Two new voices are coming to the radio waves in the Greater Golden Triangle area.
Former Columbus Municipal School Board member Glenn Lautzenhiser and former local newsman Steve Rogers will co-host “Drive Time with Steve and the Professor” from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday on WNMQ-FM 103.1 The Team starting Monday, Nov. 28. The sports talk radio show will feature daily segments for listeners to call in and discuss local sports happenings, including news from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Alabama as well as high school and national sports. The show also will include segments focused on sports history and sports trivia.
“We’re very excited about it because we think it has great potential,” said Lautzenhiser, who has lived in Columbus since 1974. “We know the people in North Mississippi and West Alabama love their sports. I love sports and love sports history. We’re going to give people an opportunity to call in and talk about their favorite sports and to ask questions.”
Lautzenhiser said he has had eight to 10 meetings with Cumulus Media, which owns the station located in Columbus. He said the program will take the place of the national programming from CBS Sports Radio that 103.1 The Team has been broadcasting.
Lautzenhiser said he and Rogers plan to do a mock show next week to see how they work together to help prepare them for the launch of a show they think will help fill a void in this part of the state.
“We’re going to do a lot of local things,” Lautzenhiser said. “We’re still developing the format. Steve and I are very excited and honored to be a part of this thing. As much as I know people love sports, I think people are going to respond and it is going to be a significant program in our area.”
Lautzenhiser served for 25 years on the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees. The Memphis State graduate also is a big fan of baseball. He has served in the past as an ambassador for First Book of Lowndes County, where he has stressed the importance of reading to elementary school children and helped to educate them about the Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues.
Lautzenhiser also has a radio program on WTWG AM 1050 that focuses on hymns from 9-11 a.m. every Wednesday. That program stems from a course he teaches at Mississippi University for Women.
Rogers has worked as news director at WTVA in Tupelo and as interim news director, assistant news director, and assignment editor at WCBI in Columbus. He also worked as a news writer and as an editor at The Dispatch. He said he has known Lautzenhiser for years and that he was “flattered” when Lautzenhiser called him about the possibility of working together on the radio show.
“I think a lot of it will be starting the conversations with people we know,” said Rogers, who has lived in Columbus for 12 years. “I am more of a talker and Glenn is the expert. There are so many big fans of sports, and I run into them every day. They are people who know their sports, not just football.
“Whether it is baseball or men’s and women’s basketball (among other sports) in between Alabama, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State, you have all of those conversations, and with MUW getting back into athletics and high school sports being a big deal, there is no shortage of things to talk about with people with expertise and people with opinions. We will be the facilitators. Hopefully a lot of it will be good and it will be fun.”
Rogers said he worked on a prep football radio program when was a high school student at Demopolis High in Alabama. He said the program in his hometown focused on action from Friday night football games and focused on conversations with coaches and recaps of the games. He said he did the show for two to three years.
Just like that show, Rogers believes “Drive Time with Steve and the Professor” will complement the programming already on the local airwaves.
“One of the things Cumulus and local people realize is what it is all about is local,” Rogers said. “I did not know they did not have a local program. It is not really something to compete with The Dispatch, WCBI, or WTVA. It is going to bring another forum for everybody and give all of those people an outlet.”
Chris Stryker, who is operations manager for 103.1 The Team, hopes Lautzenhiser and Rogers can help the station connect with the community on a local level and give it the local sports coverage that hasn’t been available in the area.
“I feel they have all of the potential in the world,” Stryker said. “I think it is going to be a great pairing. They already know each other outside of the show, and it really is going to fit the format of local talk being that they are a couple of guys from here doing a sports talk show about sports here.”
Stryker said Lautzenhiser and Rogers will “let the people decide” what local and national topics are discussed every day. He feels the show will provide a “nice balance” to the afternoon lineup of programming that currently features Doug Gottlieb on 103.1 The Team in that afternoon time slot.
“Listeners are going to get a lot of great coverage that is going to add another dynamic to (our programming),” Stryker said.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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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 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
