. Over-prepare 

You need several breaks that are undeniably better than any other show in your city that day. Be determined to be more interesting to listen to than anyone in your market. Be the go to show when major things happen in your city. Know what you are going to do at all times.

5. Know the story before you give the story.

Don’t learn it live. Read, research, verify. Form your own talking points instead of repeating what CNN said.

6. Have your own angles for every major topic.

Your version is what we want to hear… a deeper version… and the emotional version. A version your audience can't get anywhere else but from you.

7. Ask yourself: “Do I really Care?”

If it means nothing to you, it won’t mean anything to the audience. it's best not to bring it on air, until it means something to you. If it is a major breaking news story, you have to do it. Reporting it and having an opinion about it are two different things. Oh, and by the way, you don't have to have an opinion about everything. So can you elaborate on a breaking news story. Can you speak with authority about what you know about this breaking news story. Can you be better than the rest of the market reporting facts? Now that's next level. I remember how we handled 911 in Charlotte in 2001. It happened right before we got off air. I was so proud of my show, we were on it. We stayed on the air till afternoon drive as we turned into journalist.

8. Rehearse mentally.

Practice over in your mind how you want to frame it. Make it yours. Own your statements. Write it out in your own words. 

9. Build a “prep folder” for the week.

Save videos, quotes, stories, thoughts, audio moments — everything goes in there. There's gold in them files.

10. Prep your transitions.

Sloppy transitions are just not well thought out transitions. Clean transitions make you sound like you live inside the radio. Your listeners can tell the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

11. Have a backup if your guest don't show up. Be ready to pivot.

Because radio is live. Things fall apart. Guests cancel. Technology fails. You should never be caught off guard.

12. Prep your authenticity.

Not fake vulnerability — real honesty. You can’t fake real. Don't do it if it is not real to you.

13. Practice saying things shorter.

Clean, sharp, tight storytelling is what separates pros from people who ramble. Be as brief as possible. It does not take that long to make a point. Practice using less words to make your points. When you do that, all your sentences strung together have power. Practice making impact statements. 

14. Always prep your interviews from the heart.

Skip the generic questions. Prepare the questions YOU actually care about.

15. Prep in layers: Content → Angle → Emotion → Delivery.

That formula makes you unstoppable. You've got to put more thoughtfulness into your show. What is it that I really want to say about this story. Stop being a lazy surface dwelling personality. Don't be afraid to share your unique perspective. This is what makes you stand out. People are afraid to be themselves, don't you be!

16. Have one thing in the show that scares you a little.

Growth comes from the edge. Going to the edge does not mean being vulgar or sexually explicit on the air. That's not what I mean. The edge is honesty. Prep so you’re brave enough to bring your real self to the mic.

17. End your show with tomorrow in mind.

You and your producer should be planting curiosity, teasing unfinished conversations, and giving the audience a reason to come back tomorrow.

18. Write, Write and Rewrite

I use to go to the library and write for my show after I got off the air. I was always fascinated how tv shows put their shows together, especially the late night shows. They have a room full of writers and comedians coming up with their monologues. All of it was prepared, but is seemed like it was off the cuff. The more you prepare, the more spontaneous you can be. Your mind is full of ideas and thoughts that naturally show up when you prime your mind. This is where the magic happens in a break. What you had prepped for suddenly shows up and you are like wow, there it is. This is the power of show prep. If you learn how to do that, you will be on the road to becoming a world class communicator.  

“This Is How I’ve Chosen to Participate in The Development of My Own Radio Career”

There are a lot of people who have known me for decades.

And then there are people who are just now finding their way to my writing — people who don’t really know me yet.

What both groups are discovering is that I’ve always had a certain way of looking at radio.

I’ve had great conversations my whole life, but I’ve never been in a rush to explain myself. I’ve been carrying what I know quietly for decades — about the radio industry, about communication, about people. About a business I truly love.

But I am very intentional now about how I participate in it.

I’m writing this for the young man or woman who wants a career in the media arts.

My passion has always been audio.
Radio.
Podcasting.
Communication with other human beings — with clarity and intention.

What I want to do is help shorten the time it takes for you to move through certain stages — especially that stage where you’re being performative instead of being real. Where you’re creating a mock personality instead of becoming a genuine communicator.

I want to help you get to a place where you’re a powerhouse communicator — someone who is unapologetic in expressing their true self, not a diluted version of themselves based on who’s in the room and what they think that person might give them.

That is not what BlackRadioTalent.com is about.

We are here to develop fearless broadcasters in all genres.

God has already made us free.

The technology is here now. You can talk to the world through audio podcasting, videocasting, and the written word — just like I’m doing right now.

What we have to be set free from are our limited beliefs about ourselves in this industry.

This is the role I’ve chosen to play.

I’ve been striving to be independent since 2014 — when I walked away from corporate radio. Every day since then, I wake up and do what I want to do with my talent.

I’ve always wanted to use my gifts on my own terms.

Could I work with a corporate entity?
Sure — if they could work with me as an independent operator.

That’s just clarity.

Some of my close radio friends may be saying, “BJ is shooting himself in the foot by being this truthful.”

But if that were the case, I wouldn’t be writing this way if I were looking for a job.

I already have one.

I made one.

What I had to go through to get here is irreplaceable. And I would never give up my sovereignty in exchange for a 9–5.

I’m not putting anyone down.
I’m simply expressing my freedom. I paid a price to speak like I do.

Some people may never want to do what I’ve done — and that’s fine. But for the ones who do, you feel exactly where I’m coming from.

Something shifted in me back in 2002.

I remember the day clearly. I left the studio in Charlotte while the morning show was still going, walked out, got in my truck, and drove straight down I-77 to Columbia, South Carolina. I pulled up to the Marriott, walked into the lobby, and sat down, and just looked around. Just sitting there thinking.

I was frustrated with myself. It's like I just wanted to be free at that moment.

Terri Avery, my PD at the time, called me and said, “Let’s talk.”
She could have fired me for pulling a stunt like that.

But a pivot was taking place in my life.

That pivot eventually led me to 2014.

To this day, I wish I sincerely apologize to Lyn Hill, who hired me at WQMG in Greensboro NC after a long-vacant position following the passing of Alvin Stowe in 2012. She took a gamble and hired me to replace him.

I was hired to do afternoons. I stayed only six months. That was not a good look for me to do that, but it had to be done. She was looking out for me, cause I needed a job, and we had worked together before at The Big DM in Columbia in the late 80's.

But one day she said to me "what's wrong". I had to be honest and say, “This isn’t what I want to do.” She understood.

I thought it was — but the truth was, I had already been moving independently in my career from 2010 to 2014 prior to her hiring me. There was no going back. I could no longer romanticize the career I had before. My soul was telling me, it's time to take that walk to be a Free Black Man.

Everybody’s journey is different. You're gonna have to go through something to be free and independent. You will lose friends along the way that don't understand why you are doing this.

You will not interact with people in the business like you use to cause they can't figure you out any more.

So at 60 years old, I am still striving to create my ideal lifestyle while being involved in the business that I love. That is a choice I made — and I own all of it. On my terms.

We’ve all heard that radio is a business of constant change. And it certainly is.

The universe is open.

That’s why BlackRadioTalent.com exists.

It’s about personal freedom of expression. It’s about remembering why we got into Black radio in the first place — our origins.

Love at first sight.

We’re still fighting for that love, just in our own way now.

I wanted you to know where this is coming from.

It’s not bitterness.

It’s love.

The Most Uncopyable Skill in Broadcasting: Radical Transparency And Show Preparation

One of the greatest skills you can develop early in your career is being comfortable with people disagreeing with you.

Look — we don’t all think the same. And we’re not supposed to.

Stop looking for people to agree with you.

Stop making statements you don’t even believe. Ever. Why are you doing that? That’s fear talking. And Fear always gets exposed on the air.

Only say what you can defend. If you can’t defend it, you’re going to get embarrassed — quickly.

Go over your talking points. Tighten them. Make them as bulletproof as possible.
And stop being lazy with your show prep.

Surface-level comments keep you mediocre. They make you uninteresting to listen to. People tune you out fast when you’re not giving them something to consider.

A lot of people are paralyzed by the fear of being judged by others. Callers. Listeners. Management. That fear is crippling this industry.

Some of you think that if a group of listeners calls in and complains, you automatically need to apologize on the air. No. What you need to do is know what you’re saying before you say it.

Back it up with facts. Or back it up with strong opinions that have layers to them.

When you keep repeating yourself, that’s how you know there’s nothing left in the tank.

Don’t just say, “I feel this way about Diddy.”
Say, “I feel this way about Diddy — and here’s why.”
Number one. Number two. Number three.

Be authoritative.

You’ve got to learn how to rehearse your thoughts and articulate them. Stop pretending you don’t need to write things down. That’s lazy. And it’s amateur.

Prepare. Prepare. Prepare.

I don’t know how else to say it.

If you want to be a pro — write it down.
If you want to be an amateur, keep skating by on lazy preparation and see where that takes you in your career.

Study how NFL teams prepare for Sunday. Film. Notes. Reps. Strategy. Obsession.

That should tell you everything you need to know.

We need to apply those same principles to how we prepare for our daily shows.

If you want to stand out — this is how you do it.

Nobody can copy your life.

Nobody can copy your preparation.

Do the work.
Say what you mean.
And speak with authority.

That’s how you become an elite radio pro.

Being human in public: If Radio Is Your Calling, Why Are You Afraid to Speak Like It?

Radio is the only medium where you get to speak into somebody’s soul in real time.

And you’re whispering about celebrity gossip?

Nobody can copy your transparency

Anybody can do a topic.

Anybody can read a prep sheet.
Anybody can “give takes.”

But they cannot copy the way your life shaped you.
They cannot copy the perspective you speak with , in your vulnerable transparency. You've got to let the false you go. Stop saying things based on what you think people expect from you.

Get out of the child-like stage of being an adult people pleaser. Aren't you sick of yourself doing that?

That’s your weapon. That's your Freedom. Say what you got to say and let there be silence. Broadcast with Power!!

What Joy Reid Did After MSNBC Let Her Go Is the Blueprint

Joy Reid Didn’t Fall — She Leaped

I just love how Joy Reid is moving after MSNBC let her go.

Just look at her.

She’s having the time of her life. All that talent. It’s bubbling all over the internet now. This is a classic pivot. This is what real joy looks like when you own and control your destiny.

She’s inspiring a lot of people.

If you don’t know what happened, her exit came amid a major reshuffling at MSNBC. Other hosts and staff were affected too. New leadership came in. The evening lineup was reorganized. Ensemble shows replaced individual programs. That’s the corporate media cycle.

But Joy has been clear: this wasn’t just about ratings.

She’s said there were tensions around editorial freedom, corporate constraints, and controversial political coverage. She described leaving corporate media as liberating.

And you can see it all over her face.

Her whole face looks like freedom. The joy and happiness of owning her own thoughts, her own voice, and her own media? That’s liberation. The Black community is down with her because she’s real. She’s not fake. She speaks truth — and she does it with a smile.

Here’s the blessing most people miss.

Being on MSNBC for that long branded her for life.

Name recognition. Credibility. Discipline. Preparation. Execution. She was must-watch TV if you wanted her take on the news of the day. When you lose an opportunity where mainstream media has branded the hell out of you, that’s not a loss — that’s a launchpad.

Now you create on your own time.
Say what you want to say.
Control everything.

What We Should Study About Her Pivot

There are some things we need to pay attention to about Joy Reid’s rise as an independent media journalist:

1. She didn’t sit around licking her wounds.
   She didn’t take a long time to recover from the disappointment. She moved.

2. She didn’t beg for another cable news job.
   No groveling. No “pick me” energy. She said, I’m creating my own lane.

3. She is unapologetically Black.
   A real Black woman. Not watered down. Not code-switching for comfort.

4. Her resolve matters.
   We should study the steps she’s taking right now. Trust me — in a few years, what she’s building is going to be huge.

5. She has always been dignified.
   Even when others were getting paid way more than her on the network, she didn’t play the envy or jealousy game. That tells you who she is.

She strikes me as someone who genuinely does not give a damn what people think — but she does it in the nicest, most grounded way possible.

The Corporate Media Identity Trap

In corporate television, a lot of people lose their sense of self when the brand is taken away.

I work for CNN.
I work for ABC.
I work for CBS.
I work for MSNBC.

And when they snatch that rug from under you — who are you?

Depression sets in.
The phone stops ringing.
Your media friends disappear.

Not because you changed — but because you’re unemployed.

You have to stop attaching your worth to call letters and brands you did not create. You are an employee. A high-paid hired hand. These are short-term gigs, and you should treat them that way.

You must always have an exit plan.

I’ve been caught off guard by firings. Some I never saw coming. Others? I could see them a mile away. This is a high-risk, high-reward business. You have to accept corporate decisions that affect your life.

The problem comes when your ego won’t let you accept reality.

How dare they fire me?
After all I’ve done?

Yeah. It happens to the best of us — including my sister Joy Reid.

But look at her now.

She’s smiling. Creating. Free. When you’ve held high-paying radio or TV jobs, being “chosen” can inflate your ego. You start believing it could never happen to you.

Until it does.

That doesn’t mean you’re not great. It just means a group of people made a decision based on preference — not your worth.

Don’t get upset when people don’t choose you.

Choose yourself. Always.

Joy flipped this situation in her favor because I believe she always wanted this freedom. You can see it in her body language. I watched her with Jackie Reid on a podcast — and we can’t leave out Jackie’s role in this journey.

Jackie Reid is an early pioneer of independent journalism. So when she says to Joy, “Welcome home,” that wasn’t symbolic.

That was real.

Final Word

This road is not for people who need validation from white-run corporate media. If that’s what makes you whole, you’ll never be satisfied.

Independence is a spiritual journey.

It’s like stepping onto a flying trapeze without a net — complete trust in God, complete belief in yourself.

When I turned 50, I just jumped.

I just wanted to know what that felt like.

Joy Reid knows exactly what it feels like now.

And she looks free.

Why I Walked Away From Corporate Radio In 2014 and Never Looked Back

Independent Thinkers Don’t Wait for Permission — And They Don’t Need Validation

If you have not learned how to live without the validation of others, you will never be independent.

For a lot of people, the fear isn’t failure — it’s not being liked. It’s the anxiety of being excluded from the herd. And if you spend your life doing what the herd expects you to do, you will always be trapped by the approval of others.

That’s not freedom. That’s a Self Imposed cage.

I want to relate this directly to our career paths, especially in radio and media. Most people are terrified of disagreeing with so-called heavyweights in the industry. Decision-makers make grown men and women cower, bend, and bow, thinking, “If I just say the right thing, maybe this person will give me a job.”

You’ve seen it.
The skinning and grinning.
The conversation hogging.
The desperation for attention.

It’s painful to watch.

What people don’t understand is this: Steve Jobs liberated us all with the iPhone. He didn’t just give us a device — he freed the entire planet. You can now go live. You can create an on-demand platform. You can broadcast your voice without asking permission from anyone.

So let me ask you something real:

1. If I can make $2K, $3K, $4K, or $5K a month broadcasting my own message, why would I want a boss at a radio station?

2. I can go anywhere in the world and create my lifestyle every single day.

3. I don’t have a boss.

4. I choose my message.

5. I choose who I work with.

6. You don’t need a million people listening to you to be influential — or to monetize.

7. You can be as honest as you want.

Yet most radio people are still chasing:

• Jobs

• Titles

• Validation

What they should be building is:

• Ownership

• Audience

• Independence

I walked away from corporate radio in 2014. I thought I still wanted that lane, but something kept calling me toward independence. And I’m going to be honest with you — even at my highest level as a morning talent, there were days I’d wake up and ask myself what it would feel like to just do what I wanted to do.

Well… let me tell you something (LOL).
That freedom comes with a heavy price.

When things don’t go the way you planned, you may find yourself sitting in eviction court. I did — twice. And both times, help came and rescued me. But from 2014 to today, 2025, this has been my definite chief aim:

Never surrender your independence.

At this age, I can’t turn back. I’m exactly where I want to be. I don’t make the income I made in my “heyday,” but I can clearly see the path to getting back there without giving up my freedom or my time. I want it all to belong to me. I want to own all of my time — all of it — everyday.

People love to say, “Everybody’s got to have a boss.”
And I say, not me.

I did not look poverty in the eye, endure severe trials, and survive what I survived just to end up working for someone else.

Now don’t misunderstand me. I’m not against working with people who have authority. If someone contracts me for a service, that’s who I report to. But the difference is simple:

I work with people because I want to, not because I have to.

Any business relationship I enter is mutual. Agreed upon. Respectful. Yes, in business we always aim to satisfy our clients — but I want to work with people who want to work with me. Period.

That’s independence.

I’m going to share more things in future articles that may shock you. People who think they know me will say, “Damn… I didn’t know that.” And that’s okay. We should share what we’ve experienced. It lets people know they’re not alone.

My journey here is rooted in one demand: I must be independent. That means more to me than anything.

Young people in radio, hear me clearly:
Learn early to rely on yourself. Don’t wait for someone to come save you. Don’t fear decisive action. Build what you want.

There’s a quote from the book Manhood that says:
“The man who is self-reliant does not live in the shadow of someone else’s greatness; he thinks for himself, depends on himself, and acts for himself.”

So in closing — follow your intuition. Follow your heart. Don’t deny what your soul is telling you. Follow your dreams. Tell yourself the truth about what you really want, write about it every day, and watch what happens.

Mere Belief counts for  nothing unless it’s carried into practice.
Act on what you know.
Get your heart right.
Let the flow begin.

Don’t worry about how it’s going to happen — just know that it will happen.

This is the way it must be if you want to be free.

One of my upcoming articles will be about how proud I am of Joy Reid, the former MSNBC host who was fired this year and is now building an independent empire. I’ll share my observations on her ascension to independence — because freedom always leaves clues.