SF Radio: KOIT Bounces Veteran Personality Jack Kulp

Jack Kulp

Hit the road: He’s one of local radio’s nice guys; he’s a talented on-air personality, and he helped his station score consistently high ratings for just under 20 years.

But, according to Ben Fong-Torres at the SF Chronicle, that’s not enough in today's world. On June 12, longtime morning personality Jack Kulp was let go at Entercom's AC KOIT 96.5 FM , which he joined in 1994. Kulp, who turned 61 days after his termination, had been doing mornings since April 2005, when he succeeded the retired Tom Saunders. In recent years, he was teamed with co-host Charly Kayle.

Next Monday, her new partner will be Andrew Hart, who had been on nights in Chicago at Hubbard's WTMX The Mix.

Reached by e-mail, Kulp did not provide any reasons he may have been given for his dismissal, choosing instead to praise his listeners. “It was a great run at KOIT, and I was very, very lucky!” he wrote.

“I was fortunate enough to really get to know the listeners, and I wasn’t shy about letting them in on what was happening in my life either. Our youngest son was born the year I began hosting the morning show full time after Tommy retired. That same son will begin his freshman year of college in the fall. That time sure went by quickly, as did my time at KOIT, and I can’t thank the audience enough.”

At KOIT, Steve DiNardo, market manager for owner Entercom, said Hart, who is 26, “has a unique perspective on the KOIT lifestyle and goes beyond the traditional DJ role. In Chicago, he created a video blog series about different restaurants, and he has a perspective on where this business is going.” In other words, it’s a social media world, radio can no longer be just radio, and when program director Brian Figula, whom DiNardo described as “constantly keeping his eyes open for talent,” heard about Hart, the gears began turning.

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