Whoopi Goldberg thrives in radio

BILLBOARD: WHO DO YOU AIM TO REACH WITH YOUR SHOW?

GOLDBERG: I don’t know who the audience is, but somebody’s listening because people keep calling. That’s all I depend on. My job is to talk for four hours and try to be amusing.

BILLBOARD: WHAT SORT OF REACTION HAVE YOU GOTTEN FROM

LISTENERS?

GOLDBERG: People stop me on the street and say it’s nice to hear a show their kids can listen to. They know now that I’m not going to bamboozle them and throw something in that’s going to make them uncomfortable driving with their kids.

BILLBOARD: HOW HAS THE RADIO INDUSTRY PERCEIVED YOU, AS ONE

OF FEW WOMEN TAKING ON THE MEDIUM -- AND A CELEBRITY -- DIPPING

INTO BROADCASTING?

GOLDBERG: I know that there’s been very little faith, except with (Clear Channel senior VP) Jim Ryan (who hired Goldberg and placed her on WKTU New York) and the folks at Clear Channel. People have their idea of what celebrities are and, unfortunately, I’m kind of painted with a celebrity brush.

BILLBOARD: OBVIOUSLY, YOUR EXTEMPORANEOUS SKILL AS A

COMEDIAN MUST LEND ITSELF TO BROADCASTING.

GOLDBERG: I don’t come from just the world of films. I’m from the stage, where I communicate as one person to a group of people out there. I’m writing my stuff, and if things go wrong, you handle it.

BILLBOARD: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR HISTORY WITH THE RADIO

BUSINESS, AS WELL AS THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE THAT YOU’VE

ALREADY COME FACE TO FACE WITH.

GOLDBERG: I’ve always held radio people in very high esteem. Back in the day you listened to (R&B) WWRL (New York) and then went over to (top 40 WINS) 1010 before they went to news. Everybody listened to music because we all carried a transistor.

There’s this small contingent out there that feels I’ve infringed on their space. I’ve been a star for 20 f---ing years. I don’t need to prove that or compete with anybody. I wasn’t prepared for the negative, the nastiness. I’ve loved Howard Stern for years, but he made a comment on his show, and I wrote him and said, "I haven’t worked in three years. Do you realise there is no safety net for me? You have satellite, but I didn’t have anybody, so, yeah, I am glad to have a job, honey. What’s the matter with you?" And he went on-air the next day and said, "You know what? I got a note from Whoopi, and I’m really glad she’s doing this."

BILLBOARD: WHAT’S YOUR RESPONSE TO THOSE WHO QUESTION YOUR

LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO GETTING UP AT 4 A.M AND SITTING IN THE

STUDIO ALL MORNING?

GOLDBERG: This is my job. Why would I take it any less seriously than anything else I have done? I have to prove myself over again, and that’s fine. That’s what I signed on to do. There’s no other singular female voice in the morning, so we have our niche. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make it last a little while.

Reuters/Billboard