To support the launch of the new Barrett Media, we’ve created a special series titled “20 Brands In 20 Days.” Highlighting successful stations across the country in various formats by conducting conversations with their brand leaders. Up next is Audacy’s Reggie Rouse. Reggie is the PD of Urban WVEE (V103), Atlanta. The station we are highlighting today.
Jeff Lynn: Can we start with you describing V103 in your words?
Reggie Rouse: V103 is the people’s station. That’s part of our slogan. I’m going to go old school, as my general manager, Rick Caffey, would say for a second.
Before the Internet, we were the Internet for the African American community. We were music. We were gospel for inspiration. We were the newspaper, and we still are that world. We’re actually a rarity at this point, a full-service urban FM like there was back in the day.
So, yes, we play hip-hop, R&B, and Throwbacks. Atlanta has a rich history with artists, everyone from OutKast to Usher, T.I., but the current music as well.
But the community is extremely important, and that’s where “The People’s Station” comes in. Part of our mission is to inspire and inform our audience, and we are very active in the community. That’s why we call ourselves “The People’s Station”
We have a sweet spot just like every other radio station. But the incredible thing about the history of V103, we’re able to get an 18-year-old, a 24-year-old, a 34-year-old, and a 44-year-old to listen to the same radio station. Not many stations can say that at this point.
JL: You have a big morning show, in name and in stature. Talk a little bit about that.
RR: “The Big Tigger Morning Show With Jazzy McBee,” Tigger’s a big brand. Years on BET as the host of “Rap City.” He worked at other radio stations before we brought him here to Atlanta. We worked together at WPGC in D.C. Tigger had started at night, and then he did the afternoons, so that’s where we met. When we had a morning show opening here in Atlanta, we brought Tigger down. He started in the afternoons, and then he’s been in the mornings since pre-COVID, so that’s at least four years already.
Another big name that I think a lot of people in Urban Radio know for V103 is Greg Street. Greg has been here probably 28 years.
Everyone in hip-hop knows the name Greg Street. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the East Coast, the West Coast, or the South. Everyone in hip-hop knows Greg Street, and Greg knows everybody.
He was big with OutKast and big with breaking a lot of acts here in Atlanta. His jingle says Greg Street is Atlanta history.
We have a really good staff.
You round it out with Jazzy McBee, who works in the mornings for Tigger. Danie B is new to the team. She started in December.
We have a gospel host named Larry Tinsley, who is a market veteran. We do early morning gospel from 5 to 6 am, and then Larry’s on the air on Sunday for six hours, 6 am to noon. His gospel shows, and his gospel ratings are amazing.
JL: What outreach do you do to support “The People’s Station.”
RR: We do everything. Our latest initiative is voting. We’re not going to tell people who to vote for, but voting in this election is critical.
It’s just not the presidential election. Local elections are important.
A few years ago, Atlanta held an election for Governor and a mayoral election. But local elections, whether for school board or secretary of state, are important.
A few years ago, when the Governor’s race was going on, all the urban stations came together again for “Black Radio United for the Vote.” All the urban stations in Atlanta were working together just to educate our audience on voting, run voter PSAs, and get information about rides to the polls. So, we’re all working together to share that information, and it worked successfully before in helping increase the turnout.
We’re in back-to-school season.
So, we’ve been doing a lot of back-to-school events with PSAs for Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton County, and Fulton County, where we team up with the school systems. They’re giving away backpacks, even food or medical attention, or medical help for people who need it or families that need it.
High school football is big here.
We are heavily involved with the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, and Atlanta Hawks, and we just started a relationship with the Atlanta Dream.
JL: How do you tie social media into all this, and which platforms are most relevant to you?
RR: I think multiple platforms are relevant because we have such a broad demographic reach a broad demographic. You have to be active on TikTok, IG, and Facebook. Facebook is probably more appealing to our older demographic, and TikTok is also more appealing to our younger demographic.
IG is probably somewhere in the middle. Our midday jock, Danie B, is also our digital coordinator, and she gets us going. Our morning show producers, our afternoon producers, everyone posts every single day.
I ask all our team to do a show rundown every day just to give us an idea of what you’re planning for your show. But part of that show rundown is a digital rundown. What are you posting today on social media?
JL: Anything that I haven’t asked that you want me to know about you or the radio station?
RR: V103 is more about the station and the people. I would say that professionally and personally, I’m lucky and blessed to be in Atlanta. Atlanta is a city of opportunities.
The one thing that makes V103 successful is that we have a great team. We have veterans, and we have newer salespeople, but we have veterans like a person like Bob Jackson. Bob was here, I believe, before V103 was V103.
Bob is a Caucasian male, and everyone knows Bobby J. Bob can tell you more about V103 than maybe I can.
When you have people like Bobby J., Barbara Williams, who’s been here for a long time, Eric Freeman, and the leadership under our sales manager, Eric Baker, our sales team is on point, our digital team is on point, but really, I think the credit also goes to Rick Caffey, our market manager. Rick is a great market manager. My Rick Caffey story is, I was at PGC, which was the same company, and I was at a sister station, and going for the job at V103, Rick is like, do you want to come down? He was getting ready to get married, do you want to come down before my wedding or after my wedding? I’m like, well, I’ll wait till Rick gets married, because he might be in a good mood to give me a better shot at getting the job.
So, I waited, so we got married to his lovely wife Jackie, and eventually I got the job. As I was looking over some notes for this meeting or this interview, I pulled up an old bio, and I’m like, wow, I actually have been here in Atlanta since 2005, and when you think about it, but I’ve been with Audacy, previously it was Entercom, and before that it was CBS, since 1997, and I never really stop and think about those things, but when you have Rick Caffey, who’s been here way longer than me, Greg Street, who’s been here 28, 29 years, Larry Tinsley, same thing, Bobby J, that says a lot. Okay, we’re technically a mainstream station; sometimes we’re urban AC, sometimes we’re hip-hop, but we’re in the middle of, I think, there are nine urban FM’s in the market, and V103 still does well, and we’re still kicking ass, and doing what we have to do to win think we have a great cluster and a good variety of formats, so it’s a good place to be.
Listen to V103 here. Find them on Facebook and Instagram. Connect with Reggie here.
Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
