We already knew Stan Piatt wasn’t long for Broadcast Park…the home of talk WNIR/100.1 “The Talk of Akron”.
After weeks of rumors that even reached this corner, the station announced recently that the 36-year ringleader of its four person morning drive show would retire “between now and July”, and that WNIR was actively seeking a “funny person” to replace him.
The weather’s kind of cool for July, and it’s even colder on Route 59 between Kent and Ravenna.
Piatt and morning co-host Maggie Fuller are out of the building at WNIR, leaving only sports director Steve French and news director Phil Ferguson left among the morning crew.
Don’t believe us? Go to WNIR.com right now. Or, just follow along with the graphic on the right side of this item.
The morning show has been removed entirely from the station’s “Station Info” pull down menu, and the “Program Guide” schedule link does not work, at least in our browser.
And Piatt and Fuller are now off the WNIR “Contact Us > Staff Directory” page. French and Ferguson remain.
Talk about your Soviet-style purge.
We have seen no statement from the Brothers Klaus, though we honestly don’t expect to see one (and not just because we’re not on the station’s Christmas e-card list).
We haven’t confirmed how it officially went down on Tuesday, but we strongly believe that Piatt and Fuller both resigned.
We also don’t know if French and Ferguson will mount a show on Wednesday morning, or if they’ll have a third person in the studio. (Comedian/former WNCX morning co-host Jeff Blanchard was there on Friday.)
We have heard the same kinds of stories listeners have heard about “what happened” that led to the exit of Stan and Maggie today.
We can’t confirm the rumblings, which are all over social media. We may never be able to confirm everything, or be able to pass along all the details.
But in one day, the WNIR morning drive fun-fest basically fell apart in half, and Stan Piatt’s retirement got pushed up a few months.
(Note that we’ve told you already that we didn’t expect to hear Stan, bound for Pittsburgh and a new life with his new love, on WNIR past October or November. We should have bet on mid-September.)
We will tell you what we’re able to tell you, and we’ll do so whenever we’re able to tell you…please don’t bug us for the “juicy details”…
Maggie’s facebook commenters are blaming couch. I thought couch was Stan’s friend. Sounds like Stan walked out in support of Maggie. Intrigue!
Thirty-year listener of WNIR. Never again!
I could not stand Maggie! I am actually enjoying the program this morning….for the first time ever! I actually stopped listening for some time because I couldn’t take her anymore.
Let the speculation begin. Did Maggie think she had a shot as host? Whenever Stan was out, the Morning Show was painful to listen to, as Steve and Maggie are not host material.
As for Stan leaving WNIR in this way…….totally low class especially after 35 years on the same station. Howie and Tom’s listeners didn’t get the chance to say goodbye.
What’s next for Maggie? WHLO sure isn’t going to start a morning show. And with the sad state of radio these days, there’s not many opportunities for an over 50 co-host and traffic reporter. Is the Wal-Mart on Route 59 hiring?
As for the Kaiser……he will have to hit a grand slam with the new morning host. The jury is still out on the selection of Couch for mid-days. Bob Golic or Jim Isabella would have been a better choice for mid-days.
Mark,
What was truly low class was the station not giving Stan a chance to actually say goodbye, informing him yesterday, after the show was over for the day, that he was done.That’s a real reward for 36 years of service.
So much for the time I bought on WNIR! I won’t need to worry about that next year! AEV
No one in commercial radio–n-o-o-n-e–is irreplaceable…it’ll be tough for ”the guy replacing the guy”, but give it a year or two, and no one will remember these two ever walked the halls at WNIR..tried to listen once…made my ears almost bleed..
Hi All,
Just to clear the air of a few things out there in the media world.
1. Stan Piatt Walk out after the show with Maggie.
2. He was offer to do his final show today on the radio and he turn the offer along with Maggie.
3. He was offer a great deal to stay on longer but he turn that down.
4. Not once did he came to the station managed to talk about any issue he had.
This is to clear the air about a few things. Yes there will be a statement coming out in a few hours over this issue.
It’s nice to see are very good friends at Ohio Media Watch are still writing about us always good to see good work from a great website. Now If you would only post about the upcoming changes to TWC line-up in Northeast Ohio that would be better spent time then to write about US over at WNIR but I guest are good friends just like to write about us for the fun of it. I do love the website great job Ohio Media Watch let us know were to send some money to support your web site.
TWC- Digital Equipment
Starting on or about October 29nd, 2013, local Public, Educational and Government access programming will be delivered in digital format only. These channels will remain in your existing package, however they will only be viewable with digital equipment, such as a TWC-supplied digital set-top box or CableCARD™. Note that this will not affect your local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) station(s), which will continue to be carried in their current format(s) without change.
Please note you do not need to take action if all of your TVs are connected to a digital set-top box (like a TWC cable box), retail CableCARD™ device, or if your digital television is equipped with a QAM tuner.*
If you want to view these channels on TVs that are not currently connected to digital cable equipment, you may request one digital set-top box and remote control free of charge through December 31, 2014. Limit one set-top box per household. Beginning January 1, 2015, the digital set-top box will cost $1.50 a month.*
Location Date
Northeast Ohio To include Cleveland, Akron, Canton (10-29-2013)
We have no idea is this message came from Bill and/or Bob Klaus. We tend to doubt it, but posted it for humor’s sake. BTW, abusive and foul language and attacks will not be posted. Try again, “Megan”.
nice grammar and spelling.
So far this is the FUNNIEST post I’ve seen written on the entire subject.
Wait, I’ll translate for the author:
Sue Fur this here is the funniest rightin I seen ritten on the hole Mat Her.
The “K-Boys” have been cheap and cheaper from day one, and the current stable of so called talent proves it. Mark Richards, Phil Ferguson and Steve French are true professionals that I’m sure Billy and Bobby K are doing their best to underpay.
Once the ‘cat is out of the bag’, management can do their thing. Of course, not having a plan B doesn’t help. One poster said he couldn’t stand Maggie…I can’t take French with his chronic hacking of the English language “Pittsburn” etc. Well, I stopped listening to that nonsense 10 years ago so I am over it. They can broadcast delayed editions of “Money Watch” for all I care.
WNIR lost their chance to have a real; pro when they stiffed Jeff Kinzbach a year ago. But their loss was definitely listeners of WONE gain.
Regarding the TWC Public Access move, they did that in the Cleveland area several years ago and it is true that, without the digital box or a newer C-Quam capable TV, those who get the basic analog “cable-ready” service will not be able to receive those channels. Sort of torpedoes the “public” in public access.
It follows a steady move of other TWC channels to digital-only, like “More Sports with Les Levine”, which cannot be seen without the TWC digital box.
It is probably inevitable that TWC will join Comcast, WOW and other cable providers in eliminating analog services altogether. That makes any “cable ready” TV or recorder obsolete and requires the customer to either upgade to their digital packages or use cable company converter boxes (which you pay for) for each set and recorder.
So many already buy the digital services and their supplied DVR’s that the demand for analog service has plummented and the cable providers want that bandwith to add more interactive (and no doubt extra-cost) services.
With new multi-set and wireless capabilities, the biggest objection to a digital changeover still remains the higher monthly costs.
Sorry Cliff, but Kinzbach was/is terrible. We used to listen to WONE at work
from open to close. Not anymore. He should have stayed in Texas.
Can anyone confirm that Maggie resigned due to comments made from Denning?
Shortly after Howie passed I quit listening to WNIR. The Clown that took Howies place is a joke and I never even liked him as a caller. He is one of those Mr. know it alls.
I couldn’t agree more .
After reading all of the comments, I can sympathize with just about all of the people who have posted them. Like him or not, Stan did keep the show going and interesting. I am late coming in finding out about this drama because when I do have an opportunity to listen to morning radio I usually tune into Rover’s Morning Glory on WMMS. This change for me occurred when Howie started to have days when he became VERY opinionated and I started searching for something else. When Couch took over I felt it was unbearable. Alan Cox was refreshing. When I started to listen to WMMS in the afternoon, I naturally started to listen in the morning too.
It is a shame when families split up and it is no different when people that have been a part of your morning commute have been there for years. For Stan, this must be very difficult. Through out his life, even after 3 or 4 divorces, the station has been his life, the one thing that has be constant. For the rest of us, it seems that we might start to say things like “remember when”. For a time, the Klaus Brothers were riding on top, and then people started to fall away. I hope they will be able to recover. Remember when?….
wnir has turned in to a right wing corporate propaganda machine especially with the exit of stan and Maggie in my opinion . gone are the days of balance and entertainment when Howie and Joe finan were there . I won t be listening anymore. I wish the Klaus bros. Hell !
That’s it…. there is no reason for me to listen to WNIR anymore…Golic, a Notre Dame grad, continues to use the improper grammar phrase “he goes” instead of the phrase “he said.”
How Sad! That drives me nuts……………..Slang does not belong in the vocabulary of good talk radio hosts.(and a ND grad)
Denning is so pompous and such a pseudo intellectual it is a comedy..His idol, Howie, was entertaining and knew how to get the audience to participate. Denning is clueless and tends to be bias. A talk show host, I believe, should attempt to engage their audience, not alienate them.
May WNIR rest in peace!