When I realized that I could write about my time at KMOX, I got excited about the prospect. The more that I thought about it, the more I realized what a lucky kid I was to have my first commercial radio experience at The Voice of St. Louis.

I was a Mass Communications Major at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville and the Production Director for WSIE-FM when it first went on the air.

That got me an internship at KMOX that later lead to a part time weekend newswriter job.

In 1970, KMOX was one of the premier radio stations in the country. It was owned and operated by CBS radio. It was a 50,000 Watt Clear Channel AM station that covered 40 states.

CBS was the network of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. They would have been right at home sitting in the KMOX newsroom. KMOX was a paragon of broadcasting and journalistic excellence.

KMOX was the radio station of Robert Hyland. Mr. Hyland was an imposing figure if ever there was one. Mr. Hyland was unparalleled in his ability to recognize

and hire great talent and let them do their jobs.

Whether it was sports, news, or entertainment, they excelled in every thing they did.  EVERYONE in the St. Louis area listened to KMOX. They got ratings in the 20s. The ratings book usually was KMOX first in everything and then the rest of the stations following behind. KMOX was probably the most powerful and influential entity in St. Louis.

When I was there they had almost everyone of importance in St. Louis on the air and on the payroll. The regular staff alone featured, Jack Buck, Jack Carney, Jim White, Bob Hardy, John McCormick, and a whole host of others.

I am not sure how long I was there, maybe a year. I remember that I sure liked getting those paychecks with the CBS logo on them.  That was the least of it. I learned how to write news, I found out what it was like to work around real professionals and I heard a lot of really great radio. I learned what a really high functioning radio station looked like.

So thanks KMOX! I hope everyone enjoys my stories.