As of a few weeks ago, I have a new title added to my name … Brandy Blanton, internet radio talk show host! Who knew?

Having been a guest on Debbie Alan's "On the HomeStretch" a couple of times, and thoroughly enjoying that experience, how surprised I was when Debbie asked me about having my own show? I suppose the idea of Southern Exposure Magazine in a live format was a no-brainer to her, but ... I needed a bit more convincing.

How was a print publication's content going to parlay over into live radio? Would it absolutely mirror the storylines in the publication and would that be redundant?

After reflecting a while, talking to my peeps, and doing some serious thinking, I saw the value in the relationships I had built along the way; and while they may have already been "covered" in the magazine, there's always something new going on to talk about.

Even more so, I was convinced from seven years in the magazine business, that while the premise of the magazine is heavily local, the treasure that we have in this area with our historical value, the entertainment industry, thriving business and more, are things that have national allure. Of course there's also the idea that adding a leg under the Southern Exposure Magazine brand will only help in garnering more avid supporters. So off we went ...

I was able to secure a fabulous sponsor in NationLink Wireless and am proud to laud their incredible company and services, but also feel like it is a perfect fit because we are similar in heart. Andy Bailey is a fun, upbeat (somewhat spastic) guy who makes talking about wireless service interesting and alluring. As a customer, I know first-hand the value they bring to their clients, but even more important their superb concierge customer service. And I was absolutely flattered when they asked me to do the voice-over for their commercial. The fun began …

There was training of course, but not as much as I had expected - evidently Debbie and the folks at NashvilleNetRadio.com felt that I was ahead of the curve in my interview experience, so it was more about learning the do's and don'ts of live radio.

I took the safe route for the first show and stacked the deck with some of my most favorite people, but all very interesting and worthy subjects in their own right. The line up consisted of my sponsor, Andy Bailey (of course); two of my dearest friends: Louis Upkins Jr., author of Treat Me Like A Customer and Laura Hill, owner of a unique event venue in downtown Franklin called the Red House and singer-songwriter, Marc Scibilia who brought his guitar and sang for us. I have decided that live music is definitely a must to add to the roster, but we need to make sure that we don’t run out of time half-way through a song like we did the first time!

The first show went so much better than I expected, but there’s definite room for improvement. I learned that I like to use the word “interesting” a lot, I enunciate the word “great” weird and that I have what is referred to as a “smoky” voice. I’m not going to be the next Oprah – I definitely have a face for radio – but I do think this journey is going to be a blast.

Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 9th from noon to 1:00 p.m. (CST) for our next show. Our guests will be people featured in the Feb/March issue of Southern Exposure Magazine: Belmont Bruin Men’s Basketball coach, Rick Byrd; NewsChannel 5’s Rhori Johnston, and Missy Reeves (also known as Jennifer from Days of Our Lives) who dons the cover of our newest issue with her husband, Scott.

And always know that if you can’t join us LIVE, the beauty of what NashvilleNetRadio.com and wsRadio provides to our listeners is the opportunity to listen to past shows any time (24/7) at your convenience. Check us out at www.southernexposuremagazine.com or www.nashvillenetradio.com.

Hope you click on …