Turn on virtually any news/talk radio show in the country, and — at one time or another — you’ll hear the host share what they’d do if they were in charge of a given country, state, or city. But few actually make that leap and attempt to enter the world of elected politics. New Jersey 101.5 morning show host Bill Spadea, however, doesn’t fall into that camp.
Earlier this year, Spadea left his role as morning show host at the Townsquare Media news/talk station in a bid to win the Republican nomination for governor in the Garden State.
That move followed a political back and forth between Spadea, Townsquare Media, and his chief rival in the race — Jack Ciattarelli — about whether or not the broadcast company was providing special campaign contributions by allowing Spadea to remain on the air. Ultimately, the state ruled that Spadea and Townsquare Media had not, in fact, run afoul of any laws, but the longtime host stepped away to focus on the race.
It was an unsturdy limb Spadea was climbing out on. He had more than a decade of experience in mornings at New Jersey 101.5. The Republican field was expected to be crowded, with several challengers sharing their intention of joining the list of those seeking the nomination.
But Spadea took that jump. And despite eventually finishing as the runner-up to Ciatterelli, Bill Spadea noted that there were some similarities between running for governor and hosting a news/talk radio show.
“If you’re gonna be a successful morning show host — and maybe any hosting in any daypart, you’ve got to be able to listen to what your audience is saying and then react and engage on the issues that are important to them,” Spadea shared. “Somebody called me this morning and was talking a little bit about the campaign. I said ‘For 10 years on the air, I’ve been listening to what New Jerseyans are thinking about and hoping for for a great future in the state. So that they can live here, build a business, build a family, retire, very similar to my campaign that I was running for governor.
“My strategy was effectively a listening tour, meeting with small groups, talking about families that had kids suffering with disabilities and rare diseases, people were dealing with addiction crises, even down to the details on flood mitigation,” he continued. “I had to listen, and I had to be a good listener to make sure I understood the problem. People suffer, and it’s not something you can always paint with a broad brush. A lot of things are very nuanced, so listening skills is perhaps the most important thing. And quite honestly, I think it’s lost in politics. And when you don’t have hosts that are engaged with the audience, that can be lost, too.”
Bill Spadea rejoined New Jersey 101.5 on Tuesday, September 2nd, slotting back into his familiar morning show position, which had been hosted by the station’s Senior Political Director, Eric Scott, while the longtime host sought the state’s top honor.
He said that first show back was as familiar as riding a bike.
“It was a homecoming,” he said with a smile. “It felt natural and exciting. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to take back the largest mic in New Jersey.”
He did joke, however, that the 3:30 AM wake-up call is a bit of an adjustment from the schedule of a state-wide campaign.
While, obviously, he had hoped to win the Republican nomination and face Democratic opponent Mikie Sherrill in the general election, Spadea said he had always known a return to the news media ecosystem was a fallback option in case he didn’t take the primary.
“I had always hoped that there would be an opportunity in media — whether I was successful or not — at some point. I love being on the air,” he shared. “And I love the work that I’ve done on television and radio, and the audience responds in a great way. So I always thought that, at some point, my career would go in that direction, whether I had had a string of years in politics or not. I was happy that the opportunity (with New Jersey 101.5) presented itself.”
In the midst of the campaign, millions of dollars have been spent. According to the latest projections from AdImpact, $118 million has either been spent or reserved for the New Jersey governor’s race. Which, in turn, means millions have been spent in an effort to sling mud in Spadea’s direction during the primary season.
When asked if that ever becomes “normal,” Bill Spadea said it’s simply a byproduct of the system.
“I think it is sadly just the nature of politics. I had a tense conversation with President Trump a few weeks leading up to his endorsing my opponent, and that was somewhat surreal, when you walk away from that and say ‘That was the president of United States, and he and I are not seeing eye-to-eye.’ That was just an interesting moment in the campaign,” he admitted.
“The million dollars (spent on campaign ads trashing opponents), I think that was unfortunate because when you look at how much money could have been spent on building the Republican Party and spreading a positive message — and if this were about real ideas — the result would’ve been very different. But it’s interesting. They had to spend 00 if you add up their PACs — north of $10 million bucks, and needed the President of the United States to defeat our efforts.”
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
