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You MUST drink coffee!

M

MightyFrenchman

Whether you currently work in radio now or like many of us, worked in radio for many years, you must know that in order to be a true radio pro you MUST drink coffee at the radio station! Can somebody shout Amen?! If you've worked in radio for years but didn't drink coffee you're a semi-pro. At my first part-time radio job I got paid minimum wage. To make up for it I brewed & drank as much coffee as I could since the coffee urn, coffee and filters were provided by the station. Radio professionalism & drinking coffee are inseparable.
 
Funny and true! I remember my first drink of radio-station coffee many years ago. My first small market morning job, and on the SECOND day I tried the coffee machine. One of the ones where you put in a quarter and the little paper cup with handles slides out and fills with "coffee." It was vile, bitter, gritty, horrible stuff, but at 4:00 am, it was enough to pick me up and get me through the morning. And the next. And the next several years. AMEN!!!
 
Yup....coffeeaholic plus here. In fact, I've almost fried a couple of boards because I couldn't keep my habit out of the studio. Thank goodness I have a very patient engineer here. But yet, believe it or not, I'm one of only two regular on-air coffee drinkers here. Guess we need to do better background checks in the future.
 
Showing my age a bit, but I still haven't forgotten the combined smell of cigarette butts & coffee grounds in the WCLU trash can in Covington,KY back in 1972. Somehow that unique smell just reeked of radio.
 
Too funny! I've been in radio 25 years and the ONLY time I drink coffee is at work. WFMS had a deal with the "Fine Grind" for years and that was the best radio station coffee ever. The station I worked for in Columbus had free coffee for awhile, but one of the first orders of business for a new GM in the late 80's was to eliminate that perk. It hurt morale...and he was just following orders from headquarters. I felt bad for Gordon :D

Gary Todd gave us free coffee at WXXP, but he would be livid when the "honor system" snack tray would be short every month. Those things historically don't fare very well at radio stations.
 
Very funny thread and I have two stories -

My first real job was at WIZE in Springfield Ohio. There was no pop machine, no coffee pot, only a water fountain that had hot tap water (no cold) and instant coffee. I tried to buy a Dr. Pepper at the gas station on my way in at midnight, but one night I forgot and started drinking that horrible instant coffee... and in a day loved it. Drank 5 - 8 cups a night... and have ever since.

This week, I have reached the ultimate coffee perk at work as they just installed a brand new coffee machine with a premium roast coffee service... JUST OUTSIDE MY OFFICE DOOR. It truly is nirvana.

Mark Elliott
WIKY
 
The first 5 years or so that I was in radio (I got my first full-time job in 1973), you could actually smoke in the control room (tobacco). The engineers hated it because it (allegedly) gunked up the heads on the cart/tape machines, but since all of us were 2+ pack a day smokers, it was nice that I didn't have to play American Pie twice an hour just to keep my nicotine at a suitable level in my body.
In fact, when I started at WRZQ in 1991 we could still smoke in the lobby. Today the smokers have to go outside and leave the property to smoke.
As for coffee... I brewed a 24 cup percolator at the start of every shift and drank it all in 4-5 hours.
I quit smoking in 1995 and still have a cup or two of coffee in the morning, but that's about it.
BOTJ... I've given up nearly every vice imaginable, so you should cut me some slack about gaining a pound or two in my 'old age'.
 
I've never smoked but with all the smoke filled control rooms I worked in I might as well have. Last station I worked that allowed smoking was in 1995.
 
We werent alllowed to smoke except outside during spot breaks,, and i never drank coffee, I drank Energy Drinks and ate NO DOZE pills, and would often be very shaky and jittery.
 
Oh you lucky dog.... I leave the weekend crew and the coffee service shows up.. Don't let Tim drink your share! And give news a four cup limit.. Ha! My sales manager is addicted.. Good sign, now that the bugs are going away in the computers.. Meanwhile I sit at Starbucks drinking my Java before Saturday Church.... SMILES... "Skip" The Duckman....
 
Its not pleasant to be shaky and nervous when trying to talk on air, or when taking phone calls especially. And being hyped on Caffeine, and not being able to smoke to calm my nerves made it worse, i wish I didnt smoke, i really do. I dont think any station allows smoking during your shift anymore,, The smoke and ashes is bad on the equipment and also a fire hazard, and I think it may even be illegal now days. i dont like morning or over night shift, cause i love to sleep.
 
Hope I don't disqualify myself from radio, but it's been 9 months since my last caffeine intake. Tylenol consumption dropped from a couple pills a week to 1 pill in 9 months. After a solid 2 weeks of headaches, headaches are now an extreme rarity. Also makes a person more tolerant of bad drivers & other undesirables we must co-exist with. And filtered water from the tap (my only beverage) costs nothing...or near nothing.
 
I'm with Bob (written while finishing my morning bottle of Schnucks spring water)

The most extreme beverage I've had while at work is Mtn Dew. Not the best idea for speaking clearly.
 
Don't forget the coffee junkies on the OTHER side of the transmitter! I used to love when radio stations had 'Coffee Break Music Marathons' but in these days of 'everything healthy' its no longer common. I believe WMMR in Philly Pierre Robert still 'does' coffee but I am rarely in listening range. My favorite was "Coffee with WHFS" usually kicked off by Kath's "....yes its time to turn your head and coffee..." and a block of music that was coffee to my ears. The old days of radio,and of coffee, seem to be fading along with other staples of everyday life and I for one miss them badly. Now back to my freshly brewed coffee .....its DAMN good....and HOT
 
Never been a big coffee fan, love the smell though. I don't drink coffee or regular tea because after a coupleofcupsIgettoomuchofabuzz...and I'm hyper enough without. Coke and Dr. Pepper were too syrupy. So my concoction for reasonable pep is green tea which is healthier and has less caffeine than regular tea. I also throw back a couple of Ale-8-One's through a six hour shift along with a Cranberry/Pomegranate from the drink machine.
 
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