“If the community needs the microphone, the community gets the microphone.”
Although I’ve been criticized at times during the past 17 years, that always has been the unofficial slogan of the radio talk shows and podcasts I have produced since returning home in 2004 because the public’s voice has been drowned out by political partisanship and unnecessary misinformation.
Folks leaning toward the conservative right have told me I’ve wasted too much time attempting to help because “all those people need to do is go to work.” Meanwhile, folks leaning toward the liberal left have expressed I should do nothing else because “we all need to sacrifice more to help those who cannot help themselves.”
Neither side, in my opinion, is correct, but the differing mindsets are why I have accepted the chance to return to the Upper Ohio Valley airwaves (100.1 FM WLYV – The River Network) beginning tomorrow afternoon from 4-6 p.m. No, I do not believe I can settle the forever feud over party power, but I do believe it is possible to remind even the most stubborn that politics is supposed to be about the people and not about the red or the blue.
The biggest reason I’ve agreed, though, has to do with telling the real story about what is happening in the Wheeling area. We are well aware of the past – thriving industry, robust downtowns, and living-wage opportunities up and down the Ohio River – and we know what has taken place over the past four decades, but what about the present and the possibilities? I look forward to telling the tale about today and entertaining once again the discussion about the future of this region.
What do we need? What do we want? And what will it take to make it all happen? And could a genuine, honest, on-air conversation somehow attract more companies like Williams Lea Tag, Orrick, and Roxby Development to the Wheeling area?
There’s only one way to find out. Come claim that microphone.
