The Used2Bs are providing career counseling for former FM107 show host Kevyn Burger .
Burger, who lost her job in October because she wasn't pulling in the listeners, became emotional Wednesday as she spoke of her indebtedness to a group of women who got their start in Twin Cities newsrooms, most when they were in their 20s. The Used2Bs' names, followed by their former TV station affiliations, are: Melissa Young (11), Carolyn Brookter (5), Maureen Reeder (9), Mary Stucky (11), Susan Wiese (11), Lindsay Strand (5), Mary Milla (5) and Carolyn Marinan (11). Members absent from the Burger meeting: Susan Austin (9), Debbie Ely (4), Joan Steffend (11) and Jackie Renner (5).
"I'm kind of down in a hole right now, and they put eight ladders down in that hole to show me how to climb out," Burger said, her voice breaking. Taking a deep breath, she added: "That's an awesome thing. Every one of those women is on my 'Anything for You List.' I think Rosie O'Donnell said she had [a list by that name]. I just can't ever repay what they gave me."
Lots of friends and colleagues are coming out of the woodwork to help, too.
But the Used2Bs, spelled this way by their co-founder, Marinan, a Hennepin County public affairs officer, have been "so generous with their time," Burger said. "I'm trying to talk to a lot of people ... trying to figure out what a logical career for me might be. All I've ever done is broadcasting -- started when I was 19. That may be where I end up."
I've always heard a public radio timbre in Burger's voice. She's very thoughtful and not good at the unbridled silliness and gossip that brings listeners to FM107. "Who knows," she said. "Radio, television, I have no idea."
Burger considers all TV people egomaniacs. "I'm the well-adjusted egomaniac; I'm not raging. This is a new way to be an egomaniac, where you sit around and say, 'Let's talk about me.' And people see me in different ways. I have never been busier. I have three to four appointments a day."
And she goes to many of them via her bicycle. But she probably won't be able to bike to her next big appearance for FM107, for which she's still doing some work.