Staff Writer
Radio program arose from everyday conversation
Experts say communication is one of the keys to a successful marriage and a Jacksonville couple is taking that idea to another level.
Chuck and Colleen White would often sit around and talk about stories they saw on the television news or read in a newspaper or magazine. During one of these conversations, they decided Jacksonville needed a local forum to speak up about issues of the day or to speak up in general.
They approached “Conservative Talk Radio” station 1320 AM about a program featuring the dialog that they have had during 19 years of marriage and inviting responses and comments from callers two days a week during lunch.
They are now on the air noon to 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.
“We try to bring national issues to Jacksonville people so we can talk about them and break them down, so we can all get a better understanding of what is going on in the world,” said Chuck White, president and CEO of NAI Commercial Jacksonville, a commercial real estate business.
“We don’t lay in the weeds for that ‘gotcha’ moment to bash Obama or another politician. That’s for other shows. Our listeners like that,” he said.
They have attracted regular callers to the program, which started in March, but that isn’t the only element that affects the pace of the program.
“A lot of the show is fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants conversation,” said Chuck. “Just like the way we talk at home.”
Conversations at home don’t involve microphones, commercials, a sound board and an engineer, so they are still polishing the idea that they presented to the radio station about two months ago.
They may have a good rapport with one another that translates well to radio, but they don’t just show up on Mondays and Wednesdays and do the show.
“We go through newspapers and magazines on Sundays to develop material that we want to talk about,” said Colleen White, who specializes in family and small business law and is based in Jacksonville Beach. “We build up this material, but we rarely get to all of it because we engage in the issues callers present to us.”
Both believe they serve a need at a radio station that has national program hosts Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin.
“People call up those shows and they either can’t get on or the shows aren’t talking about Jacksonville issues,” said Colleen. “We give them a forum for Jacksonville.”
They do refer callers, though.
“If we can’t figure something out, we tell listeners to tune in to the other shows because those people are smarter than we are,” said Chuck.
The Whites bring a fair share of knowledge and experience to the program. After graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 1979, Chuck began a career in commercial real estate that spans 30 years.
Colleen was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1993. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 1982 and the Creighton University School of Law, in Omaha, Neb., in 1987.
Both were born in cities north of Jacksonville, Chuck in Boston and Colleen in Omaha. The couple moved to Jacksonville in 1991 and have two children, a daughter, Jackie, 13, and son, Chuck, 16.
The Whites hope the radio program lasts as long as their stay in Jacksonville, because they don’t plan on leaving.
“Because I am never taking another Bar exam,” said Colleen, which is typically necessary to practice law in another state.
They are becoming comfortable with the show and have developed their own style, which includes their normal close to the show. Chuck thanks Colleen for spending lunch with him and asks, “What’s for dinner?”
“Either I’ll say what we are having or something like ‘I’m not cooking tonight, it’s your turn,’” said Colleen. “And I actually do cook dinner. People come up to us and ask me if we actually eat what I say on the show. I tell them yes, because we are no different at home then we are one the air.”
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