For 26 years — almost half his life — Tommy Mattern has programmed 105.7 The Point in St. Louis. Even longer, he’s been part of the St. Louis radio fabric itself. Since 1993, when he started at a local top 40 station as an intern, Mattern shaped the market’s sound. He worked every job available in that early building. Then he moved through programming roles before landing at The Point in October 2000.
These days, Mattern wears multiple hats at Hubbard Radio St. Louis. He’s the Operations Manager for the cluster — five major FM brands under one roof. He programs The Point day to day and oversees WIL (the country station) as OM/PD. Additionally, he handles sports programming at 101 ESPN. Yet if you ask him what defines his career, it’s The Point. That’s the station where he’s had the most freedom to think, experiment, and — most importantly — fail without fear.
The Rizzuto Standard
The most visible proof of that philosophy is the morning show. Since April 2014, The Point’s morning slot has been anchored by the Rizzuto Show. This program has essentially never left the #1 position. “I don’t know if there’s been a year since 2014 that we’ve been anything less than number one,” Mattern says. That show is a direct descendant of Woody and Rizzuto. This pairing dominated the market before Woody moved to iHeart in Los Angeles in March 2014. Rather than panic, Mattern doubled down on Scott Rizzuto, the co-host who’d become the show’s emotional center.
Rizzuto, whom Mattern hired from Sirius and K-Rock in New York around 2003, had already logged years with Mattern at The Point. However, the morning slot required something different — a talent capable of holding the station’s entire morning identity. Rizzuto rose to it. “That show is an elite standard in the market,” Mattern says. It’s the kind of statement that could sound like hyperbole. Yet Mattern has the ratings and revenue to back it up. For over a decade, the Rizzuto Show has been both the critical and commercial engine driving The Point’s dominance…