America Anonymous by Benoit Denizet-Lewis

Author:Benoit Denizet-Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2009-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

ELLEN, THE FOOD addict, sits behind a large, wraparound desk in her office at the radio group where she works, a forgettable one-story brick structure on the south side of town. The room is decorated with plants, a lava lamp, and Christmas lights, and the walls are adorned with gold and platinum records from artists like Dido, David Gray, and Fleetwood Mac, and pictures of Ellen with Lyle Lovett, Toby Keith, Josh Groban, and Billy Joel.

Except when she’s at home (where she wears oversized flannels and comfortable cargo pants), Ellen can be counted on to look stylish and eclectic. Today is no different. She’s sporting designer jeans, snakeskin boots, a tight V-neck red sweater with multicolored hearts and embroidered graffiti, and colorful handmade hoop earrings from a craft fair. “I dressed the same way when I was fat,” she told me once. “If I was going to be fat, I was at least going to be a fat person with style!”

As Ellen sips on a decaf, nonfat, sugar-free vanilla ice mocha (otherwise known as the Why Bother? ) from Starbucks, she launches into a story about Billy Joel. “About two years ago, he was dating a girl who lived around here, and he spent a lot of time in town,” Ellen tells me. “So one day I’m sitting in my office and the receptionist calls and says, ‘Ellen, Billy Joel is here.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah, very funny.’ But she says, ‘Noooooo, you don’t understand, it’s really Billy Joel.’ And it was! He told me that he listens a lot to the station and appreciates that we play his music. So we hung out for a while, and he came on the air with me and sang a song. It was unbelievable. Nothing like that had ever happened in my career.”

Life at work hasn’t been nearly as agreeable for Ellen lately. The station—which has long been known for its diverse classic hits sensibility—recently changed its format to appeal to a younger demographic. Now the station plays more contemporary songs, and Ellen had to move her midday show to the oldies station, which is also owned by the same radio group.

Ellen supported the changes because the ratings were slipping, but that doesn’t mean she’s not mad as hell about them. “I feel like my baby is gone,” she says, looking like she might cry. “I’ve had so many feelings come up around this. I’m sad. And I’m so mad!”

“Who are you mad at?” I ask her.

“I’m mad at all the morons who don’t understand what a quality radio station is,” she says. “They forced us to change because they want this lowest common denominator stuff.” And she’s not sure how she feels about her midday show being moved to the oldies station. “I guess the cool thing is that I can act my age and relate to people from my era,” she tells me, “but it also feels like where old DJs go to die. It kind of feels like I’m being put out to pasture.

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