Steve McCoy named morning host on News Radio 106.7

He will lead the morning show that will feature Cheryl White (formerly of the afternoon show), Michael Jones on sports and Greg Talmadge with traffic.

"I'm going to be the host of the show," he said. "I will throw to the news people and traffic and sports. I'll interject some fun things. It will be a more open format. I'll be doing interviews."

His first in-studio guest Monday will be his old buddy and stand-up legend Jeff Foxworthy. "It will be kind of like 'Good Morning America' or 'The Today Show,' " he said. If there is serious breaking news, he said he can handle interviews of that nature as well.

McCoy is known for his witty, light-hearted brand of humor and his inveterate work ethic.

He certainly wasn't an obvious pick for a news/talk station, but the station has been adding more personalities and cutting back on traditional news staff since it launched in 2012. Its lineup now includes political talker Michael Graham from 9 to noon and former WGST host Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson. The station's ratings have been steady the past few months, usually around a 1.7 share, ranking them around 19th or 20th place in metro Atlanta.

In recent months, he and his former Star 94 morning team of Vikki Locke and Tom Sullivan have been doing a weekly podcast at his Johns Creek home that has aired weekly on YouTube and Spreaker every Friday. He did it, he said, because he loves interacting with his old friends and just joking around.  This morning, he replayed a classic Star 94 interview with Elton John. He plans to continue the weekly podcast. (He hopes Locke could be a substitute host for him at times on his 106.7 show.)

Since leaving radio, McCoy has also been doing voice-over work for commercials, films and video games. But he was open to new radio opportunities. This one came along less than two weeks ago.

A source inside the Cumulus Atlanta radio building tells me five full time and four part-time employees have been cut from the station, including morning host Drew Nelson and afternoon host Greg Black. They will be relying more on freelancers and third parties.

Morning hosts John Lisk and  Cheryl Castro are taking the afternoon slot from 3 to 7 p.m. that had been Black and White's spot.

I haven't yet reached station director Greg Tantum, who will also be on air in the afternoon. 

“Steve has had a personal relationship with millions of Atlanta radio listeners for years," Tantum said in the press release. "Steve's deep roots in the community bring a one of a kind perspective and understanding to the daily lives of Atlanta residents. Most important, Steve has proven he is the best at entertaining listeners and making them feel good -- even in Atlanta traffic.”

McCoy's not the first local music jock to transition to a talk format. Christopher Rude is the standard bearer. He was a long-time 96rock jock but switched in 2003 to sports talk 680/The Fan. He has been there ever since, an impressive 12-year run to date.

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Randy Cook, part of the Randy & Spiff morning show on multiple oldies stations over the years, did the news/talk format on 640/WGST-AM from 2008 to 2010. He said it was a lot more work than he expected going in. He did multiple interviews every morning and had to spend hours of prep time each day off air just to be ready with all the news stories he had to tackle any given day. "It was a tough transition," he said. (Cook now works for The Impact Partnership, co-hosting radio shows nationwide with financial advisors.)

Spiff Carner, who works with Randy at Impact, wishes McCoy nothing but the best. "He's a pro. He's a good guy, a great talent. I do feel bad for him having to get up so early in the morning. I don't know how the heck I did that all those years!"