Daring Toledo Quad-Morning Move
• Let’s just say that the hallways will be a tad hectic inside the Cumulus Media broadcast complex in Toledo, OH on Monday, Dec. 17, as the company announced an unprecedented simultaneous four-station morning show move!
The puzzle pieces will begin to move with the news that Mark Benson (left) is stepping down from mornings on Classic Rock WXKR after 22 years. In a lengthy staff memo, RVP/Market Manager Andy Stuart described Benson as “the consummate professional and all-around great guy whose longevity speaks to the great talent that he is. While we will miss hearing him every day, we’re lucky his voice will remain on the station hosting Organic X.”
Benson will be replaced in mornings by Jeremy “Pyke” Peterson (right), who most recently did nights on WLUP/Chicago. The move means a tearful reunion for Pyke and Cumulus OM Bill Michaels — Pyke did afternoons for Michaels from 2005-2014 over on iHeartMedia Rocker 104.7 WIOT. Stuart said, “We do believe that if there was anyone who could succeed Mark and the legacy he created, it is Pyke.”
• Across the hall on Classic Hits WRQN, morning duo Lyn Casye (left) and Cliff Smithers (center) will roll their chairs over to Country WKKO (K100), joining 43-year station legend Gary Shores (right) in mornings.
Stuart said, “The WRQN audience knows Denny very well and his heritage in the market is an important reason that we believe he will keep up the great foundation we have in this daypart on our #2-billing station.”
• But wait! There’s more! Market icon Denny Schaffer (pictured here, right, with co-hosts Suzie and Paul) will be packing up and moving from mornings on Hot AC WQQO (Q105.5) over to mornings on WRQN, and Eric Chase (far right) will move up from nights to mornings on WQQO. Got all that?
Needless to say, Cumulus will be running an extensive multi-platform promotional campaign explaining all these moves, starting Monday, Dec. 10. Stuart added, “As far as I can tell, this is another first in broadcast history in that one company is making four morning show changes virtually at once. We believe that this possible only because each of these people have great and established brands and that each of the stations themselves have excellent foundations.”
