Host loses gig after ‘giving it all’

Singer and morning host Cledus T. Judd lost his gig at 94.9/The Bull after less than a year on air.

Low ratings appeared to be the problem, though his former boss Clay Hunnicutt declined to say why Judd is no longer with the station.

“He’s going to write some music, that kind of stuff,” Hunnicutt said. “The rest of it is kind of personal.”

Judd, who grew up and lives in Cartersville, didn’t respond to calls for comment. His wife, Amy, said he was in Nashville on business.

“There’s a part of me that feels like I let them down,” Judd said in a statement, “but it was not for a lack of giving it all I had … Right now, I’m just going to concentrate on time with my focus on my songwriting, prepare myself for whatever the future holds and enjoy the holidays.”

For two years, 94.9/The Bull has struggled to find a place in the market, unable to make a dent in the ratings of dominant country radio station Kicks 101.5.

When Hunnicutt hired Judd a year ago, he expressed hope that Judd’s fame from his parody songs and appearance on “Celebrity Fit Club,” his sense of humor, local ties and access to big-name country celebs would give the Bull a leg up.

Clear Channel, which owns the Bull, spent money in the spring promoting the show with billboards and goofy TV ads with co-hosts Jamie Massey and Slam Duncan.

Massey left over the summer for Phoenix and Duncan was moved to a different time slot. Kristen Gates, formerly of Kicks 101.5, joined the team a couple of months ago and will remain as Hunnicutt seeks a replacement.

Over the summer, Judd’s show ranked 20th overall and didn’t do much better in preliminary fall results using a new Arbitron measurement stick called the “people meter,” which measures actual listening.