WGDJ Albany: Roney Dismissal A 'Business Decision'

Al Roney

Paul Vandenburgh said Al Roney’s dismissal from WGDJ, Talk 1300, Albany, NY after 2 1/2 years was “simply a business decision.”

Vandenburgh, owner of the Albany, New York radio station, said the well-known afternoon talk show host had his last day at Talk 1300 on Oct. 26, according to a story by Barbara Pickney at bizjournals.com.

That was the day the summer Arbitron Ratings were released in the Albany, New York market. WGDJ had a 1.9 percent share of all listeners aged 12 and over, and a 0.6 percent share of adults 25 to 54.

“We had no issue with Al, I don't want anyone believing we had an issue with Al,” Vandenburgh said. “We wish Al nothing but the best, but I had to make a business decision.”

Roney said could not comment on the reasons for his departure other than that “It was a business decision, ratings, revenue, cost, and all the usual stuff that happens in radio land."

Roney joined Talk 1300 in June 2010, a few months after being let go from WGY, 810 AM, a local Clear Channel station.

WGY replaced him with syndicated conservative talker Glenn Beck, drawing protests from local listeners who picketed Clear Channel’s offices in Latham.

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