So, in case you haven’t heard, On Press Row, a show that’s been airing on News Talk 1540 KXEL for about 14 years, is shutting down. I was informed of this information on Monday and today is the last ever show on the station. It’s been a very somber week for all involved. Starting at OPR in August of 2019, I honestly didn’t think my time on the show would end like this.
I first heard of the job through Eric Braley, he runs the ESPN3 stuff for UNI and owns Around the Corner Productions. I worked for Eric filming different sporting events around UNI, whether that be football, basketball, softball, soccer, you name it, I filmed it (probably).
Right before the start of a UNI volleyball game, Eric came up to me and told me he heard my show, The Logan Blackman Show (listen on Spotify ;)). He told me how much he enjoyed my show, and being the gracious person I am, I of course said thank you and that it meant a lot to hear that coming from him, since he was one of the main reasons I came to UNI in the first place.
A few days after Eric and I talked about my show, he shot me an email saying Gary Rima, the play-by-play voice for the UNI Panthers, was looking for a new co-host/producer for his show, On Press Row. I called my parents immediately after I got that email, I was so excited. Man, I have a chance to work with THE Gary Rima, I was ecstatic.
As I said earlier, I did end up getting the job in August of 2019, but that wasn’t my first time trying to work on the show, that came in November of 2018.
We had originally planned to meet and do the interview at the UNI Dome, a day or two after my birthday. Gary was at Coach Farley’s press conference and told me to meet him there after the press conference was done. For about 30-45 minutes I paced around the UNI Dome waiting patiently for the Sportsguy. Getting antsy, I shot him a text saying where I was so we could meet. Wouldn’t ya know it, the Sportguy forgot we had an interview that day. So we rescheduled for another day, this time at the radio station up in Waterloo.
After that mix-up, we finally got the interview done and I thought the interview went very well.
I called my parents after the interview was done to tell them how it went, basically saying along the lines of “oh yeah, I got the job” and “I’ve never been more qualified for a job in my entire life.”
Safe to say I was a little too over confident because I got a call the next day from the Sportsguy while I was in class saying that I didn’t get the job. I was pretty upset but he ended the call with “if there’s an opening, I’ll shoot you a message.” Now, I had heard that line before, so at the time I really didn’t believe it.
I will say this though, not getting the job motivated me. The next semester I became the Sports Director for the college station, 94.5 KULT. I was also in contact with another station, 1650 "The Fan.” They told me they would keep in touch with me throughout the semester and once the summer started about a possible internship.
I didn’t hear from them for months.
During that spring semester of 2019, I was grinding on my show while also sending out emails to other radio stations (and even some TV stations) around the Cedar Valley in hopes of a job coming available.
I never heard back from anybody.
After the spring semester ended, I now had to get ready for the summer classes I was taking, but my parents weren’t too happy about that because I was very much unemployed. So, with no job, I sent out even more emails, attaching my resume, making a cover letter, the whole nine yards.
Again, didn’t hear back from a single soul.
Finally, as summer is reaching it's end and the new school year is about to start, I get an email from Cole Bair from 1650 "The Fan," offering me a chance to come in and intern at the station. I told him I was interested in the opportunity and stayed semi in touch as the school year drew closer.
So, now I’m in talks to potentially join "The Fan," but, in early August, I get a text message from someone I didn’t think I would hear from again.
The Sportsguy, Gary Rima.
To be honest, it threw me back a little bit. I didn’t think I would ever hear back from him, but, he kept his word to me and actually reached out to give me an opportunity.
After getting zero replies from companies the entire summer, a person I had talked to back in November of 2018 sent me a text in early August of 2019. How he remembered who I was I have no idea.
At this time I was still texting/emailing back and forth with Cole, but, after talking to my parents for a while, I decided that working for one of the best broadcasters in the states would be best for me.
I texted Gary back that I was interested and made the drive up to Waterloo to meet up with him to get everything sorted out. As we were talking in the main studio, going over the different paperwork, I noticed that they said "Logan Blackwell." Hint; my last name is Blackman.
I didn’t know how to tell him, so the entire time I was there on that Friday, I let him call me "Logan Blackwell." I got introduced to John Leo later in the day, with Gary introducing me as “Blackwell." I couldn’t bring myself to say anything about it, I was just excited to be there. (I did eventually tell him what my last name was, don’t worry)
My first day working on the show was the following Wednesday, and that day, funny enough, I got a text from Cole, asking if I was still interested in interning at 1650. I told him was about to start my first day at OPR and thanked him for the opportunity he gave to me.
From that first day in August to my last day in March, I have loved every second working for Gary at OPR. From starting off at William Penn doing a two hour show once a week to UNI where I'm doing a two hour show thrice a week as well as working another show two hours every day of the work week from 4-6. It certainly takes a toll on the throat doing 16 hours of radio a week.
Ever since I won “Most Likely to be Sportscaster” back in fifth grade, this is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I’ve never had a backup plan to this. I never wanted a fall back option, I wanted to put all my focus and energy into this. I’m just trying to make that fifth grade class look smart I guess.
Now that my time here at OPR is done and dusted, I have to say thank you to a few people.
Thank you to all the people at the station. You all were extremely entertaining prior to each and every show and I loved getting to know you all in my time working at the station.
Thank you to all the guests we had on the show. From Mark Emmert to John Walters, Cody Goodwin to Jim Nelson, David Harris to Kevin Lehman, thank you all. (there were a lot more but couldn’t mention them all, sorry)
Thank you to Eric Braley for first notifying me about this fantastic opportunity! Not only that, but also thank you for allowing me to film the different sporting events in my time at UNI. I have learned so much more by doing that and I am grateful for those opportunities as well!
Thank you to OPR Nation! Thanks for your never ending support of the station, the show, and the Sports Zoo! Thank you for all your kind words about the show over this past week, you all were as much of a part of the show as myself and the rest of the Sports Zoo were.
I will miss picking up the phone and hearing familiar voices. Interacting with the fans was one of my favorite parts of the show. I will truly miss it.
Thank you to my boy the Sports Lion, John Leo. John, you helped ease me into the show, felt like I was a rookie quarterback learning from a grizzled vet. Thank you for reminding me not to be too hard on myself and telling me to relax during my first few weeks on the show. It helped me a ton and I’m very thankful.
And last, but certainly not least, thank you to the Sportsguy, Gary Rima. Thank you for giving me that first interview back in 2018, and especially thanks for shooting me that text back in August of 2019. Thank you for keeping your word to this introverted shaggy haired kid from Urbandale, it means the world to me that your sent me that text. After getting zero replies from everyone the entire summer, it means so much to me that you sent me that message. I am forever grateful to have learned from one of the best in the business, it truly has been an honor. (I won’t hold it against you that you don’t follow my personal Twitter account lol)
As I’ve said before, this is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I am very thankful I made the decision to work at On Press Row. Though the show may be ending, this isn’t the end for those involved. This show was on for 14 years and made a lasting legacy not just in the Cedar Valley area, but the entire state of Iowa as a whole. I loved this show, and I know it will be greatly missed. Thank you for everything OPR nation!
(Sorry to the Sports Cat, Joel Wauters, for editing you out of the picture, I just didn’t have a picture to use for this post lol)
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