Yappy Days: Behind the Scenes with Newsers, Schmoozers, Boozers and Losers

Bernadette Duncan doesn’t just peek at us from the other side of that fourth wall of radio industry, she deftly molecularizes to sand and reassembles the wall, as if no breach ever occurred.Duncan journeys her audience through her neophyte eyes as a lowly intern in the radio business all the way through becoming Executive Producer for such shows as “The Lou Dobbs Radio Show”. One can see why Duncan was so successful in her career. Reading, at times I was infuriated with the behaviors and egos of some of these hosts but saw their redeeming qualities. In other instances, I was surprised by the humility (right??!!!) of these bigger than life radio personalities.Don’t be fooled, this isn’t a book about radio personalities. It is clear Duncan is not about airing dirty laundry, quite the contrary. She tells her story in matter-of-fact style. Yet the character and the character of these characters come shining through, at least through the experience of Bernadette Duncan. This is what makes her book so compelling, so devastating and so wonderful.Oddly enough I would classify this as a very intimate look at the inner workings of the entire radio broadcast industry. A must read for anyone who’s ever turned on a radio.

Many people believe radio is on life support, but it isn't. It's not running as well as it once did. And you can make the case that it's past its prime. But there still are plenty of listeners.Talk radio is a niche within a niche. It's filled with performers who believe they are far more important than they are and far more influential. But they do have an impact, followers, and in some cases interesting personalities. And where there's talk radio, there's Bernadette Duncan.In "Yappy Days," she takes us behind the scenes and shows us what goes on inside her peculiar corner of the media where ego often surpasses talent and everyone wants to be Rush Limbaugh. Or thinks he or she already is.What is Larry King really like? Bernadette knows and tells. How about Sally Jesse Raphael of the red-framed glasses? Or Limbaugh? Or Bruce Williams, Mike Gallagher and Howard Stern?And there's a minutes-of-the-meeting rundown of her job interview with Lou Dobbs who comes off like an alligator lurking in your bathtub.After many years of producing, coaching and building nobodies into somebodies, Duncan knows it all and shares it.Yappy reads like a radio script, complete with promos for the next segment at chapters' ends. Unless you're in the business you'll come away from it with a new picture of the drama behind the drama.Because you'd better believe that the smooth talkers behind the mic depend on the not so smooth tension factories, wheels grinding -- sometimes in opposite directions -- that live on the side of the studio glass you don't hear on the air."Yappy Days" is jargon-free and loaded with anecdotes and observations you're sure to enjoy.Disclaimer: Bernadette and I have crossed paths at several jobs over the past 30 years but never worked together directly.

With more than four decades in the business, I've read some great media books and some really crappy ones. This one is terrific. Great stories about some of the all-time great talkshow hosts, warts and all. And for those who think producing a talk show is easy, that all it entails is answering the phone, this will be especially enlightning. Producers are notoriously overworked, abused, and underpaid, but Bernadette keeps her sense of humor and perspective. She really takes us inside the business and inside the studio for a fun and sometimes cringe worthy look at the industry. At this price or any price, it's a real bargain. And like many great books, when I finished this one, it left me wishing there had been more. Hoping for volume 2!

From the first page when we see this feisty young radio producer spar with Geraldo Rivera we are immediately brought into her world - and we never want to leave it! With equal parts humor, reflection and insight, we are transported into the control room watching these larger than life (ha!) figures from behind the glass with her. I give this author major kudos for being able to share these stories in a way that engages and rarely judges (okay, Larry King, c'mon!) Rather, she leaves us to judge and we can at times be infuriated by these egomaniacs, and other times realize that they're just like everyone else - insecure with a desire to be loved. Even if you don't know the characters she writes of (can't say I've actually stopped to listen to Rush Limbaugh!) and don't ever listen to talk radio, this book works as a journey of a young, bright-eyed girl trying to fend for herself in the big leagues - think The Devil Wears Prada meets Bossypants - a universal story for sure, one told with great heart and skill.

Dave Letterman, Dr. Laura, Vice Pres Joe Biden, Larry King, Lou Dobbs, Ann Coulter, Geraldo – these are just a few of the big names that parade through these pages – sometimes described positively, sometimes not. What I liked was that the author even “tells” on herself, showing a reader like me all the plates a producer spins while sitting in the “hot seat” at a talk show. Who knew there were so many moving parts. And the “lessons” learned can be applied to any job! From handling herself on an interview with Lou Dobbs, dealing with emotional outbursts from Dr. Laura or Omarosa, or racing after a guest who busted out the studio mid-interview – this producer brought me in the trenches of the control room and her “producer-hood.” You’ll likely NEVER look at TV, radio or these celebrities the same way again.I loved it!!!