ENLARGEwomen behind the voices?
Soul responsibility
Bailey, known as Mona B on the air, is a daughter of Robert Bailey, the founder of WZZA. But that’s not the only reason she works at the station.
“Music is magic to me,” Bailey says. “It soothes the soul. It can take a person back to a time and place. It can make you happy and sad.”
Bailey grew up in Columbus, Ohio, before moving to the Shoals.
She says she started working at the station when she was in her teens, “when Dad threw me on the air.” She worked on air after her father’s death in 2001. She left for a few years, and returned to the station in 2008.
Bailey plays a mix of old R&B hits, some classic rock and even some rap.
“I want to play something respectable because I follow the gospel show, and I want to keep the gospel crowd entertained by playing the oldies,” Bailey says. “I have an obligation to my listening audience to play something respectful and clean enough. I feel you can play good music without cuss words.”
Her mix of music seems to suit her audience, she says, based on the feedback she receives from her listeners.
“Some church people call and say, ‘I love your music, but I don’t want to say my name because I just went to church.’ ” Bailey says. “It’s been gratifying that I can take people back with music. It keeps me going.”
She also says sometimes people call her who just want to talk.
“They will tell me about themselves, and I will play songs for them,” Bailey says. “It’s like I become their counselor at times.”
This relationship she has built with her audience is where she feels some responsibility.
“I find I can really spread news in a wide scope,” she says.
She offers what she calls “Mona B’s tips,” in which she gives listeners information on how they can be safer. For instance, when spring weather came to the Shoals, and people started opening the windows in their homes, she offered tips on how to know if your windows are closed or open.
“I suggested that they pull their blinds up halfway so they won’t forget their window is open,” Bailey says. “That way, they know when they close the blinds, they need to close their windows as well. A screen is not a safety mechanism.”
She also says she sees her role on the air as a way to bridge the gap between generations.
“I never say old people because
we’re all old compared to some,” Bailey says.
She says she will play songs that have been remixed by a new artist.
“What has happened is that the rap industry listens to old songs and takes the background music and puts rap to it,” Bailey says. “Sometimes I play both versions of the songs so people can see where they get it from.”
As long as the songs are clean and respectable, that is.
“My obligation is toward my audience,” Bailey says. “Period.”
Accent on classic rock
Photograph by Matt McKean
Sydney Morris is a morning drive-time personality at WQLT in Florence.
Morris, who grew up in Sydney, Australia, admits her accent is “something different.”
“It obviously does stand out for those who listen,” she says. “People either love it or hate it, but it’s who I am.”
Morris got her first taste of broadcasting at age 17 when she participated in a program through school, offering seniors a chance to spend one day a week at a place of their choosing.
“I called a radio station and asked if they wanted free help once a week, and they did,” she says.
After graduation, the radio station offered her a job.
“I started out as the office assistant, doing all the chores that no one wanted to do,” she says. Soon, she started learning the on-air aspect of the station.
In 2003, Morris married and moved to her husband’s home in the Shoals.
After working at a church day-care center for a year, she heard through friends that WQLT was holding a competition for co-host of the morning team.
She applied and got the job.
She says she had no trouble transitioning from a station in Australia to one in the United States.
“The basics of radio is really not all that different,” she says. “It’s the kind of industry that is the same wherever you go.”
The format of the station also is a fit for Morris, as it allows her to play the music she enjoyed growing up.
“I honestly like a little bit of everything, but I favor the old pop standards,” she says. “Depending on the audience you are targeting, they will always have a soft spot for the music of their youth.”
When she’s not on the air, Morris says, “I like to come home to my house in the country and hang out with my dogs.”
She says she is a fairly private person and although she has a public job, “it freaks me out a little bit” to be recognized in public.
“It keeps me in check on the air, because sometimes you need to be cognizant of what you are saying and how you are saying it, because I don’t want to be an irresponsible shock jock just trying to get a reaction,” she says. “I don’t want to the be one who creates an awkward spot with mom in the car. It’s a little bit grounding and a little scary at the same time.”
Morris says one nice change for her in Alabama has been a winter Christmas, as the holiday falls during summer in Australia.
“This was the first white Christmas I have ever experienced,” she says. “Christmas to me is out in the backyard having a barbecue and being in shorts and a T-shirt. It does feel more Chrsitmasy here.”
The Shoals is home to her now, and that’s the only way Morris would have it.
“I came here, and I feel that I settled right on in,” she says. “Even though I sound a little bit different. Some people say I’m even catching a bit of a twang here.”
Her morning mission
The couple bought the station, which plays contemporary Christian music, because Mark felt God wanted him to do so, Pyle said.
“He felt that he needed to do this,” she said, “that it was a ministry and not just a form of employment.”
She said her husband has been working in all parts of the radio business since he was 15.
“He’s done everything in radio,” she said. “God was preparing him for this all his life.”
Pyle said she has worked at the radio station in the office and at events. Then about 2½ years ago, her husband’s on-air partner moved away.
“Mark asked me to fill in, and it stuck,” Pyle said.
She said the move was easy.
“At first I probably was holding back a little bit,” she said. “But I guess I am what I am. We just took our coffee time at home and brought it here and are doing it in front of everybody. We just invited people to join the conversation.”
She’s still uncomfortable, however, with public speaking.
“I like it here in front of the microphone.”
Pyle and her husband are on the air from 7 to 10 a.m. each day. They play music, laugh and offer riddles for prizes, earning Pyle the nickname as “The Riddle Lady.” At 8:30 a.m., they have prayer time for people in the community who have called in their requests.
“We give people a chance to call up when they have a need,” Pyle said. “We get calls about marriage situations, sickness, jobs and finances, among other things. We take it to the Lord.”
She said sometimes people call later, saying God answered their prayers.
During the past 12 years, the Pyles have taken The Fix from a 6,000-watt commercial station to a 10,000-watt private station that is supported by listeners and sponsors.
They broadcast to 30 counties in the corners of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
“We also broadcast live on the Internet,” Pyle said. “God definitely enlarged our territory.”
But mostly, she said, they have fun.
“It’s so much fun talking to people when they call in. It’s fulfilling to spread love and joy,” she said. “When someome calls in crying, it’s good to be able to stop and say, ‘let’s pray.’ ”
Pyle grew up in Tuscumbia, and loves living in the Shoals, believing the phrase, “there’s no place like home.”
She and her husband have a 19-year-old daughter, Katie, who goes to school here and is on the praise and worship team at The Ark Ministries. Pyle also helps care for her elderly parents,
And every morning, she and her husband entertain area listeners.
“What I never thought I would be doing is very fulfilling,” Pyle said. “God has truly blessed me.”
A public forum
“I was social and out there, and I didn’t really live by the golden rule back then,” Reed says. “I wake up every day now and try to treat others the way I want to be treated. People see me right now and say, ‘I can’t believe you do that.’ ”
She went into broadcasting after taking a couple of years off between high school and college. She traveled and made friends with several musicians.
“They suggested I try this,” Reed says, because she loved music and “I talked a lot.”
She started at a station in Jackson, Tenn., and says she jumped at the opportunity to move back home to the Shoals.
Reed says she uses her experiences back then to try to influence others while on the air as a DJ on Kix 96.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I’ve learned from them,” she says. “I’m in a good field, because I can talk about my mistakes and maybe other people won’t make them.”
Reed is also a student at the University of North Alabama, completing her undergraduate work before going to law school, and then into a practice in criminal law.
“I feel really strongly that everyone makes mistakes in their life, and they need people to help them and stand up for them.”
But for now, she is content to play music and use her microphone to interact with her listeners.
“I’m always completely aware that I am talking to thousands of people,” Reed says. “It’s therapeutic because if you have a bad day, you can talk about it and people call in and give you advice.”
And, she says, knowing that so many people are listening is “why I can use the platform to talk about things that are important to me.”
For instance, she says she recently went through a bad breakup and used her experience to let people know they are not the only ones who get hurt at times.
One of her favorite topics is the abuse of drugs and alcohol.
“If I can use my job to encourage listeners to avoid drugs and alcohol, I will,” she says.
She also volunteers with the Children’s Policy Council, speaking to different groups about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.
But don’t accuse her of being nerdy; she says she just wants people to act responsibly.
“On Saturday night, I have a good time,” she says. “I just don’t have a great time with drugs and alcohol. I tell people to come out with me and find out for themselves. They will have a good time. And they won’t be hung over the next day.”
Although she has dreams of becoming a lawyer in the future, Reed knows that leaving broadcasting will be difficult.
“My dream is to continue to work for Big River Broadcasting (which owns Kix 96) and if the day comes for me to leave radio, it will be very hard to leave it behind.”
