Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2009 > January > 20
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
1/20: Leo Mazzone hired at 680/The Fan for morning show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While the President gets sworn in, plenty of radio news has happened.
Clear Channel nationwide is cutting wide and deep. Locally, I’ve heard the loss of key sales people as well as the program director at WGST-AM/640 Randall Bloomquist. I’m not sure if anybody on air has lost their jobs yet. I’ll add more when I get them.
And 680/The Fan today announced it has signed on former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone to the morning show with Christopher Rude and Perry Laurentino.
Mazzone was a key member of the Braves when they were a playoff team. He left in 2005 for the Orioles, a rather disastrous situation for him and he was gone within two years.
The Fan boss David Dickey said Mazzone had a lot of time on his hands last year and they set up a short-term “Leo Mazzone” show during the baseball season twice a week. This led to this full-time gig. On top of his baseball knowledge, he knows quite a bit about football as well.
“We have someone with a professional sports background and it’s a benefit to the listeners that he was a material part of the Braves’ unprecedented run,” Dickey said.
“Where Perry is the vocal fan, Leo can confront him and make him debate all the time. And with Chris, he can joke around,” Dickey said. “He has a lot of fun and it shows.”
Two former 790 exiles Matt Chernoff and Chuck Oliver this week started their noon to 3 p.m. show as well.
680/The Fan,. which now has stronger ratings than 790/The Zone in general, has expanded its local coverage the past year and during the 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. time frame, the only syndicated product now is Colin Cowherd from 10 to noon.
