Hartford Radio: Mike Picozzi OUT At WCCC

Mike Picozzi

The rumors began 24 hours ago and  WCCC Mike Picozzi denied, denied, denied it because well, he says he didn’t know.  But by the end of the business day Monday, it was. Picozzi is gone fromWCCC “The Rock” 106.9, according to  Mary Ellen Fillo at The Hartford Courant.

The veteran station personality, who went from deejay to program director at the station owned by Marlin Broadcasting, was shown the door, adding yet another facet of the controversy swirling around the Hartford-based station.

“We finally agreed to disagree,” is all Picozzi had to say via an email Tuesday morning about his departure. Station general manager Boyd Arnold could not be reached for comment. Music director Mike Karolyi will take Picozzi’s place.

Picozzi’s  dismissal comes in the wake of a significant change in the music format at the station that was known for its edgy hard rock playlist. A few weeks ago, station head honchos decided to change things up and focus on “soft rock” igniting a firestorm prompting a public protest  and a “Save the Rock” Facebook page aimed at forcing station owner Woody Tanger to reconsider the change.

Tanger also took exception to claims of a station format change, noting that WCCC is still playing rock music but has expanded the boundaries of the kind of rock it plays.

“We have put the welcome mat out to men and women 35 and older,” he said about the new mix of music. “We have eliminated the music that was most offensive to the most people.”

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