By Kayla Hallac and Tatum Love, Editor-in-Chief/Staff Writer
A typical drive today includes getting into your car, fastening your seatbelt and connecting your aux cord to your phone to play your favorite Spotify playlist or catch the latest Podcast. This wasn’t the norm as recently as 15 years ago, when most adults and students would argue about which local radio station to tune in.
Local radio stations and students are keeping the tradition alive. 99.1 The Sound DJ personality Lisa Brickhouse has been in the radio business since 1989, when she was 19 years old, and has helped 99.1 The Sound become an Outer Banks staple.
“One hundred percent without a doubt I consider 99.1 The Sound as an important member and service to our local community,” Brickhouse said. “Not just because of the great music that the station provides to our listeners, but also to be able to have the ability to share important information and get the word out to listeners about breaking news, bad weather conditions, traffic updates, accidents, lost pets, public service announcements and other community events.”
99.1 The Sound/WVOD has been on the airwaves in Dare County since 1986. Radio began to be used commercially around 1900, but it wasn’t until the late 1920s and early 1930s that its popularity grew rapidly. By 1934, 60% of the nation’s households had radio.
Over the years, people enjoyed listening to the radio in their homes, waking up with their alarm clock to a favorite morning host, and especially finding that perfect song while driving. The rise of smartphones has changed all that, though, with music stored on people’s devices or easily streamed from a variety of sites.
Brickhouse said it’s important to keep radio alive in the community.
“The responsibility of a radio station and its broadcasters (is) getting pertinent factual info out to people in a timely manner when they need it the most; also, having the ability to entertain and offer companionship to listeners is a very special thing,” Brickhouse said.
This special companionship inspired senior Aaron Jurkowitz. He has worked on the local morning sports talk show on 98.1 TheScore at East Carolina Radio for two years. Every morning before school, Jurkowitz discusses his favorite NFL players, games, football opinions and more to spark discussion about national sports.
Getting into the radio business this early has taught him lessons about this form of journalism and offered an interesting viewpoint for listeners across the Outer Banks.
“The important things to keep in mind on the radio is to speak crisply and coherently, to have good chemistry with the other people on air, have a positive listening atmosphere instead of one that is tense and argumentative, and to have clear and interesting points to make that really add to the discussion,” Jurkowitz said.
The love Jurkowitz has gained throughout the years for radio makes him another OBX local looking to preserve the tradition of radio.
“Using the human voice to tell a story is a much more interesting and effective way of telling a story instead of just reading something,” Jurkowitz said.
Junior Mackenzie Edwards agreed. She said it’s important to know who’s behind the music being played and the facts being shared. Radio does just this for her
“It makes more sense to hear real people,” Edwards said. “When I was little, I would have a radio in my room and I would listen to it every night before I went to sleep.”
Edwards has no plans to turn off the radio anytime soon, and she’s not alone. Radio is something many in Generation Z have grown up with and developed a sense of nostalgia for that won’t soon be forgotten.
“Radio is the one broadcast medium that has stood the test of time, having been around for over 100 years, and still continues to offer the power of radio to its listeners for many years to come,” Brickhouse said. “Support your local radio stations!”
Senior Kayla Hallac can be reached at 22hallacka85@daretolearn.org.
Senior Tatum Love can be reached at 22loveta53@daretolearn.org.
