Roanoke Radio: Larry Dowdy OUT At SunnyFM

Larry Dowdy

Veteran Roanoke broadcaster Larry Dowdy was fired after 14 years as the morning host at Classic Hits WSNV 93.5 FM /SunnyFM on Jan. 7.

He said he was told of the decision following his morning shift that day.  “I was told that my job had been eliminated,” Dowdy said.

The 58-year-old Dowdy has been a fixture on Roanoke radio and television for more than 40 years.

According to The Roanoke Times, his career started in 1973 when he worked the weekend overnight shift at WROV-AM as a teen. He was part of the original staff when WXLK 92.3 FM / K92 launched on Jan. 1, 1980, a seismic event in Roanoke’s radio history.

K92 was a pop-radio behemoth throughout the 1980s, attracting as much as one-third of the entire listenership in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market. Dowdy started in the afternoons at K92, then took over the popular “K-Crew in the Morning” show that blended comedy, news and music into what was commonly referred to as a “Morning Zoo” program.

WSNV 93.5 FM (5.8 Kw) Red=60dBu Coverage  Area

He left Roanoke in 1983 for a radio job in Baltimore, but returned to K92 a year later. He moved into television as the roving features reporter for “Mornin’ ” on WDBJ-TV (Channel 7) for five years in the 1990s before going back to radio in 1997.

SunnyFMis owned by iHeartMedia. The company did not give a reason for Dowdy’s firing. Sarah Leftwich, market manager for Roanoke’s stations, said, “Larry Dowdy is no longer part of Sunny FM. We appreciate all of his contributions during his time with us and wish him well.”