Posted by Bud on June 22, 2010 at 16:44:08:
Big changes are happening at CBS Radio's worst-performing radio station in Chicago, WCFS-FM, aka Fresh 105.9. One of their four local personalities is now out and another soon will be.
Whenever a new program director takes over a radio station, it is a sure bet that changes will be made to the airstaff. When Bill Gamble was brought to the station a year ago, he fired morning host Mike LeBaron and brought on Roxanne Steele and two personalities he worked with before, Steve Fisher and Brooke Hunter. Gamble was fired a few months later.
The new PD, Jim Ryan, placed an ad looking for a new personality for the station three weeks ago. To make room for that new personality, Ryan fired midday host Rick Hall on Thursday afternoon.
Rick Hall was one of the original three personalities at Fresh, starting in the Spring of 2008. He was the station's initial afternoon host, along with morning host Mike LeBaron and midday host Lisa Greene. He was also the last remaining host of the original three. Like Mike LeBaron, Hall was a weekender at sister-station WUSN-FM, prior to coming to WCFS.
While the firing of Rick Hall does not come as a complete shock, the timing of the firing comes at the worst possible time. Hall and his wife Sarah are expecting their first baby any day now.
It is expected that the new afternoon host will be named in just a few days and will start on the air early next month. In the meantime, nighttime personality Brooke Hunter will fill-in the afternoon shift.
As previously reported here, Roxanne Steele recently gave notice at the station, indicating a desire to to pursue other projects. However, because of the firing of Rick Hall, she has been asked to fill-in for Brooke Hunter's nighttime slot and continue doing weekends for the next couple of weeks before she fully exits the station.
Program Director Jim Ryan is attempting to find a way to change the downward spiral of ratings and billings the Fresh station has suffered in 2010. It appears to be a very difficult task, as he is only in Chicago a maximum of one day a week and focuses most of his time programming New York's Fresh station and CBS Radio Corporate's Adult Contemporary Programming.