Philly Radio: Marilyn Russell OUT At WBEN-FM

Marilyn Russell

Longtime radio personality Marilyn Russell is no longer in the hosting chair at WBEN 95.7 FM.

Russell was laid off from the station last week, the former “Mornings with Marilyn” host confirmed Wednesday.

“I am completely heartbroken. I worked for Greater Media since 2003, and these people are like my family. I am still processing it,” Russell told Philly.com onWednesday. “Of the five stages of grief, I am not sure which I am in.”

The development comes several months after former owner Greater Media Inc. agreed to sell WBEN-FM to Beasley Broadcasting as part of a $240 million deal that also included stations like WMGK 102.9 FM, WMMR 93.3 FM, and WPEN 97.5 FM he Fanatic.

Ben FM declined to comment on Russell’s layoff.

Russell began her Philadelphia radio career in the 1990s at the now-defunct WDRE-FM (103.9) before cohosting mornings on Y100 with Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison. In 2003, she moved on to Greater Media Inc. as a host at WMGK, and later joined Ben FM full-time in 2007 to help head up the station’s morning programming.