You may not realize it, but you could be the reason your favorite radio disc jockey gets up at the crack of dawn to help you get through the morning.

At least that's why P.J. in the Morning does it. He's the voice behind Coyote 93.7 FM, Todays Country and the Legends located in the northwoods of Rhinelander.

As part of our special series, 'Behind the Mic,' Liz Hayes introduces you to the man who's helping make hometown radio the place to turn your dial.

"A brand new one from Sugarland, yeah it does happen right here on Coyote 93.7 today's country and the legends. PJ in the morning here, it is 9:18."

While you may be enjoying a cup of coffee or just getting your day started, disc jockey Paul Johnson has put in several hours.

His alarm goes off at 4:30.

"Roll out of bed, don't wake any of the kids up, or I'll hear about it, be quiet," he said.

As the morning d.j. and operations manager of the 100,000 watt station, Johnson has a lot of responsibilities behind the mic.

"I wish there was a 27 hour day sometimes, but for the most part it's enjoying the job and meeting the great listeners out there."

He also has a lot of responsibilities at home.

"We've got a 3-year-old Jazz, we've got a 2-year-old Elliott, he's gonna be 2 in May and 3 month old, actually 2 months...I gotta say. Yeah, 2 months. See! That's what radio does to you!"

His wife's support has allowed him to have the job he loves.

"I got a great wife who helps me out at home and makes sure everything is good at home, so she helps me out a lot. Being away a lot it can start to grind on you a bit, there are some weeks of the 12 to 14 hour days."

But to Johnson, making people smile makes it all worthwhile.

"That's what we wanna do, brighten people's days up because they're hearing all the bad news out there now with the economy and everything else, it's nice that we can offer a little escape."

He still faces pressure of making the one-year-old radion station thrive, during the time of MP3's, i-tunes and satellite radio.

What is the future of radio?

"That's the million dollar question a lot of people wanna know right now because you have the satellite radio and now they're going bankrupt, mp3's and i-phone and everything. It's just this mass communication thing."

But what Coyote brings to the table is local content, and it makes listeners keep coming back for more.

"The one key radio has for growing the local radio, is stay local and keep the local people informed. You don't get that with all the satellite and all that."

Coyote is definitely keeping it local, and with P.J. in the morning, they're also keeping it interesting.

You can tune in to our media partner Coyote 93.7 to hear weather and news updates throughout the day.