Last Wednesday, Cumulus Media officially announced that my show and I were relocating to New York. My new flagship station is 95.5 PLJ, where my show airs live every weeknight from 7 to 10 pm to millions of people throughout the Tri-State area. “The Ralphie Show” still airs on 97 BHT in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA, 92 PRO-FM in Providence, RI, and Q105 in New London, CT during its normal timeslots.

I’ve already welcomed Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on to the show. Adam Levine and Chris Daughtry join me before week’s end. A big guest is planned for Monday and Carly Rae Jepsen will call me, really, next Wednesday.

After a tumultuous search – yes, I think that is a fitting adjective for Manhattan apartment hunting – I “lucked out” (because that’s the cool thing to say) and found a cozy one bedroom in an amazing neighborhood. I’ve always dreamt of New York – working here, playing here, living here… and now I get my wish. To say I’m looking forward to living out my dreams would be a gross understatement. I’m ecstatic, and I feel blessed that I have this opportunity.

As I’ve mentioned a couple times in the trade publications (which naturally I’ll link to at the end of this article), I’d like to thank the Dickey family and Jan Jeffries for offering me the biggest break of my career. Jan isn’t simply delivering a company line when he says that Cumulus Media likes to recognize talent and promote from within, and I’m glad that I can serve as another example of that.

Again, I’m appreciative for my family, friends, and co-workers throughout the years. I’d like to give a special shout out to every program director that helped me grow as both an air talent and a person.

Trust me, I’m counting my blessings and as far as I’m concerned, we’re just getting started…

IN THE PRESS:
- All Access
- FMQB
- CNYRadio.com

Ms. Monnin’s resignation surprises me for a plethora of reasons. First of all – she’s been in pageantry for over eight years and this was her third attempt at the Miss PA USA crown. I find it hard to believe that any part of this process can surprise her at this point. Second – Ms. Monnin still could have done a lot of good this upcoming year as Miss Pennsylvania USA with charities and non-for-profit organizations. If anything isn’t fair, it is the way in which she has attempted, intentionally or not, to steal the spotlight from Olivia Culpo and how she has stolen the Keystone State’s crown from a number of other well-deserving candidates.
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For media inquiries, please contact Mark Goldman. Below is the Miss Universe Organization’s official statement:
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MISS UNIVERSE ORGANIZATION STATEMENT
The Miss Universe Organization can confirm the resignation of the Pennsylvania titleholder after she did not place in the Top 16 at the Miss USA pageant. In an email to state pageant organizers (below), she cited the Miss Universe Organizations’ policy regarding transgendered contestants, implemented two months ago, as the reason for her resignation. Today she has changed her story by publicly making false accusations claiming that the pageant was fixed, however the contestant she privately sourced as her reference has vehemently refuted her most recent claim.

We are disappointed that she would attempt to steal the spotlight form Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island on her well-deserved Miss USA win.

From: XXXXX
Date: June 4, 2012 7:25:59 AM PDT
To: XXXX
Subject: Resignation
Randy,

I am officially and irrevocably resigning the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012. I refuse to be part of a pageant system that has so far and so completely removed itself from its foundational principles as to allow and support natural born males to compete in it. This goes against ever moral fiber of my being. I believe in integrity, high moral character, and fair play, none of which are part of this system any longer.

I hereby return the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2012.

For the most part, I usually turn to some type of work for dealing with the negative. My thought is that taking negative energy and creating something positive with it is a win-win situation. You’ve coped with the issue while still accomplishing something good.

As an acne-faced junior at Niagara Catholic Junior/Senior High School in Niagara Falls, NY, I watched in disbelief on September 11, 2001 as the second plane hit World Trade Center II. I was in social studies class at the time, and thankfully despite the order from school officials, Mrs. Bryk turned on the TV so her class could see what was going on.

When I went home, I was glued to Peter Jennings on ABC News. I was also well-versed in TV PCI Cards – a piece of technology that allows you to hook cable in to your computer for viewing and/or recording. I was capturing bits and pieces of press conferences and footage, eventually editing it all down and producing two separate pieces on the event – basically montages of video from the day.

A year later, as a senior and Student Council President, I wanted to put together a piece more moving. I taught myself Adobe Premiere and produced the following. We showed it school-wide on the one-year anniversary of the attacks, and after I signed up for a YouTube channel in college, I thought it might be a good idea to upload it.

Since my days at Niagara Catholic, I have continued to use Adobe Premiere. Everything you’ve watched from me since was edited using the software.

There are far more inspiring, profound stories of courage after the attacks of 9/11. But for me, the attacks inspired me to push my boundaries further and create more. After all, as we’ve been reminded time and time again, life is short.

Again, I wish DeGraw nothing but a full and speedy recovery. In addition to those shows, other fan and radio commitments along with Wednesday’s scheduled appearance on “Live! with Regis and Kelly” have been postponed.
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After I finished chatting with DeGraw on Saturday, his guitarist hopped on to the tour bus armed with a uStream-enabled iPhone so that DeGraw could conduct his weekly check-in with the video streaming site. Yours truly makes a cameo 1:50 in…

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Thank you to radio industry rag All Access for covering my interview with DeGraw. Check out the article here.

I think we’re all guilty at one point or another though of falling in to a “routine.” In my case, this “routine” is some-what necessary – I’m a one-man show producing for multiple radio stations, websites, and various other outlets. Some of what I do, for lack-of-a-better term, is automated. If I didn’t develop these processes to accomplish the amount of work I do, then I wouldn’t be able to publish the quantity and quality of content that you see, read, or hear from me.

The only problem with my routine is that at times, I don’t allow myself to step back and see what I’ve created, or am so focused with its creation that all I see is the content. Don’t misread this: I look at the big picture frequently. I am constantly forced to think steps ahead in order to achieve the success that I’m striving for. I just think that I can do a better job of reminding myself that there’s more to life than blogging, video editing, and interviews – even if the aforementioned is the standing majority.

Despite not leaving the studio from the previous night until 2 a.m. that morning, Friday was an amazing day. My first stop was Starbucks, followed by a late-morning studio session to tape a segment with Life & Style’s Jordi Lippe. Then I drove three and a half hours to New London, CT – where more studio time awaited me. Following my radio show, I hit up one of my favorite cafes on earth for a latte, salad, and free Wi-Fi. After all, I had some blog updates and podcasts to post (yes BTW, I launched on iTunes, going to save that for a different day). After polishing off a couple e-mails, my dinner, and a quick chat with a co-worker, I checked in to my hotel. The Syracuse/UConn game played on the small LCD in front of me as I jogged two miles uphill on a treadmill in the gym. I showered as the Orange relinquished the lead, tied the game, and lost in OT. My ride arrived shortly after – and off to Ultra 88 Nightclub in Mohegan Sun we went for my monthly appearance. The night winded down in the early hours of the morning with a trip to Johnny Rockets and a $5 blackjack table.

Saturday morning I was once again reminded that I am no longer 21 as I threw on whatever clothes I saw to order Starbucks in the lobby. As I packed my bag to drive home, I finally realized that I was staying on the top floor of the hotel (which you need key access for, I still find that cool).

That is about the extent of what I saw from my room. I was (as always) cutting it close to check-out time, and needed to hit the road so I could make a couple stops before arriving home.

There is no way I would complain about my Friday night. But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have enjoyed the view a little longer.

Jeter didn’t have to give me 10 seconds of his day for me to think of him as my favorite baseball player. But he did, and for what it’s worth, he’s enshrined with that title the same way he will be enshrined in Cooperstown once he retires – unequivocally and forever.

As I’ve grown older – I’ve only come to appreciate the captain more. But I’m no more grateful for his hits, runs, off-the-back-leg throws, or championship rings as I am for the class and grace he exhibits while doing so.

The bottom line: he always says the right thing and never does the wrong one. Jeter has found a way to the top of baseball without taking a path through steroids and/or tabloids.

At the time I met Jeter, he was 24. Now he’s 36, and still playing (for now) the most youth-oriented position on the field: shortstop. Despite his success and the way which he achieved it, the Yankees felt the need to negotiate Jeter’s contract this past offseason through the media, as if the five-time World Champion was an ungrateful, undeserving athlete. You think New York’s front office would have dealt with enough of those types to distinguish them from the rest, but apparently not. Regardless, Jeter kept his silence and signed a new deal – and only said of the process that he wished it wasn’t as public as it had become.

Yet now, despite coming off a Gold Glove season, partly because of his age, and mostly because of the Yankees brass, Jeter will be faced with a plethora of carefully-worded questions about not only his future in pinstripes, but his future position while in them. Those inquiries kicked off with his arrival to Spring Training, and in typical Jeter fashion, he responded.
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“I don’t think you prepare yourself for a negative,” Jeter responded to a question about a decline in the lineup order or playing time – plus possibly changing positions. “If you get in to a situation where you have to address that, then you address it. Right now, my mindset isn’t on, ‘Well, what’s going to happen if I’m not doing my job?’ I think that’s pretty difficult to do.”

I’m sure some feel it’s still easier for Jeter to stay positive than most given his job, bank account, and relationship status. But if doing the right thing, all the time, with relative ease was so easy – then why don’t more professional athletes do it?

Perhaps those other athletes are all too busy preparing for the negative.

“Honestly, when I go to my friend over in Boston, I have to bring it over,” admitted drummer Glen Power on “The Ralphie Radio Show” when the three Irishmen sat down to chat. “I have to be praying that they don’t take it off me when we go through (Customs), you know when you go through and they have the dogs, and you have to declare (items).”

Power revealed that he’s successfully smuggled the bread in 100% of the time – although he might have just jinxed himself on that one. Then again, the band seems to be jinx-free amidst a whirlwind ride from three guys living near the Guinness brewery to a successful band touring the globe. But front man Danny O’Donoghue doesn’t find that scary. The Script’s new-found relationship with U2 – different story.

“That’s a frightening thought,” O’Donoghue responded to my observation that the band which The Script grew up listening to knows of the three fellas – even inviting them on tour as a supporting act. “To think that people that have been on your home page or your iTunes or people that you’ve got in your own library – actually know you…”
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Even Bono’s daughter, Eve Hewson, has worked with the band. Hewson plays the lead character in The Script’s “For the First Time” music video – which is the lead single from the band’s sophomore album. Guitarist Mark Sheehan says Science & Faith is based on not using one to explain the other, and vice versa.

“I think most people will think because we’re Irish that we’re writing about religion when we say faith, and we’re not,” Sheehan attempted to clarify. “We’re talking about the politics of the heart… a relationship always comes with its miscommunications.”

Sheehan noted that the theme wasn’t restrained to any particular type of bond or gender – although he admitted the title track originally stemmed from a real-life argument with his wife. O’Donoghue says that the band’s relationships inspiring songs is nothing new.

“If you find a song that you really believe in, lyrically you believe in, you listen to it and go, ‘Wow, they are really through some stuff,’” the front man said. “I’ve definitely heard other people who haven’t lived through heartbreak and wrote a song about it, and it’s just not believable.”

So while some turn their frown upside down, The Script turns its heartbreak in to hit tracks. And judging by the reception, America certainly doesn’t mind any of that coming over the border.