Radio Inspiration Essay
Note from 8/6/2025: I majored in Radio Broadcasting in college. For my very first radio class, my professor asked that we write essays about why we wanted to work in this industry. Here's the essay I submitted. I think I left out how the presence of the DJ has always comforted me when spending time alone. Listening to late-night/early-morning, graveyard-shift, independent, college, non-profit, or public broadcasting -- some of the most interesting, human, and horizon-expanding experiences you can have as a lonely child.
Radio in the Community
My career of interest is radio broadcasting. I have always been fascinated by the world of radio for as long as I remember, and Casey Kasem has been my idol from my early years, since he did both voice acting and legendary radio work. I remember listening to one particular Top 40 of his, replayed years later. This 1986 Top 40 featured Kasem’s correspondence with Eric White, a man who wrote to Kasem from behind bars. White told Kasem about his tough childhood, his depression and thoughts of suicide, all the things he had endured, and the mistake that landed him in prison. White also told him how much Kasem inspired him and how he loved listening to his show, how the music and the stories Kasem told kept him going. He requested the song “I’m Alive” by the Electric Light Orchestra, because the song reminded him that no matter what his regrets, no matter how difficult his situation is, he is still breathing. This letter had been lost in the mail for nearly a year, and when Kasem contacted the prison, he was told White had been let out. By the time Kasem caught up with White, the former prisoner had gotten married and settled down in Canada. This story has stayed with me since, and whenever I hear that ELO song, I think of how my life, too, could change for the better. If Eric White from Canada can turn his life around, so can I. Without Casey Kasem, or the old Top 40 replays that W*** ran religiously every Saturday night, I would not have the same motivation to work in radio as I do now.
I absolutely admire this effect radio has on people, especially for those with no-one else to turn to. Radio is anonymously spending time with people, and giving them something to hold onto. I have always loved this aspect of radio. It is reaching out to people and giving them intimacy, sharing music and stories with them, and asking nothing in return.
Broadcasters must be personable, but they must be believable; they must be willing to contribute to their community. This also I admire: it is required by the FCC for stations to do charitable work or something directly benefiting the community. Community service is important, and radio maintains that as one of the core aspects of the job. Radio is the voice of the community, advertising local businesses, charity events, and fundraisers in the area. It brings attention to the issues of the community, politically and socially, while maintaining local culture and personalities. It is such a relied-upon aspect of daily life that few people even realize it. It provides emergency broadcasts and information, important news and weather updates, and opportunities for local improvement.
With my degree, I will personally ensure that my community gets the best. I think that having real members of the community on-air, giving them a chance to express themselves and communicate to others possibilities for improvement is a right. One day, I hope to own my own radio station, and raise awareness of issues, problems, and concerns in the community, striving to improve the lives of everyone in it. I look forward to starting fundraisers for local charities, blood drives, and community events to get everyone involved. Involvement is key to bringing people together: if people do not know anything about one another, why would they be motivated to help them, or reach out to them? Radio brings us all closer together. It creates an opportunity for a community to act like a family, to be there for one another. Radio is a public service and a necessity in today's lonely world.
Note from 8/30/2025: I found the transcript for the particular Casey Kasem Countdown I described above. Seems like I misremembered some things -- here's the full transcript. I know there's a website out there where you can email the webmaster and he'll email you the recording for the particular show you want, if you're nice. That's how I got this show and wrote the below transcript in 2016.
KASEM: NOW, WE'RE UP TO OUR LONG DISTANCE DEDICATION. AND THIS ONE IS FROM A YOUNG MAN IN CANADA, WHOSE LIFE HAS BEGUN LIKE A BAD DREAM. HE WRITES: DEAR CASEY, I HAD A COUSIN NAMED SHAUN WHO WAS A YEAR OLDER THAN ME. SINCE NEITHER OF US HAD A BROTHER, WE BECAME VERY CLOSE. IN NINETEEN-SEVENTY-SIX I WAS LIVING IN NOVA SCOTIA AND SHAUN IN ONTARIO. THEN ONE DAY I RECEIVED SOME BAD NEWS. SHAUN HAD LEFT HOME ONE NIGHT THAT WINTER, SAT DOWN ON A SNOWBANK, AND SHOT HIMSELF. I DON'T KNOW WHY HE DID IT. NO ONE DOES. I FELT HIS DEATH WAS MY FAULT, SINCE I WASN'T THERE WHEN HE NEEDED ME. I'VE ALSO THOUGHT OF SUICIDE A FEW TIMES. WHY? WELL, MY MOM DIED WHEN I WAS SIXTEEN AND I'VE BEEN ON MY OWN SINCE I WAS EIGHTEEN. LIFE HASN'T BEEN EASY. FOR TWO YEARS, I LIVED ON THE STREETS. WITH NO HOME, I HITCHHIKED ACROSS THE COUNTRY DEPENDING ON THE CHURCHES AND HOSTELS FOR FOOD. SOME NIGHTS I'D BE VERY COLD. OTHER NIGHTS, I SLEPT IN THE RAIN. RECENTLY, I WAS SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR A CRIME I WILL NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF FOR. I'VE LOST ALL MY FRIENDS EXCEPT TWO, AND I'VE LOST MY FAMILY. THE FEELINGS OF SHAME AND GUILT ARE VERY HARD TO HANDLE. SHOULD I END IT ALL THIS TIME? I THINK NOT. FIRST, MY TWO FRIENDS WOULD BE DEEPLY HURT IF I KILLED MYSELF. SECONDLY, WHEN I GET OUT OF PRISON, I HAVE A CHALLENGE TO LOOK FORWARD TO. OF FINDING A JOB, MAKING A NEW HOME, AND TRYING TO GET MARRIED. WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IS PULL UP YOUR METAL SOCKS AND SAY, 'ONWARD'. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION TO ANYBODY WHO FEELS THEY CAN'T HANG IN: CALL THE OPERATOR AND ASK HER TO CONNECT YOU TO THE LOCAL SUICIDE PREVENTION CENTER. OR GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND TALK TO A DOCTOR. OR TO A CHURCH AND TALK TO A PRIEST. THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO CARE. AND THEY'LL HELP. CASEY, WOULD YOU PLEASE PLAY SOMETHING THAT TALKS ABOUT THE JOY OF BEING ALIVE? SIGNED, A FRIEND IN CANADA, ERIC E. WHITE. WELL, ERIC, YOU WON'T BE HEARING THIS ON THE AIR BECAUSE WHEN WE CALLED TO VERIFY YOUR LETTER WE LEARNED THAT --TION CENTER IN LONDON, ONTARIO TO THE PRISON IN KINGSTON, WHERE AMERICAN TOP FORTY ISN'T BEING BROADCAST AT THE MOMENT. BUT YOU WILL HEAR IT, BECAUSE WE'LL BE SENDING YOU, IN CARE OF THE WARDEN, A COPY OF THE SHOW. ERIC, HERE'S YOUR LONG DISTANCE DEDICATION. [2:21]
[‘I’M ALIVE’ BY ELO PLAYS] [3:30]
KASEM: FROM THE SUMMER OF NINETEEN-EIGHTY, THAT'S THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, E.L.O., WITH 'I'M ALIVE'. A LONG-DISTANCE DEDICATION FROM ERIC SERVING A PRISON TERM IN CANADA, WHO STILL INSISTS ON CELEBRATING THE JOY OF BEING ALIVE. AND THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES ON AMERICAN TOP FORTY. [0:23]