By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed March 5, 2011
Caffeinated Radio with Jason Pullman and Kristen Gates, the third morning show for 94.9/The Bull in its four-year history, appears to be the keeper.
After two years together, the pair received a multi-year renewal contract which will keep them on the station at least through 2013, according to their boss Dan Persigehl.
Bull ratings have been up and down over the past two years, but the station is doing better with them than without them. For a period in the fall, Pullman and Gates were even beating Kicks 101.5’s Cadillac and Dallas show in key demographics.
The Bull opened in late 2006 with no morning show, then added a syndicated morning team Big D and Bubba for a few months. In early 2008, they attempted their first morning show starring country parodist Cledus T. Judd, who had great success in Tampa. He was teamed with Jamie Massey, a Star 94 vet, and Slam Duncan. That did not last long. Kristen came in but soon, Cledus was out. (He is now back in Tampa.)
Kristen and Pullman were then teamed up and the chemistry gelled in a show that is more youthful-sounding than their rivals over at Kicks.
“He’s like my brother, ” Gates said. “You love him but he drives you nuts at the same time.”
Pullman, a Dunwoody High School grad, worked for many years in Los Angeles before being drawn back to Atlanta in 2009. Gates worked at South 107, 95.5/The Beat, Star 94 and Kicks before joining the Bull in 2008.
