Week One - Meeting My Mentor - Posted on 2017-08-07 by Jacob Payne

Last Thursday and Friday marked my first two days as a student at the Radio Connection. I met my mentor, Ronn Culver. Ronn has been an Executive Producer at Gow Media for over two years and is the man trusted to steer the ship for progams like the Nate & Creight Show and The Sean Salisbury Show. I was fortunate enough to sit alongside Ronn as he produced both shows on Friday afternoon. Watching Ronn que soundbites, patch in phone interviews and throw to commercial breaks showed me the importance of show prep. Ronn had over four hours of content to account for and he was ready at every turn. Ronn expressed to me that one of the most important things I will learn during my time in his studios will be how to expertly manage my time. For Ronn, a four hour show can be edited in a matter of minutes. He does not strike me as a man that can be surprised easily - expecting the unexpected. And if he is surprised, he won't be startled.

Before I left on Friday, Ronn said I would be able to use one of the side studios to start recording a podcast. It will be my first experience handling professional audio recording equipment since college and my first time ever to record a podcast. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but never took the time to do. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but Ronn told me something on Friday that help relax a bit. He told me that I didn't even have to talk about sports. I could take a little time to just talk about myself. With it being my first time rehearsing what a Jacob Payne radio show might sound like, I guess it couldn't hurt to just practice talking about anything. The flaming hot sports takes can wait for now.