Carter has been an on-air radio personality since the late 1980s, when he first appeared on KROQ filling in for Rodney Bingenheimer and co-hosting KROQ artist specials with him. From 1996 to 1997, he hosted "Sony's Siren Spotlight" interview show, broadcast worldwide and featuring in depth interviews with hundreds of Sony artists, ranging from Ozzy Osbourne to Pearl Jam. From August 1997 through December 1999, he hosted his original show "The Chris Carter Mess,” a four-hour specialty show on Los Angeles radio station Modern Rock Y107. "The Mess" also aired in the midwest on WOXY-FM. After a Y107 format change in January 1999, "The Chris Carter Mess" moved to LA's Channel 103.1, where it aired weekly through February 2001. Meanwhile, in 1999, Carter was honored by (now-defunct) BAM Magazine as one of the BAM 100, which recognized "The 100 Most Influential Californians in the Music Industry."