Internal Intrigue At 98.5 The Sports Hub
• More morning show movement is afoot at Beasley Boston, as RAMP has learned that Executive Producer Dan O’Brien and Producer Mike Lockhart, two longtime morning show fixtures on WBZ-FM (98.5 The Sports Hub) have exited — O’Brien was replaced as Executive Producer of the Toucher & Hardy morning show by “Adam 12” Chapman, whose PD position at Classic Rock sister WBOS (Rock 92.9) was recently eliminated when the station flipped to Bloomberg Radio.
According to Chad Finn of The Boston Globe, “The plan, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, was for Mike Lockhart — who had been with the show since January 2009, when it was still at WBCN— to remain as a producer and work with Adam 12. Lockhart had asked for a raise after former host Rich Shertenlieb left, and had been told that he’d eventually take over as lead producer on the show. He was blindsided Thursday when he was told of the plan with Adam 12. He was offered a raise by Beasley, but it was a fraction of what he had asked for late last year. So, feeling misled and under-appreciated — Beasley had previously laid him off in October 2022 before bringing him back later in the month after Shertenlieb offered to pay his salary — he decided this was the time to move on.”
These moves follow recent similar morning show cuts across the hall on Country Cousin WKLB, which recently imported The Andie Summers Show from sister WXTU/Philadelphia, replacing local morning duo Johnathan Wier and Ayla Brown and Producer Jim Clerkin.