'Radio Free' Montone: Rest, Relaxation And That Dreaded Dream
By John Montone, 1010 WINS
If you're one of the millions of listeners who wakes up each morning to 1010 WINS, you're likely familiar with the voice, and tone, of the station's intrepid reporter John Montone.
Best known for his no holds barred, man on the street reporting, Montone has been getting in the faces — and ears — of New Yorkers for what seems like an eternity.
Montone is ready to add to his repertoire and bring his unique reporting style to print.
So please take a look and listen to John's new venture: Radio Free Montone — a weekly blog where Montone takes you behind the scenes of news radio in New York City, and gives his observations on reporting in the greatest city in the world.
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Rest, relaxation and that dreaded dream.
For 10 days my clock radio did not shock me awake at 3:20 a.m. I did not have to cut in and out of 18-wheelers on the Cross Bronx or BQE to reach my story destination and I was relieved of my duties to write, tweet, post and get on the radio. There was no pressure to produce several 45-second high-energy LIVE broadcasts chock full of information, spot on sound bites with a dash of empathy or wit.
I was free to doze off and allow the rising sun, a whiff of salt air, chirping birds or the tinkle of wind chimes to awaken me.
Radio Free Montone: Rest, Relaxation and That Dreaded Dream
And then I had the dream. My annual mid-vacation Kafkaesque journey of frustration and failure. It is always the same: I am out on the streets of the city, microphone and recorder in hand, chasing a tale of murder and mayhem, a plane crash perhaps -- or in this year's version, watching in horror as a massive sea-surge sent 12-foot waves crashing over Mike Bloomberg's pedestrian plaza in Times Square.
Although locked in this surreal, unconscious netherworld, I remain keenly aware of my responsibility to tell the story to the 1010 WINS listening audience. But I can't because my broadcast equipment sabotages me in the most spectacular manner.
This time it was my iPhone splitting in two with springs and cogs popping into the air, then dropping into the deepening water. Not able to contact the newsroom I began swimming through the raging sea, arriving at a building which was empty except for a bank of pay phones.
But my pockets were empty as well, not a single coin to satisfy the antiquated device, nor an operator on the other end as I dialed "yes," dialed "0."
Fortunately, there was another factor at play -- my aging, over-active bladder which rescued me from the nocturnal madness just as one of the pay phones began sparking and melting in my hand.
Other than that I had a splendid time. I ate too much, had a couple or four cocktails at sunset, tipped over a canoe, rammed a dock with my boat and caught not a single fish.
It's good to be back. Thanks for listening,
John Montone 1010 WINS News
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