Two months ago Sarah Jorges and Joe Swanson were unsure if they would ever get a chance to be on air again at the Newton radio stations — or at any radio station for that matter — but for the past two weeks the duo have been meeting every morning and giving local listeners a four-hour block of new entertainment.
Simply titled “The Morning Show with Sarah and Joe” on Energy 106.7 FM, the segment allows Jorges and Swanson the opportunity to provide localized content to their Jasper County audiences, many of which were devastated by Alpha Media USA’s decision to layoff Newton’s on-air personalities back in May.
Since Aug. 5, local radio listeners have been greeted by familiar voices from 6 to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday. Winners of on-air contests have told Jorges and Swanson how happy they are to have them back on the radio. Truth be told, the duo is just as relieved to be back in the studio doing what they love.
“We are a local entertainment-based show,” Jorges told Newton News. “It is really the two of us doing everything we can to have a local presence here in radio and bring local businesses and anybody else in. We really just kind of dove right in and started off doing what we know, and it’s going really well.”
Swanson added, “To me, it’s more along the lines of a podcast. A good chunk of it is us just having a conversation with each other and shooting the breeze, trying to make it relatable to an audience that would be listening. Our personalities work well off each other, and a lot of local businesses are partnering with us.”
Personalities are what make morning shows work so well in radio. Both Jorges and Swanson bring differing perspectives to the table. Swanson is more mellow, and Jorges has the energy. It’s a good balance. And even though they have only been co-hosts for a short time they know each other pretty well.
Jorges said, “Joe and I have worked together in the same place for over eight years, but now after almost two weeks of doing the show you just start to get to know somebody more. But I think of Joe as a very practical, logical, hard-working and straight-forward kind of guy.”
Swanson added, “I feel like Sarah is the ‘energy’ in Energy FM. When she first started here eight or some years ago, it was a shot in the arm for the station – and it was the shot it needed … I think she’s upbeat and she’s positive and funny and a ray of sunshine, if you will.”
Whether it is their personalities or the familiarity of their voices from past broadcasts, listeners are making a return to Energy 106.7. Jorges said everything has fallen into place and the support from the community and the show’s partners have made the morning show hosts feel welcomed.
“It has been so nice,” Jorges said.
Following the Alpha Media staffing cuts this past spring, Swanson found himself applying for a number of radio jobs. He was not ready to give up his passion. At KCOB and Energy 106.7 he primarily handled commercial production, but he also worked in other on-air capacities throughout his 15-year stay.
By the time he and two other radio staff members were let go, he had two, four-hour shows each weekday on KCOB and Energy 106.7. Swanson was eventually brought back on to work in a similar capacity he had before, but the new morning show has changed some of the dynamics. It’s forced him out of his comfort zone.
Instead of a pre-recorded afternoon segment, it’s live and in the morning. Instead of doing it all on his own, he has a partner in Jorges. It’s different but exciting.
“In the two weeks we’ve been doing the show, half of the day is the morning show, which really doesn’t feel like work,” Swanson said. “I enjoyed everything I was doing before, but it was a lot of work and a lot of prep. Whereas this feels like hanging out in the morning with a friend. Half the day is fun and hanging out.”
Although three people were laid off in the staff cuts, Swanson noted that Jorges also took an unnoticed hit. She was still able to maintain a job doing sales as the senior account executive, but she also lost her spot as a co-host. For someone who had been working morning shows for eight years, it was a big loss.
“It’s been a tough few months, but that doesn’t matter,” Jorges said. “I’m just happy that we’re here and we’re focusing on moving forward.”
Together, they have a chance to breathe new life into the radio station after a fairly significant event threatened its future. Jorges sees so much potential for the show and what it can bring to the community. So much of what the radio was known for was promoting positivity, and the morning show is a catalyst for that.
Every single morning Jorges and Swanson get a chance to make light of their daily lives and help listeners start off the day on a positive note. It also gives local businesses a chance to not only promote themselves but make meaningful connections with the community in the same way the radio DJs do every day.
“Those local connections really bring people together,” Jorges said. “…And we try to be silly and light and funny. It’s a way for us to have fun. And it’s a second chance at keeping a local presence. These radio stations have been local for years. And it’s just a few of us here doing everything we can to keep that going.”
Jorges enjoys the idea of building a new relationship between the radio and the community from scratch. She’s excited for listeners to return and stick with them. While the morning show and the radio may look different now, it is still comprised of people who live in and are invested in the Newton community.
“It’s still very much people from this community working very hard and giving it their all to continue having local radio,” Jorges said. “As we build upon these ideas and make these changes — they will happen and new things are coming — we’re going to do everything that we can to make that stay in the community.”
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