Monday, September 19, 2011

Orff Rounds Out Star 94 Staff

As Tim Orff, known to listeners as Orff, takes over the 7PM-midnight show, Star 94's (WSTR-FM's) air staff is complete.  Rachel Logan had held down the slot since the departure of Darik Kristofer last spring.  Rachel will remain at Star for weekends and fill-in.  Darik handles afternoon drive at CBS Radio's 94.7 Fresh FM (WIAD) in Washington, DC.

Orff got his first taste of air work on a part-time basis at the short-lived WMAX-FM (The 80s Channel).  He then served as Program Director at WWAA-AM/1690, now WMLB.  With WWAA carrying the syndicated Air America and not accepting commercials, holding the PD position was akin to being Music Director of WGST.

Orff rose to prominence when 92-9 Dave-FM ditched the Barnes half of its Barnes & Firfer morning show.  The station needed a jock to get it through the Arbitron survey and tapped Orff to spin songs, say a few words and let Holly Firfer insert a bit of personality.  In fact, I found it a little strange to hear Orff come out of a song identifying the show as "Music Mornings with Holly Firfer."  Orff proved he could bring value, and his name was added to the morning show marquee.

When the time came for Dave-FM to try its next real morning show, Zakk Tyler, Orff was shifted to late nights, 11PM-3AM if I recall correctly.  In that slot, Orff was free to develop his personality and even giggle out of control if he so desired.  When Zack Tyler did not work out, Orff was again tapped to come to the rescue.  His late night shift was then filled by traffic reporter Renee Washington.

Orff resumed "Music Mornings," injecting some entertainment within his limited talk time.  But all good things must come to an end, and new Program Director Scott Jameson's vision included a personality morning show.  He hired former 99Xer Jimmy Baron, who had auditioned as a vacation fill-in for Zakk Tyler.  This time, however, Orff had no late night show to move to since that was now Renee Washington's domain.

A few months ago, after about 2 years off the air, Orff was hired for weekends by Star 94, where his former Dave-FM morning partner, Holly Firfer, is also on the weekend staff.  Star PD Scott Lindy liked what he heard and promoted Orff to evenings.

I doubt the decision was an easy one for Lindy.  Rachel Logan, one of my favorite personalities, was doing an excellent job, a fact that Scott had acknowledged to me a few months ago.  In my mind, either Orff or Rachel would have been a great choice.

The end result is Orff sounds better than ever and fits perfectly into the slot.  The Star 94 weekday staff is outstanding, and each personality complements the others.  In the sometimes cruel world of radio, it's good to know that Orff is back on the air and on one of the market's leading stations.

This is now totally Scott Lindy's Star 94.  He grabbed the programming reins early last fall and has skillfully steered the Hot AC back to dominance.  The war for young women between Q100, B98.5 and Star 94 is a tight one, with B98.5 being especially aggressive and determined to win.  Receiving ratings every month is making the race especially exciting to watch.

Join Boomer's Poker Run
If you're into biking, you have a great opportunity to take a beautiful ride into the North Georgia mountains as the autumn colors peak, and help Atlanta radio's Boomer at the same time.  As you may know, he is faced with the expensive proposition of undergoing a kidney transplant.  The Steve Boomer Sutton Benefit Poker Run on October 15 will start at Bodock's in Canton.  The prices are $20 single and $30 double.  Sign up by calling Butch Lawson at 678-630-0935 or visiting Boomer's website, www.BurningDaylight.com.

Thanks for reading.  I would love to hear from you at roddyfreeman@bellsouth.net.  Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/atlantaairwaves, and we'll follow you back.

Link to Rodney Ho's AJC Radio & TV blog:  http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/

No comments:

Post a Comment