Murph Dawg & CJ find syndicated radio jobs

Sept 17, 2010

By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed Sept. 17, 2010

Though they lost their gigs last month when 95.5/The Beat on the FM dial became a news/talk simulcast, morning hosts Murph Dawg & CJ Simpson have landed on their feet - as syndicated morning hosts.

According to CJ's Twitter feed this morning, as of Sept. 23 the pair will be heard on WHZT-FM/Hot 98.1 in Spartanburg, S.C., WHTI-FM/Hot 100.9 in Richmond, Va., WPUP-FM/Power 100.1 in Athens and www.955thebeat.com. It will also be available on the HD-2 channel on 97.1 for folks with HD radios.

As CJ noted on her Twitter page:

Like I said before..."WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES ANOTHER ONE OPENS!" Thank you Lord for my BLESSINGS

In an interview this morning, Lee Cagle, who had run the Beat for several years (and didn't lose his job last month because he also ran B98.5), said his bosses wanted to keep Murph Dawg & CJ by placing them on other Cox radio stations in a syndication deal.

Naturally, he loved the idea and was assigned to oversee it. The show will have more content, Cagle said, than the Beat version, and the pair will have a producer for the first time.

Murph Dawg, who spent today doing a ghost show with CJ to learn the time clock for syndication, said he appreciates the fact Cox considers him a valuable asset. He has worked for Cox for nine years at two different stations. He and CJ will work in the same studio they did when they were at the Beat and will continue to make appearances in Atlanta. CJ, for instance, will remain the in-game announcer at the Atlanta Dream women's basketball games.

And the Athens station overlapped with the Beat coverage area so a decent percentage of their fans will continue to be able to hear them on the FM dial.

Cagle also said former Beat jocks Maverick and Mami Chula are in talks to join former rival station 105.7/The Groove, which is a bit more pop than the Beat was but plays plenty of the same artists.

The Groove, as of this week, has dropped virtually all its 1970s and 1980s cuts and is barely playing anything before 2000. In other words, it has converted almost completely to a current-based dance-pop-hip-hop station to fill the gap that was left by the Beat.

Cox last month ended the Beat after 11 years and placed its news/talk AM property in a simulcast with 95.5, thus the name 750 AM and now 95.5FM News/Talk WSB.

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About the Author

Rodney Ho

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.

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