OnTheHORN: From the Basement to the Big Time

OnTheHORN, the Hartford Online Radio Network, began, “with little direction in my basement,” founder Brian Parker says. Parker and a tight-knit group of colleagues felt confident that, given the proper tools, they could cover Connecticut government and business better than their AM talk radio counterparts.

“We knew we liked to talk about social, political and business topics,” Parker told New England Post, “In the beginning we would pre-record sixty minutes of audio only. The files were then transferred to our friends at CTNewsJunkie.”

With promotional assistance from CTNewsJunkie, a local information source Parker refers to as a “juggernaut,” political candidates began contacting OnTheHORN and listenership increased sharply. Parker and his cohort then added cameras to the studio, lending the proceedings the interactive fishbowl effect he had always envisioned.

Parker has always had the gift of gab. According to his bio, he spent the better part of his early years either on stage or in front of a tape recorder pretending to broadcast.

The move from recreation to the real thing has not been without its challenges, Parker told New England Post. “The sudden notoriety came with an interesting problem after the election, ‘What to do now?’”

OnTheHORN currently airs three shows every Tuesday evening: Parker’s own NewsTalk Tonight, Business Buzz hosted by Tom Russo and Black-Eyed and Blues Music Hour hosted by Brian Lee.

“What is truly lovely about internet radio is its ability to be everywhere,” Parker told New England Post and added, “We are non-geographic.”

Facebook, Twitter, iTunes and YouTube have helped grow OnTheHORN’s listenership to over 1,000 an hour but Parker sees a bigger and brighter future ahead.

“So far, we’ve focused on Connecticut, but we discuss national and global issues. As we grow, we can interview people with greater notoriety.”

On NewsTalk Tonight, Parker has already hosted Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy (above speaking to Parker), Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and former United States Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley.

Related posts:

1. Only a Test: Emergency Alert System to Be Tested Nationwide for First Time Wednesday, CT Governor Urges Residents to Be Prepared

Short URL: http://www.newenglandpost.com/?p=8576

Posted by Soren Sorensen on Aug 3 2012. Filed under Entertainment, Featured - For home page featured article. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry