How an aspiring broadcaster from New York ended up in eastern Idaho for a 30-year radio career

IDAHO FALLS — Bob Ziel stepped into an elevator at 20 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan when a man wearing a fedora above his eyes and a coat with the collar pulled up put his hand in front of the door and asked if Ziel would hold it open for him.

It was October 1963 and the now retired eastern Idaho broadcaster was working as a delivery boy in New York at the time. It was Friday afternoon around 5:00, and as the man stepped into the elevator, Ziel was shocked to see who it was.

“Mr. Nixon, is that you sir?” Ziel asked.

“Yes,” the man replied.

Richard Nixon, who later became the 37th president of the United States, had served as President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s vice president two years prior and was unsuccessful in his bid for California governor the year before.

“They didn’t have secret service protection for former vice presidents back in the early ’60s,” Ziel says in reference to Nixon hiding his face with his clothes and walking the streets alone.

Ziel was a senior in high school at the time, and his parents — who had immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in the late 1920s — voted for Nixon when he ran against JFK in 1960.

Though many people at the time believed Nixon’s political career was over, Ziel asked Nixon if he planned to run for president again. In response, Ziel recalls Nixon saying that he wanted to return home and practice law. The elevator they were in happened to be inside the law firm of Nixon, Budge, Rose, Guthrie & Todd. Five years later, Nixon went on to beat Democrat Hubert Humphrey in the presidential election.

It was an auspicious moment for the aspiring radio announcer, and it would be another 12 years before a trip through eastern Idaho would land him his first radio gig.

Getting started in radio

Ziel’s fascination with radio began when he was a little boy in Queens, New York. His parents owned an RCA 78 rpm record player and AM radio. He remembers playing and listening to music for hours as he danced around the house.

He became curious about how radio worked and was fascinated to learn it was coming from a studio many miles away that was being fed into a transmitter that sent a signal for his radio to pick up. Learning that only increased his interest.

After graduating from high school, Ziel served several years in the navy during the Vietnam War. In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Ziel explains how he ended up in the Gem State.

“A very good friend of mine, who passed away a few years ago, was a disc jockey in St. Anthony. We wrote each other back and forth. I had a dream to go to San Diego because my ship, the Tripoli, was stationed there. On the way, I thought I’d make a right turn on Interstate 95 and visit my friend in St. Anthony,” Ziel says.

At the time, Ted Austin — who is now the public relations manager for Fall River Electric in Ashton — was launching KADQ in Rexburg, the first FM signal in the Upper Valley. The signal went on the air in August 1975, according to Austin. In those days, radio DJs needed an FCC license to work as on-air broadcasters. Ziel had a freshly minted one, and his timing couldn’t have been better.

“Bob came by and interviewed and we hired him,” Austin says. “He came to work temporarily for our country station, KIGO, in St. Anthony. It was June or July, and we hadn’t launched the station in Rexburg yet.”

Ziel worked the mid-day shift on KIGO. Austin says Ziel had a New York accent, which distinguished him as an on-air personality in eastern Idaho. Austin describes him as a great DJ who was very knowledgeable about the music.

“He was never late and he was always willing to do what needed to be done,” says Austin.

On June 5, 1976, the Teton Dam broke and Ziel had the chance to hone his news chops.

He was living in an apartment in St. Anthony when he heard the news. Rexburg and Sugar City were in the flood plain and he remembers driving his used Toyota Celica to the courthouse to use a phone in the basement so he could do a live report.

“(Shortly after the dam burst), I’ll never forget — one of the deputies said, ‘Oh my God. Water is up to the eaves at the Wilford (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) church house. It’s now heading towards Sugar City.’ I relayed that information to the two stations,” Ziel says. “That was quite an experience. That’s one of the highlights of my career.”

Hosting a radio talk show and the state of radio, politics today

In 1978, Ziel was hired to work at KID 590 AM, a news station in Idaho Falls. During the 1980s, Rush Limbaugh became the father of the conservative news talk format when he launched his nationally syndicated radio program. KID started its own conservative talk show as well and Ziel, who inherited his German parents’ conservative ideology, became its host.

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One of Ziel’s most prominent memories at KID is his interview with Democrat Richard Stallings, a former U.S. representative for Idaho who narrowly beat Republican incumbent George Hansen in 1984.

Ziel says Stallings had reservations about appearing on his program but Ziel was able to win him over by promising to treat him fairly.

“We had this fool from Arco call in and say, ‘What are you putting this communist on the air for?’ I said, ‘He’s a Congressman, you treat him with respect,'” Ziel recalls. “After the show, Stallings said to me, ‘Anytime you want me on, Bob, I’m there.’ He knew we had disagreements politically but he knew I respected him and I treated him the way he should be treated.”

The ability for national media pundits to be civil and fair in their conversations with public officials is something Ziel feels is lacking in today’s world. He offered some kind words for members of the local media.

“You guys at East Idaho News, I gotta say … you’re fair, decent. I’ll give you and the other reporters credit for that,” he says. “I believe, locally, journalism is fine.”

Even though there are podcasts and numerous on-demand media platforms available today, Ziel feels radio is still relevant because audiences have a personal connection with it.

The division and polarization in today’s political climate is concerning to him, and he thinks it’s going to get worse before it gets better. But overall, he says Idaho is a great place to live and he’s hopeful for the future.

‘We’re very proud of Bob’

Today, the 77-year-old enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife, Ginger, have three sons. Their son, Brian, works for Mountain View Hospital, and their son, Paul, is an attorney with Murray, Ziel and Johnston in Idaho Falls. Bob’s working on an autobiography as a keepsake for his posterity.

Austin and Ziel have stayed in touch over the years. Austin has fond memories of visiting Ziel’s home in Rigby several years ago. Ziel showed Austin his extensive vinyl record collection.

Austin is grateful for his lifelong association with Ziel.

“Bob’s a great guy,” says Austin. “We’re very proud of Bob and the things he achieved in his broadcast career. The fact that we gave him his first job in eastern Idaho that led to his career at larger radio stations and his television career is a cool thing.”

WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH ZIEL IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.