I won’t lie to you. I was beyond saddened to hear about Dolly Parton’s death on Tuesday. The first word out of my mouth was four letters, and it shared a few letters with the word “firetruck.” Once the shock settled, one station and one host kept coming to mind: SuperTalk 99.7 WTN and afternoon host Matt Murphy.
Dolly Parton was everything America is, can be, and should be. She lived the rags-to-riches story we tell ourselves is still possible in this country, then spent her riches lifting up her community and humanity as a whole. I’m fighting back tears just writing this, thinking about her greatness and the fact that it’s now been extinguished. I posted on social media Tuesday afternoon, and I meant every word: Dolly Parton belongs insanely high on the list of the greatest Americans of all time.
So, in an attempt to snap out of my sorrow, I started scanning the dial to see how stations were covering her death. This is one of those moments that transcends format. Sports stations covered it. Music stations covered it. And news/talk radio, which so often gets criticized for chasing controversy, had a chance to show what it’s actually built for. I tuned into SuperTalk 99.7 WTN in Nashville to hear how things sounded on one of the biggest brands in Music City. What I heard was broadcast excellence.
It was a masterclass in owning the moment. Nashville felt this loss differently than Seattle or Boston did, and 99.7 WTN understood that instinctively. Because Parton wasn’t just a icon to that market — she was a neighbor, a benefactor, and in many ways the city’s conscience. You could hear that gravity in every segment Tuesday afternoon.
Murphy Set the Tone Early
In the first 10 minutes of his show, I laughed. Then I cried. Then I felt a genuine connection with a host whose admiration for Parton mirrored my own.
But Murphy went further than simply reacting. He told listeners flat-out that if they didn’t want to hear four hours about Dolly Parton, the station wasn’t for them on Tuesday.
That’s a bold declaration. And it’s exactly the kind of conviction news/talk radio needs more of. Local radio succeeds when it commits fully to the moment its community is actually living through, rather than hedging toward whatever’s “safe.”
It also shows an understanding of the situation. Unmistakably, SuperTalk 99.7 WTN is a conservative news/talk radio station. On the surface, the death of a country music star wouldn’t seem like a natural topic for a station like that. But by throwing the format and usual talk radio topics out the window, Murphy and the station showed a knowledge of the market that matters.
Murphy opened the phone lines, giving Nashville listeners a place to grieve out loud together. That’s a service a national feed simply can’t replicate, and it’s a reminder of why local hosts still matter so much in an increasingly consolidated industry.
Star Power on Short Notice
Beyond the emotion, Murphy delivered access. He welcomed Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN), among others, to discuss Parton’s legacy and what she meant to the state of Tennessee. Then he connected with country star Ricky Skaggs for his memories of her.
Pulling that lineup together with only a few hours’ notice speaks to relationships built over years, not scrambled together in a crisis. That’s the kind of bench strength stations should be cultivating well before tragedy demands it.
Consequently, what could have been a scattered, reactive afternoon instead played like a thoughtfully produced tribute. Nothing about it felt rushed, and nothing about it felt hollow.
Matt Murphy and SuperTalk 99.7 WTN deserve every bit of praise coming their way for Tuesday afternoon. It was everything news/talk radio can be and should be, especially in moments like this one. There was a variety of emotions. Thought-provoking commentary. Solidarity. Community. Connection. It was comfort and companionship at a time when I — and probably many others, too — needed it most.
Dolly Parton gave America so much for so long. It’s only fitting that her hometown station gave her the send-off she earned.
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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.