What exactly is merit and who decides? That will be the topic of this March column. I even made up a song, or changed the lyrics to a song from the ’70s. I know you remember the song by Harry Nilsson called “Me and My Arrow.” Well, I changed the lyrics and it goes like this:

Me and my merit.
I once interviewed Tom Skerritt.
Everywhere I go, nobody knows
'bout me and my merit.

Maybe you feel the same way. How much do we really know about someone from a piece of paper called a resume? In today’s world, that would be uploaded to a website where, depending on your age, your merit would get lost in the algorithm of resumes. My merit has gotten lost in a sea of websites like Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor and many more. Surely yours has too if you’ve applied for a job in the past five years.

Merriam-Webster defines merit as a praiseworthy quality. Well, what I may think is a praiseworthy quality, might be different from what you think is one, right? So merit is subject to the person deciding, right? An example could be two college graduates applying for the same position. One has worked since they were 16, paid their own way, worked full time during college and had numerous internships. The other candidate has never worked, but went to Columbia in NYC for four years. They had a gap year living with a family in Italy and their references are top notch.

Who are you going to chose based on merit alone? I know who I would tend to navigate toward and it’s always the underdog, but that’s me. You may see merit in someone who navigated Manhattan for four years and lived in Europe because they are worldly. Both have merit.

Ottawa County Commissioner Joe Moss recently posted to social media, “Abolish DEI and Salt the Earth.” Did he choose merit when Jordan Epperson was hired, only to sue the county laughing all the way to the bank? I don’t think so.

Let me tell you a little about me and my merit.

I’ve been on the radio for many big events over the years. It started that hot summer Monday at CBS radio when OJ Simpson’s ex-wife and Ron Goldman were murdered. I remember the newsroom being filled with tons of reporters running all over trying to get the scoop. It was my birthday, too. We knew this was big, but we didn’t know how big. I was on the radio when the Bronco chase took place and when the verdict came down as well.

When I worked in Seattle, not only did we have an earthquake while I was on the air, but the verdict came down in the Mary Kay Letourneau case. You may remember she was a teacher who had a child by one of her students. I remember listeners flooding the request line wanting to know what happened. It was a big deal that day in the Pacific Northwest.

I was standing in the newsroom when the first plane hit that sunny Sept. 11. We kept our cool for weeks and were never, ever the same. Same with the space shuttle Challenger disaster. It takes someone with a trusted voice to pass along those headlines. A trusted voice equals merit.

Over a decade ago, I went through a divorce, mother and brother dying all in the span of 16 months. It was a lot, but I pulled through. No one knew any of what was going on because I am a professional. Just like you, I know what my job requirements are. Just like you, there is merit in almost everything we do.

So if we now want to base everything on merit, then why am I not sitting at a studio on West 57th Street in Manhattan delivering you CBS news at the top of the hour? I’m qualified. I have merit. If some suit in corporate radio can’t see that, it’s their problem, right?

Wait — there is more merit. I worked through a breast cancer diagnosis and poured my heart out on the radio so that someone else doesn’t have to go through it like I did. There is merit there, too, right? I worked during radiation when I was so exhausted that I didn’t know if I could even finish a shift. Surely there is merit there too, right? But wait! It’s not on my resume! How will they see the merit in that diagnosis?

They won’t.

At this stage in my life, I could care less if they do. After writing this column, I see that my merit is something no one can ever take away from me. So is yours. I guess it’s up to us to shout from the rooftops about our merit because a resume won’t do.

Me and my merit are up for Best Newscast and Station of the Year with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters awards this April. I did win second place for Best Morning Show two years in a row now.

Why is everyone so afraid of equity, diversity and inclusion? Why? What is broken in you that you can’t even say the words? Is there merit in working with someone from a different background and ethnicity? You bet there is.

I was the token female my whole radio career. I witnessed things that would make your head explode. Told that, as a female, I could never, ever host a morning show myself. As a female, I would never be allowed to host afternoon drive, either. As a female, I made a good babysitter to my male host who was out of his mind most mornings in brilliance that I tried so hard to keep up with. This was all decades ago.

Now I drive the bus. Me and my merit.

— Mary Ellen Murphy is an award-winning broadcaster and host of Good Morning Grand Haven on 92.1 WGHN-FM.