THE INTERVIEW: RADIO LEGEND DOUG MILES! (PART 2 OF 2)

MM: NEARLY EVERYONE I KNOW IN SOUTH FLORIDA HAS A RELATIVE LIVING IN THE NORTHEAST. TELL US HOW YOU ENDED UP IN FLORIDA?

___

DM: We always visited Florida for vacation. My grandparents moved to Ft Lauderdale when I was 10, so we always spent Christmas with them. I always knew I wanted to live in Florida and in 1988 I moved here.

___

MM: YOU AND I HAVE HANDLED MANY OF THE SAME RESPONSIBILITIES SUCH AS COPYWRITING, SCRIPTWRITING, NEWS AND SO FORTH. BUT YOU'VE WORKED FOR A RADIO READING SERVICE FOR THE BLIND. THE CLOSEST I'VE COME TO THAT WAS READING THE HEADLINES FOR MY LATE FATHER AS HIS PARKINSON'S PROGRESSED, AND IT WAS A THRILL FOR HIM TO HAVE ME SITTING NEXT TO HIM AS HE LISTENED TO WORLD EVENTS WITH AN "OH?" OR "CAN YOU IMAGINE?" TELL US ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE FROM THE RADIO SIDE OF THINGS?

___

DM: At WUSF-FM in Tampa, I did some volunteer reading of magazines for the Radio Reading Service which was recorded. In Sarasota, I got my Dad involved as well. We read the local newspapers live on the air from a small studio at the Sarasota Opera House for 2 hours a week. It's a great service and the special radios are provided free to those who need them.

___

MM: I RECENTLY LEARNED THAT YOU ARE ALSO A TECHNICAL WRITER AND THAT DIFFERS SO MUCH FROM MY PERSONAL WRITING. TELL US HOW YOUR CAREER IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CAME ABOUT?

___

DM: As all of us in broadcasting do from time to time, we get out of it on a full time basis and need to do other things to make a living. I worked at Computer Science Corp in Sarasota which specialized in information technology for the insurance industry. I did some technical writing and IT work, but always kept my hand in broadcasting even then.

___

MM: HOW IS YOUR TENNIS AND GOLF GAME COMING ALONG?

___

DM: Unfortunately, I haven't played either as much as I want to recently. I want to get back into tennis. Golf just takes up too much time right now.

___


MM: YOU HAVE A GREAT ON-AIR PRESENCE AND I CAN'T RESIST ASKING YOU ABOUT THE MANY, MANY CELEBRITIES WE WOULD ALL RECOGNIZE THAT YOU'VE HAD ON THE AIR AT WIBQ. CAN YOU SHARE SOME NAMES AND STORIES?

___

DM: I've been very fortunate to have the opportunity to interview many of the people I watched on TV growing up or listened to on radio. Comedians like Jackie Mason, Don Rickles and Rich Little are just 3 of the people that have been on with me. Martin Short was very introspective and quiet unlike his on stage persona, but still very interesting. Tim Conway was just like he is on TV, very funny. Singers like Andy Williams, Jack Jones, Michael Feinstein have been on. Senator Bob Smith, former Republican senator from New Hampshire who lives in Sarasota is a regular guest. I even had a chance to talk to Katherine Harris. It's never dull in Sarasota. My favorite interview guest is Deana Martin, the daughter of Dean Martin who has been on several times. She has great stories of her Dad, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack and she's a very nice lady.

___

MM: MANY OF MY READERS ARE NEW AND MAY NOT KNOW THIS. BUT LAST SPRING, I WAS LITERALLY WALKING DOWN MAIN STREET IN SARASOTA WHEN I PASSED BY YOUR OLD STUDIOS. AND I HEARD A FAMILIAR ACCENT—AN ENGLISH ACCENT FROM AN OVERHEAD SPEAKER AND REALIZED AS I TURNED TO MY LEFT AN SAW CLIFF ROLES WAS DOING A LIVE RADIO SHOW FROM THE SIDEWALK PICTURE WINDOW. RADIO HAS LOST SO MUCH OF THE FUN IT USED TO BE FOR MANY OF US. FROM THE CREW YOU HAVE AT WIBQ I IMAGINE THAT IS THE CLOSEST ONE CAN EVER GET TO WHAT RADIO ONCE WAS UP UNTIL 1996 OR SO? WHAT IS YOUR VIEW?

___

DM: Yes, WIBQ is kind of a throwback to old time radio in a sense. We do long form talk shows and a lot of local programming. We are now at the Westfield Square Shopping Mall in Sarasota and have built a window front studio there as well.

___

MM: HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED TELEVISION IN YOUR CAREER?

___

DM: Yes, I do some TV locally, hosting a weekly talk show occasionally and a weekly sports show. TV is always fun to do.

___

___

MM: I ONCE JOKED IN A BLOG ABOUT CLIFF ROLES HAVING HIS PICTURE TAKEN WITH SO MANY BEAUTIFUL WOMEN AND I SAID, "IT MUST BE THE BRITISH ACCENT". DO YOU THINK CLIFF CAN COACH ME A BIT? I WAS HOPING MAYBE I COULD GET A DATE WITH ROBYN LYNN?
___

Comedian Dick Smothers with Robyn Lynn

___

DM: Cliff is definitely a character. Robyn is definitely easy on the eyes and belongs on TV doing the news. I'd watch!

___

MM: SO WOULD I. PLEASE PASS THAT ALONG! ARE THERE ANY GUESTS, DOUG, WHOM YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO GET ON YOUR SHOW BUT EITHER HAVEN'T GOTTEN AROUND TO IT OR HAVE HAD TROUBLE FINDING THEM TO GUEST ON "SUNCOAST MAGAZINE"?

___

DM: I've been able to get just about everyone I've wanted so far. There are some people that just don't do interviews, but there is never a shortage of interesting guests to talk to.

___

MM: WHAT'S IN THE FUTURE FOR DOUG MILES AS THE NEW YEAR IS UNDERWAY NOW?

___

DM: I want to continue to help build WIBQ into a major radio station on the west coast of Florida. This winter and spring I'm doing play by play of Sarasota Millionaires Football games on WIBQ. We have a lot of things in the works. Stay tuned!

___

MM: DOUG, ONE OF THE THINGS I DO HERE ON "THE INTERVIEW" IS TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO MY GUESTS AND LET THEM EXPOUND ABOUT WHATEVER IS ON THEIR MIND. IT COULD BE THE INDUSTRY, THE WEATHER, WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IN MEDIA. AS THEY SAY IN SHOWBUSINESS: "THE FLOOR IS YOURS":

___

DM: Thanks Michael. First of all, it's always fun to have you join us on air. The concert you helped promote last fall was a great story. I'd like to see more stations take our approach of covering local events and doing local programming. There are too many stations just running syndicated shows and have no local presence in their market. Thank you for the opportunity to talk to your readers on your website.

_____
MM: DOUG, IT'S BEEN A JOY AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU BACK HERE ON "THE INTERVIEW" TO KEEP UP WITH YOU. THERE YOU HAVE IT MY FRIENDS. A RARE MAN IN THIS INDUSTRY WHO IS AS "DOWN TO EARTH AS YOU CAN GET. I WISH THERE WERE MORE DOUG MILE'S IN THIS INDUSTRY. IT WOULD MAKE FOR A KINDER AND GENTLER WORLD. REMEMBER TO CATCH DOUG ON "SUNCOAST MAGAZINE" VIA WIBQ, "SUNNY 1220" AM NEWS/ TALK RADIO. TRULY ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT RADIO STATIONS! AND ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT BROADCASTERS IN DOUG MILES. THANKS FOR JOINING US!

####