Scott Rizzuto leads the morning show at 105.7 The Point in St. Louis. “The Rizzuto Show” ensemble cast includes Moon Valjean, King Scott, Rafe Williams, and Lern. Rizzuto has been on mornings at The Point for 15 years, and the show has built an amazing and loyal following.
I caught up with Rizzuto to find out what he feels is essential in putting together and maintaining a Rock morning show.
“I don’t know if this is different in different markets, but here in St. Louis, it is. You need to be local, local, local, local. Like, super local. You need to talk about things that happen in St. Louis. You need to talk about the Cardinals and the Blues, and you need to talk about what’s going on on the highways and the latest that’s going on with the restaurants and all the comings and goings here in this city.”
“I’ve been doing mornings here for fifteen years, and I’ve seen plenty of syndicated shows come and go. And the one thing that everybody says is they don’t talk about St. Louis. St. Louis loves hearing about St. Louis.”
The Rizzuto show has a strong social media presence, which allows not just for a four-hour show but also enables the station to carry the morning show throughout the remainder of the day.
“It’s crazy that when we all started, there was no Facebook or X or Instagram or TikTok. It’s wild to see how some morning shows have embraced it while others haven’t. It’s 2025. I found a good mix of doing social media stuff, but not jeopardizing your on-air content.”
“I always saw social media as almost a flyer for what we do on the air. And that was at the beginning of what social media was. The more successful shows have shifted to this as an arm of what we do on the air.”
“It’s not like we’re on the air four hours anymore. We’re also on the air with social media and Facebook lives and Instagram lives and extra content and just even fun and goofy shit and also show our personal sides.”
The Rizzuto Show has developed its online community with something that started as the Team Rizz Member Of The Day.
“We have a small army where we could take over our country, if we all got together and mobilized. But it started with Team Rizz member number one, who we had on the air with us the other day. They do their own events, and they have their own meetups. And there have been people in Team Rizz who have gotten married.”
“Husbands and wives try to compete with each other to see who can become a Team Rizz member before the other one. It’s an amazing community, and they have their own Facebook page that’s pretty wild. They don’t just let anybody in. Even my mother tried to get in”
Rizzuto says remaining hungry is important to maintaining the show’s success. Can you ever let up on the gas?
“Not when you’re competing with a gazillion other things or a gazillion other pieces of media. I’m competing with YouTube, Spotify, and a million other things. You can’t just sit on your hands and coast. You’ve got to keep it fresh every day.”
“I still maintain the same schedule of getting up at 02:30 in the morning, getting here at 03:15, and doing the same thing. I’ve been told that maybe come in an hour later and throttle back a little bit.”
“This is such a competitive thing we do. I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that. Every morning, I still have that little feeling. I still get the little nerve in my stomach.”
Rizzuto also believes an element of success is caring for the station’s clients and the businesses he endorses.
“That’s crazy to me that you wouldn’t maintain your relationships with the thing that keeps you on the air. What keeps you valuable to your company is the money that comes in. All my sponsors, I use. I think I’m at the point now where I could say no to certain things. And if I don’t use the product, I’m not passionate about it. How can I endorse it?”
“I’ve had some sponsors for fifteen years. I’ve been to weddings, and I’ve been on vacations with some of my sponsors. Maintaining that relationship.”
Success also comes from being visible and out in front of the audience.
“What company still has money for billboards and TV advertising. The best way to get the word out is actually to be out and do stuff. I have such a great team with me, and we’re all over the place. All my co-hosts, whether it be concerts or doing their own side hustle. We’re all over the place.”
Being a safe zone and staying away from third rail issues is important in building and maintaining the brand.
“I look at it this way. There’s so much crap going on in the world. They can turn us on for four hours on their way to work, whether it be a job they love or a job they hate and not hear political BS and just five people in the studio having a good time, actual friends, talking about life and the things that are good in the world too. I love it when people say they sit in their car and wait till a bit is finished. It’s great.”
Rizzuto admits that his job is made easier by having a great PD and company to work for.
“I’m so blessed to have Tommy (Mattern) as my boss, who leaves me alone, leaves us alone, lets us do our thing. As long as we play all commercials within the four hours, and even that sometimes I’ll bleed into the next day part. Tommy’s been great like that. He always gives me the resources that I need.”
“I love working for Hubbard. And I’ve worked for a couple of different companies in my radio career, and Hubbard’s been the best without a doubt. I believe in what this company is doing. I love that we’re a small boutique company that is still privately owned, and that we don’t have people in another city who have to answer shareholders.
“It really is awesome working for not only Tommy but also John Kijowski, our general manager. They’re amazing people. I love that. And Ginny Morris is awesome.”
Stream The Rizzuto Show 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.
