Star 94 launched “The Bret Mega Show” this week, its ninth morning-show lineup since early 2008. Audacy vice president of programming JR Ammons, who oversees stations in Houston, Atlanta and other markets, made the change by dropping hosts Kevin Avery and Taylor Scott earlier this year, shortly after assuming oversight of the station. The previous duo had been on Star for less than a year after 25 years at the now-defunct Christian station Fish 104.7.
Ammons, who declined to comment to Rodney Ho at AJC, previously worked with Mega in St. Louis and brought him to Atlanta along with co-host Anna Bohlmann. Ammons has long ties to Star 94: he served as assistant program director and music director from 1995 to 2006 during the Steve & Vikki era and returned as program director from 2008 to 2011.
“I am a little surprised they cut Kevin & Taylor,” said Mark Owens, who was part of the Star morning show in 2019 and 2020 with Jenn Hobby. “Established names. Built-in audience. Good people. But I wish the new show lots of success. Radio needs more live and local personalities.”
Mega, a 38-year-old Chicago native with a wife, Katie, and three young children, previously spent two years in Atlanta from 2014 to 2016 as a producer on Power 96.1’s morning show with Scotty K and Riley Couture. He and Katie, his high school sweetheart, enjoyed the city as a couple before having children, attending Music Midtown and hiking at Stone Mountain. iHeartMedia let him go without a publicly stated reason in February 2016, six weeks before their wedding. Katie is a clinical therapist.
In 2021, Mega launched a morning show at St. Louis adult pop station Y98, where he remained for five years. “We were doing pretty well there and were dominant in the female 25-54 demo,” he said. When Audacy offered the Atlanta opportunity, he recruited Bohlmann, a single 26-year-old St. Louis native skilled in social media and video editing.
“I trust Bret a lot,” Bohlmann said. “He’s never steered me wrong. He’s a great leader. He just cares a lot. He’s confident this will work. He’s moved so much in radio. He’s done all the moving for me. This could be very permanent.”
Mega, who is new to running the board, handled the technical demands smoothly during an observed segment at Star’s Colony Square studio in Midtown on Tuesday, aside from a brief stretch of dead air on the show’s Monday debut. “If the first thing you do is dead air, you have no way to go but up,” he joked on air. He aims for authenticity, a quality long associated with his mentor Bert Weiss, who hosted on Q100 for a quarter century before retiring a year ago.
After Steve & Vikki, Star 94 cycled through multiple morning approaches, including shifting an afternoon show, importing outside talent, recruiting Bert Show alumni and most recently bringing in the Christian-pop duo. Ownership changes, management shifts and format tweaks repeatedly undercut consistency against “The Bert Show.”
With that competitor gone, Star has a clearer path. Q99.7, the former home of “The Bert Show,” debuted a new morning show in late March with three relative unknowns. Mega’s show also competes with B98.5’s established lineup of Tad Lemire, Drex Renner and Kara Leigh, which ranked No. 2 among women 25-54 in September Nielsen ratings.
“I trust Bret a lot,” Bohlmann said. “He’s never steered me wrong. He’s a great leader. He just cares a lot. He’s confident this will work. He’s moved so much in radio. He’s done all the moving for me. This could be very permanent.”
Mega, who is new to running the board, handled the technical demands smoothly during an observed segment at Star’s Colony Square studio in Midtown on Tuesday, aside from a brief stretch of dead air on the show’s Monday debut. “If the first thing you do is dead air, you have no way to go but up,” he joked on air. He aims for authenticity, a quality long associated with his mentor Bert Weiss, who hosted on Q100 for a quarter century before retiring a year ago.
After Steve & Vikki, Star 94 cycled through multiple morning approaches, including shifting an afternoon show, importing outside talent, recruiting Bert Show alumni and most recently bringing in the Christian-pop duo. Ownership changes, management shifts and format tweaks repeatedly undercut consistency against “The Bert Show.”
With that competitor gone, Star has a clearer path. Q99.7, the former home of “The Bert Show,” debuted a new morning show in late March with three relative unknowns. Mega’s show also competes with B98.5’s established lineup of Tad Lemire, Drex Renner and Kara Leigh, which ranked No. 2 among women 25-54 in September Nielsen ratings.