Atlanta Radio: Elliott, Carter Gets Mornings At B98.5

Jack Elliott

WSB-FM B98.5 has named former Bert Show cohost Melissa Carter as part of its new morning show, replacing Vikki Locke.

The new male host Jeff Elliott has extensive radio experience in markets such as Los Angeles, Dallas and most recently, West Palm Beach.  He takes over for Kelly Stevens.

Carter and Elliott debuts on Wednesday, August 14. The show will air from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.

According to Rodney Ho at accessatlanta.com, Program Director Chris Eagan said he received more than 100 legitimate job inquiries nationwide after he posted for the job a few weeks ago. "We were just inundated," he said.

Although Elliott and Carter have never worked together before, Eagan paired the two in social settings and liked the chemistry.

Melissa Carter

Carter, Eagan said, "brings a good name from the market. The audience that listened to her on the Bert Show should now be the B98.5 audience. They've grown and evolved."

Eagan, who considers B98.5's core audience to be women in their 30s and 40s, said when he heard Elliott's demo tape, he knew that the radio host "understands our target demo and has the content to back it up."

Carter first entered Atlanta radio as the news writer at the Morning X on rock station 99X, then landed a full-time on-air hosting job with the new Bert Show in 2001.

The first openly gay on-air radio host in Atlanta, Carter was known on the Bert Show as the voice of reason. In 2011, she decided to leave voluntarily, unsure whether she even wanted to stay in radio. A year later, she turned up at the new All News 106.7 as an afternoon host but stepped down last week after just over a year on the job.

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