Each new morning, the same familiar voices we hear on our radio, for some, are part of a routine that begins our work day. On this morning, we were curious about those familiar voices and dropped in on Lakeland’s very own WPCV 97 Country. What we’d seen, that’s not usually seen, was a routine of work day fun-with sing-alongs.

As soon as we walked into the studio the nostalgic “ON AIR” bright light was flashing, indicating the DJ’s were live. As we opened the door we were immediately besieged by organized chaos. Laughter filled the room mixing with sounds of beeping lines as viewers called in. Each DJ seemed very busy, focusing on one task then the next.

It was evident that being a DJ was not a facile job. Instead, it was a job that involved multi-tasking and a quick wit.

It was amusing to watch the DJ’s take live phone calls, as this was the least scripted part of the broadcast. This was also the time when the DJ’s had to be the wittiest.

Fun Fact: The “live” phone calls are actually pre-recorded, for the times when even a witty DJ can’t salvage a call.

Amongst all the commotion in the studio were a DJ’s most important tools, computers and switchboards. It was mind-boggling looking at all the technology available today to put a live broadcast together.

Reminiscent of years gone by, Roger Todd shared his own experience of working as a DJ before technology. He spoke of the ancient eight track tapes and record players, and how he had to switch out music after each song. Present day technology allows DJ’s to easily schedule endless loops of playlists from a computer. However this requires a lot of editing, adding task to a DJ’s job description that didn’t exist 20 years ago.

DJ Trucker and Roger Todd were a lot of fun to hang out with and get to know. They really taught us a lot about radio and live broadcast. It was obvious after spending the day with them that they both have a passion for what they do.

97.5 WPVC is owned by Hall Communications, also known as “Central Florida’s Big 4”, representing the four stations, WONN, WPCV, WLKF, and WWRZ. The founder of Hall Communications, Robert M. Hall, purchased his first station in 1964. Hall Communications has since expanded into 17 stations.

You can visit the WPCV gang anytime! Just tune into 97.5 FM