Same Guy, Just Later

There has been a disturbance in the St. Louis radio force, as four-decade market fixture Guy Phillips, the longtime host of the Phillips & Company morning show on CBS Radio AC KYKY (Y98)/St. Louis announced he’s leaving in November. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Phillips will happily throw away his alarm clock and cross the street to do afternoons on News-Talk KTRS-AM 550.

Phillips formally broke the news to his listeners during the 9am hour yesterday and later posted a video online, explaining his decision for the big change, primarily citing the physical toll he has endured after 45 years of waking up ungodly early, as he remarked, “This is really more about me needing my life to be a little bit more on an even keel than it is about anything else.” We understand that the existing Phillips & Company… um… company — Courtney Landrum, Jen Myers, Kevin “The Intern” Berghoff and Lance Hildebrand — will continue to host the show.

Phillips is expected to take a brief holiday hiatus and start at KTRS in January, succeeding another market legend — “Frank O. Pinion” (real name John Craddock), who recently left after 20 years and is reportedly joining crosstown Sports-Talk KFNS (590 The Fan) on Oct. 2.

Phillips began his professional radio career at KELP/El Paso, TX at the age of 19, becoming the youngest air personality in the station’s history. His four-decade run on the 98.1 frequency St. Louis began in 1979 as morning host on the former KSLQ, which became KYKY on Oct. 2, 1982. Phillips was inducted into the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame in 2006.

http://y98.cbslocal.com/2017/09/20/guy-phillips-is-leaving-y98/