short stuff
by Linda McThrall, editor

Being in the news biz is an interesting occupation in this day and age.

There is a little insecurity involved because things are changing so quickly. When you are in the media on a small scale, you aren’t always in the middle of the frenzy – you aren’t a celebrity, you don’t have the pressure of delivering ratings, you are here to just do the job as well as it can be done.

Today (June 4) was an interesting one. I am part of the media, but I have always been low key. I have a degree in journalism from ASU, have spent half my working life writing for newspapers and all my life loving the news business.

I don’t know a lot of people in the business except for those I work with directly. I am familiar with names and faces, bylines and broadcasters, but I am not hanging out with them on a day-to-day basis.

But there has been a pair in the Valley who has affected me more deeply than I had known – and I suspect than many of you had expected as well.

Beth and Bill – Beth McDonald and Bill Austin – were leaders in the radio world for nearly 20 years. They would have celebrated their 20th anniversary Friday, June 4. As it turned out, that day instead served as a tribute day for Austin, who lost his battle with bladder cancer June 2. Beth put on one of the most remarkable programs in radio history June 4.

After hearing the news of Bill’s passing, it was soon announced that the following Friday would be a tribute show for Bill. I imagined it would be lots of pieces from past shows with some of those hilarious pieces Bill was known for. I couldn’t imagine Beth would host the show that day. She said in a press release after Bill died that Bill was “like the brother I never had.” How do you get back on the air after losing your brother? And nobody would have thought about it had she stayed home, curled up in the laundry room with Bailey (this is an inside joke…),

But McDonald was on the show Friday, June 4. She was on air for four hours – from six to 10 (the date of Bill’s passing), hosting clips from past shows, guests who loved Bill including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Doc Severinsen, Maureen Barkley, along with members of her family who loved Bill as part of their family.

Beth has a “Woman of the Year” program, honoring a deserving person for a variety of reasons. Beth McDonald should be given a Woman of the Year Award this year for her amazing show honoring her friend.

She brought people together to give us, their fans, the perfect tribute to a guy most of us never met. There were some sad moments on the show, but mostly it was hilarious. Beth was funny and poignant, and she told us the whole story of Bill’s illness. She understood our need to know how Bill got through it all, how she got through it with him.

It’s practically meaningless that my little column is a tribute to Beth McDonald – and of course to Bill Austin. But when you are exposed to something so pure and true, you want to make a special note of it. Beth McDonald was a pure and true friend to Bill Austin – and she made us all feel that he felt that way about each of us.

Thanks, Beth. It’s an honor to share a occupation with you. I should be so professional.