810-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, June 19, 1993
Whoops! She Was Caught
By A Radio Bug
GAY N. BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
I know somebody important.
Her name is Pamela Tokar Ickes.
She is called a news director
because she prepares news reports
to read over a radio station.
She probably won’t mind if I
just call her Pam while I tell you
about her. Usually, we would say
Ms. or Mrs. Ickes, to show our
respect.
Anyway Pam said to me, “I
caught the radio bug.” She meant
that she didn’t plan it. It was never
her dream to work in radio.
About nine years ago Pam
applied for the job that her friend
had at the radio station. The friend
was quitting. The station people
said “yes” and Pam had to do a
talk show each morning. It was a
job that was interesting.
Later, Pam and her husband
moved away. Pam had to quit her
radio job. That was too bad,
because you see by then she really
liked being on the radio. She liked
talking to the people about all
kinds of subjects and now she
missed doing it.
Soon they moved back to the
area and Pam went right to the
same radio station and asked for a
job. She knew it was just what she
wanted to do.
This lime Pam had to play
country music for the radio listen
ers and she had to do the Pitts
burgh Pirate baseball games in the
afternoons. Country music wasn’t
her favorite kind of music, she
said.
She heard that the station news
director needed a helper, so Pam
asked if she could help him. It
wasn’t long until she became the
news director. But she has a boss
who is the program director of the
station. His name is Jerry Lyons.
Maybe you know somebody
whose day begins at 4 o’clock in
the morning while it’s pitch black
outside. Farmers sometimes do
that because they start milking the
cows. That’s when Pam gets up.
She must be at the radio station
before 5 o’clock in the morning.
She says, “I’m not a morning
person.” To make her life easier,
she keeps her hair cut short so she
doesn’t have to fool around styl-
KIDS, NOW THAT YOU HAVE READ ALL ABOUT
PAMELA TOKAR ICKES HERE IS A LITTLE QUIZ
ABOUT HER TO TEST YOUR MEMORY
(find the answers somewhere else on the page)
1. How many times did Pam work at WVSC?
2. What was Pam’s first job at the radio station?
3. Does Pam like country music 9
4. What is Pam’s job today at the radio station?
5. What time does Pam get up in the morning?
6. On her way to work what does she do?
7. Who does Pam call as soon as she arrives at her job?
8. Why does Pam need to be a “team player” at her job?
9. With whom does Pam sometimes disagree?
10. How do they solve their disagreements?
11. Name the only radio station east of the Mississippi River
whose call letters don’t start with a W?
12. Who wrote this story and quiz?
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ing it each mOming.
As soon as she leaves her
house, Pam is busy. On her way to
work she stops to buy some local
newspapers. At the station she
starts to call the people who keep
track of emergencies, like the
folks at 911, the police and fire
departments. Their reports must
be written quickly and expertly
before Pam can read them over the
air at news time.
Another job Pam does is to
interview people over the tele
phone. She gets their comments
about local issues and tells the lis
teners what they said.
If a weather emergency cancels
classes at area schools Pam is even
busier, taking the calls and reading
the list over and over so every
family with school kids can hear
it.
Pam says that by 9 o’clock in
the morning she has done seven
newscasts over the air. She has
written news script and taped
news to be aired later in the day.
If you wanted to be a radio per
sonality, Pam says you must work
with other people like a team play
er. She said that she is a strong
willed person and that has helped
her. When she disagreed with Mr.
Lyons, her boss, about something
Pam said she learned about
“compromise.”
Compromise means that if two
or more persons don’t agree about
something, they talk about why
they disagree. Then as they talk,
soon they see how a solution can
come by giving in a little bit to
each other. Bingo! Before they
know it, the problem is solved.
Pam says her work schedule is
strict because, well, you can’t be
late on the radio. Every sound of
each minute is important. Next
time you listen to your radio, get a
watch with a second hand and just
pay attention to the time.
So when she writes and reads
the news, she must fit it into a cer
tain amount of minutes. She must
remember that commercials will
also be aired during newscasts.
That’s why Pam calls her job
stressful. You see she can’t sit
around relaxing on her job. She
keeps moving.
But it’s still a super job to be in
0
radio. She meets fascinating and
famous people and talks to them.
For instance she has met Governor
Casey from Pennsylvania. She has
met and interviewed astronauts
and Captain Stubby and many
other famous visitors to her area.
Her favorite part of work is still
her talk show. Now she does it
only on Saturdays. Sometimes she
invites guests. Other times she
asks listeners to call in and talk
about things they like or don’t
like.
Pam’s radio station is WVSC.
Those initials are known as “call
letters.”
Did you know that every radio
station east of the Mississippi Riv
er has call letters starting with a
“W?” All except KDKA in Pitts
burgh, the first radio station in
America. Pam says stations west
of the Mississippi have call letters
starting with “K.” She doesn’t
know why.
Why don’t you call your favo
rite radio station and ask them
about their call letters. Find out
what they mean. Maybe your
group or school class could visit a
radio station.
Pam didn’t take special radio
training. But if you think you
would like to be an announcer,
leant now to use correct grammar.
Speak clearly and don’t use slang
words when you speak to other
people. Lots of announcers go to a
broadcasting school.
Pamela Tokar Ickes, right, Is discussing something important with her boss. His
name is Jerry Lyons. He is the program director at radio station WVSC in Somerset.
When Pam and her boss disagree they try to compromise.
REJECT IS TO AVOID “THROW AWAY” ITEMS WE USE ONLY ONE TIME-
Examples are small juice packs, cereal variety packs, paper and plastic lunch and shopping
bags, disposable pens, batteries and paper supplies. Instead, use a lunchbox and thermos,
cloth bags, refiUable pens, rechargeable batteries, recycled/recyclable and reusable
products... Avoid items that come in a plastic bubble and cardboard package like batteries
and action figures. These packages are very hard to recycle. •
/^Vwi
WVSC In Somerset, Pa
On the day following the election, Pamela Tokar Ickes was
very busy calling people the winners. She had to give
the voting results during her radio newscasts.
if