A new voice on the airwaves

Photo by john larson

Mike Lonergan thinks Tacoma and Pierce County deserve a radio show that focuses on local issues, so he started one. He is broadcasting on KLAY AM 1180 from 7-9 a.m. Mondays through Fridays.

He notes that Spokane, a city the same size as Tacoma, has radio and television stations that focus their local coverage on that city.

“It used to be like that here,” he said. “This is the only local radio station left in Pierce County.”

Lonergan’s broadcasting career began when he was 17. He operated a low-power radio station out of his parents’ house in Richland, Wash. Then he got a part-time job at an FM station while still in high school, spinning records in an easy-listening music format.

He got a scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he managed a student radio station. Bit by the radio bug, he dropped out of school to seek his fortune in broadcasting. He was hired at a radio station in South Bend, Ind. He still remembers the day of the fatal shooting of students at Kent State University by National Guard troops; he interviewed students on the campus of Notre Dame University to get their feedback.

He moved back to Washington for a job managing a radio station in Lynnwood. At 22, he was the youngest station manager in the nation. It was there he hosted his first talk show.

He held a series of media jobs, including rock disc jockey in Bellingham, news director in Bremerton and sold ads for a weekly newspaper in Lynnwood. He went back to college at the University of Washington during this time.

In the early 1980s Lonergan was on the old KTNT radio station.

Lonergan entered the non-profit sector, serving for a number of years as executive director of Salvation Army and Tacoma Rescue Mission. He just finished serving eight years on Tacoma City Council. Term limits required him to step down.

From politics to talk radio seems a natural transition for him. Lonergan is using his connections in local government, business and non-profit circles. In just one week, guests on his show have included Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland and Tacoma School Superintendant Art Jarvis.

“I know all these people and they all have interesting backgrounds,” he said. Elected officials from Pierce County rarely get on the radio or television news. “I wanted to fill that gap.”

He has touched on some national issues, such as President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

“I will cover whatever the people are talking about,” Lonergan said.

Station owner Clay Huntington has a political background, having served on Pierce County Commission. “He has been very supportive,” Lonergan said.

While it has been many years since he was last on the air, Lonergan is picking things up well.

“It is like riding a bicycle. It comes natural to me.”

Talk radio gives Lonergan a bit more freedom to speak his mind than when he was on the council, although he noted he often worked some personal commentary into his remarks during meetings.

“I was putting my reporter hat on at times,” he said with a laugh.

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