Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2007 > November > 14
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
11/15: Two names, same DJ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jordan Graye, a long-time mid-day DJ at B98.5, offers pithy pleasantries between Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson songs.
Kate McCarthy, a new afternoon DJ at sister station 97.1/The River, offers pithy pleasantries between Boston and Aerosmith songs.
And they sound identical.
“Hmm… I have never seen the two of them in the same place at the same time,” said Chris Miller, program director for the River, which plays what it dubs “classic hits.”
He jokes. The truth is: McCarthy and Graye are one and the same. This was just a way to get an extra DJ voice onto the River at minimal cost.
“There were arguments about having her use the same name because she sounds good on both stations,” Miller said. “In the end, we decided on a different name to keep each station distinctive and not cause confusion.”
This is the first time in recent memory an Atlanta radio personality has donned two names for two different stations. But similar situations have occurred earlier this decade, all at stations that no longer exist:
2001: Clear Channel Entertainment gave 96rock’s afternoon jock Chris Rude a morning show over at sister rock station Mix 105.7, but at least he got to keep his name in both cases and not have to use a pseudonym. (Rude is now a morning host at sports talk station 680/the Fan.)
2002: Then-oldies Fox 97.1 used Randy & Spiff as both the morning show (live) and the afternoon show (taped) as a cost-cutting measure before the entire station changed formats in early 2003. (Randy Cook is now morning host at news/talk WGST-AM, where Spiff Carner was recently let go.)
2004: When 105.3 went FM talk for a few months, Atlanta listeners would hear “MJ in the Morning” from 6 to 10 a.m., then Todd Schnitt from 3 to 7 p.m.. MJ and Todd Schnitt are the same person doing two different shows out of Tampa. (He’s still on air in several markets but not in Atlanta.)
Graye, who has worked at B98.5 for much of the past 18 years, said she was given a list of 15 acceptable fake names to use on the River. She found an unusually high preponderence of names from the Brat Pack era such as Ally (as in Ally Sheedy) and McCarthy (as in Andrew McCarthy). She chose Kate McCarthy because it sounded pleasant enough.
But she won’t create an entirely new off-air persona. The Kate McCarthy bio online, for instance, does not include her picture and she won’t be doing public appearances under that name. “You won’t be seeing Kate McCarthy out and about in a blonde wig,” she said.
Here’s her Jordan Graye bio on B98.5 and her bio as Kate McCarthy on the River.
B98.5 and the River are owned by Cox Radio, which is part of Cox Enterprises, which also own the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
11/14: Writers strike links
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Are you having trouble comprehending this writers strike? The writers are wasting no time getting the word out, at least from their perspective, taking their campaign online onto YouTube. Here’s an example from the folks at “The Office.” “The Office,” by the way, has only one more fresh episode. Then it’s repeat hell until this strike is over:
If you want to know how many new episodes of your favorite shows are left to air, Michael Ausiello of TV Guide is keeping track here.. “Desperate Housewives” has three left, “Grey’s” has four, “CSI: NY” has six left, “Heroes” has three, “Ugly Betty” has five or six, “Private Practice” has four or five left, et. al.
[The LA Times offers a big picture story.]http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-et-bigpicture13nov13,0,1956165.story
Here’s Tim Kazurinsky (remember him from “Saturday Night Live”?) explaining the situation:
