Charly Morgan replaces ailing Tripp West as B98.5 mid-day host
This was posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk
With Tripp West still recuperating from a brain tumor and out indefinitely, B98.5 has chosen a replacement in mid-days: Charly Morgan.
Morgan is morning drive co-host on Your Georgia Country (WNGC/Athens) and has also been handling midday fill-in on B98.5 since May.
"She's warm, friendly and fun on the air and off, a great addition to our Atlanta team," said program director Chris Eagan in a press release.
Earlier this year, West had a tumor removed from his brain. Unfortunately, his recovery has been slower than expected. He informed the station last week he couldn't return. His wife Jill has posted a few times on his Facebook page to keep friends up to date on his progress but she has not offered anything new in recent weeks.
In an interview before surgery, West said three years ago, he was first diagnosed with a small brain tumor. Doctors, he wrote, kept it small with medicine. But the tumor began to grow again last year.
His neurosurgeon in Atlanta referred him to Duke University. There, he received bad news: the tumor had grown into West’s hypothalamus and third ventricle. He was told only brain surgery could remove it.
West has been in Atlanta since 1997 and spent 11 years at Star 94.1 doing mid days. After that station let him go, he spent eight months as morning producer at 94.9/The Bull, followed by afternoons at now defunct dance station 105.7/The Groove, then two years at Atlanta’s Greatest Hits until the station changed to the news format in 2012.
He then did nights at B98.5 and overnights at News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB for a few years. B98.5 gave him full-time work hosting mid days starting in the fall of 2015.
B98.5 and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
