WBOK Launches New Program to Uplift Residents in Tough Times

Bishop Lester Love joins Monica Pierre and Sally-Ann Roberts at the WBOK station for the live broadcast of "Your Power is On."

Photos By Samantha Jackson

Samantha Jackson Data News Weekly Contributor

Veteran New Orleans Broadcasters Sally-Ann Roberts and Monica Pierre have teamed up to return to the airwaves with a new morning show: “Your Power Is On” on WBOK 1230 AM. The show airs on Fridays at 9 a.m. and highlights “positivity, encouragement, and uplifting one another.” For WBOK this new segment is a new style of broadcast by introducing motivational talk. The station currently has a variety of formats ranging from “The Sports Report with Reggie Flood,” “The Front Porch with Gralen Banks,” and “The Reality Check with Gerod Stevens.”

Roberts retired from WWL-TV’s Eyewitness Morning News in 2018, and after 40 years in broadcasting, which saw her become one of New Orleans most adored and respected television journalists. The former television anchor returned to WBOK, the city’s only Black-owned radio station in 2021 to pilot “The Good Morning Show.”

“I hope that this show will encourage people, I want people to recognize the power that they have,” Roberts said. “You don’t have to be an elected official – rich. You just have to be available and to see people, and then just smile, a smile can do so much. It’s paying attention to things that are going on around you, and giving as you feel led to give,” Roberts said.

Alongside Roberts is Monica Pierre, an Emmy-Award Winning Journalist, author, speaker, entrepreneur, and Professor-of-Practice at Xavier University of Louisiana. The former WWL-Radio host has a career that has spanned over 40 years in journalism and public relations. The motivational speaker continues to innovate in new formats. She co-hosted the entertainment special “Ya Mama N’em,” which won the 2020 Suncoast Regional Emmy Award.

“The power to recognize that they have it and that whatever is getting them angry, upset, whatever they are being called to do, that they have enough light in them to make it happen,” Pierre said about what she hopes the show will inspire listeners to pursue. “And it doesn’t have to be the biggest thing, but it has to be something that really is aligned with their purpose,” Pierre added.

“Your Power Is On’ first episode debuted on Sept. 9th and Pierre and Roberts invite callers to “Tell me something good,” a segment where listeners can recognize people in the community and share good news. Special guest Bishop Lester Love joined Roberts and Pierre where they listened and talked to callers, shared prayers and inspirational words, and Love discussed walking in purpose.

The segment is a great change of pace for the station because of its focus on positive news, said Schuyler Williams, the General Manager of WBOK.
“Every other show we do at the radio station is about informing people about current events, topics that can trigger, that can make them angry or sad, all of those things because that’s what the news is right now,” Williams said. “This show is all about accentuating the positive, bringing people into a happier place, a more joyful place, a more supportive place. It is very much different from the other things we have going on, even the fun shows. Because there’s no part of it that is political or about current events,” Williams added.

Given recent developments in the city and across the country, Williams said she believes that “Your Power Is On” is a bright light shining in a dark time. This show will allow people to take a break from the some-times depressing news, allowing listeners to take some time to feel grateful for the things they have and the people around them.

“Sitting around waiting for someone else to do it, live that purpose, live their dream, is not the best way to go, and they can do it, no more waiting around, get going,” Pierre said.

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