Robert Sanchez

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR

I'm one of the luckiest people I know. I'm doing EXACTLY what I've always wanted to do. It's the perfect job for me, because I'm a radio geek and total news junkie. That and I work in the #1 radio market at the most respected news radio station in the country: WCBS.

It's also kind of cool to walk into the CBS Broadcast Center each morning. There's always a buzz in the lobby; a kind of energy that's hard to explain. As reporters rush out of the elevator in a mad dash to their next assignment, I step in and press the button for the 8th floor to start my day.

It's more than just kind of cool, actually. It's a dream come true.

I was one of those kids who always knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was in 10th grade when I wrote an impassioned letter to the Program Director of the top 40/dance music station in my home town, "Power 96" in Miami, FL. Bill Tanner answered the letter and hired me to do call out research after school. That summer, I enrolled in the radio broadcasting program at a technical trade school part of the public school system. I earned my high school diploma and my broadcasting degree there. Mom wasn't exactly sold on the whole radio thing. She insisted I study something else, so I majored in Business Administration at a local college (but I gave up after about 3 years).

Within days after graduation from the Miami Lakes Tech Broadcasting program, I was hired full-time at the local CBS radio affiliate, "NewsRadio 940" WINZ-AM, Miami. After about six years there, I set my sights on New York.

I landed a job in the 1010 WINS newsroom. Two years later, I was offered a management position at an upstart Spanish News/Talk radio network in Los Angeles. After a year and a half in Los Angeles, I transferred to the New York City office.

Then one summer morning in 2000, I received an e-mail from Steve Swenson, WCBS-880 Vice President & General Manager. The short note asked if I'd be interested in a position at WCBS. After skipping a few heart beats, I composed myself enough to reply and the rest, as they say is history.