On Monday, 710 WOR officially announced Larry Mendte as its new morning show host. But it wasn’t a recent appointment. He’s been hosting the daypart since the exit of Len Berman and Michael Riedel during last year’s widespread cuts made by iHeartMedia.
In a conversation with Barrett Media about officially taking over the show, Mendte shared that having the familiarity with the station and show — after joining in 2023 as News Director and morning news anchor — is invaluable.
“It’s extremely important because I got to listen to the show as a new guy. So I knew what was expected and then I would fill in a lot … but hearing the format of the show and hearing what was expected and how to keep it going was huge. It allowed me to go in — especially after filling in so much — and hit the ground running.”
When asked what qualities he hoped his show on 710 WOR imparted to the audience, Mendte had a quick answer.
“Opinionated, informative, and fun,” Mendte said. “It has to hit the issues of the day and the stories of the day. And some days some days, it is more fun than other days. It can be a downer … We understand that people’s days are just starting and they want to be informed but we also make sure that we have a wide breadth of topics. So not only are they informed but we handle sports and we make sure that we handle some of the lighter stories and we have fun in between there.
“It really is a little bit of a roller coaster in the show because we go from wildfires and then we’ll hit the best of SNL. The listeners make certain that we are always getting every part of what they want in and they let us know.”
Larry Mendte added that the talkback feature in the iHeartRadio app has been a great way to interact with listeners and also a way to judge what topics they value and prioritize.
“They give me ideas that launch us into different topics that we may not thought of on our own. I think it is the collaborative effort of the listeners really makes the show. They make it so you’re not sure what’s gonna happen next because you hit play on the talkback and they launch me sometimes for four minutes talking about something that I didn’t have on my list of things to talk about. But now I know it’s important to them and what we’re trying to do with the show is make it informative and make it fun.”
Larry Mendte also shared that he’s keenly aware of the legacy that 710 WOR has in the New York community and said taking over the morning show “has been one of the most fun and challenging experiences.”
Mendre in the Morning airs from 6-10 AM.
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