Episode 174

Bill & Morgan, Q104 Cleveland - Betting on Balance

This time, we talk to the morning hosts who are about "Real Life, Real Cleveland", as Bill & Morgan of the Q104 Morning Show join us.

Bill Ryan is a Northeast Ohio native and Kent State grad who is now on his second stint with Q104. He was originally part of the team from the mid-’90s to the turn of the century. In between, among other things, he produced the national JohnJay and Rich show, which we featured in season one.

Morgan Wright is also an Ohio native, growing up in Perry and graduating from Marshall University. She considers herself a pop culture expert and is active on social media…where her TikTok videos have scored almost 8 million likes!

Interestingly, this is a case where Bill and Morgan did not know each other before forming this show. Wait 'til you hear how they made it work...and work well!

Time-stamped SHOW NOTES

(02:21) Bill and Morgan explain how they 'fast-forwarded' the process of gelling as a Morning Team, and share some of the biggest factors a new team needs to consider.

(07:24) As a leading morning show in a legendary radio market, Bill and Morgan share what they look for from a good program director or coach.

(08:59) The team also notes some management traits or characteristics a PD might not realize they’re doing or just want to avoid.

(10:25) These days there are a lot of factors BESIDES ON-AIR performance, need to create a winning radio show. Morgan shares her recipe for making noise in the market -- and beyond!

(13:30) Looking to the future, Bill and Morgan tell us the skills THEY are preparing for TODAY, to stay viable in the future.

See Morgan's TikTok story on WKCY, Channel 3 in Cleveland.

 

One-Minute Martinizing (tap here)


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Transcript
Bill:

And this is where Morgan's got me by, uh, miles and Miles.

Bill:

It's social media skills, which I suck at.

Bill:

Most of my followers on social media are in Phoenix.

Bill:

They're not in Cleveland.

Bill:

The northeast regional sewer district has more Twitter followers than I do , but

Bill:

we've talked about balance and, and that's where Morgan balances me out.

VO:

Welcome to Brand with On Demand, your Guide to Rebooting Radio.

Morgan:

...but I would disagree with you Bill, though, because even though you

Morgan:

say that you don't have as many followers from Northeast Ohio, what I found from

Morgan:

the people that follow you from Phoenix is that they now wanna follow our show.

Morgan:

So I've always thought the best thing that you can do on social media, whether

Morgan:

you have a hundred followers or 10,000 followers, isis connect with your

Morgan:

audience and that's what we're trying to do every morning on a morning show.

Morgan:

Sure.

Morgan:

And I found that when you do it on social media, it's almost even more personal

VO:

BRANDwidth on Demand.

VO:

Rebooting radio with a different take on all radio can be.

VO:

Now your guides through the Mediamorphosis, David Martin and

VO:

author of the book, BRANDwidth, Media Branding, coach Kipper McGee.

Dave:

Well, this time we talked to the morning host who are about

Dave:

real life in real Cleveland.

Dave:

They're the team that does Q one oh four's Morning show, bill Ryan, a northeast

Dave:

Ohio native in Kent State grad, who is now on his second stint with Q 1 0 4.

Dave:

He was originally part of the team from the mid nineties to the turn

Dave:

of the century, and in between, among other things, he produced

Dave:

the National John J and Rich Show, which we featured in season one.

Dave:

Morgan Wright, also Ohio native.

Dave:

Growing up in Perry, graduating from Marshall University.

Dave:

She considers herself and she.

Dave:

A pop culture expert and she's very active on social media where her

Dave:

TikTok videos have scored weight for it, almost 8 million likes.

Dave:

Wow.

Dave:

We'll link to all of that and more in the show notes.

Dave:

BRANDwidth on Demand is proud to welcome a host of Cleveland's Q104 morning show.

Dave:

Bill and Morgan.

Dave:

Hey guys.

Bill:

Hey.

Bill:

Wow.

Bill:

Hey, welcome.

Bill:

Thanks for that, Dave.

Bill:

I enjoyed that.

Bill:

. I'm going, I'm gonna grab the audio and probably use that

Bill:

to kick off a show someday.

Bill:

Yeah.

Bill:

You

Dave:

resemble those remarks, right,

Dave:

? Bill: Absolutely.

Kipper:

So question for you guys is how did you two first

Kipper:

get together to become a team?

Bill:

Morgan, I'm going to basically let you answer all the questions first, and

Bill:

then I'll jump in and, and bring it home.

Bill:

Okay.

Bill:

That sounds good.

Bill:

Yeah.

Bill:

Well, I But Morgan and, and the reason why is because Morgan was there.

Morgan:

I have been at the same station for seven, going on eight years.

Morgan:

I'm so fortunate to have grown up in northeast Ohio.

Morgan:

Listen to q and o for my entire life.

Morgan:

Knew that well, I didn't know that I was always gonna be in radio, so I won't lie.

Morgan:

But now that I'm here, it just feels like the perfect fit, which is such

Morgan:

a blessing because you know, radio jobs are few and far between anyways.

Morgan:

So to find one in your home.

Morgan:

With all the things that you know and love and a hot AC station,

Morgan:

which is also right at my alley.

Morgan:

I'm just so fortunate.

Morgan:

So I've been there for a while.

Morgan:

I don't plan on leaving anytime soon.

Morgan:

And of course, we've had a couple different cast members in and out during

Morgan:

my tenure in Q104, but I met Bill in February of this year when a position

Morgan:

came open for a co-host position.

Morgan:

And yeah, like we were talking a little bit before, it just has been really

Morgan:

kind of effortless and you don't get that kind of chemistry with everybody.

Morgan:

So I'm very fortunate that Bill is the one that my boss chose.

Morgan:

I mean, I gave him a, uh, glowing review after our first demo.

Morgan:

So I can't say that I chose it myself, but I will say that, uh,

Morgan:

bill, you were up there for me too.

Morgan:

So I'm glad that it all worked out.

Morgan:

But you have the much more interesting story about you came.

Bill:

Yeah, so Morgan was already there.

Bill:

She was already in place.

Bill:

And then she talked about the cast changes on her show in Cleveland.

Bill:

And I was a victim of similar changes.

Bill:

Uh, I was in Phoenix and I lost my job in November of 2020 during the pandemic,

Bill:

but when I moved back to Cleveland, it wasn't for this job that I have.

Bill:

It was before the job even was open.

Bill:

I was already there.

Bill:

I, I moved back home for personal reasons because I am from here originally.

Bill:

My family is here, my closest friends still live here.

Bill:

And at the time my dad wasn't doing well health wise and we had just put

Bill:

him into full-time assisted living.

Bill:

So without anything tying me to Phoenix.

Bill:

There was this strong pull for me to come home and I did in July of last

Bill:

year and spent a few months here getting re acclimated and figuring

Bill:

things out, and then the job opened up and the rest is just luck or fate

Bill:

or whatever you want to call it.

Bill:

And like she said, Morgan was gracious enough to sign off on it.

Bill:

So here we are.

Kipper:

So it was certainly not a shotgun wedding?

Bill:

No, no, not at all.

Bill:

I do believe in the.

Bill:

Pointing you in the direction that you're supposed to go if you're just,

Bill:

if you're wise enough to pay attention.

Kipper:

So for someone who might be joining a new show or considering

Kipper:

a new situation in mornings, what are some of the things they should

Kipper:

be looking for, deciding to do it.

Bill:

For me it was, it's, it's pretty much all chemistry, you know?

Bill:

It's the feeling that you get when you're around that person.

Bill:

Um, do you have the same sensibilities that they do?

Bill:

Do you think similar things are funny?

Bill:

Can you tell from the first couple of meetings what their work ethic is like?

Bill:

I, I learned that lesson.

Bill:

Early in my career.

Bill:

So I think I have a good idea now on how to look for it.

Bill:

You know, you can have the most talented people all together in the

Bill:

same room, but that does not mean and and does not guarantee they can

Bill:

execute a successful show together.

Bill:

If you're not on the same page or if the, the personalities don't gel, you

Bill:

could have disaster on your hands.

Bill:

And with Morgan, it just hasn't been that way.

Bill:

You know, we're on the same page.

Bill:

A, a scary, good portion of the time.

Bill:

Uh, considering we've only worked together for a few months, you know, a lot of times

Bill:

she knows exactly where I'm going on the show and can even finish my sentences.

Megan:

Yeah.

Megan:

I'm a, I'm a full blown work wife at this point.

Megan:

Now, don't tell Paula, Bill

Megan:

. Dave: And Morgan, what,

Megan:

How did you, uh, feel, what were your instincts, uh, about this show working?

Morgan:

Yeah, I've been really fortunate, you know, throughout my time to never

Morgan:

really have, uh, a disaster story when it comes to, you know, cast members that

Morgan:

I didn't necessarily get along with.

Morgan:

And I feel like for the most part, I try to be easy to work with because

Morgan:

it's the best job in the world, right?

Morgan:

Like, it, it shouldn't be causing stress and chaos and tension.

Morgan:

It should be actually the opposite.

Morgan:

It should be bringing joy and happiness and laughter into your life.

Morgan:

For me, like Bill said, I just feel like we both kind of, I wouldn't say

Morgan:

that our sense of humor is exactly the same because I feel like I'm very, I

Morgan:

don't know how I would describe it.

Morgan:

Uh, extra talkative, bubbly.

Morgan:

And I feel like bill's more dry sense of humor.

Morgan:

But we get each other in that sense, and I think it's a great balance.

Morgan:

So something definitely that I was looking for in a new partner is that balance

Dave:

well as a leading morning show in a really competitive market.

Dave:

Guys, what do you two look for from a good program director or

Dave:

coach, what are the qualitities?

Bill:

For me, it's someone that is a, a champion for your show and will

Bill:

spend time thinking about ways that they can help advance the show somehow.

Bill:

You know, somebody who, who's like me, who lies awake and bed and I'm thinking

Bill:

about the show, if somebody else who's in charge of you is also thinking of

Bill:

the same things, uh, that's incredible because critiquing a show and, and

Bill:

criticizing a show, uh, that's fine.

Bill:

But if that's all that you're doing for your show, that's certainly not.

Bill:

. I think that, um, a good PD or brand manager needs to also help come up

Bill:

with ideas to give you resources to achieve your success as well.

Bill:

So that's something that, uh, that I would always look for.

Morgan:

Yeah, I agree.

Morgan:

And, and then again, just having a respect for each other and a respect for the show.

Bill:

And, uh, you know, like I've said, I've been fortunate in that to,

Bill:

to be at one station and feel those things from my program director and

Bill:

even, I mean, Bill's not my program director, but I'm on the younger side

Bill:

of my career, you know, seven years in.

Bill:

And there are a lot of times where a young female might feel like their ideas

Bill:

aren't as heard as much as others or just that whole dynamic, but I really

Bill:

feel like my ideas are always heard.

Bill:

Um, I'm always encouraged to put my best foot forward and Bill kind of gives me

Bill:

the creative freedom to come up with new things and, and be true to myself,

Bill:

which I think in turn makes for a great.

Kipper:

So I'm gonna point this one to Bill, cuz Morgan, you've pretty much

Kipper:

been there the whole time, but without naming names, bill, unless you want to!

Kipper:

What are some of the management traits or characteristics that a PD or brand

Kipper:

manager might not realize they're doing or they really, from a talent

Kipper:

perspective, should just plan a void or trim or tailor do differently?

Bill:

The biggest trait that I cannot stand is instant negativity

Bill:

or maybe shooting something down in a meeting or a brainstorm session.

Bill:

Uh, you know, for instance, if you're talking about ideas for the show

Bill:

that week or something you want to do in a couple of months for St.

Bill:

Patrick's Day or whatever it is.

Bill:

And you're getting responses from your pd, like, oh, we'll

Bill:

never be able to pull that off.

Bill:

Or, we've never done that in this market before.

Bill:

It'll never work.

Bill:

And it's like, okay.

Bill:

I mean, we're not even gonna try.

Bill:

Should we just all pack it up and go home right now?

Bill:

So that can be very frustrating.

Bill:

But the, the reality is a lot of times it's not realistic that you can choose

Bill:

everyone that you can work with.

Bill:

And with Morgan, I've, I've lucked out, but I can't pick and choose

Bill:

everybody that's in the building.

Bill:

So, Sometimes you just have to deal with the bad and take the negativity and still

Bill:

try to find something good out of it.

Bill:

Something positive.

Bill:

Yeah.

Bill:

Good advice.

Dave:

Besides your on air performance guys, what are some of the biggest

Dave:

considerations in creating that great winning radio show that you've got?

Dave:

What are you doing outside the, being on the radio?

Bill:

I think one of the most important things is, uh, creativity and trying

Bill:

out new things that no one else has ever tried before to make yourself

Bill:

stand out in a crowded morning place.

Bill:

I think every year that goes by, it becomes more and more difficult to

Bill:

be innovative, especially in, in on a show like ours where we're starting

Bill:

out, we have a certain amount of songs that we need to play, so we, you

Bill:

know, we're inside of our box, but, You know, the challenge is up to us.

Bill:

How creative can we be in our box and how can we do it more entertaining

Bill:

than, than anyone else can?

Bill:

I think work ethic is important.

Bill:

The desire to wanna be the best and not being afraid to, to work hard for it.

Bill:

And, uh, and probably, and this is where Morgan's got me by, uh,

Bill:

miles and Miles, it's social media skills, which I suck at, uh, to be.

Bill:

Most of my followers on social media are in Phoenix.

Bill:

They're not in Cleveland.

Bill:

I have been unable to get any traction on social media in Cleveland so far, and

Bill:

I, I look this up today, the Northeast Regional Sewer District has more

Bill:

Twitter followers than I do . So I am an embarrassment on social media so far.

Bill:

Uh, but we've talked about balance and, and that's where Morgan balances me out.

Bill:

But are you saying Cleveland wants more?

Bill:

They, they loved, they loved that Twitter account.

Bill:

I don't know what it is, uh, with me, they couldn't care.

Bill:

But

Morgan:

I would disagree with you Bill though, because even though you say that

Morgan:

you don't have as many followers from Northeast Ohio, what I found from the

Morgan:

people that follow you from Phoenix is that they now wanna follow our show.

Morgan:

So I've always thought the best thing that you can do on social media, whether

Morgan:

you have a hundred followers or 10,000 followers, is connect with your audience.

Morgan:

And that's what we're trying to do every morning on a morning show.

Morgan:

Sure.

Morgan:

And I found that when you do it on social media, it's almost even more personal.

Morgan:

And that really resonates with people.

Morgan:

That gets people invested in you, invested in your story, invested in your life, and

Morgan:

eventually invested in your morning show.

Morgan:

Yeah, it takes

Bill:

time.

Bill:

I just need to be more patient.

Bill:

I'm sure it's only been eight months.

Bill:

I I absolutely have to be more patient.

Bill:

You're right.

Bill:

You're right.

Bill:

See, see why she's, we're so great together.

Bill:

She talks sense into me to me every morning.

Kipper:

Talk you off the ledge.

Kipper:

That's great.

Kipper:

We understand now that with BRANDwidth, which is what we do, we take the media

Kipper:

brand and use all the bandwidth that's out there to get ourselves out there.

Kipper:

But the question is now that we know we got video, we know that we've

Kipper:

got audio, we know we've got text.

Kipper:

What skills would you recommend someone starting out in radio today?

Kipper:

Start developing like yesterday to be ready for tomorrow?

Bill:

That's good.

Bill:

Um, I don't even know if I'm qualified enough to answer that

Bill:

question yet because, uh, what is so exciting about me is I.

Bill:

I've been doing radio for a long time, but I'm actually doing something

Bill:

that I've never done before, and that's being a co-host of a show.

Bill:

I've worked with morning shows since 2000, but it's always been as

Bill:

behind the scenes producer or the third mic, or the fourth mic and,

Bill:

and to be doing what I'm doing now.

Bill:

It, it, it's something brand new for me, but just my initial thoughts are what

Bill:

we just talked about is making yourself stand out on social media, whether

Bill:

that's learning how to edit video.

Bill:

Learning some advanced digital skills.

Morgan:

Mm-hmm.

Bill:

...you know, I'm behind the curve on that, you know, just because of my age

Bill:

now and how technology is coming so fast.

Bill:

And then just challenging yourself to come up with great ideas for content outside

Bill:

of the radio show, uh, whether that's.

Bill:

Again on social media or creating unique on-demand podcasts that

Bill:

will compliment your radio show.

Bill:

Just finding more ways for you to stand out in a crowd outside of the radio show

Bill:

because man, it is crowded out there.

Bill:

Yeah, and

Morgan:

I'll say from my experience with social media is that, yes, of course it

Morgan:

requires skill and you have to learn, but also a little goes a long way.

Morgan:

You know, I'm not, I'm not by any means like a social media mastermind, but I

Morgan:

have learned the basics of how to make a TikTok video, the basics on how to then

Morgan:

turn that TikTok into an Instagram reel.

Morgan:

And you know, just knowing those basic things has really helped me

Morgan:

grow, uh, a brand outside of the show, but also a brand that I use in

Morgan:

the show, you know, because on the morning show I do the Hollywood Dirt

Morgan:

Sheet, we talk about pop culture.

Morgan:

Obviously we're a hot AC station, so the two really go hand to hand.

Morgan:

So it's like whatever brand I'm reflecting on my own social media, I'm

Morgan:

also reflecting it on our morning show.

Dave:

Wow.

Dave:

They are terrific.

Dave:

Bill and Morgan from Cleveland's Q 1 0 4 Morning show.

Dave:

Doing something different in radio, something new, something innovative.

Dave:

Well, maybe it's you that's doing all that.

Dave:

We'd love to hear your suggestions on guests for our show.

Dave:

Email them to show brand with on demand.com

Kipper:

And if you're finding this interesting or helpful,

Kipper:

please spread the word.

Kipper:

Tell your friends in while you're at it.

Kipper:

Please leave a five star review wherever you get your podcasts

Dave:

coming up.

Dave:

Morgan and Bill share things they know now they really wish they knew way back when.

VO:

Hi, this is Dave from Musicmaster Scheduling here with

VO:

another music Master Raving fan.

VO:

Hi, this is Jake Neiman with 96 7 KRAM.

VO:

With Musicmaster, crafting a a log is like driving a manumatic car.

VO:

You can leave it in automatic or drive manually.

VO:

Musicmaster has the tools and analysis to perfectly adjust rotations.

VO:

I enjoy the ride no matter how I drive.

VO:

With Musicmaster

Dave:

Ready to become a Musicmaster raving fan?

Dave:

Get in touch at Musicmaster.com/sales..

VO:

The stuff we know now we wish we'd known then Brand with On Demand.

Dave:

We're with the amazing Morgan and Bill Cleveland's

Dave:

Q 1 0 4 Morning Show stars.

Dave:

Hey guys, what's the one thing you know now that you really

Dave:

wish you knew way back in

Bill:

that first?

Bill:

When anyone sends you an email that says, free food in the break room, , you need

Bill:

to stop what you're doing at that second.

Bill:

Get up.

Bill:

And go get it because the jackles in the sales department will get there first

Bill:

. And by the time you get there, it's just bones , all the good stuff is gone.

Bill:

It's, it's all picked over.

Bill:

You can't wait.

Bill:

You gotta get up and go get that food.

Megan:

Well, my answer is gonna be a lot more serious than Bills,

Megan:

but I mean, I guess that's why we compliment each other so well.

Megan:

But I would say, What I wish I knew back then is that good things take time.

Megan:

You know, you can't just get into a job and, and expect the

Megan:

whole world to open up to you.

Megan:

And I mean, I started at the very bottom, like doing promotional

Megan:

events, setting up the big tents by myself, you know, work in the table.

Megan:

And I've done every shift under the sun, whether it was overnights,

Megan:

the night show middays, and now being on the morning show.

Megan:

I, looking back on my career, have always felt like I've been in a bit of

Megan:

a rush to get to where I am right now.

Megan:

But looking back, I needed to do all of those things to now be in the

Megan:

position that I am and to do my job well enough to have a winning morning show.

Dave:

Great, guys, what's the one thing.

Dave:

You really wish you knew now

Bill:

about the future.

Bill:

It's gonna be interesting to hear our answers here, Morgan, because, uh, I,

Bill:

I wonder just because we're in such different stages of our life, if it's

Bill:

gonna be different, um, when I was starting out 20 years ago, I bet my answer

Bill:

would've been so completely different.

Bill:

But looking ahead now, I just want to know that everyth.

Bill:

Turned out okay.

Bill:

And I will be happy if I know that my kids are living their best life and I've

Bill:

given them every single opportunity that I possibly could make available for them.

Bill:

You know, despite all of the challenges that we've gone through in the past years.

Bill:

I guess that, uh, I would want to tell myself it's gonna be okay and then,

Bill:

and then know that it's gonna be okay.

Bill:

I think that would take a lot of pressure off,

Megan:

I would say.

Megan:

Something I wish I knew now would honestly just be the future of radio.

Megan:

You know, we've seen so much downsizing over the past couple of years and I feel

Megan:

like the pandemic really accelerated that.

Megan:

Mm-hmm.

Megan:

, and on one hand, I feel like working all of the different positions

Megan:

that I have have really prepared me for this moment because, With two

Megan:

people, that's your full time staff in the morning for a whole show.

Megan:

I feel like I'm well rounded enough to help Bill do production or help

Megan:

come up with bits or voice track the midday show if I need to.

Megan:

Uhhuh

Megan:

. Dave: Bill and Morgan from

Megan:

We have links to their station, their daily show, podcasts,

Megan:

social media accounts, and more, including Morgan's, TikTok.

Megan:

Gotta see that and more.

Megan:

All in the show notes, just scroll on down.

Megan:

As

Kipper:

always, we wanna thank executive producers Cindy Huber,

Kipper:

for putting this all together.

Kipper:

And Hannah be our associate producer who actually booked

Kipper:

these folks and coming up next.

Lee Abrams:

Hi, I'm Lee Abrams.

Lee Abrams:

Join me next week on BRANDwidth On Demand.

Lee Abrams:

We're gonna be talking about the future of and the state of radio

Lee Abrams:

and it's gonna get pretty wild.

Lee Abrams:

No holds part.

Lee Abrams:

Hope you can join.

Dave:

That's a rap Kipper.

Lee Abrams:

It's all about company being good, company, a good companion.

Lee Abrams:

It's uh, really a secret to success in the show notes@brandwithondemand.com.

Lee Abrams:

I'm Dave Martin.

Kipper:

And I'm Kiper McGee.

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