Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – If you want to know whether J.D. Justice is settling into Northeast Arkansas, there may be no better evidence than his answer to one simple question:
How was Jerry’s Steakhouse? “Never heard of Jerry’s,” Justice admits. Then comes the important part. “I ordered small, but next time large and definitely one more beer.”
That’s probably about as good a first impression of Northeast Arkansas as a new resident can give.
Justice — whose real name is Jon Belsaas — arrived in Jonesboro about 13 days ago after leaving Battle Creek, Michigan, to become the new afternoon personality and content director at 104.9 The Fox.
In that short time, he’s already worked two high school football games, attended a Parker McCollum concert, made appearances for The Fox’s Jeep Wrangler and Cash giveaway, met plenty of listeners and spent a Friday night at the Paragould-Trumann football game before discovering the joys of Jerry’s Steakhouse in Trumann.
And he’s already made himself at home in Bono.
But the move to Northeast Arkansas wasn’t exactly something Justice had been planning. In fact, he says he never really thought he would leave Michigan. “I never thought I’d leave as the community and Midwest Communications treated me well,” he said.
But over the years, Justice had developed a connection to the South, spending time in Memphis while his stations raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
He also became familiar with people throughout the region and eventually found himself wanting to work for a radio company in the South that believed in local radio. That’s where Jonesboro entered the picture.
Justice had previously worked with Saga Communications, the parent company of Jonesboro Media Group, in Des Moines. When the opportunity at The Fox came along, he saw something familiar.
“Jonesboro had the same great leadership and dedication to doing local radio for their community,” he said. He liked what he saw enough to make the move.
From a transistor radio to the microphone
Justice’s interest in radio goes back much further than his professional career. As a kid growing up in Minnesota, he kept a transistor radio under his pillow.
“I always loved listening to the DJs, especially Casey Kasem’s Top 40 Countdown,” he said. “I was always intrigued at how a good air talent could tell a story.”
That fascination eventually led him to Brown College in Minneapolis after high school and then into a career that has included small, medium and large markets — Minneapolis, Des Moines, the Quad Cities, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, and now Jonesboro.
Along the way, he says two mentors had a particularly significant influence on him.
Jim O’Hara at WLLR in the Quad Cities helped Justice discover his own personality instead of trying to sound like a collection of other radio personalities.
Greg Swedberg in Minneapolis taught him that everything you do should sound like “the biggest and best.”
Justice also remembers the significance of finally getting the opportunity to work in his hometown of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Opening the microphone and knowing that friends he grew up with, his teachers and his parents could hear him was a special moment.
His parents, he said, always knew radio was where he belonged.
So where did “J.D. Justice” come from? It wasn’t always Justice.
While working in Minneapolis, his operations manager liked calling people “Outlaw,” and Justice became JD Outlaw. When he later moved to an air shift in Illinois, however, he was told that name didn’t work there. So Outlaw became Justice. And now, J.D. Justice is introducing himself to Northeast Arkansas.
He didn’t know much about Jonesboro
Before accepting the job, Justice admits his knowledge of Jonesboro was pretty limited. He knew the story of former Arkansas and NFL football player Brandon Burlsworth, thanks in part to the movie Greater.
He’s also an Elvis fan, and discovered that Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas had a connection to Elvis’ early career through the honky-tonks where the future King of Rock ‘n’ Roll performed.
Then there’s the fact that Justice now lives in Bono — a place he didn’t exactly plan on calling home.
He had been looking around the area for a place to live when, during breakfast, he received a phone call from Bono Mayor Dan Shaw.
Shaw, Justice says, was interested in increasing Bono’s population “by one” and connected him with landlord Jackie Leonard. Justice says Leonard has gone out of her way to make sure he’s comfortable.
And there’s another little historical footnote to his new home. “Elvis once played in my front yard,” Justice said.
As for Mayor Shaw? “I haven’t heard from the Mayor since, but I’ll work on that.”
Then there was the Southern hospitality
One of Justice’s biggest early surprises hasn’t been the food, the football or even the weather. It’s the people. “There is proof that southern hospitality is real,” he said.
He remembers seeing a man help an older gentleman who was struggling to open a heavy door. Justice joined him and walked the man to his car to make sure he was okay. The two men didn’t even know the older gentleman.
On another occasion, Justice found himself sitting near a group celebrating a birthday. They shared their birthday cake with the people around them — including Justice — and struck up a conversation. “That doesn’t happen where I come from,” he said.
He says the people he’s encountered have been welcoming and accepting, particularly knowing that he’s the new guy. “Everyone matters in this community and feels a part of the show,” Justice said.
That’s also the philosophy he wants to bring to his afternoon show. He wants listeners to have fun, call the station, participate and feel like they’re part of what is happening. “It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s about the listeners.”
A new voice — and a new program director
Justice isn’t simply taking over the afternoon airshift. He’s also stepping into the program director’s chair at The Fox, a station that has spent decades building a reputation as one of the market’s leading country stations.
He’s not walking in with a plan to immediately turn everything upside down. Instead, he says he’s spending time learning. He wants to understand the processes, get a feel for what listeners like and become educated about the community before making significant changes.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have ideas. “I do have a stamp,” he said. “But I want to make sure I’m educated first in the community.”
One question he’s particularly interested in answering is how aggressively the station should pursue new music. At his previous station, Justice says he was more aggressive with music decisions. “Does Jonesboro want more new music, or do they want to take it slow?” he asks. If changes come, he says, they will be subtle.
He found a family at The Fox
Justice says one of the biggest attractions of the job was the people.
He describes The Fox as a place where the staff genuinely cares about the community and about each other.
That includes Director of Content Mitch Mahan, who was instrumental in bringing Justice to Jonesboro.
“When searching for someone to bring into the JMG family, I wanted a leader our team could believe in as much as I do,” Mahan said. “I needed a programmer who would challenge me to be better, stay open to learning together, and routinely leave me thinking, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’” Mahan said Justice checked those boxes.
“J.D. is that person,” he said. “He’s a top-notch air talent and a seasoned programmer with a proven track record of operating at the highest level.”
Mahan also said Justice has already demonstrated a genuine commitment to becoming part of the community. “I truly believe he’ll make Jonesboro his home and JMG his long-term radio home,” Mahan said.
Then Mahan offered a fitting conclusion: “I’m ready, he’s ready, and Jonesboro is ready for Justice.”
Jonesboro Media Group President and General Manager Trey Stafford said finding the right person to lead The Fox was not something the company took lightly. “This has been an exhaustive search to find the absolute right person to lead The Fox,” Stafford said.
The company was looking for someone talented, fun, creative and energetic — but also someone who would make Jonesboro their home and continue the station’s long history of success. “JD was one of several candidates who came to Jonesboro to talk about this position,” Stafford said. “It was clear that he is the right leader.”
Stafford said he believes Justice will bring something valuable to both The Fox and the community. “JD will make all of us better and will be a great addition to our Jonesboro and Fox Country community.”
So why is J.D. Justice really here?
Ask Justice, and the answer goes beyond radio.
He says the decision to come to Jonesboro came after a long prayer. He woke up the next morning feeling he had been pulled toward the opportunity and called Mahan. “Can I come in September?” Justice asked. Mahan’s answer was simple. “YEP!!”
Thirteen days later, Justice is living in Bono, eating steaks in Trumann, attending high school football games, meeting Fox listeners and getting behind the microphone every afternoon.
And he’s already thinking about the long term.
What does he want Northeast Arkansas to say about J.D. Justice a year from now? “That I have passion for country music and that everyone matters in this community and feels a part of the show,” he said.
Then he added one more thing. “Oh yeah — and he can NEVER have too much fun.”
That’s a pretty good mission statement for a guy whose professional journey began with a little transistor radio under his pillow. And if his first 13 days are any indication, J.D. Justice isn’t simply passing through Jonesboro. He’s looking for a home.
“I came to Jonesboro because I felt led by God,” Justice said. “But I’m going to stay because I love BBQ, a great steak and people that make me feel a part of the family.”
After 13 days, he’s already got the BBQ, the steak and the family. Now he just needs to figure out the traffic. “I will say that driving around here is the same,” Justice said with a laugh. “Everyone in a hurry to go nowhere.”
Welcome to Jonesboro, J.D.