She’s hosted radio shows for two decades on “every format except for Country and Alternative.” Madison James is the midday host on Charlotte, North Carolina’s Mix 107.9, an Urban One station, but that’s not all. Her trajectory, she says, is because of basketball.
The African American woman grew up in small-town Jackson, Tennessee, in the county that shares her name, Madison. She was graced with parents who told her she could do anything. She ran track and played volleyball and basketball.
Division One Hoops – Full Ride
Her basketball skills led to a full athletic scholarship at the University of TN at Martin, a Division One school. Socially, Madison and her teammates owned the campus as conference champs. Women’s coaching legend Pat Summit was a UT Martin alum, and Madison and her team got to play against the Tennessee Lady Vols while Summit was the coach.
A college speech course ignited Madison’s interest in communications. She interned at a couple of radio stations and snagged a full-time radio job at a Top 40 station in Jackson, MS. The day after graduation, she was on the air, hosting middays. She stayed for eleven months.
Then, Madison says, she got an opportunity to be a part of something special as part of Cox Media’s launch of Hot 108, Rhythmic Top 40 in Greenville, South Carolina, where she hosted middays. 17 years later, Madison is still working with the company.
Madison was thrilled to jump markets to the “hustle and bustle” of Atlanta in 2019 as midday host at Hot AC WSTR 94.1, and she branched out to print, television, and advertising. She hosted “Hot Topics” for Cox TV in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Orlando, as well as “460,” a business magazine show. She advocates for health and fitness on social media and as a lifestyle and health contributor to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper and with community groups.
A PD Who Looks Like Me
On April 30, 2021, Madison James’ voice was heard on the very first day of the launch of “Mix 107.9” in Charlotte, North Carolina. She left Atlanta for a smaller market for one reason. “I wanted to work for a program director that looked like me,” she says.
That was when Charlotte’s “107.9 The Link” rebranded, or flipped, to a Hot AC format featuring “Charlotte’s Best Mix of the 90s, 2000s and Today.” Radio One acquired WLNK in a multi-station swap with the previous owner, Entercom [now Audacy].
“After twenty years, you start to realize that different things are important to you,” says Madison. “To be a person of color and to have the opportunity to work for a PD of color, Terry Fox was amazing.” She estimates there are two people of color working in that format.
Pivot and Shift
Playing sports, she says, prepared her for the ups and downs of the radio game:
“When you play collegiate ball and are on full scholarship, you re-sign yearly, so there were instances where teammates didn’t come back,” she recalls.” Just like media.
Basketball taught her to pivot and shift, she says, and to adapt. “When a new Program Director comes in or there’s a format change, I think, what are they looking for, how can I fit into the system that they have? Basketball has instilled that into me, so I don’t panic. I just adjust and adapt.”
She’s had incredible longevity for a radio employee. Even stations that flipped have found a place for her. She’s a versatile and strong radio personality, she says, because of basketball.
“100 percent. It’s the core of who I am. It’s the discipline, the competitiveness, the doing the work when no one’s watching. It’s knowing it’s bigger than just you. Be a good teammate. You can let others be part of the spotlight. Your talent will speak for itself.”
Madison pivoted and shifted when she found herself hosting a Classic Rock show in Richmond, Virginia, Rock WKLR 96.5, which was consistently top three for men ages 25-54. “You cannot b.s. your way through that format,” she says. “Listeners are going to test you to see if you know rock. To be able to connect with the audience, I had to learn about the lifestyle of the listener, and I picked up some things I enjoyed. I went from not understanding to enjoying, and that’s why I was so successful,” she explains.
Smells Like Rubber
One of the things she learned that she loved is NASCAR. “Oh, yes! Until you attend a race, you cannot understand. Those guys are athletes. Even the pit crew are former Division One athletes. The energy and passion of the fan base is unreal.” The best part, she says, is their tricked-out trailers and seeing what’s underneath the hood. The fond memories linger. “After you leave,” she says, “you smell like tire rubber.”
Lend Your Voice
Madison highlights the importance of fitness and health in her professional work, including on Cox Media’s magazine shows, on social media, and in news articles. She says it’s critical for on-air personalities to be involved in the community. That’s who you talk to every day, she says. “Air talent should branch out from obligations and find something that you are passionate about and lend your voice to that organization.”
She’s a brand ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and spearheads breast cancer awareness activities in both Atlanta and Charlotte, where she and her Pink Ladies “Shine a Light on Pink” 365 days a year, as they reach out to breast cancer patients, survivors, and their families.
She uses her athletic and broadcasting experience to both physically and mentally mentor young women. “I mentor high school and college kids and anyone getting into this business. It’s still a male-dominated profession, and it’s becoming even more cutthroat,” she says. One girl she worked with recently graduated from Oregon State as part of the crew team, and Madison says that’s just the start for this confident young woman.
Madison has taken the helm as Board Chair of “Girls on the Run,” a non-profit that empowers young girls of all abilities to develop life skills and foster a sense of belonging using running as the tool to help deal with adversity. She emcees their 5K race, called the “Sneaker Soiree.”
“When you see a girl before the race who’s terrified, and they finish that race and say, ‘I did it and didn’t stop,’ you see they come back a whole different child. They come back to conquer the world. Don’t let anybody tell you what you cannot do. Sports teaches you to adjust and pivot.”
Racism from Both Sides
While she shares her personality and opinions on air and generously gives her time to community causes, Madison keeps her private life private. She’s not shy, though, about revealing the racism she’s faced from both sides.
”You’re not ‘this’ enough. I’ve experienced those challenges all my life: elementary school and high school. In our business, people feel they have the right to say anything to you. They make comments about your looks. I’ve also had people come up and make foolish comments. ‘Oh, you don’t look like you sound.’ You have to handle those things in an appropriate manner but also use those times to educate people. Because I speak clearly and use my words, you are telling me that I sound like another race? How does that make sense?
“I’m proud to show on my resume that as a woman of color, I can speak to anybody. You can put me in any room, any format, and I’m going to be just fine. Because at the end of the day we’re all the same, we’re all just people and we need to relate.”
She’s not only well-spoken. Even though she’s a pro talker, Madison also walks the talk.
“Actions do all the talking. If you’re the loudest person in the room, it doesn’t mean you’re the best. I’ve had a 17-year run at Cox, and I think that’s because of my versatility. I can do more than one format. When stations flip, they say we can still use you; we know you can do Classic Rock. I survived.”
She remembers her college classmates saying they wouldn’t work for formats they didn’t like or listen to. She disagreed. “I never wanted to be pigeonholed. Our job is to announce. To find a way to connect. And the way our business is going these days, you better be able to do more than one thing.”
She also disagrees with radio folks who say social media is private. “You don’t have to share everything, but do know, at the end of the day, you are a public figure. Social media is so important! It’s part of your brand,” she says.
You don’t have to over-share, says Madison James, but you should be involved in the community outside of the radio station to bolster your brand and strengthen your bond with the audience.
Madison’s “extra-curricular” passion is fitness and helping females. “Anything to move the needle as far as empowerment of women, I’m there for it,” says the former Division One basketball player, popular radio host, and community activist who owes her success, she says, to lessons learned from basketball.
Amy Snider is a music features reporter for Barrett Media specializing on stories involving radio professionals working in Adult Contemporary/CHR/Top 40 formats. She brings over twenty-five years of media experience to the outlet. Based in St. Petersburg, FL, Amy works for iHeartMedia and the Total Traffic and Weather Network as an on-air reporter, appearing on dozens of radio stations including 98 Rock, Mix 100.7, 95.3 WDAE, and Newsradio WFLA. She has also reported and anchored in the Tampa market at Fox 13, News Channel 8, WMNF Community Radio and WUSF-FM, the NPR affiliate.
Amy is a music fanatic. She hosted a drive-time rock and roll radio show for 20 years on WMNF-FM and is known as a tastemaker in the music and arts community. She booked, hosted, emceed and promoted a wildly popular weekly live music event in Tampa’s Ybor City featuring original music with performers from all over the world. Her free time is often spent at concerts and music festivals. To get in touch, find her on X @AmySnider4.
