Censorship has been in the news lately, and it will probably will be again. I’ve been fortunate in my broadcasting career, and I’ve had some wonderful bosses who have let me do my job without interference. One of the best was the late Don Newberg, who could have sent me packing when I was in my 20s. But he didn’t, and I will be forever grateful.

Mr. Newberg started in radio in the 1950s in Illinois as a newscaster, and retained his interest in journalism throughout his management career.

For fourteen years, he managed “Radio Chattanooga,” the umbrella name for two radio stations. In 1978, Bloomington (Illinois) Broadcasting purchased the stations from Ted Turner, who had purchased the Atlanta Braves, thus losing interest in radio.

The Bloomington group, led by Mr. Newberg as general manager, inherited a mess. Many of the stations’ key people bailed out during a year of uncertainty while the FCC approved the sale. When the papers were signed, Mr. Newberg set out to put the stations back on track.

Barely into my twenties, I was holding on for dear life. The previous management had installed me as WGOW’s top-40 morning host, and I wasn’t setting the woods on fire. The station had gone automated a few years earlier. Our pre-recorded voices would frequently misfire, and we would identify a Carpenters song as “Marvin Gaye.” Listeners were not impressed.

Mr. Newberg’s first order was to shut down the automation. The station went “live,” as it should have been all along.

His second move would change my life. The 100,000 watt FM “elevator music” station, WYNQ (“wink!”) had plenty of listeners, but few advertisers. Mr. Newberg wanted to rock our town, literally.

Soon, the elevator music fans would be awakened with the sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, and Steely Dan. Mr. Newberg asked me to move my morning show from the AM station to the new KZ-106 FM.

I felt like I was being demoted, because my young audience didn’t listen to FM back then. But I was glad to have a job, and decided I would share my bad jokes and political humor on FM.

Here’s my favorite Mr. Newberg story. A couple of years into his tenure, I spent a few weeks on my show skewering one of the era’s political figures. (I won’t go into detail, because this story isn’t about politics, which is a powder keg these days). Some people thought it was funny, while others thought it was terrible. It definitely got attention, even on a national level, which was my goal.

One morning, at the peak of my little brouhaha, Mr. Newberg knocked on the control room door. “How’s it going, fella?” he asked. I sheepishly gave a thumbs-up while wondering why I was getting a visit from the boss. “I just wanted to tell you,” he said, “We’re getting a lot of complaints about this thing you’re doing.” I gulped, and said, “Mr. Newberg, I’m so sorry. If you want me to, I’ll stop doing it.” His comeback startled me. “No, no! Keep it up! If they’re not complaining, they’re not listening. I’ll deal with the complaints, you just keep doing what you’re doing. You’ve got people talking, and that’s what radio is supposed to do. Now carry on!”

I never forgot that. The boss wasn’t trying to censor me, or discourage my attempts at creativity. When I shared this with other radio people, they said, “What? The GM got complaints, and didn’t try to shut you down? Man, I wish I had a boss like that!”

That was Mr. Newberg. I only got to talk to him a couple of times in the last years of his life. I told him he was my hero, and he humbly thanked me before changing the subject to how fortunate he was to have spent a life in radio.

My co-workers referred to him as “The Big Guy.” He as tall, but we weren’t referring to his height. He had a big heart, big talent, and he made a big impression on us.

I’m sure Don Newberg missed radio during his retirement years.  But not nearly as much as radio missed him.

David Carroll is a Chattanooga news anchor, and his latest book is “I Won’t Be Your Escape Goat,” available from his website, ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact him at 900 Whitehall Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37405, or at RadioTV2020@yahoo.com.