“Good morning. Happy Tuesday. Welcome in to Rise and Ring!” Gracelyn Johnson’s voice rings over the radio bright and early Tuesday morning.
“It’s not a bad Tuesday,” her co-host Wesley Webb chimes in. “It’s looking like it’s going to be just a little bit warmer today, nothing to complain about.”
The daily greeting has become almost second nature to Webb and Johnson after hosting 37 “Rise and Ring” shows together since the broadcast began last fall.
From the Grammys and the Oscars to the latest in Mississippi State University athletics and even the recent impacts of Winter Storm Fern, the student duo starts each Tuesday and Thursday hoping to get listeners engaged in conversation instead of sitting on the sidelines.
“We try to make it to where if you’re listening you feel like you’re part of the conversation, (and) not that you’re just listening to two people talk,” Webb said.
The morning talk show, which airs from 7-9 a.m., is the first of its kind at MSU’s radio station, 91.1 FM The Junction. Since its first episode aired last fall, it has had nearly 40 broadcasts, a run that all started with a conversation between the two hosts and the station’s general manager.
While the cohosts didn’t start off quite as comfortable as they are now, Webb said there were glimpses early on in production of what the show could become that made him confident he and Johnson would eventually find their voice.
Now with 37 shows under their belt, Johnson said conversations flow more naturally since they’ve built a friendship that goes beyond their time in the station.
“(During) the beginning in that early part … (we were) trying to get to know each other, get to know each other’s personality, and have quality ideas, (which was challenging),” Johnson said. “Also not knowing what to do (on the show), because it came from nothing. It was just whatever we wanted to talk about. And so over time, definitely getting to know each other has helped a lot.”
Creating something from nothing
The duo was originally broached in May by Becca Thorn, general manager for The Junction, about hosting a morning talk show together. She knew she wanted to create opportunities for students that felt more akin to what is done at a professional radio station, like a morning show.
Johnson and Webb were on Thorn’s “short list” of qualified students at the station with the experience and personalities she considered the best fit for a morning show.
“It was a matter of finding the right puzzle piece,” Thorn said. “Finding someone who I thought would hit it off well to where they could build rapport fairly quickly, but they also would have personality types that are … different enough to where it makes for engaging conversation naturally.”
Johnson and Webb agreed their differing personalities are part of the charm of the show. The contrast provides not only a good juxtaposition for listeners but also helps to fuel the show’s light hearted debates, Webb said.
“I think it’s really two good contrasting personalities for a morning show, because you’re trying to be happy and you’re trying to get into it, but you’re also pissed that you’re awake,” he said. “You wish you were still in bed. And it’s kind of both ends of that.”
Before hitting the airwaves, Thorn said “the expectation was high” for the show to go well.
“You guys have to have a really solid rapport with each other and have really good chemistry,” Thorn said. “… We’ve just been kind of honing the little things that kind of take them from definitely feeling like two college kids giving a morning show to what could compete with a professional level morning show.”
The show must go on
With Webb planning to graduate in May, the show will have a slot to fill for a new co-host. While she’s excited for the new endeavor, Johnson, a sophomore, said she’s sad because she knows it won’t be the same without him.
“We’ve been going through and figuring out which DJs here would be interested in the opportunity next fall,” Johnson said. “That’s the intent, to find someone who is even better than Wesley and I to carry it on and keep that expectation up of it being enjoyable, and so that’s been a fun challenge (replacing Webb) because we’ve grown so close and have made it so well.”
Webb and Johnson hope their original intent for the show is carried on – to be a lasting project that future generations of students can pursue well after they are both long gone.
“The intent is for the show to continue to grow,” Webb said. “… This year we’re trying to make it as good as possible, but also lay the foundation so that it can have steady roots to continue to grow.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
