LOOKING AT A LEGEND. John Murphy in the Greatest Hits 98.1 studio in Altoona.

If you’ve listened to the radio in the Chippewa Valley anytime during the past 41 years, chances are you know John Murphy.

You might not literally know him, of course, but you feel like you do. That has a lot to do with his longevity on the local airwaves, as well as with the immediacy and intimacy of radio – a medium that Murphy – a.k.a. “Murph” – has mastered with his easygoing wit and everyman persona.

These days, you’ll find Murphy doing the 21st century equivalent of spinning discs in the morning on Greatest Hits 98.1 FM. His career with what is now known as Mid-West Family Broadcasting has spanned more than four decades and multiple stations (most notably WAYY-AM and WAXX-FM), genres, and job titles, but through it all Murphy has tried to be a steady, good-natured presence who gives audiences what they need.

“Sometimes they need a hearty laugh,” he said. “Sometimes they need a handshake. Sometimes they need a hug.”

Recently, Murphy was honored as one of the four newest members of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association’s Local Broadcast Legends – a title reserved for broadcasters who have shown outstanding devotion to their local communities.

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Get yourself involved in the community, help where you can, shine a light on community events, help with nonprofits, and still do a fun radio show.

john murphy

radio personality

“I was obviously delighted, excited,” Murphy said in a recent interview in the 98.1 studio in Altoona. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful thing.”

Murphy and three other honorees from around the state received their awards at the WBA’s Summer Conference on June 15 in Elkhart Lake.

“I think probably the quintessential thing that I can say about this particular award and why it means so much to me is that it speaks to exactly what I set off to do, and what I’m doing,” he said. “Get yourself involved in the community, help where you can, shine a light on community events, help with nonprofits, and still do a fun radio show.”

Murphy’s passion for the community is far more than lip service on a radio microphone. It’s evident through countless on-air interviews, promotions, and personal volunteering hours. He’s helped the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild, the United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Chippewa Valley, Literacy Chippewa Valley, and more. He has also spearheaded the Festival of Toys and Back to School Books and Bucks drives, which over 15 years have raised $350,000 worth of toys, books, and school supplies for families in need around the Valley.

Murphy said he frequently has a “moment of clarity” when chatting with community members for on-air segments – a moment that turns him from a passive interviewer to a concerned community member. “They have now made me care and have some concern,” he said. “It’s that great moment when you’re going, ‘Oh boy, now I’m all in.’ ”

Murphy’s devotion to the community is part of what inspired his colleague Luc Anthony, program director and on-air personality at 98.1, to nominate him for the award.

“John Murphy's name would be near the start of a theoretical definition of Chippewa Valley radio,” Anthony said. “He is key to the sound of the region. I'm constantly seeing people come up to him at events, and it's like they've personally known him their whole lives. You can tell he cares about his co-workers – you see it all the time at the radio station – and the area, since he's involved with a lot of charitable projects. I mean, he perfectly fit the bill of ‘Local Broadcast Legend.’ ”

Murphy’s radio career began when, as a teenager in the 1970s in his hometown of Red Wing, Minnesota, he wrote a letter to a local station owner explaining how much he wanted to work in radio. His plea led to a job, which – coupled with studies at Brown Institute in the Twin Cities – served as a springboard for a lifelong career. After Red Wing, Murphy worked in Burlington, Colorado; Rochester, Minnesota; and Neenah, Wisconsin. Along the way, he accumulated experience as a DJ, morning-show sidekick, sports director, talk-show host, and even a news director. Around 1982, a former classmate, Keith Edwards, encouraged him to pursue a job in Eau Claire. Eventually, Murphy met with the late, legendary John Hoffland, who at the time was news director at WAXX/WAYY radio as well as WEAU-TV in Eau Claire. Murphy took the job, and the rest is local broadcast history.

John Murphy yuks it up in this circa-1980s promotional image. (Submitted photo)

While Murphy began in the stations’ news department, he eventually became WAYY’s morning show host, where he teamed up for the first time with the since-retired George House. The pair found they were very compatible, frequently cracking each other up, and formed a great working relationship that lasted about 15 years, including a long-running and award-winning morning stint on WAYY’s country music sister station, WAXX-FM.

Eventually, Murphy returned to WAYY to anchor that station’s morning talk show. As he has throughout his career, Murphy prided himself on creating a program that was intensely local: “There is no question that the show is coming from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and a guy that lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is right here, and you might run into him at the grocery store.”

About five years ago, after WAYY shifted to an all-sports format, Murphy made a return to his radio roots, becoming the morning anchor on Greatest Hits 98.1, where he spins the kind of 1970s and ’80s megahits he did at the beginning of his career.

‘I’ve never had such a eureka moment in my life,” he said of starting the 98.1 gig. “It was my audience, it was my music.”

“Fall helplessly and hopelessly in love with your community. And when you do it will come back to you in about a million different ways that you didn’t even expect.”

JOHN MURPHY

While Murphy said the morning-show stint is the best part of his day, it’s far from the only part. He also pre-records a Saturday night show and sometimes a Sunday night album-oriented show, as well as conducts interviews for the “715 News Makers” program that runs on multiple Mid-West Family stations. In addition, he serves as promotions coordinator for Mid-West Family’s six local stations.

And while he’ll soon turn 64, Murphy isn’t thinking about retiring just yet. That probably has something to do with the fact that he long ago took to heart the advice he offered in his award acceptance speech: “Fall helplessly and hopelessly in love with your community. And when you do it will come back to you in about a million different ways that you didn’t even expect.”