Update 12/23: MediaCo has officially announced the addition of Lana Harris, Rondell Smith and Million Connally-Cooper to anchor “Hot 97 News” on their new “Hot 97 TV” service.
The Atlanta based trio will anchor the daily program described as “the intersection of journalism, hip hop, conversation, and culture”. It will be accompanied by a local one-hour show focused on Atlanta with both airing on Hot 97’s streaming platforms.
Lana Harris will anchor the programs after previously holding roles at television stations in Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville and Columbia SC. She will be joined by comedian Rondell Smith, who also has an Atlanta focused social news brand and has appeared on USA’s Chrisley Knows Best. Million Connally-Cooper will hold a hybrid producer and interviewer role.
INSTANT INSIGHT: The trio were teased on social media has being new hosts at the New York Hip Hop radio station and took the time in their announcement to pushback at those complaining about three Atlanta personalities being added to the station, despite that being what the station wanted the audience to believe at the time. Between the way this announcement was made, how Funkmaster Flex has teased his audience about his fill-in shift and returning to mornings in 2029, and the faked memo, it appears the station is attempting to do everything in its power to alienate its audience in efforts to troll them prior to announcing its new morning show.
Original Report 12/22: Over the weekend, MediaCo Hip Hop “Hot 97” WQHT New York introduced three new personalities who will be joining the station, while someone claiming to have an internal memo of potential morning show hosts tried to bait industry reporters and New York Hip Hop bloggers into reporting on their faked content.
First the station announced the addition of three currently Atlanta based personalities in comedian Ronndell Smith, former television reporter Lana Harris, and social media influencer Million. No roles for the trio were announced, with many assuming them to be new morning show. With MediaCo’s recent launch of “Hot 97 TV” on WHOT-TV Atlanta, additions of three Atlanta personalities may make more sense through that lens as opposed to as for a New York radio brand.
But the situation got stranger on Saturday evening when someone claiming to be let go from the station’s digital content department but using the name of an iHeartMedia executive attempted the share with us documents that they claimed “directly contradicts the company’s current messaging” with a list of talents and salary requirements for the station’s morning show opening.
While the “leaker” claimed to be having interest in publishing from Page Six and Baller Alert, the only ones who took the bait were a few people who did little due diligence and took it at face value just as they intended helping to spread mis-information Without even getting into the names mentioned as potential hosts, the memo claims that Pio Ferro and Karlie Hustle are the programmers of the station. Ferro exited WQHT in 2024 to join Meruelo Media Los Angeles as SVP/Programming and Hustle hasn’t been at WQHT since 2014!
Is it possible one or more of those names end up as part of WQHT’s new morning show? Perhaps. But anything in this supposed memo is completely fabricated.
Alleged Hot 97 Talent Replacement List:
• Zeddy Will
• Heineken
• ESSO
• Armon Wiggins
• Roxy Romero
• Gabe P
• Rory & Mal
+According to a source affected by the recent layoffs at MediaCo, the parent company of Hot 97, several personalities were considered this month… https://t.co/YTcocCri5K pic.twitter.com/ME9TtRw6pV
— Glock Topickz (@Glock_Topickz) December 21, 2025
🚨 After the layoffs at MediaCo, questions started circulating inside Hot 97.
Internal planning documents reviewed by this publication raise new questions about timing, strategy, and the future of the morning show.
No speculation. No conclusions jumped.
Just reporting.🗂️… pic.twitter.com/jiePmXDF6F— DUB HERE (@TheFilesWithDUB) December 21, 2025
A shortlist of potential names was internally discussed as possible replacements for the Morning Show at Hot 97 following recent layoffs at MediaCo.
Sources say several personalities were approached over the past month – with some opting not to move forward.
Alleged contract… pic.twitter.com/65IMgC49rA
— Cadence (@_cadencemag) December 21, 2025
