The other day I was reminded of a part of my talk radio career where KFAB’s General Manager was called into the mayor’s office, where the Mayor and his Chief of Staff tried to get me fired. 

Mike Fahey was the Mayor, Paul Landow was the Chief of Staff, and Donna Baker was my GM.  I don’t know all the details of that meeting.  I don’t know all that was said.  All I know is that Donna Baker had my back and told them there was no way she was going to fire me, and she walked out of their office. 

I don’t remember any of the specifics as to why they wanted me fired.  I do remember that I often gave Mike Fahey a hard time.  I do recall that whenever the World Herald wanted a quote from the mayor, 9 times out of 10 they would get a quote from Paul Landow instead.  And because of that, I remember I referred to Paul as Mayor Landow on the air.  Heck, maybe that’s why they wanted to get me fired. I do recall that I had a lot of fun picking on the Fahey administration. 

I was reminded of this time in my career because the other afternoon I sat at the bar at one of my favorite Dundee restaurants.  I wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings just plopped down on the last unoccupied barstool. After I placed my lunch order the person next to me asked me if I was Tom Becka.  When I obviously told him that I was, he introduced himself.  It was Mike Fahey and his wife. 

There I was sitting next to the man that tried to derail my career.  A man I never had much positive interaction with.  A man who years ago might have gone out of his way to avoid having to talk to me. And you know what?  We sat next to each other and had a very pleasant conversation. 

I wondered if things would have gone differently years ago if we had taken the time to sit side by side and talk to one another.  I wondered if we would have seen each other as opponents, or as two people trying to make Omaha better, even if we had different ideas on how to do it.

I’ll admit I may have gone over the line a few times when I brought up my concerns on the air. I can try to justify it by saying I had to make things interesting to capture the attention of the listeners, and to be honest, it was fun to poke the bear with a stick.  Now that I’m older, I can see how toxic politics have gotten and I doubt I would do things that way today.

He was no longer the mayor, and I was no longer a radio talk show host.  He was no longer accountable to the voters or the media, and I was no longer accountable to my employer or my listeners.  But here we were. An 80 year old man sitting next to a 68 year old former nemesis.

Maybe I’m just getting mellow in my old age or maybe I’ve gained some wisdom that comes with aging. 

As we head into this political season, I now believe that stirring the pot for the sake of ratings, or “likes” on social media can be dangerous to our society.  Sure, posting that meme will get a reaction.  For most, it doesn’t matter if that reaction is a thumbs up or a thumbs down.  Before posting, I think you should ask if posting that meme or making those comments is going to be positive or divisive. 

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t speak your mind and hold to your beliefs. I guess what I’m saying is, instead of shouting, let’s all try talking and listening to eachother.  Let’s remember that compromise is not a dirty word. Let’s not automatically assume that because a person has some different political beliefs than you, it makes them a bad person.  Remember sometimes it’s not always what you say but how you say it.

And remember that in the grand scheme of life, it’s always better to sit down and enjoy a meal with someone you disagree with rather than attacking them on the radio or social media. 

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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