Two years ago, Emery Songer left the friendly confines of his hometown news/talk station — 1040 WHO — to embark on a new journey hosting afternoons at 1110 KFAB in Omaha. Little did he know that he would soon be back at his old stomping grounds…while also staying in Omaha.
Today, Emery Songer hosts from 9-11 AM on 1040 WHO (as well as at iHeartMedia sister station 600 WMT in nearby Cedar Rapids), in addition to hosting afternoon drive at 1110 KFAB.
Originally, Songer left Des Moines in search of an on-air opportunity that didn’t feel likely to come due to the cemented stable of shows at 1040 WHO. But it’s radio. Plans change, and personnel change all the time. So when changes were made at the iHeartMedia news/talk station, he hopped at the chance to step back into a show at his original radio home.
“I’ll be honest, I was so focused on trying to be good in Omaha,” he said of the opportunity at WHO. “And then there was a big shake up in Des Moines. It was only like seven or eight months after I had left. So, I mean, it really hadn’t been that long, and so I was an obvious choice … We got things set up so I could do that from Omaha, and I was happy to do that. I subbed from 9 to 11 countless times for Jeff Angelo while I was working in the market, so it wasn’t really any big deal.”
Songer noted that hosting the mid-morning show forced him to change his habits a little bit, for the good.
“I kind of like waking up earlier,” he said of the schedule. “I kind of like getting a chance to see the news in the morning and get to talk about it.”
Being on the air for six hours of daily radio doesn’t sound like it would set up Songer to feature a great work/life balance.
But he says it has had the opposite effect.
“It’s actually given me more life balance. I think it’s given me a great way to stay connected to Des Moines, to Cedar Rapids, to my home state of Iowa,” he shared. “Honestly, there are a lot of days I feel very wore out mentally. It has been a grind, basically doing what is two full-time jobs at the same exact time.
“It’s a bit of a challenge, but while I’m still young, I have a chance to chase some of this stuff. I get to be connected to more people. It’s an opportunity. I certainly don’t think I’d ever have gotten to be in two markets like this that mean so much to me at the exact same time. So it’s a difficult balance day to day, but it’s one I’m super grateful for, and one that I am so thankful to be able to have.”
For both of his shows, Emery Songer is aided by having national topics to discuss, which are pertinent to listeners in both Omaha and Des Moines. Focusing on local content for local listeners, however, remains a pivotal part of his strategy each day.
“You’re paying attention to two states and two areas at the same time. But I have a lot of tools at my fingertips. My bosses are very gracious in being able to help share some of the stuff that they’re seeing out there, because they know I’m not gonna be able to catch everything,” said Songer. “But, also my listeners and having a chance to kind of converse with them about it, and not just be a conduit of information, but also kind of a conversation starter. And being able to have that conversation with people when it’s something that they care about, that’s really where, you know, my bread is buttered, if you will.”
The news/talk radio space is dominated by — to attempt to put it delicately — those on the “upper end” of the 25-54 demographic.
Emery Songer doesn’t exactly fit that bill. A news/talk radio host in his early 30s, having the chance to host two shows, in two different dayparts, in two separate markets was a big undertaking. He was open about the mental strength it took to get over some of the hurdles to feel like he belonged.
“Just to be very open, I’m very much a mental health advocate,” he shared. “I have major imposter syndrome, because I do feel like I’m a little bit of a different type of person. Not just because of my age, but also I’m multiple generations younger than some of the guys I’m even working with. I think that perspective is valuable in news/talk — not just because you want to bring a younger audience in the hope that somebody their age can bring a younger audience, because I think I have a responsibility to grow in those demographics — but I also think it’s just a different way to converse.
“I see the world so differently than so many other people because of my age. I was 10 years old when 9/11 happened, right? So, I took in that event and that information in a very different place in my life than most of the other people that you’re going to hear talk about it that are on news/talk radio.
“I feel like I can strike just maybe a different chord, so I can talk about the same things, but I’m just coming at it from a very different angle,” he continued. “And I’m hopeful that that kind of freshness doesn’t just attract the audience that’s my age, but also the kind of listener who might be a generation or two older than me be like, ‘You know, I never really saw it or thought of it that way.’ If I can hit that note, I’m doing my job, and that’s everything that I’m striving to do no matter what we’re talking about.”
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
