News Reporter / Anchor
Arkansas Radio Network (ARN), KARN Newsradio (102.9FM), & Power 92 Jams (92.3FM)
Digital Content Specialist & Webmaster
Cumulus-Little Rock

John Payne developed a love of broadcasting at a very early age, and knew he wanted to work in radio at the age of 11. It would take him almost 20 years to stumble into a chance to turn his love for radio into a full time career.

John's radio start came with KLPI-FM, the student run radio station at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La. While a member of the radio station staff from 1994-1997, John held a variety of roles, including Underwriting Director, Public Relations Director, Jazz & World Music Director, and Program Director. Two of his greatest innovations for KLPI were the publishing of morning news show prep sheets for the DJs (World Wide Web was still early and as user friendly as today) and the creation of a free-format campus talk show, Noise Pollution.

Upon graduation, John served five years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, receiving an honorable discharge about a year after the attacks of 9/11 and as the United States prepared for the long start of "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan. An old radio friend from KLPI suggest he come to Little Rock to attend law school and do some side work in radio while he waited to start. That side work turned into a full-time job, but eventually John did get back to furthering his education.

While the on-air parts of the job have gotten smaller, John stays very busy at the office. Along with his duties in the ARN/KARN Newsroom and on the Broadway Joe Morning Show, John is responsible for the maintenance for the websites for the 8 radio stations managed by Cumulus-Little Rock.

You can follow John on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jclevelandpayne, friend him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jclevelandpayne, or visit his personal website at http://jclevelandpayne.net.