The crew behind the scenes

The jingle plays after every newscast.."Pete Braley in the Morning." There's a lot more that goes into every broadcast and I thought this would be a good time to acknowledge those folks and to say thanks.

Every morning starts with the gathering process. When I arrive at the station around 5AM (or 5:15 or 5:30 if I'm really into hitting the snooze alarm) I go to a number of different web sites and services that we subscribe to to find information that we use on the show. Then it's a check with Dean Devore or Eric Wilhelm at Accuweather. Dr. Joe Sobel was our morning weather man for years, but this past November he switched to the midday shift after 30 plus years of getting up at 2am. I miss him, but can't say I blame him.

WBSM is affiliated with FUN 107 and our studios are two doors apart from each other. JR, Michael Rock and Larry share info with me and I share things with them. We have a great working relationship.

Jack Peterson is usually busy in the newsroom and many times we don't even have a chance to talk before we are on the air together at 6.

Neal White was a great addition to the show. Neal originally came on to sub for me while I was out with my shoiulder surgery, but has remained because he is such a great asset to the show. Whether it's his sports reports, his comments or just another set of eyes looking for material, every day is a fun day with Neal.

Gina Brown has recently joined us with Gem Traffic. I miss Amy Pontes but she was re-assigned with Gem Traffic.

"Intern Taylor" is Taylor Nesbit from Dartmouth High. She scans the wires for me looking for the offbeat news stories that I love so much and she handles our prize sheets for the winners.

Debbie Aguiar Soares is our promotions director who helps me come up with contests and keeps us stocked in "faaaaaabulous radio prizes."

Scott Reiniche helps with what we call the "imaging" of the show. That's putting together the drop-ins with "Mr Voice." Mr Voice happens to be Jim Birdsall who records for us from his home studio in Kansas City.

Other contributors include Kathy Castro who schedules guests for "Operation Education" every Tuesday. We've met some great kids, teachers and community leaders in the nine years Kathy has been with me.

Joanna Langfield gets to go to just about every movie and she tells us about them on Friday.

Joyce Miller at Baker Books has a great feature on books every Thursday and we try to help folks find work with Rita Guadatti and the Greater NB Career Center on Wednesdays.

Last but not least, and it's been a huge addition...our Facebook and Twitter family. I get ALOT of great ideas off these two social web sites. Many times it's tough to get call-ins in the morning because of our short segments or the fact that people are busy getting their day started. Just putting a post on facebook or twitter many times gets the phones going and people chime in with their thoughts.

That's a little glimpse into how we put things together every day. Hopefully I didn't forget anyone.

Thanks to all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, BUT NOT NOW!

I love snow. If you've been listening to the show for even a year or two (this is our 20th year) you know that I love snow. If it can't be sunny and 80, let it snow!

However.......we are just TOO busy this weekend! I don't know about you, but I still have plenty of shopping to do. Not just gifts, but FOOD. My wife was planning to make the Christmas cookies this weekend. The Hershey Kiss cookies are my favorite.

Sunday is Christmas Sunday isn't it? There's special music and a children's pageant at the church.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow....but could we wait a little longer??

You listen to what?

We've been having fun the past few mornings playing some Christmas favorites as bumpers. That's what we call the music you hear when we come back from news.

Neal pulls up the classics on Youtube. So far we've featured:

-Jingle Bells by Frank Sinatra ("I love those J-I-N-G-LE Bells")
-Happy Holidays by Andy Williams
-It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy

Today I brought out some Nat King Cole and one of my favorites (drum roll) Robert Goulet!

I just get a kick out of some of the artists we all bring out at this time of the year---and how we wouldn't be caught dead listening to some of this stuff otherwise.

Where's my collection of Burl Ives mp3s??

Getting Serious

The Providence Journal reported today (12/9) that four players were sent home from Gillette Stadium because they were late for the 8am meeting. The players were: Randy Moss, Derrick Burgess, Gary Guyton, and Adalius Thomas. Bill Belichick wouldn’t confirm the story, saying, "Anything that happens with discipline on the team stays between me, the players, and the team."

Wow! Do you think this was justified? It was snowy and slippery and traffic was a mess! Is he getting serious because of the way the team is playing? Think he would have done this even if they were winning? Think this will fire them up or backfire on Sunday?

We shall see. I wonder how many opther people were sent home from work because they were late on the first snowy morning of '09/'10??????

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

It started out as a good idea, as most do I guess.

Every morning I call Amy Pontes, our traffic reporter, and we chat for a few seconds before she goes on to do her traffic report. This past Monday, I was in a good mood after the long Thanksgiving weekend, so I started singing a Christmas tune to her and then I said I was going to sing a different tune to her EVERYTIME I CALL HER FROM NOW UNTIL CHRISTMAS! Why didn't I think this through???? I call Amy 11 TIMES A DAY, 5 DAYS A WEEK! WE HAVE THREE WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! 11 x 5 = 55 x 3 = 165!!!

Wish me luck. I'll try to keep you posted.

Tom's Got a Secret!

Tom Brady says he knows the sex of his soon-to-be born baby and he's not telling. Not even his WIFE!

Tom and Giselle expecting a baby soon. Tom found out the sex, Giselle did not want to know and he's keeping it a secret from everyone. He hasn't told his father and he says he tries to be VERY careful. He switches it up, sometimes saying "he" sometimes "she."

I applaud Giselle for not finding out. My wife and I never did. We had four children and each time the doctor asked if we wanted to know and we said no. I'm amazed by the number of friends who find that hard to believe. I guess it's THE thing nowadays to know. We didn't mind. My wife says it helped her keep her sanity and work towards finding out the answer. It never bothered us as to what color to paint the nursery or what color clothing to buy. Generic colors worked just fine.

Good luck keeping the secret Tom and enjoy the mystery Giselle!