SYRACUSE -- Major staffing changes at KROCK (WKRL/WKRH/WKLL), first reported by CNYRadio.com last night, have been confirmed by owner Galaxy Communications today. Out are three KROCK staffers. In are the two morning hosts who suddenly resigned from 95X (WAQX) earlier this week. Galaxy is also revealing more new details about the shakeup.
Some of the tipsters who first contacted CNYRadio.com last night said the yesterday's housecleaning would pave the way for the launch of a "KROCK 2.0."
Today, KROCK personalities including morning host Dex Mitchell, midday host and program director Nixon, and night host Candace Curby were removed from the station website. Afternoon host Rainman, the lone full-time host to survive the cuts, filled-in for part of Candace's shift last night. Part-timer Griffin, who once hosted mornings, filled-in on morning drive today.
In a press release this afternoon, Galaxy also confirms it has hired Hunter Scott and Josh Grosvent, who had hosted "The Show" on crosstown competitor 95X (WAQX) for the past two years, until abruptly resigning after their shift on Tuesday morning. Although the pair didn't declare their resignations on-air, a morning-long in-studio "zombie attack" resulted in the hosts being "killed" just prior to the end of the shift.
In addition to confirming the coup, Galaxy President/CEO Ed Levine said, in a press release:
“There hasn’t been a local morning show in Syracuse, as long as I can remember, that has started from scratch and has become a top tier program within two years. The fact that these guys have been able to do that with no promotion or marketing backing them is amazing. They are going to do great things on KRock.”
Galaxy's press release says the pair have signed "a long term contract" with K-Rock and their first show is tomorrow morning, starting at 6:00am. In the press release, the new morning hosts said:
“After we resigned, our cars ran out of gas on Walton Street. We walked in to a building asking to use the phone. They directed us to a dark room where a man with a cigar and a parrot asked us to sign our names on the 'log.' Come to find out, that building was Galaxy and that man was Ed Levine. We now work for KRock.”
Still no word on what KROCK is doing for the midday shift, the night shift, or who will be programming the station. Hunter Scott had been doubling as program director at 95X, but today's announcement didn't say whether he would take over that role at KROCK.
KROCK can be heard in the Syracuse market at 100.9FM (WKRL/North Syracuse) and 106.5FM (WKRH/Minetto), and in the Utica-Rome market on 94.9FM (WKLL/Frankfort). Programming also streams online at krock.com.