Tyson Miller’s hands move between a keyboard and an intricate radio board, his eyes darting between three monitors. As he manages these many streams of information, he speaks into the microphone: “Stay tuned for a few of my friends joining me at the top of the hour.”

Miller, a sophomore communication major, is hosting the morning show, The Breakfast Blend, on Goshen College’s radio station 91.1 The Globe. The Globe, which claims to offer “a platform to discovering culturally progressive content,” programs a mix of Americana and AAA (adult album alternative) music. The station is student-run with hosted morning, sports and music shows throughout the week. 

The Globe uses computer programs to organize the songs that are played.

“Zetta has our entire music library in it, around 9,000 songs,” Miller said. “We use GSelector to organize songs and determine when they will be played.”

The music is largely already planned out when students arrive for their shifts at the station, but there is a lot of other work to be done on-site.

“One of the hardest parts of hosting The Breakfast Blend is trying to not have a boring show,” Miller said. “There is not an easy way to come up with content, but coming prepared with some ideas is important.”

Miller had no radio experience before college. Since then, Miller says he has been “thrown in the deep end” and has learned the complex workings of the station by “messing around to see what I could do.” 

Hosting the Breakfast Blend show requires keeping listeners engaged.

“You have to tap into this annoying content creator side of yourself,” Miller said. He was never particularly interested in Americana music before working at The Globe. “It’s a challenge to figure out what new music would be good to put on The Globe; you have to put your own preferences aside.”

Managing The Globe requires students to organize and understand the technology they are using, as Miller says that “everything in the building is connected” — from the multi-functional, $12,000 radio board to the microphones and TV-cameras.

“All the rooms and equipment work together,” Miller said. “It makes it a lot easier to do special things, like host live music.”

Miller glances between his two monitors, clearly attempting to resolve an issue. 

“We are going to be about a minute and 20 seconds short before the next break,” he says. “I am going to skip the previous song because it was a bit shorter, which gives us room to find a longer song to fill the gap.” 

The Globe hosts are constantly solving problems on the fly — while on air. “It is all live which means we really need to be on top of things,” Miller said. 

“There are a lot of people on staff who work really hard,” Miller added. “It’s genuinely a time commitment and isn’t something people do on the side. Jason Samuel [professor of communication] really sets us up for success with the structure of the radio station and providing guidance.”

Working for the radio is certainly not a part-time hobby; it requires a lot of practice and dedication. 

“It can suck to get up at 5:30 a.m., and it’s my responsibility to listen to The Globe even when I’m not working,” Miller said. 

Working at The Globe brings a local fan base along with it. Miller receives a few complimentary texts from people listening in the Westlawn Dining Hall and says that “a new coworker recognized me from listening to The Globe which was pretty cool.”

A phone call interrupts Miller: “Hey Tyson; it’s your fan Cyn in South Bend. I really enjoyed that last song, I hadn’t heard it before!”

Miller responds: “That was also a new one for me, but I really enjoyed it too!”