Mark Gunn is a 35 year veteran in radio and television, who also happens to a do a little writing from time to time. "I'm not exactly sure when my passion for writing really began." "I feel like it's something I've always done." Before getting into radio, he was the lead singer of a cover band in Columbus, Georgia called "Cargo". It was toward the end of the band's run that Mark began writing as a
lyricist. "Guitarist, Donald Johnson and I were putting songs together for a very rough demo." "Don had a few songs that he had rough drafts for and I started writing words and melodies for them." They actually managed to get a few of them recorded, but as Mark laughingly admits, "While they were actually pretty good songs, I wouldn't want anyone to hear them today." He also credits his career in radio for giving him his second push to put pen to paper. "I remember writing all kinds of commercials and promos and never giving thought that I was actually WRITING anything. It was about trying to be creative and getting the job done." If Mark had to pinpoint the one "A-HA moment" that put him on the path to doing editorials, it would be a lecture he was giving at UCLA in the early 90's. "I was working for what was KACE - FM at the time and was responsible for starting a movement that saw us eliminating a lot negative music from our radio station." The move generated national and international press coverage. "That's how I ended up doing the lecture" Mark recalls. The professor approached him afterwards and encouraged him to write a book because in his words, "...you would write like you speak." Mark says "I took those words to heart and they're with me every time I touch a keyboard." In addition to the writing he's already done, he's in the middle of completing his first novel. "It's an autobiographical piece about my very unusual upbringing and my the ride through my career." It's called "Everything I Know About Radio I Learned In Kindergarten" and he hopes to have it finished by the third quarter of this year. The Written Word Of Mark Gunn Media
