Jerry Bell interview

This week I am going to share my Jerry Bell interview. I did this interview about 2 years ago, and I give my apologies to Jerry for the delay in getting posted. Jerry is a class guy and a true gentleman. Many things happened that caused this delay, but I’m happy to finally have gotten it done.Jerry is the main news reporter for KOA radio 850 A.m. and 94.1 FM. This means if there is a big event going on politically or sports related or just a fun event you would probably find Jerry Bell there. He has reported when there has been blizzards or floods. When I first started listening to Jerry he was the program director for 850 KOA 630 KHOW and 760 radio. I first heard his name during the “Zoo you hear what I hear” CD that I mentioned in my Andy Lindahl interview on this blog.Jerry has done a ton of news stories. I remember Dave Logan was saying on the Sports Zoo that Jerry was the current program director. He said that he and Scott shouldn’t forget about him otherwise they wouldn’t get anyone to buy the CD.The one story that I remember from Jerry relates to me as a blind person and as a listener to talk radio. This story was on a different KOA radio CD with different interviews and funny bits that KOA has collected over the years. This bit was Jerry relating the story of a lady named Barbara who loved the Rockies and the Rockies broadcasts on the radio. Barbra was a fan of the Rockies before I was. I can still remember the tag line for the story like it was yesterday.“Sometimes it is not what you see but what you hear that makes a difference.”That rings true for me because when I listen to the radio I hear everything that happens, since I can’t see, the radio is my way of listening to what is going on. When I hear a Rockies game I can hear the excitement in Jack Corrigan’s or Jerry Schemmel’s voice when a Rockies player hits a home run or makes a big play in the game. Also listening to Jerry Bell’s KOA Close ups lets me know what is happening in Colorado. Here is my interview with Jerry.JL: Please give a history of how you got your start in radio?Jerry Bell: I Started in 1976 I started as an intern K101 FM station in San Francisco as a reporter and assistant news director. I Worked there for 10 years. When I moved to Denver I started at KIMN in Denver as a part time newscaster. I was living in my in -laws basement.11/17/86 I started at KOA. I Started at the overnight desk. I became an assignment editor. Then became news director. Finally, I became program director for KHOW and KOA. I ultimately went back to my first love of doing the newsJL-What made the program director a tough job?JB:- There is a huge demand for ratings performance. You're interacting with different departments. A lot of moving parts plus contract negotiations. I Just enjoy doing the news.JL-I've been hearing you as the KOA close up reporter. What does that entail?JB:-In order to do a good close up requires a lot of time I . I use a special recorder and mic so I’m not sticking a mic in somebody's face. I'm picky about doing it right. I have to tell a story in roughly 30 seconds.JL- When you were a news director you worked with Steve Kelley and Gus Merkous What was it like working with legends in the radio industry?JB- They were wonderful people. Gus passed away. He Worked at KOA for 17 years. He was a Great guy. Crusty on the outside but marshmallow on the inside. Steve Kelley is a wonderful human being and knew how to connect with people. He Had an ability to set a goal and complete it.JL:- Favorite memories?JB : I Covered city hall in San Francisco and I covered Mayor Harvey Milk's assassination. I covered the SFO end of the Jonestown suicides. Xmas that year was terrible. I Covered Patti Hearst and her trial. I have a ton of stories. Here in Denver, Columbine was very very rough. I was one of the first reporters on the scene. I was also the first reporter at the Aurora theater shooting. I enjoy politics. My favorite close up was of a friend of mine that was a huge Rockies fan. He got pancreatic cancer, went on a tour of all major league ball parks. They ended up playing the close up I did at his funeral. That is probably my greatest honor because it seems I got it so right. A Henry Kissinger memory sticks out, Somehow I scored an interview with him as a young reporter. He comes into the room, takes off his watch and says OK kid, you have 5 minutes. If it happened now I'd probably be a little more forceful.JL- My favorite close up that you did was a blind woman who was a great Rockies fan.JB-She is an amazing lady. Big baseball fan. It's a big deal for her. She has a shirt that has an eye chart on it and it says, "hey ump you're blind."JL- What would be your advice for someone trying to get into radio?JB-You have to be involved in multimedia; Blogs, taking pictures. The medium is evolving and expanding. You must embrace change and the hours are bad and you have to work long hours and it is very demanding.JL- If you had a magic wand what would you like to see happen in Colorado radio?JB-If I had a magic wand I would create more news stations like it was when I first got involved in radio.Thanks to Jerry Bell for doing this interview with me and sharing stories of his long 42 year career with my and readers of this blog. It was an honor!Thanks for tuning in.Jeremy Levy