THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501070072
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E10 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: SOUNDCHECK
SOURCE: BY SUE SMALLWOOD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
HOPE THE BRASS over at radio station WGH-FM, Eagle 97, have a sense of humor.
In a good-natured swipe at his former employer, ex-Eagle morning man Jay Francis co-hosted the a.m. drive at WGH's formidable country competitor WCMS Thursday.
Francis and his on-air partner Jimmy Ray Dunn, WGH's top-rated morning team, were abruptly dismissed from the station on Dec. 21 to make way for new host Dan McClain. McClain comes to WGH from WDRM in Huntsville, Ala., the highest-rated country station in the nation. Previously, McClain could be heard at WCMS.
Francis joined WCMS' Rob Wilson Thursday morning at the invitation of WCMS program director Mike Meehan. The show featured calls to morning personalities at other Hampton Roads radio stations, including WNIS-AM's Tony Macrini (also a former employee of Susquehanna Radio Corp., which owns WGH) and Tommy Griffiths at WNOR-FM, to inquire about possible employment for Francis.
``It was a fun thing to do,'' said Wilson. ``It kind of gave Jay a chance to come on and say goodbye (to his and Dunn's listeners) because they weren't allowed to do that. Basically, one day they were there, and the next day they were gone.''
``We're friendly competitors,'' said Meehan. ``We can pick up the phone and call our competing morning shows. We're that type of station. And we wanted to give Jay the opportunity to say goodbye.''
The Dunn-Francis ouster was as much a surprise to the announcers as it was for their listeners.
``We were shocked,'' Francis said, ``it came out of the blue. In radio, you expect that your days are numbered when your ratings are down. But we were the number one morning show in a very important demographic,'' the prized 25-54 age group.
WGH operations manager Smokey Rivers told The Virginian-Pilot immediately after the firings that ``our listeners were telling us that they wanted more things out of a morning show . . . more traffic, more weather, more music.'' Francis and Dunn were given the same explanation, Francis confirms.
The announcers are now polishing their resumes and compiling demo reels for a full-fledged job search, but hope to find new gigs locally. Prospective employers and loyal fans can write to Francis at P.O. Box 2888, Chesapeake, Va., 23327-2888.
``Jimmy and I are looking forward to opportunities in the new year,'' Francis said. MEMO: Got a comment about local radio, music, nightlife? Leave it on the
Soundcheck squawk-box, 640-5555, category 3277.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jay Francis, right, fired with Jimmy Ray Dunn from WGH, turned up on
competitor WCMS.
by CNB