Jonathan Suttin is the long-time morning co-host at AAA Triple M Madison, Wisconsin. Suttin joined the then Entercom Madison in March of 1999. He has hosted the Triple M morning show the entire time alongside Kitty Dunn.
In April 2023, Suttin was promoted to Operations Manager, taking over for Chase Daniels, who transferred to Audacy’s Cleveland cluster.
Full disclosure: I worked in the building in 1999 when Suttin was hired, and we were looking to replace a popular morning host. Now, 26 years later, it was unquestionably a good hire.
“Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday that you and I were talking. Twenty-six years go by in the blink of an eye in some respects. In other ways, I feel like I’ve seen so much since I’ve been here. I remember you and I talking about our love for radio.”
Growing up, Suttin was inspired by Chicago radio legends.
“I grew up in Chicago listening to Larry Lujack, and I knew when I was about nine years old that what I wanted to do was radio and was always fascinated by it. Then I came here to school and got a journalism degree because I thought, well, if I’m going to be on the radio, I should maybe have a little background, a little responsibility. Not just be a crazy on-air jock, and that that would give me a good foundation.”
Suttin and Dunn think that storytelling has helped with their longevity.
“I think one of the things that’s helped us stay on so long is that Kitty also had that journalistic background. So we’re both good storytellers. We both try to be really personal with the audience. We also know to keep our boundaries and make sure that when we’re delivering information, it’s accurate.”
Given that there are not many stations in the AAA format, one of the things that makes Triple M stand out is that music is the star.
“Well, it’s so true when you say it’s about the music, and that was our slogan for quite a long time. Literally, it’s about the music now. We say we’re the “Sound of Madison,” which I think still gives you the importance of the music but also doesn’t forget the city. Our goal has always been for the people who listen to Triple M to be in a special club. These are people who respect old music and love new music.”
“So you’re kind of in that exclusive club, and I’ve been passionate about that the 26 years I’ve been here. One of the things that I’ve loved most is our “Live From Studio M” sessions, which have grown over the years. When it started, I remember they had, before my time, Dave Matthews. Nobody knew who Dave Matthews was. When they came in, we had the band introduce themselves so we could know which one was Dave.”
Suttin’s path to management sprung from his curiosity and desire to know and do more.
“It’s funny because throughout the years, even when you were doing it, or Tom Teuber or any of these guys were programming, I was always curious about it but stayed in my lane. As time went on, I thought it was fun to drive the race car, but it would be cool to understand what was working under the hood. When David Moore became Operations Manager, I hung out in his office more and would ask more questions.”
“Then, when Chase Daniels came in here, we were just two peas in a pod. I started hanging out with him more and more, asking more questions and seeing how things worked. I said maybe I should start taking the music calls for Triple M. Do you mind?”
“Time went on, and I liked it. It was fun to do the behind-the-scenes and deal with other air staff. It became more exciting to do that stuff. Don’t get me wrong. I love the mornings, but it was I was kind of ready for another challenge.”
Shortly after his promotion, Suttin had to deal with an unexpended management challenge that is hard to prepare for.
“Our morning guy on WOLX, Jim McGaw, who had been in the market for 40 years and been at our station for 10, died suddenly on a Sunday. I mean, he just literally had a heart attack and died.”
“Jim was a friend of mine and a good guy, so it was devastating. I remember the GM calling me and saying, ‘I have horrible news: Jim died this morning.’ At first, I was sad about it, but then I was like, “What are we doing on the air? “
“That next morning, I went and did his show. I just came on and said hey, maybe you know my voice, maybe you don’t. I’m on a sister station, and I’m the Ops manager. That was a pretty emotional day.”
“A lot of people called. Past employees and listeners. Guiding our way through that and keeping WOLX going was, I would say, one of the biggest challenges.”
Former Triple M Program Director Tom Teuber passed away in July of 2023. Teuber had an enormous, lasting impact on the station and Suttin.
“Tom had such a love for radio and music. He was always so passionate about it, and it’s funny now as Operations Manager, some of the things that he would do that I would get annoyed with, I get it now.”
“I get why he was doing that. Why, sometimes, he would hound me about something I did on the air. I’d be like, loosen up, man. Now I get it: radio is sacred, and the airwaves are sacred, and he was good at teaching me that even though, at the time, I didn’t fully realize it.”
Suttin also credits Chase Daniels, calling him a mentor and a true friend.
“I have to say too that I appreciate how much Chase Daniels did because even though he’s younger than me, he was kind of a mentor and someone to bounce ideas off of.”
“He was able to give me confidence like you know more than you think. I think you’d be a great Ops Manager. Throw your hat in the ring for that. He encouraged me. So I’m grateful.”
“We still check in with each other, and it’s nice to have that radio brotherhood. He bounces ideas off of me. I bounce ideas off of him. It’s just nice to have somebody in there as a true friend in the business.”
Listen to 105.5 Triple M here.
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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.
