2013 flashback: Vikki Locke, Kelly Stevens leave B98.5 mornings

Locke, according to a press release, plans to spend more time with an ailing father in Ohio and start her own media training/consulting/PR company. In a Facebook posting, she said she is working with local public relations veteran Meg Reggie and former WSB-TV "Hot Topics" host Kimberley Kennedy under the name LRK.

“I thank Atlanta for making a Buckeye feel like a Southerner for the last 25 years,” Locke said in the press release. “After years of waking up at 3 a.m., I’m excited about starting this new chapter.”

She later told Atlanta magazine: "I don't want to do this anymore."

Locke has been with B98.5 the past five years after a 19-year stint with Star 94. She was paired with Steve McCoy as a highly successful duo most of that time until 2010, when B98.5 replaced McCoy with Stevens.

This is Stevens' second stint with B98.5. Stevens was part of a long-time morning team on B98.5 with Alpha Trivette.

A nationwide search for a new morning show begins immediately, said Chris Eagan, the program director. Eagan said he wants a show that appeals to women in their 30s and 40s "that blends well with the contemporary pop music we play."

A part-time fill in will cover the morning show until the replacement is found, hopefully within 30 to 45 days, he said.

Stevens, who was severely injured last year in a wrong-way car accident but survived, couldn't be reached for comment.

The station is ranked No. 4 in the market, tops among pop stations and No. 1 during mid-days. The Vikki and Kelly morning show in May Arbitrons ranked seventh overall.

B98.5 (WSB Radio) is operated by Cox Media Group, which includes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution