MJ Kelli sits at the helm of “The MJ Morning Show” at Classic Hits Q105 WRBQ, Tampa. The show recently landed on the Barrett Media Top 20 Classic Hits Shows.
I started a conversation with Kelli by asking for his reaction to landing on that list.
“It was a great surprise. I did not know. We were on the air the morning that it came out. And somebody called us and said, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you know this, but you guys were just listed in the top five best morning shows in the Classic Hits category.’ So, it was actually a listener that tipped us off that somehow.”
Never one to pass on spontaneous content, Kelli said, “It made for some instant on-air content because Fester, who’s on my show, he’s the one that talked to the listener and then found the list.”
“Then he was asking me if I’ve heard of any of these other shows. A list came out; number one is so-and-so, and number two. And then he revealed that we came in at number five.”
“The MJ Morning Show” has a long history and deep roots in Tampa.
“The show really has its roots back to 1994 here in Tampa Bay. We were on the well-known WFLZ Top 40 station.
We were at that station for 18 years, from 1994 to 2012. Then, I took a break from the mornings and focused on my syndicated show. I did a political show called the ‘Schnitt Show.’ I was on up to 70 or 80 stations syndicated by Compass Media Networks. And I did that show for twenty-two years.”
“I did that show simultaneously. So I did the morning show, and then I would, in the afternoon, do a three-hour syndicated, more political talk show. I finally wrapped that up back in July of 2023. It’s been about a year and a half since I walked away from political broadcasting because it was so toxic.”
“I was just fed up. I wasn’t looking forward to it every day. And it just gave me an opportunity to focus more on the morning show and to return.
“The Schnitt Show” was a clever takeoff of Kelli’s legal name, Todd Schnitt. I asked if it was difficult to maintain two shows, two different identities, and sets of listener expectations.
“I just had delineation. I just had mental walls built. It wasn’t difficult. It’s like I know the role of the morning show. I knew the role of the Schnitt show, and it just was automatic.”
“It just happened. I really didn’t have to think too much about it. I knew what content fit the morning show and I knew the content for the afternoon show. It was easy to pull off.”
I asked Kelli hypothetically, if I went to Tampa and found ten show P1s, what they would tell me they wanted and expected from “The MJ Morning Show.”
“They want to laugh. They want to be entertained. And I think they want to be made aware of what’s going on. We try to combine the comedic element with the informative element. And I’m just trying to be topical every day. I’ll tell you what’s worked for me.”
“I have always subscribed to I’m going to go into the morning show and entertain myself. And that seems to have worked. My measure, my barometer of entertainment, seems to have worked for a long time with the market expectations and the listener expectations.”
The entertainment talk-based show has a unique content benchmark.
“One of our real benchmarks is about 7:25 every morning. We go for an hour and 20 minutes nonstop with no commercials. So we do nonstop content for at least an hour and 20 minutes. It’s roughly 7:25 Eastern time to usually to about 8:45 or 8:50. It’s a long shot where we are just getting on a roll, going from subject to subject, content to content.
Like most successful morning shows, Kelli sees day-to-day life as an excellent source for show prep.
“Your head has to be on a swivel. You’ve got to pay attention to everything, whether it’s something you observe on the ride home, something that happens to my kids or my wife, or something that you see happens in the local news or the national news. You have to have your head on a swivel. Everything is potential content. And you just got to be an editor and filter. What is the best content for every given show?”
Sometimes, what’s best for the show is not humor, such was the case with the past year’s Florida hurricanes.
“Not getting to work and broadcasting and giving people what they expect was not even remotely an option. And radio played an even more important part because there were so many power outages that so many people had no access to cable television.”
“I live right on Tampa Bay in South Tampa. We had about three to four feet of water throughout the entire neighborhood. I walked a mile in over waste-high water to get to a major intersection that was not flooded. And the chief of police for the city of Tampa knows how important radio is: He said, ‘We got to get you on the air.’ So he sent a patrol car to meet me on the corner of West Shore and Kennedy in South Tampa, which was not underwater. A patrol car picked me up and then drove me across the bridge, across Tampa Bay.”
“The bridge was closed, blocked off by the Florida Highway Patrol and the Tampa Police Department. They were able to get me through the roadblock, get me across the bridge, and get me to the studio so I could be on the air that morning.”
The show also watches for events and other opportunities to impact the community.
“Over the years, we have focused on specific events that occur because, on a morning show, we’re able to turn on a dime, pivot immediately, and help out people and organizations in need.”
“We find local events during the year where people need help, organizations, law enforcement officers needing help. And we champion those types of events during the course of the year.”
“For instance, right now, a Tampa ATF agent, a federal agent, was shot in the neck while trying to break up a fight in a bowling alley parking lot while off duty. He was shot by one of the perps and paralyzed. Right now, we’re assisting with a fundraising effort to raise money for the family of the ATF agent who had a life-changing event.
When talking about the DNA of the show, Kelli credits Fester for keeping things in line and adding a comedic element.
“Fester has been with me since the mid-1990s and is a great sounding board. He’ll call me out. He’ll make sure I don’t get away with too much. He’s a great counter to what I do. And he brings a great comedic element as well.”
Just before Christmas, Roxanne Wilder left the show (BMM 12/30/24), which has created a prime opening for a female cast member.
“We are looking to fill the female role on the show. And again, as far as the female role goes, it’s somebody that brings great, relevant content that can give us a female perspective and keep the dumb guys in line.”
“We have a prime opening for a great female entertainer to join the MJ Morning Show. Send all your materials to rick.thomas@bbgi.com.”
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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.
