I’ve always been a “help wanted” reader. I thought that eventually a job would pop up that would be so interesting and fun that it would change my life forever. Well, that actually happened in 1977 right after my third child was born.
The ad said “if you are well-read and a good communicator, this could be the job for you.” “Hm,” I thought, “This is speaking directly to me.” Of course, in the back of my mind I expected it to be a call center job or one where I had to read newspapers to old people and then explain their meaning. But I was intrigued by the mystery in the wording of the ad, so I had to make that call.
And it turned out that I was right about what that ad would mean for me!
It began a series of events that would broaden my world and lead me in directions I had never envisioned. Turns out, the listing was for being the host of a daily talk show from 9-12 every morning and then doing the daily noon newscast on a 500 watt radio station in a small town near Pittsburgh.
I had no idea how to run a talk show, but I understood newscasting (I thought) from watching television. How much damage could I do broadcasting on a station with the wattage of a light bulb?
Fortunately, the woman who was the station manager (yes, a woman) decided to take a chance on me and give me the job that would have normally gone to a man.
By then, I was so intimidated that my house was strewn with periodicals and newspapers. I hoped that somehow all the information in their pages would creep into my brain either by study or osmosis so I would be the well informed “intellectual” I thought I was supposed to be.
I couldn’t sleep at night, worrying that someone would bring up a subject that I knew nothing about. My husband said, “well, you’ve never worried about that before when you’ve dominated the conversation.” But he really laid my fears to rest when he said, “Just say, well, I don’t know much about that. Let me see what I can find out and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
My first day on the job, I was terrified. I could feel sweat running down the back of my legs and my feet were freezing cold as I approached the studio, where the only piece of equipment I recognized was the microphone. Upon learning that no one would be in the studio with me, monitoring my performance, playing the commercials correctly or running the equipment, I was practically catatonic!
Nevertheless, it was suddenly nine o’clock and time for me to open the mic and wow the audience. “Good morning, everyone, this is “Air Your Opinion” and I’m your new host, Barb Trehar. I think we’re gonna have a lotta fun together, learn some things together and even solve the problems of the world. Let’s get started.”
After about 10 minutes, I began to relax a little and was pleased to learn that housewives in a small town at 9 o’clock in the morning really don’t care much about the Pythagorean theorem or rocket science.
About halfway into it, something changed, though and I had to find a way out of it.
A woman called to ask who decided to give me this job. I told her the station manager. And she said, “Shame on you! You should be doing your job, staying at home taking care of your children!” I stuttered my way out of that one and tried to move on. But the next caller took it even further and said “She’s right! Think of all the men in this town who are out of work and would love to have your job so they could provide for their families! So it went, on and on.
I had to do something drastic, or I might have the shortest run a talk show host ever had!
So this is what I did. I said “ Ladies and gentlemen, I think you’re right! It’s very selfish for me to do this job when a man could come here and actually save his family!” (I didn’t tell them I was making barely minimum wage.) “So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I quit. I’m going to tell the station manager that she should find a man from the many out of work people in town so at least one of them could come here happy to be a talk show host. It’s been great being with you. Thanks for your advice.”
I made a lot of noise moving my chair, asked if the mic was still on, tapped it harshly a few times and walked over and closed the door loudly.
So we had about 10 minutes of dead air. Then I loudly walked into the studio, rustled some papers and asked if the mic was still on.
I sat down and said, “Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is Barbara again. I want you to know I really tried. I gathered my things, walked to my car and was ready to go when the station manager ran out the front door and told me I had to come back! She said she couldn’t find a man who could do the job as well as me!”
I spent eight years there and learned everything about broadcasting and just a little about how to manage people who don’t agree with me. My ultimate broadcasting experience came when I was hired at 50,000-watt KDKA in Pittsburgh to be the substitute talent for Roy Fox, John Cigna and Perry Marshall.
On my way to my first show I told my husband how, once again, I was really terrified. I said ”How many people do you think could be listening?” “Oh, I’d say 2, 3 million, tops.”
My life was about to change forever!
Barbara Trehar, a Chippewa resident, is a member of La Roche University’s Lifelong Learning Memoir Writing Program.
First Published: February 11, 2025, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: February 12, 2025, 2:55 a.m.
