Radio host Miller moves up the dial

With a quick twist of the radio dial over the past few years, sports fanatics in Central Virginia have become accustomed to hearing talk show host Jerry Miller fill the air with numerous catchy, often comical, phrases.

One of those, which referenced his love for building the program “SportsRap” from the ground up, brought listeners to speed with his devotion to what he coined as “his baby.”

As the “baby” boomed, growing from a Saturday morning hobby into a two-hour show that aired each day of the work week on WKAV 1400-AM, Charlottesville’s lone 24-hour sports station, Miller remained committed to relaying his message to an even larger audience.

In essence, that process has taken Miller from his longtime home behind a microphone at WKAV to a new position at Charlottesville’s ESPN affiliate, WTKR 840-AM.

After handling his final “SportsRap” broadcast Monday at WKAV, the 26-year-old will make the transition to a two-hour show that will air locally, statewide and in parts of West Virginia.

“It was an extremely difficult decision,” Miller said. ‘SportsRap’ was a 30-minute product on Saturday mornings over four-plus years ago. Today, we’ve grown the show, through strong ties with the Central Virginia community, into a five-day a week sports escape.”

However, there was a time when Miller, a former sportswriter for The Daily Progress, thought about leaving the field.

“After [former host] Nick Steele relocated out of the market, I was unsure what my future would be in radio.

“I remained committed to “Sports Rap” and bettering the product, and while we had our trials and tribulations, we stayed focused and determined. That’s when the show went to an hour on Saturday’s, to two hours on Saturday’s, and we continued to add to the schedule as we connected the dots. We started something from nothing and built so many great relationships in this area.”

The new program, which will be called “The Jerry Miller Show,” will be produced locally at WTKR and will also air live in Blacksburg (WKEX 1430-AM), Martinsville (WODW 1160-AM) and in Bluefield, W.Va. (WAMN 1050-AM), affiliates within the Sports Addict Radio Network.

“Not only is Jerry bringing added value locally to Charlottesville’s ESPN 840, but we’re excited to make his show a part of our network of sports talk stations across Virginia,” said WTKR general manager Aaron Marks. “Jerry’s show will cover all the big regional and national topics being heard across the state in the Blacksburg and Martinsville markets as well as Charlottesville.”

“We also plan to give Jerry’s show a very local feel as well with certain segments and updates devoted to the local markets. Through this we’re really bringing a show that caters to all of our markets and gives everyone of them an added local identity.”

Miller said he envisions specific and quick-hitting updates from each market that will remain newsworthy in content and intriguing for the casual listener, as well providing listener call-producing commentary and discussion about the ACC, NFL, NASCAR and local professional organizations.

Two other local radio programs, “Shuman Says” and “In the Paint,” which Miller co-hosts with Fork Union Military Academy coaches John Shuman (football) and Fletcher Arritt (basketball), respectively, will also make the move to ESPN 840 starting Saturday.

Both shows will be broadcast in Blacksburg, Martinsville and Bluefield, W.Va., and negotiations are on-going to also bring the two 60-minute shows to the state’s Tidewater region and possibly northern Virginia in a matter of months.

It was during the past 95 tapings with coach Shuman and a number just shy of that with coach Arritt that Fork Union Director of Communications Dan Thompson came to the realization that Miller was progressing at a rapid clip as a broadcaster.

“Those two shows are very different because of the personalities of the coaches and both are entertaining in their own way,” Thompson said, “but Jerry just nails it with both of them on both shows.

“We do them back-to-back and they are completely different feeling shows, but Jerry brings whatever is necessary for each one. It is a lot of fun to watch.”