which way google

I was Googling my name today and came across something interesting.

At the very bottom of each page, just below the suggestion to use Google Book Search, is a Sponsored Link with my name all over it. The URL is www.kcrw.com.

KCRW-FM is the big public radio station out here in Los Angeles. They play great music and host informative, intelligent shows.

This link leads to the KCRW archives, in particular an audio file of the show Which Way L.A., dated Thursday, May 14 1998. Among the topics that host Warren Olney handled that day: "A look back at the Governor's debate with average voters who watched it on television, and the people who get paid to tell you what you really saw."

I was one of those people who got paid to sit in a sound stage at PBS Studios in Hollywood and watch the open primary debate for the Governorship of California that year.

Six months before, I had participated in a phone survey (I was in a good mood that day) regarding politics, and my name was placed on a list of potential debate watchers. They called me back and promised to pay me $50 for my time and my opinion.

The 1998 election was considered semi-historical simply for the fact that it was preceded by the open primary, which meant that any registered voter could vote but only for candidates of one party... whatever that means.

The Republican candidate, Dan Lungren, ran unopposed-- for him, the primary election was a mere formality. All he had to do was show up. And let me just say this now: if you think The Governator is bad, thank your lucky stars that Lungren didn't win. California would be a much colder place now if he had stepped into the fray.

Racing neck-and-neck for the Democratic nomination were: Al Checchi, a Riordan-ish airline tycoon throwing his hat into the political ring; Jane Harman, a local Congresswoman; and Gray Davis, career politician and future recall recipient.

Myself and several other citizens of all walks of life were sequestered into the PBS studios, where we watched the entire debate and were subsequently asked by the producers of PBS' Life & Times program for our opinions. As I was walking out, a CBS news reporter queried me for a sound bite for the evening news. Then, I was asked by an associate producer of Which Way L.A. who happened to be in attendance if I would like to be a call-in guest for the following day's show.

The next day, I did my guest bit on my work phone. Warren Olney himself called me up at my job and prepped me for the show. I stayed on the line and listened in, waiting for my cue. I even did some work as I gave my two cents-- Olney introduced me on the air as a "tape duplicator for a radio network".

I never received any kind of copy or recording of the show, and only one person that I know of actually heard it while it was being broadcast, purely by accident-- he happened to have the radio on 89.9 when I came on. I hadn't thought of recording the show myself for posterity, and so it came and went rather quickly, settling into my consciousness as an entertaining anecdote for cocktail parties and formal affairs.

On my old blog, I actually devoted some considerable space to the whole process, but soon I became bored with the notion of novelizing something as seemingly unimportant as the California Governor's election of 1998. But in light of the eventual recall of Davis (who obviously beat Lungren in the election, and four years later went on to defeat Bill Simon as well) and the ensuing media circus that accompanied, there is some political hindsight in hearing this radio broadcast from seven years ago.

If you scroll down a bit after opening up the link I provided, you can read short descriptions of the guests. Here's mine:


Disliked Lungren intensely, but had thoughtful responses during the focus group discussion. Will likely back Harman or Davis.


I sounded distracted, nervous, and mildly informed. I didn't come off as a total idiot, but I also said "um" and "you know" an awful lot.

If you have Real Player, you can hear it by clicking on the RA button. If you don't have speakers, I suggest you get some, or better yet: plug your headphones into the speaker jack. You wanna hear how I sounded in 1998? Now you have your chance.

Olney introduces me eighteen minutes into the broadcast-- 18:18 to be exact.

I never thought I'd ever hear this brief foray into radio again until today. Hell, I didn't even hear it the first time around-- you can't turn the radio on during the show or else the tape delay will disorient you. I never recorded it, and I never requested a tape or a transcript.

God, I love the Internet.