Story written by Steven Harmeyer
(BATESVILLE, Ind.) -- Cincinnati radio icon Jim Scott has impacted thousands of lives in the Tri-State, including mine.
The Dearborn County resident spent nearly a half-century behind the microphone with his Cincinnati radio career beginning back in 1968 at rock station WSAI.
He later served as the longtime morning host at 700WLW for three decades.
Scott revealed last summer that he is living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
On Wednesday, 700WLW host Bill Cunningham asked his audience to send emails to describe how Jim Scott has impacted them personally. Cunningham plans to give those emails to him in the next 10 days. You can also send an email by clicking here.
It made me realize it is time that I also appropriately thank Jim who has had a huge impact on my life:
Long before starting The 812, I was a young news reporter for WRBI in Batesville. WRBI was my first "news" job and never thought I would go elsewhere.
In December of 2014, I had the opportunity to cover RedsFest for WRBI and took a family member of mine who is a diehard Cincinnati Reds fan. I lost my family member in the crowd and stumbled across a gentleman signing autographs.
That man was 700WLW host Jim Scott.
I walked up to Jim and said, "Hello, I want to introduce myself, my name is Steven and I'm a radio news reporter in Batesville, Indiana."
Jim responded, "Want to work in a bigger market?"
What happened next was crazy.
700WLW News Director Jeff Henderson called a few days later and I was offered a position as their on-scene reporter.
It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.
Going from 'small town' Batesville news to 700WLW, which can be heard in 38 states on the AM dial, was a major change that happened abruptly.
Jim threw me right into the fire on my very first day. He brought me on his morning show and we had a live interview.
I’ll never forget how nervous I was! I tried to pretend not being nervous, but I am sure if someone finds that interview, there is no doubt my voice was far from calm.
Without Jim, the opportunity at 700WLW would have never happened.
And in turn The 812 (or my tenure at WLWT News 5) would have likely never happened either.
If I would have applied at WLW through the typical online process, I never would have gotten a call back in 2014. Back then, my resume didn’t have enough experience to warrant serious consideration at a large market news station.
However, it happened and it was all because of Jim.
I learned so much at WLW that I have been able to apply throughout my news career.
He took a chance on me, and it truly changed the trajectory of my life. You likely would not be reading this and The 812 would not exist without him.
Jim, if you're reading this I want to say I am truly appreciative of the opportunity you gave me. I have no doubt that there are many other people you impacted off-the-air just as much as you did behind the microphone.
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