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F e b r u a r y M a r c h 2 0 1 6 4 7 was like living a double life sort of The reason I came out is because I got married and everyone was coming to the wedding. I guess I was expecting backlash. But I didnt hear one nega- tive thing. And everyone knew. It was the worst-kept secret ever. How has radio changed Technically everything is so differentWe used to have to Put records on No not records you little shit. But CDs definitely. And to record a phone call reel to reel Do you know what that is Its tape. A call comes in and you start a tape re- corder that has two giant reels. You say Hey listener congratulationsand they say Oh hot goddam shit Well youve got to take out the profanity. You take the tape cut it with a razor blade tape it together and cue it back up. What do you want for your career I want to remain relevant and entertaining. I want people to say I was cracking up in my car I cant believe you said that I love this radio show. I want to hear that until they randi took jobs in baltimore and D.c. for several years before reaching WbcN then bostons classic rock sta- tion. That was the pinnacle as far as I was concerned. My hero at WbcN was a woman named Maxanne and she was the only woman in boston. There was an- other one in San Francisco. Then oth- er cities starting having one or two. There was an overall belief then that men didnt want to listen to women and women didnt want to listen to women. and if men did have to listen to a woman she had to be someone they envisioned as sexy. I was 16petite short curly hairand when men would meet me theyd say Oh I thought you were tall and blonde. after spending summers in Maine she decided shed make the move to a smaller market for a better quality of life. I took a giant pay cut but it was for the lifestyle. Kirshbaum has been at Port- land radio Group for 35 years. In 2006 she was inducted into the Maine radio hall of Fame. SarahSullivan Who is Randi Kirshbaum N early all the women interviewed for this story mention her influence on their way up in radio. Presently the brand manager and listener advocate for 98.9 WcLZ and coast 93.1 Kirshbaum was a pioneer. She was 16 when she walked into KQrS her favorite station in Minneapo- liswhere they played hendrix Joplin and the Doorsand said you bill your- selves as a progressive radio station but have no women on air. Why dont you hire me She got the job as the first female disc jockey in the Twin cities even though her program director at the time told her not to expect to make a career out of it. That was 46 years ago. I was very persistent. I didnt think then I wanted to get into radio and do it the rest of my life. I just knew I wanted to be on that particular radio station and I worked hard to get hired I had the radio bug I was one of the nerdy kids whod go to bed with a transistor radio under my pillow and listen to WLS out of chicago. Ive loved radio my whole life.