In June of last year, 77 WABC named Dominic Carter as host of the 3 PM timeslot previously occupied by Rudy Giuliani at the New York news/talk station.
Giuliani’s exit was as high-profile as it gets. Previously dubbed “America’s Mayor” after his handling of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Giuliani was dismissed by 77 WABC after continually running afoul of a company edict to not cast doubt on the validity of the results of the 2020 election.
Carter, who had previously hosted the Midnight hour for the Red Apple Media station — a role he still holds today, assumed the position.
At the time, he told Barrett Media that his expectations were to dominate the ratings in that window. He would accept nothing less, he adamantly stated.
One year later, we check in with Dominic Carter to see how he would gauge the first full year in the 3 PM window for 77 WABC.
“Things are going well. The numbers are up substantially,” Carter said. “But let me be very clear: I’m just getting started. I’m not done.”
Things, by many metrics, are indeed going well. According to figures from Nielsen, the audience share from the 3-4 PM timeslot has grown 39% since Dominic Carter replaced Rudy Giuliani.
Furthermore, in May — the most recent full-month figures available from the ratings bureau — the window rested at a 4.3 share in the 12+ demographic. That’s up from a 3.1 share that Giuliani featured during his final month hosting the program.
Hosting at both 3 PM and at Midnight presents several challenges for Carter. He admits that he believes it would be bad and boring radio to regurgitate topics on both shows. However, he admitted he’s been aided by the beginning of the second Donald Trump administration.
“With the first 100 days of the Trump administration, it has been nonstop news, nonstop talk subjects to deal with. And so it’s been, it’s been a challenge on my time,” he shared.
Carter added that time management has been the biggest skill he’s learned after helming both shows.
“We do the live three o’clock show. It takes about two hours of preparation,” he said. “The moment that we’re done with the three o’clock show, I try to get home before coming back. While driving home, I’m thinking about topics already for midnight. I’m pulling sound bites mentally while I’m driving. And I’m monitoring Twitter. I get home, get something to eat, and I have to take a mandatory nap.
“That’s been the biggest transition, if you will. A mandatory map of an hour,” Carter continued. “If I’m lucky, an hour and a half, but at least an hour. That rejuvenates me.”
With two separate shows in wildly different dayparts, Carter is constantly monitoring the news. But that news cycle — like New York — never sleeps. Recently, we’ve seen plenty of news items breaking in the late evening or overnight hours, which allows Carter the chance to cover and react to breaking news items, which he covets.
“So the challenge for me is that — with my journalism background — I have a mandate to be accurate at all times, and that’s tough,” he said, “because if someone calls in and and hits me out of left field, I gotta make sure that the information is factual. And if it’s not, if I can’t prove that it’s factual, I will say ‘I have not had time to confirm this. I will get back to you folks.’
“It’s challenging, the two different shows … The bottom line is, if I’m given a task, I’m going to succeed, believe me when I tell you.”
While Carter is happy with the results after the first year in the 3 PM window, he was adamant that the results — in spite of the improvements over a famous conservative name and voice like Rudy Giuliani — are simply not good enough.
“To know my personality is to know that I’m as serious as cancer,” Carter said. “I am not going to stop until we’re number one at three o’clock. Now, I’m not talking about number one versus one radio station in the same talk format. I’m talking about number one for the market and in our timeslot. I don’t care if you’re a music station, I don’t care if you’re a talk station, I don’t care if you’re an all-news station. I’m not going to stop until we’re number one. Now, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know how long I can stay there once we get to be number one, but I’m giving it my all. We’re not going to stop until we get there.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
