Howard Toole started as a jock in 10th grade in Augusta and quickly earned first-class ticket right after high school. He continued his radio journey at WRFC in Athens while finishing his degree at Georgia, then moved on to Louisville and New Orleans as an air personality and PD. Soon, he switched to sales, and ended up in Atlanta when Plough Broadcasting flipped WPLO-FM to Disco V-103. From there, he worked in Dallas, San Antonio, and returned to Athens as a GM. Along the way, he bought his first station in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Now, he’s settled in Rome, Georgia, as managing partner of a six-station cluster—each station sounding much larger than its small-market size. Howard runs a lean operation, of necessity, relying on a core team plus a network of 80+ voices he can call on when needed, along with modern digital tech and AI voices, including one of his overnight hosts -- AI Gunner. Yup. He is A.I. We'll dive into Howard's unique approach, his use of technology, and hear more about AI Gunner in Wavelengths #30.

He's a UGA graduate who got his radio start in Augusta, then spent 12 years in Houston, 6 in Memphis, then 16 years in Atlanta as Market Manager and then Regional VP for Radio One, and now, he's retiring after an incredibly successful career. He'll talk about his career, the new realities of radio today, and pass on great advice for young broadcasters today. It's all here, in Georgia Wavelengths # 29.

Steve Craig has spent 30 years so far in Georgia radio -- all in Atlanta-- and almost all in Program management and on air, all at highly rated and well respected stations. Now, he’s back at 99X as PD and middays, and successfully reclaiming the heritage station's position, and the ratings, of the Original 99X.

Here, in Part 2, Dennis Winslow hears from Steve how the staff was put back together, how they all get along (again), and how the 99X music philosophy has evolved.

Steve Craig has spent 30 years so far in Georgia radio, all in Atlanta, almost all in Program management and on air, all at highly rated and well respected stations, and now, he’s back at the station he started in Atlanta radio at – with a slight change in dial position—and leading the charge that’s so far done a pretty good job at reclaiming the heritage position, and the ratings, of the Original 99X. this podcast -- Part 1 --covers the original birth, and the demise of the first 99X. Then, in Part 2, hear how the station came back to life, and how the music philosophy has evolved.

He started in programming, but Steve Hegwood had a bigger vision. After a very successful career as a high-level programming guy - he was the VP/Programming for RadioOne when they launched what is now Hot 107.9 in Atlanta — he found he had a taste for ownership. He built a company by parlaying a translator whose programming originated on a leased HD channel, into a group of stations, all carrying the hip-hop programming from his original Atlanta station, Streetz 94.5. And, his primary signal in Atlanta is STILL on a translator -- possibly the most successful translator in the country. Steve Hegwood’s story is fascinating, and we’ve got the details in this Wavelengths podcast from Friends of Georgia Radio.

A bigtime record executive comes back to Atlanta to do what he loves best—radio. And, a pretty crafty GM sees the possibility early on and parlays a collection of translator licenses into a new tower site and vastly increased coverage. Oh, and by the way, this little-but-mighty noncommercial station was streaming well before the other Atlanta operators saw the future. How has WCLK earned its reputation as one of America's best? It’s all here— as FoGR’s Dennis Winslow is in conversation with WCLK’s Wendy Williams and David Linton, as the station celebrates 50 years as "Atlanta's Jazz Station."

More great radio stories from their Fox 97 Morning Show days. Plus, both offer advice for building a successful morning show. Hosted by the Fox 97 PD who brought them to Atlanta, Dennis Winslow.

A conversation with Fox 97's iconic morning duo Randy and Spiff…where they spent 14 years right up until the station flipped out of the oldies format. That didn’t stop ‘em, they went on to Atlanta iHeart oldies Cool 105.7, then over to Lite 94.9, then to news talk GST, and finally to WYAY/106.7 when it was doing oldies. A total of 21 years in Atlanta radio, and still as entertaining and funny as ever!