Rip Daniels’ JZ 94.5 celebrates 30 years on the air. ‘Never short of things to talk about’

His radio program has international reach with Mississippi Coast flair. His sarcastic commentary is juxtaposed with sincere, philosophical concern. He’s hosted live interviews with newsmakers from Barack Obama to David Duke – and everyone in between. He talks, he says, from A to Z.

Last week marked 30 years since Gulfport’s Rip Daniels started broadcasting JZ 94.5, The People’s Station, as its founder and CEO. He says his signature program “It’s a New Day” is the longest running radio talk show on the Coast.

And Daniels’ station was the first and is the only Black-owned FM station on the Coast. “It’s a New Day” airs nearly every day. He broadcasts from his studio, his home, on the road or abroad – he’s done so from Senegal, Tanzania, South Africa and Greece, just to name a few.

He broadcast feet away from Obama’s presidential inauguration and reported on the scene at the Million Man March.

Daniels usually equates newscasting to being on vacation.

“It’s a strange thing. I look at what I do as a duty and a responsibility and it’s hard to say that talking is work,” Daniels said. “When you’re out there pouring 40, 50 yards of concrete, that’s work. This isn’t work.”

And he’s poured his fair share of concrete, too.

Before JZ 94.5

Daniels is a Coast native who was born, and grew up, in Gulfport. He was a good student, earning a full ride to Eckerd College in Florida. He nearly served in Vietnam, he said, but the U.S. withdrew shortly after he was drafted.

Some of Daniels’ first gigs included working in construction, pouring concrete like his father, serving as a DJ at the college radio station, and working at a clothing retail store. He was a part of a commercial for the store, he said, and someone from a local radio station invited him to sit in at the station.

“I got into radio by accident,” Daniels said. “I was just asked to come back.”

He bounced between a few radio stations after graduation, before learning of an opening to buy one on the Coast in 1986.

A 15-way battle for the permits and rights to the station ensued. Daniels won, thanks in-part to his background and prior experience in the industry. His first facility was the building where he attended kindergarten. He paid for it in cash. “I think it was providence,” Daniels said of the opportunity to refurbish the old building.

The state eventually seized the property through eminent domain, but not until after a two-year legal battle that left Daniels saying “they paid me what I was expecting.”

He then bought the three acres for the station’s new home. Then another battle: a new neighbor also wanted the land Daniels had just bought. For the past 24 years, though, he’s remained on those three acres.

When Daniels bought the land, it was vacant. Now a tall, boxy concrete structure stands there with a giant white satellite out front. There’s a reason there are no windows on the front of the building, he said.

“I built this building to stop a .50-caliber bullet,” Daniels said. “I’m in Mississippi. You can’t do what I do and say what I say without having some enemies.”

Those enemies

Daniels said he highly values the opinions of his listeners. That’s part of the reason he wanted his own station – he wanted a platform where he could speak his mind under his own editorial standard. But that’s been met with some strong responses from his critics over the years.

Early on, he said, malicious parties would try and hijack the radio frequency and shout profanities and slurs.

Police once informed Daniels they believed someone posing as a sniper was trained on his building. They told Daniels he shouldn’t leave the building. Eventually, the police responded with snipers of their own.

He once interviewed a Klansman who wielded a sawed off shotgun, Daniels said. Daniels was armed with a pistol.

Separately, Daniels said he was warned not to go to the station because someone had rigged a vehicle to explode, lighting a Confederate flag on fire and sticking it in the gas tank.

He still gets hateful messages and death threats, he said, but these have slowed down over the years.

“You’ve got some folks who are hardened bigots,” Daniels said. “And I’ve got a serious disregard for bigots.”

Daniels isn’t without barking back. He’s led countless advocacy campaigns against white supremacists. He’s also undertaken work that educates the youth on crime, corrections and acting as law abiding citizens.

He’s sued Harrison County in 1995 over the display of Rebel flags.

“I’m never short of things to talk about,” Daniels said. “Sometimes… I have become the news, let’s put it that way.”

“It’s a New Day”

For his newscast, “It’s a New Day,” production sometimes starts as early as 3 a.m., Daniels said. On other days, it might involve walking into the studio seconds before he’s on the air.

There are no scripts or outlines for what’s going to be discussed, he said. The topics of conversation are often flexible, as news can quickly change, with nothing off the table for discussion. Mississippi, national culture and politics are often the main topics.

There isn’t much of a secret to the process, Daniels said. Lots of research from a talented team, and years of expertise go into each show.

“I never looked at myself as a radio announcer or broadcaster,” he said with a long pause. “I always looked at myself as just being a coach.”

JZ 94.5 isn’t Daniels’ only enterprise. He’s also the CEO of the Almanette Restaurant and Hotel and the CEO of the American Blues Network, the nation’s only 24/7 blues broadcast. He and JZ 94.5 station recently launched a nonprofit called the People’s Station Corporation.

He was recognized earlier this year by the magazine Our Mississippi as one of the most influential African Americans in the state.

The radio station’s website lists a number of upcoming events it’s sponsoring to celebrate the 30 year anniversary and Juneteenth.

“Daddy always told me that true so-called leaders are people that go their own way,” Daniels said. “Only to arrive there and discover they were followed.”

With hundreds of thousands of listeners tuned into any one of his many projects, Daniels certainly has plenty of followers.