The 3-Minute Interview

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Flynn is the general manager and vice president of Hillsdale’s WCSR radio station. He is on air from 6 a.m. to noon on weekdays and also gives play-by-play broadcasting for high school sports.

 

How long have you been in this business?

I grew up in the business because my father and my uncle both were doing television and radio. I started working here when I was a freshman in high school, and then as I got a little older I worked more of a full time job. I worked after high school while I was going to college. I took some basic radio and TV through Michigan State and went to Hillsdale College. Then my education was interrupted by a “vacation” in the Navy, so I worked for a fleet intelligence center in the Philippines for two years, came back, and went back to school at the college. But while I was doing that, I was working here. I’ve spent the better part of my adult life here except for a couple of years in the Navy.

 

What hours do you work?

I run the business, so I do the hiring and the firing. More hiring, obviously. We’ve got a bunch of really good people who come to work with us. When they do leave they usually make that decision on their own. We’ve had a lot of great people. I’m the first one in the building in the morning. I try not to be the last one out the door, but that’s happened too on a number of occasions. I usually come in in the morning and get some prep stuff done.

 

What is it about radio that you love?

I’ve met a some really nice people, and I meet people every day that walk up to me and say, “Hey, you know I heard you talking about the weather yesterday, and you said there was a 30 percent chance of rain, and it was raining.” It’s the little things. Or somebody will lose a dog, and it’s their pet. It’s only companionship, and their pet gets away. You run a thing, somebody gets it back, and they think that’s the greatest thing in the world. You do a lot of news, local news, local sports. It’s fun.

-Compiled by Daniel Slonim