NorthEast Radio Watch 10/21/2024: Philly’s Gardner Ousted

In this week’s issue… Beasley cuts claim veteran jock – FCC releases LPFM decisions – AM towers coming down – New voices at Indie 88 

By SCOTT FYBUSH

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*Few clusters these days have the kind of longevity that the voices behind the mic at Beasley’s Philadelphia cluster have built up – there’s 40 years now for Pierre Robert at WMMR (93.3), more than 25 years for Preston and Steve, now also on WMMR, and until last year, the remarkable 48-year career of morning man John DeBella at WMGK (102.9).

And then there’s Andre Gardner, whose career in the region started at WPST in Trenton way back in 1977 when he was just 16, his talent spotted early by legendary PD Tom Taylor. Over nearly fifty years, he moved on to WZZD, WIFI, WYSP and WZGO as well as stations in Atlanta and Dallas and then as PD at New York’s K-Rock before he landed in afternoons at WMGK 22 years ago,.

Gardner is a legendary figure on Philadelphia radio, known for his long “Breakfast with the Beatles” tenure and his encyclopedic knowledge of the rest of rock and roll (but especially the Beatles!)

He’s headed into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia hall of fame this November.

And as of Friday, he’s out of work, the latest in what’s become a long line of Beasley staffers notified, as he put it, that “due to budgetary cuts, my position has been eliminated.”

Gardner thanked PD Eric Johnson for allowing him to do a farewell show, “a true rarity in this business,” as he correctly noted. He told social media followers he’s not sure what’s next for him or for his now-former WMGK shift.

“The experience and memories I’ve had, and the men and women I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with, has been an incredible honor, a great privilege, and a hell of a lot of fun,” Gardner said in his farewell message.

As for Beasley, the company has been buffeted by the same headwinds that have faced so many other media owners, but it’s reacted with some especially deep cuts. Whether it’s Boston’s WKLB losing nearly all its airstaff, sister station WBOS being leased to Bloomberg or WDHA in New Jersey losing veteran morning man Jim Monaghan, Beasley seems to be betting that it can shed a lot of salaries without a comparable drop in listenership or revenue.

Will it work? We’ll see some numbers soon from Boston – and we’re still waiting for an announcement of Monaghan’s replacement in New Jersey, too.