Holland Cooke, East Longmeadow native and member of the class of 1968 of East Longmeadow High School, noted  the members of the class of 1968 turn 68 this year.

He admitted that after a life-long career in radio, he thought it would be time to slow down a bit and take fewer clients for his successful consulting business.

Cooke, though, believes in a phrase coined by Woody Allen: “80 percent of life is just showing up.”

And how Cooke has “shown up” has landed him the hosting gig for RT America’s “The Big Picture.”

The news and opinion show airs at 7 p.m. ET every Friday and Cooke is enthusiastic, but philosophical, about his new media job.

Cooke has had radio in his blood most of his life. His first job was at WHYN and he worked his way through then-Westfield State College at the studios that used to be at 1300 Liberty Street.

He recalled he did so for the sum of $2 an hour. One of his shifts started at 5 a.m. on the FM side of the station when the format was known as “Beautiful Music.” He remembered having to awaken his father at 5 a.m. to get a ride to the station for his shift.

Cooke, though, made progress in the industry as an on-air talent. His biography noted, “He’s held a variety of on-air and management positions, not the least of which was his seven-year tenure as the operations manager of WTOP Radio in Washington, DC, during which time the station scored its highest ratings to-date in the all-news format. In 1991, Cooke founded FliteCom Systems, Inc., which became USA TODAY Sky Radio, the live-via-satellite news, sports and talk audio channels heard on Delta, Northwest and United Airlines. The technology they developed evolved into Sirius Satellite Radio. On January 1, 1995, Cooke began consulting full-time and was named news/talk specialist by McVay Media, the largest radio programming consulting firm in the world. His work includes programming and marketing strategies for talk radio stations from Alaska to New Zealand, career counseling for radio talent and podcasters, and Internet development for entrepreneurs, companies and radio personalities.”

The road to his current TV job started in an unlikely way. He was doing consulting work 20 years ago for a station in Nebraska and met talk show host Ed Schultz in KFGO in Fargo.

Schultz was a growing presence in progressive talk radio who later had then-Sen. Barack Obama on his show as he was running for president. He secured a promise from Obama that if he were elected, he would allow Schultz the first question at his first press conference as president.

Obama won, kept his promise and suddenly media people wondered why this broadcaster from North Dakota received this kind of privilege. Schultz’s radio show skyrocketed and MSNBC eventually offered a daily TV show.

 Who did Schultz call on to be a guest? Holland Cooke.

Cooke is modest about his many regular appearances on “The Ed Show.” He explained he was usually on Friday’s broadcast when other guests had plans.

“I was Mr. Available,” he said with a laugh.

Schultz then lands a job with RT America and asks Cooke to join him for dinner one night. That dinner included Schultz’s boss at the network.

Another meeting over coffee and then an appearance on Schultz’s show and the RT executive made him an offer: take over “The Big Picture,” then hosted by Thom Hartmann.

At that point the show was daily and Cooke was told he’s have to move to Washington D.C. A resident of Rhode Island, Cooke recently married and has two stepchildren. His wife has a job she loves. He didn’t want to move.

His counter proposal? Make the show a weekly.

Cooke found himself last October hosting a national news show, a job he clearly enjoys.

His debut came after about a month of rehearsals into order to turn a radio host into a TV host. He commutes from his Rhode Island home two days a week, spending Thursday and Friday assembling the show.

He said his story illustrates the importance of “just showing up.”

He calls the non-profit RT America a “fascinating work place.” He works with two producers – one Russian, one Iranian – in crafting the show. Because of its non-profit status, RT America frequently runs longer stories, something Cooke admires.

Cooke readily admitted the Russian ownership of the network in the present days of conversations about collusion “sent a potential ripple through the guest pool.”

He is adamant, though, the RT management isn’t slanting the news. “I haven’t been handed a script about the glorious tractor factory in Minsk,” he said.

He bemoans the fact that political conversation has descended into so much argument “you can’t even agree on what is a fact.”

Cooke has both liberals and conservative pundits on his show, as well as a variety of experts to discuss subjects such as wage disparity, the rights of fathers after divorce, the president’s recent summit in Singapore and the popularity of genetic testing, among many other topics.

He said his present job is “just daunting in an exciting way as working at 1300 Liberty St.”

For more information on “The Big Picture,” go to www.rt.com/shows/big-picture.