QUINCY, Il. — In Northeast Missouri, coverage of the state can be hard to come by. In fact, most news coverage comes from Quincy, Illinois, across the Mississippi River.
On the radio, WTAD AM 930’s The Morning Meeting provides consistent coverage of Missouri politics for areas including Hannibal.
The show, airing from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, stars hosts Sean Secrease and Quaid. They’re conservative talkers who also have a quirky side. Normally, the show covers about 50 percent national politics, 25 percent Illinois and 25 percent Missouri.
The show’s ties to Missouri politics run deep. Former host Bryan Nichols runs U.S. Rep. Sam Graves’ district office.
Axiom Strategies’ Aaron Baker appears weekly on the show to talk about Missouri politics.
“It’s an opportunity to give fellow northeast Missourians an update of Missouri politics on a station where they get a lot of their news. I happen to live in that market,” Baker said.
The show has also hosted an array of Missouri politicians, from Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder to U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt to state Sen. Eric Schmitt. They go on the radio show because that’s an effective way to spread their message. An advertising buy in Northeast Missouri might not be efficient, but a radio interview with the Morning Meeting show can make up the deficit.
“A lot of times folks who want to get perspective on statewide candidates or a ballot initiative turn to a show like The Morning Meeting to learn more about those issues and that’s what we discuss Thursday mornings,” Baker said.
Missouri Times publisher Scott Faughn also appears on the show’s Missouri politics discussions on Thursdays.
It’s not just serious politics on the show. They also have a quirky and fun side, which came out when Baker helped the hosts compare Missouri politicians to Star Wars characters last summer.
Past episodes of the show can be heard on their website in podcast form.
