Although the Morning Juice franchise has retained its name despite recently becoming an offering exclusive to digital platforms, there is a noticeable difference with its previous iteration on the terrestrial airwaves. Bobby Carpenter, the former Ohio State University linebacker who played seven years in the National Football League, was slated to remain in the daypart concurrent with other recent lineup alterations at 97.1 The Fan as the station works to augment its presence beyond the FM dial. The move, however, separated Carpenter from his longtime co-host Brandon Beam, a duo that attained strong ratings and success amid its run for parts of five years.

Carpenter himself does not seem to know exactly what the end goal of this endeavor is going to be despite conversations with management. Determining what is considered success, he explained, is somewhat unclear, contextualizing such by outlining how the terrestrial morning show utilized a visual livestream of the show on YouTube. Even so, Carpenter did not have conversations comparing the impact of the streaming platform, nor did he notice an reduced emphasis on the traditional ratings measurements. Nonetheless, the show is now available primarily on YouTube with new co-host Jeff Thitoff, along with the HD3 channel and replayed in middays on the 10TV+ application.

“Moving to the digital side probably would have been a little less jarring had it been with Brandon and then him continuing to stay with it,” Carpenter said. “There’s a lot of growth going on in the digital space, and looking at broadcast television, terrestrial radio, there’s maybe shrinking markets as people consume. I understand that, but we were doing a great job, I think, on YouTube with the simulcast of basically what were doing before, and people have said, ‘This is kind of the future,’ so I really didn’t have a choice in the matter”

While Carpenter acknowledges that he could have left the station entirely, he decided to stay put because of his avidity for the craft and content towards his occupation. In fact, he had been talking about the future with those at the station in contract negotiations and was told about some television elements and potentially working in a sideline role with LEARFIELD. Carpenter explained that this part was “constantly omitted” and that the one thing he sought to continue doing was hosting morning drive with Beam.

“The day that I’m not having fun there anymore and enjoying doing my job and who I’m doing it with will be the day that I walk out of there,” Carpenter articulated. “That’s been the case ever since, and that’s a fine line that’s being walked.”

Navigating Through Unexpected Changes

As a weekday radio host, Carpenter tries to keep his audience both informed and entertained. Even though he knows it is important to have fun on the air, he also seeks to convey information in a comprehensible manner. On top of that, he is also discerning in his analysis and wants listeners to come away from the program having gained knowledge and feeling as if they had a good time.

“Over five years, you talk to somebody for three hours consecutively every single day, you learn about their families, what their likes [and] their dislikes [are], their personality, their cadences, and Beam’s a real easy guy to get along with in this job,” Carpenter said. “And so it was one of the true joys that I had was getting a chance to walk in there every day with a guy who I really respected and a guy who I really liked to be able to do that job.”

With robust experience as an athlete in the Columbus marketplace, Carpenter recognizes how those in the locale regard Ohio State as a professional sport rather than relegating it to a level subservient to other teams. The Buckeyes recently won the College Football Playoff National Championship with a victory over Notre Dame, and Carpenter is thankful that he was not aware of the digital plan until after the fact. That being said, he flew around the country on his own dime to cover and follow the team, leveraging access to personnel and relationships in the business.

“I played with a lot of the coaches, I’m friends with a lot of the players now, and just being able to bring that insight, bringing on some of the guests that I know,” Carpenter said. “I don’t know if it will be possible to bring them in studio now just with the current setup and the space, so I don’t know if that’s going to happen quite in the same way, but we’re going to have a lot of our same, great guests, and it’s going to have a very similar feel.”

While Carpenter was previously working with a younger co-host in Beam, he is now paired with someone older in Thitoff. Both of their sons play on the same sports teams, something that helps foster a common knowledge, and they have also paired together in previous instances when Beam was out. Yet there are significant differences between their life experiences, challenging Carpenter to adjust to the new dynamic, but he feels that they are getting along well as the duo commences this new chapter.

“I didn’t really want to create a new identity with it at all,” Carpenter said of the show. “We had built a strong brand, following and connection, and despite massive technical issues the first couple days, our streaming numbers and YouTube numbers have been very strong, as strong or stronger than they were before, so I didn’t really want it. There was no rebranding that I ever wanted to do. We had built this, and there’s a following, I think, with it, and hopefully that following will continue.”

Bumpy Beginnings With First Impression

The audio for the first edition of the program, which officially aired last Monday, did not start playing until several minutes into the show. Part of the rationale for these errors, Carpenter surmised, came from the show being launched with haste and realizes that the enterprise only had one chance to make its first impression. Additionally, he stated how there was “not really any” testing before the show debuted outside of one test episode where things ran smoothly outside of camera placement.

“We didn’t have the correct sound equipment and stuff that we had asked for, and frankly, the engineers, who have been great, they’ve been busting their butt at it, but some of the management people that made these decisions were not there,” Carpenter said. “And so coming on this right off of the conference, no one was there to kind of execute and to get it done.”

Matt Fishman, the program director and operations manager of 97.1 The Fan, previously worked at ESPN Cleveland and helped build The Land on Demand, a subscription website with exclusive sports content for the audience. Fishman is approaching two years in his current job, and Carpenter feels that he has an understanding of what he is about and is curious to see how this strategy plays out. The station is currently counterprogramming its terrestrial offering in the morning drive timeslot hosted by Jonathan “T-Bone” Smith and Tyvis Powell.

“It’s an interesting concept they’re trying to do, and I guess some of the YouTube stuff, there’s things that are kind of evergreen in there that they kind of live forever, and so you’ll be able to kind of consume that à la carte when you’re able to,” Carpenter said. “There’s a lot of different mechanisms to be able to consume this. They’ll be able to handle the terrestrial radio, and after that on the digital side, maybe you’re capturing more than you were before, maybe you’re cannibalizing some of it.”

Despite 97.1 The Fan presenting both content offerings, Carpenter tries to keep his circle tight and simply arrives to do his job and walks out. One of the messages he heard about the lineup changes, which also dropped Bishop & Friends by an hour to begin airing at 9 a.m. EST, was to discover “congruency between morning drive and afternoon drive.”

The station is owned by TEGNA, a media conglomerate with an array of audio and visual brands in different marketplaces as there is growing association between the methods of dissemination in recent years. Carpenter explained that he was told his television experience was the main thing said to him regarding why he was selected to move on the digital platform.

“TV is more obviously sound bites and stuff that’s snipped, and then you’ve kind of got the podcasting, which lays in the middle now kind of between both in the videocasting that goes on,” Carpenter said. “When you play in big markets with big teams, it forces you to be in front of the camera a lot, and something my dad always told me is that, ‘Every time you go out there, you’re representing yourself and our family and your team as well,’ and so it’s always an opportunity then to kind of polish your skills as a speaker.”

Carpenter realizes how people would point out the ratings success associated with the previous version of Morning Juice, stating that the station secured top finishes among key demographics. In being a digital presentation going forward, he is trying to show what the level of support is going to be and how everything is going to work. Aside from the digital offering, Carpenter is also the host of a podcast with Anthony Schlegel where they discuss the Buckeyes, a project that exists outside of the purview of 97.1 The Fan. As he moves forward, he is not sure whether he would end up forsaking the outlet to work on this venture full time.

“I guess that’s kind of up to the station of how much they want me around and what they want me doing,” Carpenter said. “I’ve always done a lot of different things, and so when you do a lot of different things, you have a lot of options, and it allows you to kind of devote your energy to what you’re enjoying, and so that’s up to them.”

Always With an Eye on the Future

While Carpenter is encouraged by the infatuation the public has with sports, specifically football, he has genuine concerns about the shifting within the market and trusting those making decisions that they are doing so in the right manner. Whereas he previously told Beam that he hoped they would be doing so well to where they can evaluate if they want to keep doing the show in the future, perhaps 10 or 15 years down the road, the equation has somewhat shifted.

“Maybe those analyses are coming more frequent and maybe a little sooner – just to always do an inventory of what I am doing in my life,” Carpenter notes. “I always try to balance a little bit as far as how you spend your time because that’s the most precious commodity that you have.”

In addition to his media ventures, Carpenter is going to continue working in several other occupations, including the HVAC and plumbing company he co-founded and teaching finance at his alma mater. As he has navigated the industry as a media member with ambitions spanning beyond the business, he is a versatile professional with a diverse portfolio and range of interests towards which he has pursued.

Carpenter remembers listening to the radio growing up in central Ohio, and some of the hosts have left an indelible impact on him. Being afforded the platform on the other side of the microphone has been rewarding, but he is always trying to push the boundaries and see what else is in the greater domain.

“The reality is, like, ‘Do I need to do this?,’” Carpenter reflected. “Maybe not, but I’ve always really liked it, and it’s been a fun platform to have to promote positivity and to be able to bring awareness to things, and hopefully, I enjoy impacting people in a positive way. If that can still be the case, then hopefully that’ll continue.”

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.