It's not that often you find a News/Talker who puts his money where his busy mouth operates.
Kevin Miller is real. He's not a poser. His career in radio has included some pretty selfless stuff. In a world that's hell-bent on, 'what's in it for me?' Miller has achieved some of his proudest moments while acting in the interest of others–away from the microphone.
He went to Iraq twice in his early days in radio while working at WPTF in Raleigh, North Carolina. "I had served in the Army Reserves in both high school and college at the University of Akron," Miller said.
"I wanted to show the duties and experiences the average guy in the National Guard went through after they were deployed. I wanted to try and capture what they went through. Here are guys that trained on weekends and suddenly found themselves in Iraq." Miller said he pitched the idea for the trip to management and found money to pay his way, but he gave even more.
"There's no life insurance offered to a guy like me if you do something like this, going into a war zone," Miller explained. "Nobody else I knew wanted to sign the waiver saying you're on your own. But I did it, and it was incredible. It was my first multi-platform experience. I wrote a daily copy and produced some videos that went out regularly."
Miller said he did the same thing later when he was at KIDO in Boise, Idaho, where he delivers his morning show today. "The second largest National Guard deployment was from Idaho," he said.
"There were also 2,000 letters addressed to soldiers that we hand-delivered. It meant a great deal for the soldiers to receive them. There's a lot of things we do in life where we don't understand the significance of what we do," Miller said. "When you go into a war zone, on patrol with the soldiers, it gets real. That's putting it on the line."
He grew up a self-described 'Army Brat,' moving seven times when he was younger, following his father, who was in the U.S. Air Force. He spent 11 formative years in Akron, Ohio, 'East of the River,' as he describes it. I forgot to ask him about the river to which he was referring.
Miller got his first whiff and figurative high for radio when he listened to Howie Chizek at WNIR, a station Miller says was one of the first to feature news/talk Chizek had the longest-running no-guest talk radio show in America. "He was always the devil's advocate, but at the same time, he was your best friend," Miller explained. "He was subtle. Instead of shouting at his guests, he'd say something more subtle like, 'I don't know about that, Senator.'"
In his career, Miller, 54, said he's gotten to know high-profile talkers like Sean Hannity. "Sean believes in what he says," Miller explained. "Off the air, he's your friend, loyal to the extreme."
In addition to Chizek, Miller said he used to enjoy the banter and relationships on the old CNN show, Crossfire, which ran from 1982 to 2005 and again from 2013 to 2014. "They were a little more civil than we might see today," Miller said. "A show like Crossfire made me really think about things."
He worked security jobs when he was young, mostly at night. "I'd call the local stations at night and request a song. It was fun to request Expose's Point of No Return at three in the morning."
With his daily show on KIDO, Miller said he was influenced by sports personalities Paul Finebaum and Pat Smith. "From those guys, I learned it was the show itself that was the star. I learned that the host can be a devil's advocate and recognize there are two passionate sides to an interview. I try to avoid the echo chamber and agreement radio."
KIDO is a difficult place to work talk radio because it's not a tinderbox like the rest of the nation. News/Talk' ammunition' isn't readily available as it is in large cities. "It's tough here because there isn't any overt anger; there is no angst." For a show that isn't afraid to mix it up, it's not easy when the people are as pleasant as The Waltons, the 70s television show family, not the family who owns the supercenter powerhouse,
With his career, Miller said he's done thinking about being the next 'big' thing. Instead, his focus has shifted to making a difference in his listening area. There are times being called a 'turkey' could get your feathers up. Other times, like when Miller dresses up as a turkey on Thanksgiving and spends six days living in a Walmart, he doesn't mind the term as much. And what does a turkey do in a Walmart when he needs to use the restroom? That would give new meaning to 'Clean up on aisle six.'
"I utilize Walmart twice a year," Miller said. "On Thanksgiving, we broadcast live from the Walmart in Nampa, Idaho. That's when we run a turkey drive for our annual Mission Turkey Drive to help provide the hungry and homeless in the community with warm dinners for the holidays." In addition to collecting thousands of turkeys, Miller said they've recently raised 63 thousand dollars for Boise Rescue Mission Ministries.
"This isn't about me," Miller said. "This is a collective effort; we're a vessel. Our vessel is about making a difference."
Miller said he's kind of a con artist–in a good way.
So good, he actually conned a radio station manager into his first gig. Okay, maybe he didn't con the guy, but he did appeal to the man's proclivities.
"I set up the guy with my chemistry teacher in exchange for a chance at the radio station," Miller confessed. "Our class was doing some science presentations at the hall, and I started talking to this guy. I mentioned our chemistry teacher and dragged her over. They went out on a date." Miller said he's not sure any sparks were ignited between the two, but it scored his first radio gig.
Miller also listened to Rush Limbaugh in the early days. "I'd never listened to him before, and I thought he ripped off the persona of Howie Chizek." Later, Miller was on Limbaugh's show three times.
He loves Boise and Idaho. "To be here, you have to want to be here," Miller explained. "I found my family here. I've been through some difficult times, like a divorce, bankruptcy. But you won't make it here in Boise if you're a dink or a jerk. You see the listeners all the time. At a ballgame. At the grocery store, so you better be a decent guy."
Miller said the screaming, yelling, and degrading of other people wouldn't fly with his KIDO listeners. "I like the idea I learned early on. We have to agree to disagree. Be civil."
As we get older, we tend to learn to focus on things that truly matter. Miller said the things that matter to him are right in front of him. "I have two granddaughters," he said. While he married a second time, the daughter's from his wife; Miller said parenting couldn't be more special. "They call me Pops," he said. "We play kickball and other games. It's fascinating to look into the life of a child."
Miller is who he is, and he says you can't be who you're not. So, in that spirit of being genuine, Miller is, in the best possible way, a 'turkey.'
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