Life & Work with Ben Buehler-Garcia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Buehler-Garcia.

Hi Ben, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I never dreamed I would be in radio, much less broadcasting to audiences across the country. I have always been passionate about supporting the members of our military and first responder communities. So when Dave Sitton, the founder of American Warrior Radio, died suddenly and far too young, I resolved to continue communicating these important stories. I jumped in with both feet knowing absolutely nothing about the broadcast business. Probably not the wisest decision I ever made.

People may not know that most weekend programming is “brokered;” Hosts purchase the airtime from the stations; We are not compensated. My original intent was to continue American Warrior Radio as a weekend labor of love subsidized out of my pocket.

Two events occurred that changed the trajectory of my little plan. First, we received inquiries from movie studios, book publishers, and national public relations agencies about featuring their clients on the show. Second, I got married, and my wife told me a weekend hobby financed by our funds would not cut it. I either had to get serious about the business end of things or give it up.

This past year I finally had two stations reach out with offers to pay me rather than me paying them and are now entertaining several national syndication offers. American Warrior Radio now broadcasts on nine stations in markets that combined feature over million Veterans, more than 250,000 military personnel, 43 military installations, and countless first responders. Our Phoenix affiliate is KFNX (1100 AM).

It has been an on-the-job training experience, and I have been blessed to receive mentoring from seasoned professionals from both the talent and business sides of the house. The greatest compliment I received was when the leader of a veteran support group told me that our reputation as an advocate for the military community was established and solid. I will never forget that telling these important stories and sharing 42 minutes of each listener’s time is a privilege, and I am lucky to be doing so.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With an increasing number of radio stations owned by large corporate interests, it is difficult to break in. During the COVID pandemic, when I knew many stations were losing their weekend-brokered programs, I reached out to over 150 stations offering our programming for free. They could keep 100% of the advertising inventory. I heard back from four. While a brief stint in minor league professional sports taught me how to build creative advertising packages, it took a while to translate that to the radio. If you are a business owner or marketing executive, please remember that many of us live on what we sell. Please do us the courtesy of responding in some way. I would rather hear a “no” than not hear from you.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our interview with the most podcast downloads has been Mike Day – a Navy SEAL wounded 27 times while clearing a terrorist safe house. While it is always a thrill to have nationally recognized celebrities on the show, I am always looking for that great untold story. If you know of a story that needs to be told, please reach out to us!

There are over 500 interviews archived at www.americanwarriorradio.com.

Can you talk to us about happiness and what makes you happy?
I believe service to others is the rent we pay to live on this planet.

Pricing:

• Phoenix advertising packages begin at $780 for six months
• Tucson advertising packages begin at $650 for six months
• National advertising packages being at $600 per month

Contact Info:

• Website: www.americanwarriorradio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amwarriorradio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanWarriorRadio
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/warriorradiotuc