PHOTO PROVIDED Tor Michaels is pictured behind the mic in his home studio.

BELLEFONTE — It’s 4:30 a.m. on any given weekday, and Tor McCartney is already awake and is getting set for the full day ahead of him.

As the long-time Chief of Staff for State Representative Scott Conklin (D-77), much of his day will include assisting Conklin’s constituents and helping craft legislation Conklin is working on, among other duties. But those “day job” activities will come much later in the morning, because from 6-9 a.m., Tor Michael McCartney will take to the airwaves of Centre County and beyond from his home studio as Tor Michaels, host of the Tor Michaels Show on 95.3 WRSC-FM.

Early Radio Roots

Michaels, 58, says he had always enjoyed both talk radio and TV news as a child and became “hooked on broadcasting” early in life. With some time spent growing up in the Johnstown area, he’d often listen to Jack Michaels on WCRO-AM, enjoying the focus on local news even at a young age.

At 15, Michaels began on-air DJing for WBLF-AM in Bellefonte, at which time he began using his now popular radio name, Tor Michaels, though he never changed it legally, something he says he regrets.

Over the Years

Michaels continued his DJ work and eventually became involved in politics, earning a degree in history along the way. Michaels briefly moved to California to work on the campaign for a congressional candidate who ultimately did not win the seat.

Once back in Pennsylvania, Michaels eventually took his current position as Rep. Conklin’s Chief of Staff in 2007, but radio and DJing would continue to play a part in Michaels’ life with various on-air roles and DJ gigs taking up much of his spare time.

The Tor

Michaels Show

Michaels’ radio show, in much of its present format, came to be in December of 2016 on WBLF-AM. The show ran for several years before a hiatus starting in 2020, returning to the airwaves at its present home on 95.3 WRSC in April of 2023, where it has remained ever since.

Community Microphone

Michaels says he views his show as an on-air “town hall meeting” where he and his callers can take time to discuss topics in detail beyond the headlines, noting that he believes many people have lost trust in media “as a whole.”

While much of the first part of the show consists of news briefs from various media sources, Michaels opens up the phone lines to residents and public officials alike to what he likes to call the “Community Microphone,” allowing time for his callers to voice their opinions or raise awareness to various topics of interest to include local news, fundraising events and pending legislation to name a few.

“Everyone’s equal,” Michaels says, referring to his callers, indicating that both citizens and the officials that represent them have an equal opportunity to be heard on his show.

A recurring tone with Michaels is his prerogative to keep discussions he initiates focused on issues local to Centre County and Central Pennsylvania.

“If this radio station was a newspaper, this show would be your local section,” Michaels said, referring to his regionally focused content.

A Few of Those

Officials

Sheriff Bryan Sampsel (R-Centre) is just one of the many officials that will occasionally “take the Community Microphone” to discuss matters his office is involved with.

Sampsel is currently serving his third term as sheriff of Centre County and credits the show for being a “good way to get information out about scams or special events” his office is highlighting, specifically noting such annual events as National Night Out in August and the Law Enforcement Memorial Service at the county courthouse in May.

Another official and frequent caller to the show is Laura Shadle. Like Michaels, Shadle also works for Rep. Conkin as his Political Director and is a Committeewoman with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

While Shadle will sometimes call in to talk about political issues, she also uses the airtime in her role as a “community correspondent” for the show, bringing attention to local topics and events of a less political nature, and to highlight Centre County’s unique cultural diversity.

“I strive to emulate Tor’s vision for bringing people together in Centre County, with a collective emphasis on community connection,” says Shadle, noting the divisive rhetoric she believes has driven “every aspect” of society in recent years.

Referring to the show, Shadle added “Tor brings it all back home to the local level, inviting each of us to set all that aside and learn to engage each other as neighbors again.”

Some Serious Matters

Over the past year, The Tor Michaels Show has tackled several serious topics concerning the Centre County area, among them being a hotly discussed Solar Power Purchase Agreement which involved a number of government entities along with a private solar power developer. The highly reported project fell through without any solar arrays being built in Centre County.

Michaels indicated that he’s a proponent of green energy, but that he took issue with roughly $202,000 of taxpayer dollars being spent by an “unelected board” for the contractual process, even though the process never resulted in the project being built in the county, and the money spent was only approved after the fact.

Michaels’ broadcasts also discussed matters such as a State College eminent domain matter and the case of Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, whose murder conviction for the 1980 shooting death of Thomas Kinser in State College was overturned in 2025.

Adding Some Levity

Even if much of the show involves serious matters, such as the Vedam case, Michaels will break things up a bit with segments such as “Dial and Deal,” allowing anyone to call in with items they’re trying to sell, with Michaels then essentially providing an on-air ad for the items, complete with the sellers’ phone numbers for prospective buyers to call.

Michaels says when it comes to “Dial and Deal,” he thinks of himself as the “Mr. Haney of Centre County,” referring to the comical but shady salesman character from the 1960s sitcom Green Acres.

Regular

Callers

Critical to Michaels’ show are his callers, several of whom phone in on a regular basis. Michaels estimates that he has as many as 15 regular listeners that will call into the show at least once a week to discuss the topics at hand and voice their opinions.

Michaels also has a weekly listener poll to stimulate conversation and to encourage people to call in.

Love of

the Line

While Michaels believes most of his audience is in Centre County, he takes pride in the fact that many of his listeners live on “the line,” areas such as in Beech Creek in Clinton County or Philipsburg at the Clearfield County border. Michaels said he also enjoys giving “shout-outs” to the lesser-known communities in the listening area to include those residents as well.

Social Media Presence

Michaels has three Facebook pages (Tor Michaels-Show, Tor Michaels-Show II and Tor Michaels-Show III), having an estimated 31,000 followers between those pages.

Michaels updates the pages daily with a highlight of listener polls, clips of on-air calls with officials and historical newspaper headlines from the area.

Although his pages are not emergency alert/scanner pages per se, Michaels relies on a long-time friend and former first responder, Jerry, to provide him with a breakdown of emergency calls in the area he monitors on his scanner throughout the day.

Michaels said that Jerry came to him years ago, frustrated that first responders were not getting the recognition that they deserved for the number and types of calls they were responding to. Michaels agreed, and in addition to reporting the incidents during his show, he began posting the scanner reports on his Facebook pages as a means of not only keeping community members informed but also giving first responders the recognition he believes they deserve.

Reflecting on Life

Michaels says he is “immensely proud” of his daughter, Alyssa, a practicing attorney in Philadelphia, adding that she has always supported him in his career.

An emotional Michaels also attributed his own sobriety to his achievements. Michaels, who indicated that he’s been sober for 20 years now, credits sobriety for “saving his life,” and, by extension, adding to the success of the show.

Future of The Tor Michaels Show

Michaels says that there are no changes in the works for his show, adding that he has a “wonderful arrangement” with Lightner Communications, the parent company of WRSC. He also plans on continuing to work for Rep. Conklin as Chief of Staff, managing to balance his two roles as he has for several years.

How to Listen

The Tor Michaels Show can be heard live Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on 95.3 WRSC-FM. You can also find recordings of prior shows by visiting www.lightnercommunications.com and clicking on podcasts to find a list of the shows by date.