Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Kelley
Hi Joe, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
You’ve heard it said that opportunity knocks? Well, in my case, opportunity called.
Picture this: it’s 1982, and I’m a 15-year-old student at Nederland High School in Southeast Texas. I was in journalism class—the only classroom with a wired phone, mind you—when the teacher stepped out and the phone rang. Naturally, I answered, being the closest to the phone.
On the other end? The program director for KIOC radio in Beaumont, hunting for any high schooler willing to work for free.
Now, remember, in 1982 there were no cell phones, no internet, no satellite radio, no Spotify or YouTube, and only a couple of cable channels. Radio was the true king of entertainment!
Of course, I leaped at the chance. I worked in radio throughout my junior and senior years and into college, continuing after my time at Lamar University in Beaumont. My career path soon started to echo the theme song of the beloved ‘70s sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”—”from town to town, up and down the dial.”
And what a ride it’s been! Stops along the way included College Station, Tuscaloosa, Albuquerque, San Antonio, Houston, Monterrey, Las Vegas, Dallas, Tulsa, Orlando, and finally, back to Dallas.
In 1996, while I was working in Las Vegas, I made a big shift—from spinning records on music radio to tackling news and talk radio.
Today, as the host of The KRLD Morning News, I’m surrounded by an all-pro team, including news anchors John Liddle and Heather Behrens, reporter/editor Curt Lewis, producer Jared Taylor, traffic anchor Joyce Nielsen and chief meteorologist Dan Brounoff. Our entire team strives to inform, connect with, and inspire our listeners every morning.
We know that every second counts in the morning. That’s why our pace is up-tempo with more news stories than ever before and longer blocks of news, traffic and weather information. We’ve also made an adjustment in the mornings, and now we have fewer commercials and fewer commercial breaks in each hour.
Whether you’re commuting to work, enjoying a leisurely breakfast, or simply starting your day, I hope you’ll give us a listen. The KRLD Morning News is from 5:00 AM to 10:00 AM every weekday morning, and can be heard on at home on your smart speaker when you say, ‘play 1080 KRLD”, on AM 1080 on your car radio, and everywhere you go in the Audacy app.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ironically, the same year I began my radio journey, I got an unexpected plot twist. Just a couple of months after starting at KIOC, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Disease.
As a teenager, I was embarrassed by the cancer diagnosis. I kept it hidden from my schoolmates and co-workers, even when the chemotherapy had me sick to my stomach. I can still picture myself at the radio station, on the air, throwing up into the studio garbage can. I’d tidy up afterward, hauling the trash bags to the dumpster, determined that no one would know.
Heavy doses of chemo and radiation saved my life back then, but they’ve left a legacy of challenges. Over the years, I’ve been hospitalized countless times—pneumonia, influenza, enterovirus, sepsis, meningitis. Three times, doctors told me to “get my affairs in order.” During the pandemic, I found out I had a growth the size of a golf ball in my descending colon. When post-COVID surgeries resumed, I had both the growth and the entire descending colon removed. The surgeon mentioned that my organs felt strangely like cardboard—something she attributed to the lasting effects of chemo and radiation. Neuropathy in my legs and feet has also been a struggle, and in 2022, I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted to ease the pain—a much-needed relief.
But through all of this, my outlook has always been one of gleeful optimism. While I’ve had my share of misery, I’m genuinely grateful for the experience. It’s taught me to appreciate everything life has to offer, and there’s really nothing that can get me down.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I had the privilege of being an on-air DJ during the golden age of music in the 1980s and 1990s—a time of big hair, neon dreams, and chart-topping hits.
I played them all: Madonna, Michael Jackson, George Michael, Prince, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Duran Duran, all the boy bands—Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC—and the hair bands that rocked the airwaves like Ratt, Poison, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Twisted Sister, and Guns N’ Roses. I even got to rub shoulders with icons like Stevie Wonder, Huey Lewis, Vanilla Ice, and Wilson Phillips.
But by the mid-1990s, something shifted. I started feeling a bit out of step with the younger crowd, and my enthusiasm for being a music DJ began to wane. Around that time, radio stations were consolidating, and a talk radio station popped up in our building. I knew it was time for a change. I sat down with management, voiced my desire to transition from spinning records to talking topics, and made the leap to talk radio in 1996—and I’ve never looked back since.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’ve picked up many lessons over the years, but perhaps the most vital one is how to truly connect with people.
I must admit, in the early days of my “hot-rockin'” radio career, my ego got the better of me. I treated people as disposable … obstacles in the way of my own ambition for success and popularity.
Fortunately, I’ve since learned that people are, in fact, the cornerstone of any successful radio show or station. Their support and collaboration create the consistency needed for greatness.
These days, I make it a point never to speak ill of anyone, especially my colleagues. I firmly believe my role at a radio station is to serve others, not the other way around. I take great interest in mentoring new and up-and-coming radio talent—they’re the future of our industry, after all. And I always make time for listeners and clients; they are, quite literally, the lifeblood of a thriving radio operation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.krld.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krldnews/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KRLDNews/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KRLD
