Jay Gilbert Exits Cincy’s 92.5 The Fox
• Jay Gilbert, who spent nearly half a century on Cincinnati radio, 32 of those years on WEBN, has exited afternoon drive on Cumulus Classic Rock WOFX (92.5 The Fox) after eight years. He did his final show last Friday. According to longtime Cincy media columnist John Kiesewetter, Gilbert’s departure was decided “by mutual agreement.” As he told Kiesewetter, “Changes are coming, and I decided it was time to go. I’ve been doing this for a long time.”
The Philadelphia native joined Clear Channel’s WEBN as Production Director and midday host in 1974, and stayed for four years. He returned in 1983 to host the station’s Sunday night Get Back show, and in 1987 was upped to afternoon personality, where he stayed until 2012, when he was downsized during nationwide corporate budget cuts.
Gilbert won the NAB Marconi Award for Large Market Personality of the Year in 2000, the same year WEBN was honored as the NAB’s “Legendary Station.”
Known as one of the market’s most creative minds, in 1985, Gilbert teamed up with advertising guru Jerry Galvin to create the campaign for “Plummet Mall,” Cincinnati’s greatest radio stunt – and one of the best scams in radio history. Their radio-only campaign had the town buzzing about a new underground vertical shopping mall with spiral escalators and moving sidewalks to demonstrate the impact of radio. “The best value in town is a hole in the ground!” screamed the ads, which were secretly funded by the Greater Cincinnati Radio Broadcasters Association. (Stations’ employees didn’t know who was behind the mysterious radio spots.)
