PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SportsRadio 94WIP has a new morning drive team lineup, replacing host Angelo Cataldi after more than 30 years.
Cataldi will end his run after the Eagles’ season, and Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie will move from their current midday slot to the highly-rated morning drive shift, WIP parent company Audacy announced Thursday morning.
Longtime morning anchor and host Rhea Hughes will be a part of the show, as will Cataldi’s producer Joe Weachter, who has been at WIP for 36 years. James Seltzer, DeCamara and Ritchie’s current producer, will move to mornings with them as well.
“I know it took a lot of work inside the organization to find exactly the right guy, and he was sitting here the whole time,” Cataldi told KYW Newsradio. “Joe DeCamara, Jon Ritchie — tremendous partner for him — I think it’s the right choice. … If you said to me, who would be the best choice for you and what you do, I would say Joe and Jon.”
Cataldi said DeCamara and Ritchie, a former Eagles fullback, have a similar rhythm that he and Al Morganti had for decades on the current WIP Morning Show. Cataldi said DeCamara also has a unique personality.
“I said to Joe DeCamara when I found out that he had gotten the job, I said, ‘Joe, embrace your quirkiness.’ He’s a weird dude, and I like that about him,” Cataldi said. “I just hope that his announcement will not mean that he’s going to wear his Phillies uniform all over the city for the next 10 days, because that’s a nerdy move.”
With the Phillies’ improbable playoff run, DeCamara has been donning a full Phillies uniform in the studio on game days.
“But it’s Joe,” Cataldi added, “and that’s what’s going to make him special.”
Cataldi said Ritchie brings intelligence and insight to the program. “I can’t see them doing anything but succeeding. I think they’re going to be great.”
DeCamera is a 1996 graduate of St. Joseph’s Prep and a 2000 graduate of Fairfield University in Connecticut. Ritchie played in the NFL until 2004 before becoming a broadcaster.
“Obviously, [Joe and Jon] have been very successful in the middays, and you should always aspire to have a show that you’re developing to be your next great drive show, and so they’re ready for that,” WIP Brand Manager Rod Lakin told KYW. “The best sports shows in the country are the ones that can combine two skills. One is they have a better sports sense than any personality-based show and a better personality sense than any sports-based show, and that definitely fits the bill when it comes to DeCamara and Ritchie.”
Lakin said there wasn't a specific moment when he realized these were the guys to replace Cataldi. He said there was a thorough process and they talked to a lot of candidates.
“Joe and Jon have done a great job in middays,” Audacy Philadelphia Senior Vice President and Market Manager David Yadgaroff said. “They have been killing it with the ratings. They are a fan favorite and I think they have the commitment and dedication to live up to the standards set by Angelo over the last three decades. I think Joe and Jon have a great mix in terms of the way their personalities are driven and they have a connection with the fans and really deliver on what the Philadelphia sports fan wants to hear and set the agenda for the dialogue every day.”
Cataldi said longtime WIP Morning Show listeners will still find familiarity with Hughes and Weachter, both WIP mainstays.
“Rhea, in the past five years especially, has been like the executive producer of this show,” Cataldi said. “She does all the heavy lifting, has a major input into what we do on the show. And Joe’s a rock. Joe Weachter’s been in the station 36 years, longer than anyone. You don’t stay at a station in radio for 36 years unless you really know what you’re doing.”
Weachter has been at WIP since before its format switched from music to sports. He has seen the WIP Morning Show change from its infancy with “Brookie and the Rookie” — a show with late Eagles legend Tom Brookshier and Cataldi in the early ’90s — all the way through this new chapter.
“We’re going to ensemble a great team and I think it’s going to be a different show, obviously, than when with Angelo, but it’s going to be an exciting show,” Weachter said.
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With Hughes and Weachter sticking around, Weachter said they can act as a “steady hand on the wheel” — Hughes from an on-air standpoint and Weachter behind the scenes.
“And we’re very excited to be part of that, keep the tradition of WIP going,” added Weachter.
DeCamara, who grew up in Montgomery County, has been a fan of the station since childhood.
"I was the kid at home in bed, 10 to 11 years old, with the radio under my pillow," he said. "That's who I am. That's who I was. I guess that's who I'll always be. Now, I don't have to hide it from my mom, that it's under the pillow and I'm supposed to be going to sleep. But you know, I love the Philadelphia sports scene, and it's just a real honor to be a part of it."
"We are going to work hard to bring you the best show we can," said Ritchie, "and I am honored for the opportunity. Angelo is truly a legend, and we will do everything in our power to try to live up to that standard."
Whether Cataldi will listen to the new show: “Of course I will,” he laughed, “but only from 9:30 on because I’m sleeping in. Finally!”
The WIP Morning Show airs weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. A new midday show will be announced in the coming months.
WIP and KYW Newsradio are sister stations owned by Audacy. Dave Uram is a former employee of WIP.