I remember being so happy.
Shortly after I arrived and was settling into my new city/station, I was told that I was going to have a new co-host. It was not a negotiation, it was a moved that was being forced upon me. I didn't care for the idea of sharing my show but I also did not bitch and complain about it either. As it would turn out, adding a new dynamic to the show wound up being for the better. Our ratings were excellent and growing with every book. We would bounce topics and ideas at one another and our on air banter became very comical and entertaining. Things seemed to be going great. The fact that the co-host and I (who became really good friends) were successful made having such a sweet market to work in so much better.
Time passed, but after an (undisclosed amount of time) my contract was coming up. There was no indication that I wasn't going to be renewed so the news that I had to start looking for a new gig surprised me. When I found out that I was going to be replaced my co-host came to my house. He told me he was going to stick by my side and leave with me in hopes the two of us could be picked up by a new affiliate.
It was a bold and loyal move, one that he could make since he was young and did not have a family to be worried about. I was so impressed that he chose to stay loyal to me instead of the station, I began looking for new gigs for the two of us. Several weeks had passed and we were not able to find work. I began to suspect that my co-host had regretted leaving the station. But to my dismay he never mentioned it. We kept looking for radio jobs together.
A few weeks later I was approached by a station in a top 20 market. They were interested in me and wanted to meet. I told them I would love to and to set it up for both of us to fly to them. They then mentioned that they were only interested in me and not my partner. I quickly turned down the meeting. I felt I had to be loyal to my partner since he displayed such loyalty to me. To me, it was both of us, or neither.
About two weeks had passed when I got a text message from my co-host who said he accepted his old job back at the station we just left. Several months had passed by this time and they needed some people so they reached out to him. I understood and wished him well. I immediately reached out to the station that showed interest in me and it was already too late. They were no longer interested.
In the end, I never got another radio job again. I had other companies interested in me during that first 6 months of unemployment but none as serious as the one who wanted to meet with me.
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