It's tough for veteran radio voices to stick around

Whatever happened to Salt Lake radio's most popular personalities of 10 to 20 years ago?

Tom Bock, the former KSL radio DJ, sent the Deseret Morning News a photograph, taken a few years back at a reunion with some of his former colleagues, which features a half-dozen of AM-1160's most famous personalities of yesteryear. And here's an update on each of them.

• Bock does voice work these days. He's the guy you hear over RC Willey Home Furnishings commercials. He does much of this freelance work from his own studio. Bock was on KSL radio each afternoon in the 1980s. He has also worked at KOSY and other stations.

• Tim Hughes is still a part-time co-host on KSL's "Outdoors" radio show, which airs Saturdays, 6-8 a.m. He was also an Olympic Games announcer last summer. He is into video production and has his own studio at home. Hughes was a KSL radio weekday morning host years ago and had worked at KSOP and KNRS.

• Dave Hebertson, former KSL radio host, now works for the state in the Utah trust lands division.

• John Berg, who hosted several Saturday morning "how-to" shows on KSL and other stations, now works for Verizon Cellular.

• Morrie Carlson, an easygoing KSL midday host from the 1980s, is retired now and taking life easy. After living in Minnesota for more than 10 years and doing radio there, he recently moved back to Utah and lives in Sandy with his wife.

• Bob Lee, the former KSL evening talk-show king, operates a home business with his wife. He worked at other stations, such as AM-570, after leaving AM-1160.

Does this support the idea that radio is mostly for the young?

When this topic was bandied about on the forum of the www.saltlakeradio.com Web site, reaction was mixed. Some say there are fewer intern or off-hours DJ jobs in radio now, thanks to voicetracking and cutbacks. Others said Tom Barberi, formerly of KALL and now in his early 60s, exemplifies how hard it can be to remain a veteran radio host these days. (Barberi is still actively looking for another Salt Lake radio job.)

Another anonymous contributor suggested it is actually easier for the young to remain radio DJs or hosts these days. That's because they may have no long-term home or family and can handle radio changes easier. Being a program director or perennial morning host are considered two good ways for veteran radio voices to stay around.

"You just have to stick with it and grow with the changing times," another forum respondent wrote: