Chaz & AJ

Chaz & AJ in the Morning is a morning radio talk show program on 99.1 WPLR, a rock radio station broadcasting from New Haven, Connecticut. Though the show is mostly comedy based, it includes certain segments of more serious (and more important) things, including interviews with politicians and authors.

The show is done primarily by Chaz and AJ (who don't use their last names to protect their privacy when they aren't working), Matt Scott, weatherman on local news station News 8 who does weather and news and participates in most segments, and current show producer Phil (Phildo) who manages the phone lines and participates in most segments.

Former regular participants include Megan, who did the traffic and news, but also took part in many segments; John, the former show producer; Billy Winn, who was laid off March 2009. Megan's last day on the show was Friday, October 2. She left to spend more time with her family. She still comes on the show from her house every show, usually during the 7:30 AM break.

The show began on WPLR on February 17, 2002, after the previous show, Smith & Barber, ended, moving from WRCN on Long Island. Chaz had previously been a night jock at WPLR.^[1] In 2007, Connecticut Magazine named the show "Best Local Radio Morning-Drive DJs", saying "If FM radio is going to hold off its satellite competition, ... it's the ability of the on-air personnel to connect with the audience. Chaz and AJ seem to be doing that very well."^[2]

Format

The show is usually "played by ear." A topic mentioned by a caller may be discussed for an hour on the show, for example, even though it wasn't planned when the show began.

Interviews

Chaz & AJ normally has interviews with both local Connecticut talent and people known around the world. Some people featured on the show are Connecticut congressmen, Ozzy Osbourne, local news anchors, and much more.

A rather notable interview was with actor James Brolin on September 11, 2007. He made the news after Chaz and AJ noted it was the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and Brolin replied "Right, oh, yeah, Happy 9/11!"^[3][4]

Regular segments

The show has a number of regular features:

• Shock Collar Trivia: 4 of the hosts are fitted with dog training collars that send an electric shock when a button on the remote control is pushed. The 5th host operates the phone lines and reads a question if a contestant passes. Callers phone-in trivia questions for the players. They take turns answering them and if the answer they give is wrong, they get shocked. This continues for several questions until one person has lost (had the least questions correct). The loser then goes on to play Shock Collar Karaoke.

• Loser of the Week: Played every Friday. Listeners call in to nominate and vote for the person or thing that was the biggest "loser" that week. After a few rounds of singular voting/nominations, the top two are selected and brought to the lightning round. In the lightning round, only those two can be voted for by callers and it is done as fast as possible for about 3 minutes. The one with the most votes at the end of the lightning round is crowned "Loser of the Week."

• Open Phones: Introduced early 2010. Listeners call in about anything on there mind. Some calls divert the show anywhere from a few minutes to a full break. This bit can run anywhere from one break (15 minutes) to a full hour (4 breaks). It can be used more than one time per show.

• Other News: The current news person on the show (as of January, 2011 Matt Scott) will read off current news stories that couldn't be covered in the minute before a normal break would start, where they would then proceed with a different bit. Participants in the bit along with listeners will comment and call in about certain stories.

References

1. ^ Scott Fybush, "North East RadioWatch: Smith, Barber End 18 Years at WPLR", BostonRadio.org, February 3, 2003
2. ^ "Best of Connecticut 2007: People & Entertainment",Connecticut Magazine, September 4, 2007
3. ^ "James Brolin's 9/11 Gaffe', New York Post, September 15, 2007
4. ^ Annie Rourke, Actor makes shocking comments on New Haven radio show, News Channel 8 (WTNH TV), September 14, 2007

External links

• Webpages on WPLR
• MySpace page