Originally posted Thursday, May 9, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Jeff Dauler was let go from Star 94.1 today after three-plus years at the station as a morning host.
Jenn Hobby, who joined the show with Dauler, remains at Star and will have a mix of new and existing supporting "friends" on her revamped team.
Dauler's name after the show today was quickly wiped off the Star 94.1 website and Facebook page.
Ron Roberts, program director, declined to comment. Dauler did not respond to a request to discuss the situation. He posted a brief note on Instagram about gratitude but provided no details about what happened.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com. Jenn Hobby and Jeff Dauler at Ted's Montana Grill on February 1, 2019.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com. Jenn Hobby and Jeff Dauler at Ted's Montana Grill on February 1, 2019.
<<RELATED: Jeff's wife Callie said he was "relieved" by the firing
The show's primary support on-air personality Kelly Cheese recently departed and got a new gig in Michigan for a syndicated radio show. Cheese (real name: Kelly Cheeseborough) did not say why she left, but there were rumors she had issues with Dauler.
Dauler left the Bert Show in 2015, in part because he felt like he wasn't getting proper respect and was left dangling from a contract perspective by the show leader Bert Weiss. He decided to compete directly with his former boss of 14 years and the two have not spoken since. He also nabbed Hobby for the show.
Star 94 at the time hoped having two of the Bert Show’s most prominent former players would boost their fortunes in the morning. Unfortunately, the improvements have been modest at best and Q100, the syndicated Bert Show’s home base, continues to soundly defeat Star in the ratings.
In March, 2019 Nielsen Media ratings, the Jeff and Jenn show came in 12th place with a 3.4 share while the Bert Show was eighth place with a 4.8 share. Among 25 to 54 year olds, Jeff and Jenn came in ninth with a 3.8 share while the Bert Show landed third with a 6.6 share.
Afternoon host Mike Marino is gone as well. Marino joined Star in 2013 and was named assistant program director in 2017.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
This is the fourth time this year an Atlanta radio station has gotten rid of one of two primary players on their morning show. V-103 in January let go Wanda Smith in favor of two younger on-air personalities in J.R. and Jade Novah to join existing host Frank Ski.Then Kicks 101.5 dropped Ali Mac and replaced her with Corey Dylan while keeping Cadillac Jack. Rival country station 94.9/The Bull dumped Jason Pullman, holding on to co-host Kristen Gates. His replacement: Spencer Graves.
Entercom has been flipping some stations around the country to a "soft AC" format, which Atlanta has not seen since Lite 94.9 disappeared nearly 13 years ago. But it appears the company is sticking with the more modern "Hot AC" format for now with Star.
UPDATE on Friday, May 10: Jenn Hobby addressed the changes at the 7 a.m. this morning. “I want to say thank you to Jeff, my friend and radio partner, for his dedication to this show. He spent countless hours working so hard on this show to make you laugh, to entertain you, to inspire you. And I have to go with Jeff’s mission of gratitude right now. I’m really grateful for the years we shared here together, for the shows we shared together and the laughter and memories we made.”
You can listen to the entire segment below:
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