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New look, same laughs: The Morning Blaze moves to TV

New look, same laughs: The Morning Blaze moves to TV

By Aaron Colen, Staff Writer at TheBlaze

If you don't take a breath and lighten up every once in a while, the weight of the day's worries can be overwhelming. That's where The Morning Blaze with Doc Thompson comes in. When you've had all you can handle of North Korean nukes, hurricanes, and Donald Trump tweets, TMB can be your release.

"We're the people you want to listen to when you're pissed off and you're right at the borderline of committing suicide after listening to Glenn [Beck]," said Kris Cruz, one of the show’s personalities.

The Morning Blaze is a show unlike anything else on TheBlaze radio or television networks. It's a combination of current event news, non-politically correct commentary, and toilet humor that comes together seamlessly because of the chemistry of the hosts.

The main host, and the show’s namesake is Doc Thompson, an experienced media personality who says he has been fired from the greatest radio stations in the country. He was even fired from one station on his honeymoon.

“That was one of the best,” Thompson said. “I was working at a station in Richmond and got an opportunity to do a second show, but they wanted me to move to Cincinnati. So we did, and my wife moved into town, got a job, bought a house, the whole thing.”

“I had been there about a year, and the ratings were not going up fast enough, and they decided to make a change. So I’m on the last day of my honeymoon and they call me up and go ‘Hey, can you, uh, stop by the station?”

And that was the end of that.

Thompson grew up in a rural community about an hour east of Cleveland, Ohio, and broke into the radio business as a music jock until he found his way into personality-driven talk radio.

His connection to Glenn Beck goes back to 2009, when Thompson started filling in for Beck on a station in Richmond, Virgina, that used to carry his radio show. A few years later, when TheBlaze launched the radio division, VP of Programming Dom Theodore brought Thompson on to do a morning show.

The current Morning Blaze team hasn’t been together very long, but you wouldn’t know it by how they interact.

The core group consists of Thompson, Cruz, Khal Elsbai, and Jennifer Goldstein. Goldstein, who is producing the show as it transitions to television, has the (unenviable?) task of balancing out the guys with a female perspective, a role she embraces.

As of September 5, the radio show is now simulcast on TheBlaze TV, adding a visual dimension to the program while staying true to its radio roots.

“We want this to be a televised radio program, not a TV program that also is on radio,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be a radio show that you get to see and see the behind the scenes of. We don’t want to lose the radio magic.”

Goldstein has worked tirelessly to ensure that magic remains.

“That’s why I wrapped everything around the radio side,” Goldstein said. “The promos, the opening, nothing has changed. I had creative completely build around the radio show.”

Sit down with the crew at any time during the day, and the conversation will be indiscernible from the conversations they have on the air. That's the beauty of the show; the authenticity of the personalities is obvious.

You might hear some off-color jokes, some problematic takes, or some words that make you say "can you say that on live radio?". But don't take it personally. They've got something to say about everyone and everything. Because of that, they appeal to anyone and everyone.

"We're kind of the 'gateway Blaze,'" Thompson said. "We bring in other people that aren't necessarily conservatives. We're also the place you go to vent. You're going to be pissed, and you're going to laugh, and those are the two things.

"So our listeners that get us laugh with us and understand the whole thing, and they're also in on the gags," Thompson said.

The show has a diverse following (which is also quite active on Twitter), including in the LGBT community, said Thompson. Even though some may view their opinions or the delivery of those opinions as offensive, most listeners respect the honesty and consistency above all.

"We're so honest and consistent about this stuff, and our people know that," Thompson said. "We'll talk about transsexuals on the air. And we've said 'I don't wish you any harm, and it must be horrible to go through that.' However, it's kind of funny...but I'm also funny in the things I do, as is everyone else."

It's not all jokes all the time, but the lighter side of The Morning Blaze is what makes it stand out. And Doc wouldn't have it any other way.

"I don't think I would want to do other things," Thompson said. "I mean, there are other things I can do, and there are parts of the show that are more serious, but I wouldn't want to do that stuff three hours a day.

"And this is who we really are, on and off the air."

Tune in to The Morning Blaze with Doc Thompson Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. CST.

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