Kelly Orchard is the author of Dead Air: The Day The Music Died. This psychological radio thriller follows characters in a Los Angeles radio cluster as they navigate the hijacking of the station’s transmitters. In the story, pirates attempt to seize control of 100 radio stations.
While attempting to regain control, AI-generated voices with cryptic messages cause chaos throughout the city. It was eventually learned that the takeover happened in five major market cities across the country.
I want to write this without giving away too much of the plot and suggest that the book is well worth your time.
I asked Orchard how she came up with the story and was surprised to learn that she had the idea long before AI became a household name.
“I have always wanted to be a novelist. Always, from when I read my first Nancy Drew when I was a kid. So, writing a novel was always kind of at the forefront of my mind.”
Orchard and her father founded an FCC compliance company in 1999. They conducted mock FCC inspections for radio and television stations. In her job, she spent a lot of time on Mount Wilson, where many transmitters are located for Los Angeles radio and television stations.
“We were primarily in Los Angeles because we’re Southern California-based, and we were up on Mount Wilson so much with the engineers that discussions started happening where they would talk about their concerns over the safety and security up there. Well, these are some of the things that we would inspect for, safety and security. It was a very significant topic. So, with my little sinister imagination, I would start asking questions.”
“Well, what would happen if, okay, well, what about that? I was literally just asking a whole bunch of engineers about the worst-case scenario. And that’s how the story just evolved.”
While conducting inspections, she continued to allow her imagination to wander and kept asking questions.
“I was just doing the technical aspect as I’m thinking about the story. Well, if this were to happen, that would happen.”
“Then I had to come back in and was like, okay, now I’ve got to make people, I’ve got to create some characters and a storyline. That’s how it evolved right out of that way. The story is actually probably 18 years old now.”
As the technology and the development of AI continued, Orchard had to update the concept.
“One inspection, I was asking the engineer, okay, well, I’m just researching what would happen if this happened. And then we get to the part where I say, ‘they’ve unplugged your remote control and you can’t get there.’ And they look at it like it’s really no big deal unless they’re dangerous people. Then I just kind of give them that knowing look. Then they get this, oh shit, look on their face. We would be in a lot of trouble. I’m like, yeah, there you go.”
Orchard also takes you into the studio, where on-air talent, management and programming make unprecedented decisions on the fly without a playbook to operate from—things like whether the station airs commercial inventory.
“I put myself into that person’s position. What would they be most concerned about? That’s how I designed their storyline because I’ve been in a radio station when there’s a crisis. Nothing like this has ever happened, but even when you have big news breaking, you still have to make money, you still have to pay the bills.
What makes the story even more compelling is that the scenario is truly plausible.
“Plausible is definitely a concern in some of the readers’ minds. I have had people comment to me almost to the extent where they don’t want this book to get too big because they don’t want someone to get the bad idea.”
At the risk of offending, I asked Orchard if her story could be a playbook for someone contemplating such a terrorist act.
“I’m not taking it the wrong way. And yes, it could be. Maybe it’s a cautionary tale. Maybe it’s a warning to broadcasters. It’s like, hey, maybe you should pay attention to the broadcast sites. All it takes is some security.”
“If that means the government funds it because the individual broadcaster can’t, I think it’s important. I had another angle, with the whole AM revitalization going on in Congress. Voting on whether AM is important enough, blah, blah, blah. How about we send them my novel and show them how important AM is?”
There are hidden Easter eggs that I won’t spoil for you. But I was astonished that I missed one of the most obvious.
I wanted to touch on another aspect of Orchard’s work that is particularly important for the industry now. She is a practicing Psychotherapist.
“I’m glad to bring it up because mental health is a very important aspect of my career and my world right now. And I’ve seen it for years, the mental health concerns in radio, just through doing inspections. You go into inspection and they realize that you’re there to help them.”
“They suddenly start to open up because you’re not the authority and you don’t work there. I’m very inquisitive, and they find out I’m a therapist, and all of a sudden, we’re having a quasi-therapy session. I do have a lot of insight into the pulse of the individuals who are working in radio right now. They are very concerned, and I don’t blame them.”
What advice can Orchard offer to radio people concerned that every day is the day they lose their jobs to the dreaded layoffs or hear the “we’re going in a different direction” speech?
“My counsel is that if they’ve been laid off, there’s definitely the grief aspect of it. You can refer back to the stages of grief. If they’re worried about losing their jobs, I would encourage them to have a backup plan and then have another backup plan.”
“The only way to reduce that anxiety is to know where you might go if something bad happens. That’s the first thing in trauma recovery.”
“What’s going to happen if this, and if that happens fast, so have a plan B, have a plan C and feel good about them because then when the worst case scenario happens, you’re like, well, I can always do this now rather than, oh my God, what am I going to do now?”
Back to the book, I told Orchard I felt the ending left the door open for a sequel and wondered if one was in the works.
“I don’t know. I’ve been asked if I’m going to write a sequel because a lot of people have thought I left it open for that, although it was deliberate. I don’t have a sequel in mind because which character would I follow?”
Orchard is working on another book titled “Flipping The Format On The Fear Of Failure,” in which she is collaborating with Media Consultant Mike McVay of McVay Media.
“It’s designed specifically for radio people and helping your mental health to flip the format on negative thoughts. It could come along really quickly and hopefully release in a matter of 60 days, and actually help people. Then I have other ideas for doing that. So I’ve been working on that, and it’s actually really fun.
Dead Air: The Day The Music Died is available through Amazon and all book sellers.
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
