MORGANFIELD, Ky. — A longtime Kentucky radio personality announced he's closing in on 50 years of service, anchoring the same station over his career. 

What You Need To Know

  • John Robinson, anchor in Morganfield at WMSK 101.3 FM, found his love of radio broadcasting when he was a young boy

  • Robinson’s radio career began before college, having started his own show with his friend after purchasing equipment to broadcast on AM radio

  • Robinson is now celebrating nearly 50 years of service in his hometown of Morganfield, working for WMSK 101.3 FM

  • He gets to the station at 5:30 a.m. and broadcasts weather at 6 a.m. to thousands of people within a 30-mile radius

John Robinson, anchor for Morganfield's WMSK 101.3 FM, said his love for radio broadcasting started when he was just a young boy. 

"I can remember sitting and listening to sports broadcasting, to be exact, when I was 11 or 13 years old," Robinson said. 

Robinson’s radio career began before college, having started his own show with his friend after purchasing equipment to broadcast on AM radio, which had an audience of about 75 people. 

“His name was Kenny Wright and mine was John Robinson," he said. "(We) reversed it, and it was WKRJ AM 1000.”

Robinson attended the University of Southern Indiana, earning a bachelor’s in communications and said he wanted to pursue a career in radio broadcasting.

“When I graduated from college, my college professor told me these words, and it became true: ‘Do not go to your hometown station, I know you, you’ll be there the rest of your life,'" Robinson said. "He turned out to be a profit because that’s exactly what I did.”

Now, Robinson is celebrating nearly 50 years of service in his hometown of Morganfield, working for his beloved WMSK 101.3 FM.

“Have I had offers from other stations? Certainly, but this is home," he said. "I married a hometown girl; I’m comfortable here.”

Robinson gets to the station around 5:30 a.m. and broadcasts weather at 6 a.m. to thousands of people within a 30-mile radius.

He also gets to discuss his passion: sports.

“For some unknown reason, sports kind of drives me," he said. 

Through his passion for the radio, he has gotten to know his community.

“I can be in a store; someone asks me a question (and) somebody in the next aisle will say, 'That's the radio guy,'" he said. 

Looking back on 50 years of service in Morganfield, Robinson said the involvement he has had with his community through his passion is something he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“I’m not just a sports guy," Robinson said. "I’m not just a morning man. It's involvement in the community; it’s part of the community. That stuff is important to me.”

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