Madison Radio: CCM+E Cuts Two

Mitch Henck

Some 18 months after he battled back from a stroke to return to the airwaves, longtime host Mitch Henck on Monday hosted his last “Outside the Box” late morning talk show on CCM+E's WIBA 1310 AM.

Henck, 52, told madison.com he was laid off Monday, ending a career of more than a dozen years as an independent local voice for Madison radio listeners on 1310 AM. The only break came when he missed fewer than 100 days recuperating from a mild stroke in October 2012.

Henck said Monday he was told the decision was budget-related, not a matter of declining ratings.

“I sensed that this was the direction the industry was moving in,” Henck added, citing a growing preference for syndicated hosts over purely local ones. Henck was on every weekday morning from 8 to 11 a.m. for “Outside the Box.”

"They didn’t really give me the word until today, though. That’s the way it works.”

Henck’s supervisor, AM operations manager Tim Scott, on Monday referred questions to Jeff Tyler, market manager for the Madison stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, based in San Antonio, Texas.

It was unclear whether other WIBA employees were laid off Monday, or whether any staff cutbacks were seen at Clear Channel’s other Madison stations: WIBA FM, 96.3 Star Country, The Mic 92.1, Z-104 and the Big 1070 Sports.

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Also gone is Director of Digital Programming for CCM+E Madison, WI Mike Conway.

Mike Conway had been in the position for almost three years. Conway is a ten-year Clear Channel vet who previously spent seven years with Clear Channel Milwaukee, four as Director of Total Traffic Operations.