Hellbound
That put Mertz, who is legally blind, out of the running. He and his brother were both born with a rare neurological condition that interrupts messages from the eyes to the brain. “I have to hold papers close to my face when I read,” he says. “I get harassed on the train about that. People say, ‘Why are you holding the paper so close? Do you want to borrow my glasses?’ If you’re sitting in a wheelchair on a train, no one’s going to say, ‘Want to try my shoes? Maybe my shoes can make you walk.’”
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After the microfiche incident, Mertz–who has limited depth perception and trouble discerning colors–decided to go into radio. He was majoring in telecommunications at Michigan State University and working as music director of the school’s radio station when the agency that was paying his tuition called him in for a meeting. “They said they didn’t think radio broadcasting was the right pursuit for someone who was legally blind, and that unless I could prove through want ads in local newspapers that there were jobs, they would revoke my tuition,” says Mertz, who would not name the agency. “I showed them openings, but not in that area. They said they wanted me to be a physical therapist. I said, ‘Why is that?’ They said, ‘Because you get around so well.’ I said I didn’t want to be a physical therapist, and they said, ‘Call us when you do want to.’”
So when he heard that Northwestern University’s radio station was looking for someone to do a public affairs show, he jumped at the chance even though it wasn’t a paid position. The result was This Is Hell. Currently airing Saturdays from 9 to noon on WNUR (89.3 FM) and on the Web at www.wnur.org, the show has a stirring motto: “Brave enough to be live, dumb enough to be goofy, stupid enough to think that we can be a regular part of your Saturday morning hangover.”
Mertz, who’s currently out of work, spends 4 to 5 hours a day cruising the Internet for news–and the night before the show he’s on the Net for 14 hours. He also watches various television news shows every day: the BBC, the French Journal Deux, and network news. “What amazes me is that you get the same news on each network,” he says. “There’s so much news out there if you go on the Web. I could do four or five hours of news alone each day.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Drew Reynolds.
