DC Radio: What's Up At WTEM? Urban One Is Mum

Urban One assumed operational control of WTEM The Team 980 AM last week, two months after the sale of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder’s flagship and final radio property was announced.

According to The Washington Post, the changeover has left the station’s programming lineup in flux, with several longtime hosts conspicuously absent from the airwaves this week.

“We don’t comment on personnel decisions,” The Team 980 program director Chris Johnson said when asked about a report that four 980 hosts, including former Redskins tight ends Chris Cooley and Rick “Doc” Walker, were let go as part of budget cuts. “However, we’re still in the process of finalizing our lineup.”

The Team 980 has been the flagship home of the Redskins since 2008, when Snyder-owned Red Zebra Broadcasting, which will be liquidated in the coming months, purchased WTEM. Terry Bateman, the chairman of Red Zebra Broadcasting, said Thursday that Redskins games — as well as pregame and postgame coverage — will continue to air on The Team 980 and WMAL, and that Cooley and Walker will remain part of the broadcasts, no matter the status of their respective shows.

And according to sportsradiopd.com, 11am – 1pm host Bram Weinstein also has not confirmed is he’s no longer with the radio station.  The former SportsCenter anchor has continued to co-host his television show on Fox 5 DC, but has been MIA from The Team 980 since his last show July 31st.

Co-hosts of Inside the Locker Room, 980’s 1-4pm weekday show, Rick “Doc” Walker and Scott Jackson were not on the air this week, with Walker tweeting Thursday afternoon, only saying “It’s true!”  The third host of Inside the Locker Room, Brian Mitchell, appears to have survived the cuts and has continued to be featured on 980 since the changes began taking place.

This past week Al Galdi has hosted the morning show from 7-10am followed by Al Koken, Chris Knoche, Fred Smoot and Scott Linn splitting up the middays. The one constant in the lineup for 980 has been Steve Czaban who remained hosting his afternoon drive show from 4-7pm.