Audacy’s 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore has undergone significant change over the past two years. Joe LaCroix has been there for all ot them. The lone FM sports radio outlet in the market has experienced shifts in staff, talent, and leadership. Following the departure of Chuck Sapienza in November 2024, the station brought in Scott Jameson as its new brand manager just a few months later. However, a year later, Jameson announced he planned to step away from the position for personal reasons.
The station found itself searching for a new leader once again, marking its second search in just over a year. After months of interviewing candidates from around the country, the station decided to look internally. That’s when opportunity was presented and LaCroix was elevated the station’s third brand manager in less than two years.
“I was elated, but also was a little surreal,” says LaCroix about when he officially received the news. “I didn’t start getting into radio till about eleven years ago… But if you told me a decade ago when I started here I’d be in this position, I would have trouble believing you.”
The 34-year-old programmer, with a decade of experience producing and guiding high-profile talent, now takes on a different challenge. He’s shifting away from the soundboard and phone lines to a leadership role, where he’ll continue developing a broader and more unique skill set.
Listener To Leader
Growing up listening to the station, LaCroix said he was instantly attracted to the content and the personalities behind it. After graduating with a degree in history, teaching wasn’t the right fit for his immediate future. Instead, he pursued a role at the station he had admired as a young listener.
More than a decade later, he now oversees the same brand that inspired his passion for radio years ago.
“This position wasn’t something on my radar. If I was making my goals for 2026, it wouldn’t have been on there. But after a while, it became clear to me that I was doing a lot of the things that a brand manager would be doing anyway,” explained LaCroix. “I felt like it was something I was very capable of doing despite my relative lack of experience compared to others who applied.”
LaCroix credits his experience working with established producers and talent for helping him find his voice. He chose to remain behind the scenes because of the satisfaction he gets from setting others up for success.
Following Sapienza’s departure in 2024, LaCroix said he underwent a crash course in what it takes to run a station. He described the experience as a trial by fire. Managing staff, coaching talent, writing imaging, and reinforcing relationships with market partners. That experience fueled his interest in programming, an interest that resurfaced when news of Jameson’s upcoming departure created another opportunity.
“I was somewhat surprised, but not shocked by Scott’s [Jameson] decision to leave. His family is back home. He expressed to me that he wasn’t really doing well with the aspect of being away,” said LaCroix. “As soon as the opportunity arose, I took a week to talk it over with people I know. Is this something I feel I can accomplish. After those discussions, I decided to go for it.”
Navigating The Process, Embracing Change
LaCroix said he enjoyed the interview process because it gave him an opportunity to share his vision, his goals, and what he believes the next evolution of 105.7 The Fan could become. His confidence, however, told a different story. He said after every interview, he walked away convinced it had been his worst.
When he learned he had been selected to lead the station, he immediately got to work. The transition from producer to manager, however, came with its challenges.
“It’s been a little bit of hard transition for me to let go of that [producing The Big Bad Morning Show]. Even in the six weeks I’ve been on the job, it’s become clear you can’t be singular in your focus with the role,” notes LaCroix, who has produced The Big Bad Morning Show since 2021. “I also have a love for that morning show. But this is my opportunity to try and put my fingerprints around here at the station.”
While helping transition new morning show producer Ben Hill into his role, LaCroix has also focused heavily on expanding 105.7 The Fan’s digital presence. He noted the station has lacked a strong social media presence and video strategy throughout much of his tenure as a producer.
That focus reflects a fresh perspective. LaCroix understands that being available wherever audiences consume content is essential to succeeding in today’s media landscape.
“We’re entering another phase of the station. We have to focus more on just being a terrestrial radio product,” says LaCroix about what he hopes to bring in his immediate tenure. “From Scott and Chuck, what I really learned was how to treat and deal with people. What I think I could do different is some more technical things. Maybe getting more into digital spaces than they could.”
With artificial intelligence becoming more common at radio stations around the country, LaCroix is no stranger to the technology. He views AI as a support tool and considers himself part of the “backend of the AI age.” While he doesn’t rely heavily on it today, he believes it can help the industry become more efficient and continue to evolve.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that AI won’t be a bad thing for the industry,” explains LaCroix. “It has helped us a lot in some aspects with YouTube and social media. I always try to make sure whatever we use it for; you can still tell that there’s a human touch there.”
Immediate Goals
LaCroix takes a realistic approach to change. He understands that while he has plenty of ideas for the station, meaningful progress takes time. As he adjusts to longer hours and a heavier meeting schedule, he said several top priorities are already at the forefront.
One initiative already underway is re-establishing a third voice on the station’s afternoon show, Inside Access with Tim Barbalace and Ken Weinman. Following Jason La Canfora’s departure in February, LaCroix said the future of the afternoon show became part of the interview process for the brand manager position.
“We’ve been in the process over the last couple of months that hopefully we’ll have a resolution very soon,” says LaCroix. “A trio is where we want to go with that show. That Inside Access team was a great show. Ken, Tim, and Jason. They were three of the people that when I started to take a bigger role at the station, they were there every step of the way. That was super helpful for me, and still helpful to me in this new role.”
In addition to adding a third voice to afternoon drive, LaCroix hopes to strengthen relationships with Baltimore’s professional sports teams. In addition to reinforcing the station’s role as the flagship home for Maryland athletics. After spending years in morning drive, he understands the work required to build a successful show. Now, as brand manager, he hopes to apply that experience across every daypart and position the station for long-term success.
Every programmer inherits a station. Few inherit one during a period of as much transition as 105.7 The Fan has experienced over the past two years. LaCroix knows there won’t be overnight fixes, but his priorities are clear: strengthen the station’s talent, expand its digital footprint, deepen its local connections, and preserve the personality that made Baltimore listeners embrace the brand in the first place.
It’s an ambitious to-do list, especially for someone just 34 years old stepping into the challenges of leading a major-market sports radio station. But for someone who spent years helping others succeed behind the scenes, it’s also a challenge he’s earned.
If his vision comes together, 105.7 The Fan won’t simply adapt to change. It could help define what local sports radio in Baltimore looks like for years to come.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.