What is Mercury Morning News? 

Picking up a brand new issue of The Mercury — UTD’s student newspaper and AMP’s sister publication — is always exciting. However, all of us get busy sometimes. If you want to catch up on all the latest local and campus news but don’t have time to read it yourself, you can just let the hosts of the Mercury Morning News podcast explain it to you instead! Every Sunday at 10 a.m., people from all corners of Student Media get together on RadioUTD to inform and entertain, so tap into your inner child and get ready for your weekly storytime.

History and Forming the Group

Mercury Morning News (MMN) actually originated as a serious news podcast in 2021, hosted solely by writers at The Mercury. Each episode was around half an hour, and the podcast primarily covered local events on and around campus. Since then, MMN has evolved into a collaboration between multiple branches of Student Media. The podcast is meant not only to inform the student body, but to create a space for UTD students to share information and opinions on local news that excites them!

MMN was reborn on RadioUTD in Fall of 2023, and hosts were invited to participate on the basis of interest. After that, various tests were done to see if the group had chemistry (spoiler: we did) and could deliver relevant information in a way that was entertaining and engaging, as well as adding our own personal flair onto the airwaves. This semester’s host lineup includes Gavin Arriaga (AMP), Mickey Dolphin (AMP), Andre Averion (AMP and The Mercury), Maria Shaikh (The Mercury), and Tyler Viator (RadioUTD). Additionally, episodes are recorded and uploaded on UTD TV’s YouTube channel, making this a project that all four Student Media organizations get to play a part in.

Plenty of Variety

The atmosphere in the recording room during MMN is nothing short of delightful. No matter who’s available for the lineup that week, everyone has something fun and interesting to contribute. The benefit of having a rotating host list is that everyone has their wheelhouse, and can offer insight on specific topics. For example, you may hear Andre delve into the latest UTD sports story, Gavin explain recent video game news, or Mickey talk about developments in the film and entertainment industry. Each host has something unique they bring to the table.

Similarly, every episode of the podcast is a little different. There are new topics each week depending on current events, of course, but also different personalities who bounce off each other in entertaining ways. We have five total hosts this semester, but any three hosts from that pool could be on air any given week. Some hosts tend to have a quiet and chill vibe, while others are more high energy for anyone who prefers to get their day started with a bang. (Apologies for laughing so loud, unless that’s the kind of thing you like from a commentator, in which case you’re welcome. -Gavin) Hosts for the next show get announced a day or two in advance on social media; if there’s someone whose hosting style you really like, you can keep an eye out for them. Or rather, an ear.

Vibes of the Show

Between the casual chatting and chill jazz tracks, we hope that students can feel the same cozy morning vibes while listening to Mercury Morning News that we feel while recording it. We want to invite our listeners in, like we’re all friends talking over brunch. To be honest, while MMN seeks to inform, it’s just as important to let the student body get to know us. This show serves as a peek behind the curtain in that way, giving names and voices to the people in Student Media. (Contrary to popular belief, AMP and The Mercury don’t just magically materialize on campus every few weeks.) For those who want to learn a little more about Student Media, or even those who are thinking about joining, MMN shows off the friendly and collaborative atmosphere our office has.

Growth and Opportunities

Hosting a radio show together has given us many notable bonding moments both on and off the air. Just as an anecdotal example, during the Fall 2023 semester both Andre and myself, Mickey, had birthdays in early September. After that week’s recording session we spent almost the entire day in the office — going to Jollibee for lunch and showing me what I had been missing out on, as it was my first time eating there — before going out to dinner with everybody that evening at a Korean BBQ spot. It ended up being a fantastic night and an unexpectedly wonderful way to spend my 24th birthday! I seriously didn’t anticipate how much fun I’d end up having.

MMN may seem like just another podcast, but for us it’s a little hour of bonding between three folks in a recording studio. On top of that, it’s been extremely interesting and useful learning the ropes of radio as people who, for all intents and purposes, had minimal involvement with radio outside of listening to it. The technical side of this operation never ceases to fascinate us. Plus, it’s extremely nice of the RadioUTD staff to trust us around their equipment. I’m not sure I would if I were in their shoes, but they do regardless, so everyone say thank you RadioUTD! 

Looking Forward

Mercury Morning News has already changed and evolved a few times, so we’re excited to see what its future brings. A few of the current hosts will be graduating this semester, but that just means new people will get to join in for the next season of the show.

We’ve been participating in more of these cross-organizational projects lately, both because they’re a great way to support each other as members of Student Media and because many of us are already friends. Beyond our hopes for MMN itself, we look forward to even bigger, brighter, and more creative collaborations within Student Media as time goes on. We’ve grown a lot in the past year, and we hope that growth continues far into the future. If you’re at all curious about what we have to offer, consider hopping on board and adding your voice to the conversation!