Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
A Morning at WWJ Newsradio 950
I work in Radio. I capitalize the word “Radio” out of respect. I’ve worked in Radio for 28-years! Nowadays I guess I say I “work in Audio“, but between me and you … it’s Radio. Radio formats have come and gone. There’s no more Oldies, Jazz, or Classical radio stations. Classic Hits and Classic Rock are “oldies” now when you consider the music they play is from the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s, which means the music is between 30- and 50-years-old. And I’m somewhere between 40- and 53-years-old. I guess us Gen Xrs just don’t want to think of our music as “Oldies” (even if it is).
I’m not here to list all the Radio formats (even though I could … because I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to Radio), but instead I want to talk about one, specific format . . . Newsradio.
And one specific station … WWJ Newsradio 950 AM in Detroit. Read More
2026 New Year’s Resolutions
For the entire month of December, I pondered and meditated about my 2026 Resolutions. Then…bam! It’s the “new year” and I’m off to a slow start. Or am I? Some resolutions only work if you start immediately on Day-1 (ie “Exercise Every Day”), but most resolutions are year-long quests. At least mine are.
Sure, you can say, “in 2026, I’m going to quit smoking,” or, “I’m going to run a 5K,” or, “I’m going to write a book.” Whatever you promise yourself, it’s about “becoming” something or “finishing” something.
Like some of mine…
- Finish writing two books
- Perform 10 times at The Moth
- 150 Minutes of Exercise Per Week
What I Got!
I spend too much on lots of little things and flights of fancy, but I’m actually notoriously cheap. Frugal? Fiscally conscious? Basically, if I had a genie lamp and three wishes, one wish would be that every day I wake up and there’s a $20 bill under my pillow. Maybe $50 adjusted for inflation since college when my friend Rick and I came up with this.
With a $20 bill every day, I could buy a newspaper. Buy a coffee. Run to Books-A-Million and buy a book. Or, I could bank a few days and buy myself new work gloves or a pair of headphones. Or bank a week and buy a nice dress shirt or knives for my kitchen. Things I don’t need, but just kinda want.
But Don, you ask? Couldn’t you do this if you won a lump some $10-Million? Amen I say to you, I would rather have a crisp $50 bill under my pillow every morning than $10-Million. Read More
Don and His Podcasts: Ad Environment
I love Podcasts. I listen to 20+ hours weekly. My shows are all listed below, below. This project isn’t about the shows I like, but more about where I consume them and, because of my job, selling advertising and a growing interest in Podcast advertising, I’m going to conduct an experiment and examine the advertising environment inside Podcast Apps and platforms. For a couple years, I’ve exclusively used Pocket Casts. It’s beautiful in form, function and it’s ability to cut gaps of slience, or listen at 1x, 2x or customized 1.1x, 1.2x speed …whichever a listener prefers. Pocket Casts, however, is ranked #9 among Podcast listening-apps and while I don’t use Apple Podcasts and Spotify … most people do (see rankings below). Read More
Year of the ____________
Remember I already declared 2026 will be the Year of the Pen. Meaning, I switch from only using wood pencils for everything … work notes, journaling, sketching, etc … to using ONLY pens. Additionally, it’s going to be the “Year of” a few more things. These aren’t New Year’s Resolutions. These are themes. Total behavior change.
Allow me to explain the difference between “Resolutions” and “Year of the ___________”. Resolutions are activities I commit to doing or things I say I’ll stop.
- Workout 150 minutes per week
- Read 24 books
- Floss daily
- Don’t look at my phone before bed
“Year of the ____________” are things I already do and can’t avoid doing, but I’ll just do them differently and in a new way. These are declarations. As in, “I declare this year, 2026, the Year of the Pen,” and say if you say that aloud in a really exaggerated British accent, you’re getting it. Read More
The 2025 Kowalewski Christmas Card Letter
2025 marks the 6th annual Kowalewski Christmas Card Letter. I’ve now written five of them, and Ada wrote one (last year’s). I think I finally found my “audience” for these letters. My Mom. Why do I need an “audience” you ask? Because, if a letter-writer isn’t careful, they might talk about things no one cares about or their letter might sound like brag after brag after brag. The “bragging” has been the part I struggle with. I’ve always said, I love getting letters from others when they send me a Christmas Card and, personally, I don’t mind if they tell me about their 12 trips to Europe, their new Lamborghini, and include a picture that shows them with their arm around Jeff Bezos on Jeff Bezos largest-yacht-ever-built. Sure, that would be a little braggy, but if I have a close relationship with that person, and that person feels like my friendship is worth of getting their family Christmas card and letter, then there’s a pretty good possibility I’ll be happy to hear about their months in Europe, Lambo’, and their friendship with The Beez’ (which I assume is what Jeff Bezos’ friends call him). Read More
Resolutions Count-Down … 4-Days
Only 4-days until January 1st and another quest for the best-year-ever while pursuing the Best-Don-Ever.
Adding a few things to my list . . .
- Recommit to a strict Morning Routine
- Power Weekends (aka have a plan for each weekend and don’t just sleep in and do nothing … writing ths, it’s currently 9:52 a.m. on a Sunday and I haven’t even had breakfast or done anything)
- Work-Only while at Work (8:15 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. daily)
- Find a journal brand and make it my brand (you know I am big on “my brands” and I don’t have one for my journals … let alone pen and pencil brands, and boy oh boy do people have passion for journals and writing instruments)
- Restart my Journal Project
2026 Will be the Year of the Pen
Most of you know 2025 was “Year of the Pencil.” I journaled in pencil. Took work notes in pencil. I researched pencils and tried many brands, styles, and quality levels. I enjoyed the nuance of sharpening and shading. I liked it. It was a nice year. I’m not anti-pencil, but I think I need to revisit ink pens.
Do you think about your pens and pencils? Well… I do.
I like writing in my journal. I like making notes and sketching and doodling. But I didn’t like the bleed-through (or “bleeding” …which is the ink going through the paper and showing on the other side of the paper). Hence, the Year of the Pencil. Read More
More Resolutions
The list and brainstorm continues. Look at this list?!?!?! Can you imagine if I do all of this stuff how amazing I will be and how awesome my life will be? What if I do 50%? What if I do 25%? Still pretty good and 2026 will be better than 2025.
- Organize and clean-up my YouTube Channel: I have one consistent viewer … my daughter. Currently my YouTube is a mix of family-friend videos. Some Portfolio stuff (which should be a Playlist or Channel inside the Channel). Some performing stuff. Some … kinda old, embarrassing stuff that’s kinda for nothing (like my Push-Ups during the Push-Up challenge). If I’m a “brand” unto myself and/or I want to be a thought-leader, I think my YouTube channel can be better if it wasn’t just a massive hodge podge.
- Organize my Photos: I have photos on an external hard drive. Some on my PC’s harddrive. Some still in DropBox and still others in Google Photos. No rhyme or reason. So, I’m going to figure out a rhyme and a reason.
- Implement Walter Green’s “Say It Now” (video below) into my year: Maybe I’ll go with 26 people (for the year 2026). Or maybe I’ll go with 52 or 52 (because I’m 52-years-old and will be 53-years-old).
Time to Start *Thinking About* New Year’s Resolutions
Some people poo poo the idea of New Years Resolutions and point to all sorts of data that says “New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work” and most people break their resolutions in less than a month. Well? I poo poo that. I love Resolutions. I love new beginnings. I love making improvements and adjustments. And if it happens to be January 1st that I turn a page and make a list and make myself some promises, I’m gonna do it (and you know I make resolutions often and not just once a year).
Over the years, *some* of my Resolutions have stuck . . .
- Get on stage and perform at The Moth (I’ve done this 6 times and won once)
- Floss daily (I never thought I’d be a flosser but I am)
- Cold showers (silly, but I’ve done it)
- Journal (not daily, but often)
- Clean my bathroom every morning (this is surprisingly satisfying and cathartic)
- Oatmeal for lunch (I can’t wait to see my cholesterol levels with next year’s annual physical)
Don Kowalewski 