Tampa Radio: Joel Weiss OUT At 97X

WSUN 97.1 FM music director Joel Weiss, a 13-year radio veteran and 97X afternoon host,  has been let go by the alt-rock station’s parent company, Cox Media Group, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

“I got laid off from 97X today,” Weiss Tweeted.

I got laid off from 97X today. https://t.co/jPlWTJRxuQ
What should my new twitter handle be?

— Joel (@TheJoelW) September 6, 2016

On Instagram, Weiss elaborated: “I lived my dream for much of the past 13 years, and I’m grateful I had that chance even if the ending wasn’t happy.”

Joel Weiss

On Wednesday, Weiss said it was unclear whether the position that was being elimiated was that of music director, on-air personality or his specific combination of both. He wasn't aware of his departure being part of some wider Cox layoffs around Tampa Bay -- although another 97X personality, Griffin Brown, later tweeted that he, too, was let go on Tuesday.

"I'm super bummed out, but I also got to have my dream job for going on 13 years," Weiss said Wednesday. "So that part's nice."

In 2013, 97X became the first local station to program its airwaves entirely through a listener-powered app. That move led to some on-air personalities leaving the airwaves, though as the station’s music director, Weiss lasted a few more years.

"The station has been battling for a long time because of its signal deficiency," Weiss said. "97X's signal is about 20 percent the strength of the others in the area.... It made it very difficult to have consistent ratings results. And at the end of the day, ratings results are what companies are going for."