UTICA-ROME -- At least three people were pinkslipped from the on-air lineup at Regent's Oldiez 96 (WODZ) today... but Regent had no control over the changes. The decision was made by Citadel Media, who supplies the station's syndicated "Classic Hits" satellite feed outside of morning drive.
Off the roster are afternoon driver Ron Foster and evening host Mike Preston. Network morning co-host Jay Fox has also been let go -- though he was only heard locally for an hour every morning because the network, based in Dallas, runs on Central Time. While the local morning drive show hosted by Bob Cain ends at 10am, the network's morning drive show continues until 11am local time (10am Dallas time).
First reported as a rumor by Taylor on Radio-Info early this morning, the report has since been confirmed and corroborated by other national sites like AllAccess. A number of personalities from other Citadel-syndicated formats were let go, but to the best of our knowledge, "Classic Hits" is the only format being used by any station in the region. (PDs: Feel free to correct us if we're wrong.)
The Oldiez 96 website still lists Foster and Preston on their roster, but the network site -- which has been changed from the "Classic Hits" branding to "Greatest Mojo" (though it's still listed as "Classic Hits" on Citadel's website) -- doesn't have a link to any jock profiles. Certain bios (Jay Fox and Ron Foster, in particular) were still accessible through the site's search function.
Earlier this month, Citadel admitted in a quarterly SEC filing that it likely won't be able to make a payment of $150 million due to lenders early next year -- and as a result, a Chapter 11 filing would be likely unless the company can reach other agreements with those creditors.