Greg Martin (WJBC, Bloomington, IL) said, “It has been an interesting road that has led me from Kansas to Illinois back to Kansas to Washington State and finally back to Illinois. Such is the life of a radio personality.” He explained, “In a way it’s a full circle for me since my first program director job was in Bloomington, IL, some 32 years ago for WIHN 96FM. The year I spent at WIHN I was up against the number one radio station and morning show in the nation that year across town at WJBC-AM. I just could not beat them as a neophyte program director. Now, I’ve been picked up by Cumulus/WJBC-AM to help that station try to recapture some of that glory against other great Cumulus FM CHR and Country stations.” Greg said, “I’m thrilled to be at WJBC and back in Bloomington and equally thrilled to be back as part of NAFB after a 10-year stint as the news director and Vice President of Programming for the Northwest Ag Information Network. Radio has always been my first love ever since I was a child listening to my RCA transistor radio that my grandfather gave me. It was very liberating while growing up in a very small town in Kansas to be able to listen to great radio stations like KOMA (Oklahoma City, OK), KOA (Denver, CO) and WLS (Chicago, IL). I knew I wanted to be a part of this incredible industry.” One day when Greg was traveling through Junction City, KS, listening to KJCK it solidified. “The afternoon announcer (DJ) was interviewing actor Burt Ward from the TV series Batman. I thought, any job where I can sit and talk to Robin, the Boy Wonder, is for me. Oddly, even though I’ve interviewed hundreds and hundreds of celebrities, musicians, politicians, authors and just plain folk, I’ve never interviewed Burt! (Might have to remedy that!) 2019 will mark Greg’s 40th year in broadcasting after starting with the Sunday night 6-midnight shift on Salina, KS, rock station, 99 KSKG. The Mighty 99KG was a great place to cut my teeth, and I learned a great deal. Like many of you in NAFB, I’ve done pretty much every job there is at a radio station including copywriting, sales and even a little engineering. But the place I love is in a studio with a mic.” Greg is excited about his new position at WJBC as Program Director and with the added benefit of also being the Farm Director. “We don’t do a lot of ag, but it is crucial to the station. We rely on the RFD Network also located in Bloomington as well as reports from Kent Casson at the Central Illinois Farm Network. I will also be back behind a mic with various reports as we progress with changes to the WJBC format clocks and, of course, I will be there with mic in hand for Trade Talk at this year’s NAFB convention.” Greg concludes, “My broadcast career has been a wonderful trip with incredible highs and some devastating lows. Everything from singing a duet with the incomparable Julio Iglesias in front of 8,000 people to having to break the tragic news to thousands of listeners about John Lennon, the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, the attempted assassination of Ronald Regan and others. It’s been a blessed life and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Don Imus was recently asked how he considered himself. DJ? Announcer? His reply was, ‘I’m a radio guy’. Ditto! All of us in broadcasting, whether it’s rock, news/talk, country or the farm report should be grateful for this opportunity to communicate to the world! It’s a power that few people will ever have. Hope to see you all soon! Greg Martin (Radio Guy).”
