This was posted on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
NewsRadio 106.7 is adding a new political talk show host for drive time starting Monday: Brian Joyce, who comes from Chattanooga's WGOW Talk Radio 102.3.
106.7 has struggled in the ratings lately, especially during the time slots when it is just reporting news. The station's strongest performances now come from its current weekday talk show hosts: newcomer Shannon Burke from 9 to noon and veteran Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson from noon to 3 p.m. So adding another talk show makes sense.
The Kimmer made the announcement on his show today.
Joyce will keep his show in Chattanooga from 1 to 3 p.m on 102.3 there. His boss Sean Shannon said he will physically stay in Chattanooga Monday through Thursday but drive down to the Atlanta offices to do the show in Buckhead on Fridays.
The station ranked 22nd in 2016 with a 1.34 rating, down 14 percent from 2015. In comparison, News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB had a 9.2 rating, up 23 percent from 2015.
Changing those three hours to talk from news means trimming of the news staff.
Joyce, from 3 to 6 p.m., will replace John Lisk, Greg Tantum and Cheryl Castro's news show. Lisk is out, Shannon said. Tantum is program director so he still has a gig. Castro will read news during the breaks.
I'm not sure what will happen to other folks such as Headline News anchor Chuck Roberts, former WABE-FM mid-day host John Lemley and reporter Drew Nelson.
Tantum, in the press release, noted: "Brian’s background as a truck driver, teacher, bouncer, bartender, comedian and Senior Derivatives Analyst for a Fortune 20 company is a natural follow to the eclectic talents and backgrounds of our diverse news/talk team. No syndicated, one-note political mumbo jumbo here – NewsRadio 106.7 stands as a different kind of place and a stimulating and thought-provoking break from the echo chambers that populate news/talk today.”
According to his bio on WGOW, Brian is described as the "future of talk radio" with "brash, bold, thought-provoking conversation. The Brian Joyce Show is a fast-paced, informative, entertaining look at the hottest local, national, and international stories of the day. Equally comfortable mixing news and politics with sex, drugs, and rock & roll, there is no topic Brian won’t touch."
106.7 in 2012 started as an all news station but within 18 months had added the Kimmer. In 2014, the station hired Michael Graham for mid-mornings. Last spring, he was replaced by Burke. Over time, the station's news staff has gotten smaller as more money has been funneled into its talk hosts.
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