97 Rock Fires PD, Rest Of Morning Cast
• Last month, Cumulus Classic Rock WGRF (97 Rock)/Buffalo, NY became the unwelcome center of what escalated into a national outcry when the cast of The Morning Bull show decided, for reasons still unclear, to devote a segment to discussing their toast color preferences… by comparing them to the skin tones of various Black female celebrities. Needless to say, the backlash to these racist comments was swift and intense — and further magnified by TMZ’s coverage. By the end of the day on March 24, Morning Bull co-host Rob Lederman has been terminated, and co-hosts Rich Gaenzler and Chris Klein were suspended.
Late Wednesday, RAMP received word that the company has now terminated Gaenzler, Klein, and 97 Rock PD John Hager, a 2018 inductee into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame, we are told. No other details are available at this time, except for this statement from a Cumulus Media spokesperson, who told RAMP, “Upon further consideration following the racist incident that occurred on the Morning Bull show, we decided to terminate the whole morning show in addition to the Program Director.” Three Buffalo TV stations — WGRZ, WKBW and WIVB have posted stories about these firings.
