UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH KAREN CARSON
Host of 102.7 FM’s Karen Carson In The Morning
Every day like clockwork Karen Carson gets up at 3am, hits the gym by 3:45am for a workout, and is behind the microphone at 102.7-FM by 6am to start headlining her four-hour radio show, Karen Carson in The Morning. In many ways Karen considers herself to be an open book, since pretty much every topic is fair game on her program except politics. The studio she has been broadcasting from since 2017, has also become a saving grace because it pulled Carson up from some difficult and challenging times. During this exclusive interview with New York Lifestyles Magazine (NYLM), we got to know a lot more about Karen, including, why, after so much heartache, she’s singing a happy tune.
NYLM: When did you know you wanted to be on the radio?
Karen Carson: In college. I joined WMCX Monmouth University’s radio station, and I remember being terrified to go on the radio even though it was only 13 watts and it only went out to the parking lot. During one of the holiday breaks, the station manager put me on the air every single day and it just clicked for me.
NYLM: If you couldn’t work in radio, did you have a back-up career plan?
Karen Carson: A helicopter pilot, a pharmacist or an archeologist. They were all on the list.
NYLM: What were your favorite stations or DJ’s you listened to growing up that inspired you?
NYLM: Talk to me about the road to starring on the hottest show at 102.7 and becoming one of the most famous voices of NY?
Karen Carson: There are always obstacles. In radio you can lose your job quickly and fast without warning. One day you are talking to your listeners and the next day it can be ripped away because a new company is coming in.
NYLM: Did that ever happen to you?
Karen Carson: I remember when I was in my 20’s working at a rock station in Honolulu when management came in, let us all go, and I had to move off the island because it was too expensive.
NYLM: Sounds like the path came with a setback and disappointment. What did you do?
Karen Carson: I moved back home and became a 25-year-old intern. I was using my own money to work in radio because I knew I wanted to be around it since it was exciting, mysterious and back then no one knew what you looked like.
NYLM: When did things turn a corner?
Karen Carson: Someone heard me down at the Jersey Shore on WJLK-FM and said there was an opening in New York, and I should apply. I did and I got the job!
NYLM: New York is the number one media market. Did you feel like you made it?
Karen Carson: New York is really cut-throat. If the station is not doing well, the powers that be come in because it’s a money game and they will rip it off the air. That happened multiple times, but I knew I had more to give so I kept going.
NYLM: You have been a staple here in New York for over three decades.
Karen Carson: I had a lot of opportunities, and you have to grab each one and hope it works. I have been at 102.7 for almost 15-years. WOW, I can’t believe I said that. I mean I have worked everywhere. Lite-FM, Q-104, KTU, 105.1 and now I am here. It’s not the easiest, most secure job to have but I love it.
NYLM: Radio Executive Jim Ryan told Radio Insider WNEW’s success is largely based around the morning show with Karen Carson? What is your reaction to that statement?
Karen Caron: I was really happy he said that. If anyone was instrumental in building this show it was Jim Ryan. He is a brilliant genius in the industry because he demands perfection. I had two failed morning shows before this and yet Jim believed in me. I mean who gets three chances?
NYLM: What comes to mind when you hear you have been a staple on the airwaves for over 30-years? Karen Carson: It’s weird to hear you say that and it makes me really emotional. There are so many people like me out there and so many women. I see myself as a mom. As someone who has been through it all, while working full-time and commuting to Manhattan.
NYLM: I listen to your program, and I notice you share a lot of your personal life on the air. Why so?
Karen Carson: I want to be real and connect with people. I went through a divorce, I lost my mom, yeah, I share it with people because I want them to know I am just like everybody else. There are days that I mess up. I once called The American Authors The American Idols (laughs), so yeah, I am like an idiot sometimes (laughs), but I think all of this can be funny, and it’s the laughter that gets us through those tough times.
NYLM: Has sharing your experience with divorce provided comfort?
Karen Carson: Yes, and I feel great because I was terrified at first to do it. I am supposed to be funny, not serious. The listeners give me the courage to do that. Life is hard on everybody. For me, I never dealt with the loss of anyone in my family and then all at once my mom died, I got divorced two weeks later, my husband left the house, my father moved in, all my kids were gone, and I became an empty nester. I mean you can’t make this up! It was like boom-boom-boom! I was like, “come on, what is next?” As much as I try to find the humor I also share when it’s hard.
NYLM: Why was it important to make this public? Karen Carson: I have always hated that word divorce, even when I was a child. There is such a stigma and ugliness when you say it. Divorce is really sad and the people that suffer the most are the children. But the more I showed little parts of myself, without upsetting my kids or if the guys threw out questions when I started talking about it like how you felt, what was that like, answering them helped me tell the story. The more I told the story the more I was like, “I can’t believe I just did that.” It was only after I saw the texts and phone calls coming in and people relating to what I said made me brave and gave me the strength to talk about it more because I saw it was helping people who were going through the same thing. Everything came together for me when I was open and thought, “I can’t be the only one going through this, there has to be others.”
NYLM: You have accomplished so much in your career. What is still left on the to-do list?
Karen Carson: I want to create a video that goes viral on TikTok (laughs).
NYLM: What is something no one knows about you?
Karen Carson: I want to be a good Gardner. Gardening is turning into my drug, and I am obsessed with getting in the dirt, planting, and creating. I also want to be the best mom, and keep getting better at doing what I do.
MEET THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE MORNINGS A BLAST
“We don’t try to be perfect,” Carson tells NYLM. “Totally,” Malerba chimes in, “It’s the realness that makes us who we are because aren’t pretending to be polished and like everything is sun and rainbows all the time and I think that makes us relatable to people.” Mingione excitedly nods and says, “We’re a happy dysfunctional family who likes to air our dirty laundry on the air. Anything we fight about or discuss; we bring to the show and then laugh about it.”
In some regards, fate brought these great talents together into one studio. After headlining two failed morning radio shows, Carson was tapped by radio executive Jim Ryan to come to 102.7 where Malerba was beginning his career as an intern, hence his nickname. Malerba’s wit and humor quickly impressed Carson, and so he got his big break. Fast forward to 2019, when Mingione was let go from the now defunct WPLJ-FM. Upon his dismissal, he posted a funny video that caught Carson’s eye, and she added him to the mix. “I was a little nervous when Anthony came on board,” Malerba confesses, “Because if there’s two of the same people on one team, one of them may not be needed but as we got to know each other, we realized we are more different than we are alike.”
As it turns out their differences are what make for non-stop conversation, endless jokes and constant banter that continue during hit song and commercial breaks. Mingione laughs and says, “Anthony is from Bensonhurst; Karen is from New Jersey, and I am from Long Island, so not only do we have a variety of backgrounds in the room, but we also have good coverage of the metro area.” The group also pokes fun at how they were born in different decades; Carson is a single mom dating someone new, Malerba is a newlywed and Mingione is tying the knot in October 2025, which Carson will officiate. Yet they have the same goal, creating a four-hour block of escapism where listeners can tune out the pressures of life and join in the laughs. “We have a responsibility to make people happy, Mingione adds, “And like the rest of the world we too have dealt with break-ups, divorces, deaths, ailing parents, sending kids to college, becoming empty nesters but when we cry it’s to each other because we are family. Then we rally and give it our all in every broadcast.”
“We go through a lot more behind the scenes than our audience realizes,” Malerba adds, “And as much as this show is a diversion for listeners, these four hours are a distraction from our lives too.”
Carson, Malerba, and Mingione never stop working to come up with creative content to make this block of time highly entertaining. “We write out the show the day before,” Carson says, “We begin by laying out where and when we want to talk about certain topics, we look for sound, guests, and after we go home, we are on the phone talking to one another, texting in a group chat, emailing all day until we go to bed and jot down ideas on the weekends.” When they segway to ads or music, Carson, Malerba, and Mingione go into overdrive by dividing and conquering responsibilities to make videos, edit the next segment, prep a caller or put the finishing touches on a social media post.
Carson also devotes hours scrolling through social media preparing for the popular segment, Can’t Beat Karen, where listeners try and win $1,000 by out-smarting Carson, a pop-culture junkie, by answering five questions in three second increments, which are put together by Malerba. Blown Off, another fan favorite, centers on Carson, Malerba, and Mingione trying to get a couple back together by attempting to send them on a date they pay for and then there’s their annual holiday toy drive for children in need, which in 2024 collected record breaking 11,000 gifts.
According to Malerba, “The beauty of our show is anything can happen at any minute,” while Mingione adds, “I think the core of our magic is we have similar hearts and a lot of respect for each other.” As our time is wrapping up, Carson, Malerba and Mingione go in for a group hug where Carson concluded, “Not only do I get to work with these guys, but we are so blessed, honored and lucky to be doing a job we truly love and have a passion for.”