NYC Radio: WBLS-FM Fires On-air Personality Shaila Scott

Listeners  wondering why Shaila Scott hasn’t been on her usual WBLS-FM midday shift for the last few weeks, the radio silence is over, reports The NY Daily News.

Affectionately known as “New York’s Sweetheart,” Scott announced Thursday that she was fired from her longtime post.

The award-winning 34-year broadcasting veteran said the station’s parent company, MediaCo Holding Inc., decided not to renew her contract.

“Sadly, MediaCo decided not to renew my contract and advised me that ‘The station is going in a different direction,’ " she said in an Instagram post on Thursday.

Shaila Scott

“Sadly, MediaCo decided not to renew my contract and advised me that ‘The station is going in a different direction,’ " she said in an Instagram post on Thursday.

“As a native New Yorker, it has been a pleasure to be your radio relative, and I am humbled to have been rewarded with consecutive #1 rankings in the 12 and over, 18-49, and 25-54 age demographics,” Scott wrote, before thanking her fans for “trusting me to deliver content that touched and concerned our communities.”

The Harlem-reared Buffalo State College alum, who got her start at WBLK in Buffalo, had been a beloved staple on the once-Black owned radio station.

Scott gained a notable following while serving as a jock in various time slots at former WBLS rival 98.7 Kiss, which merged with the company in 2012. Both stations served contemporary urban and Black music lovers for decades before the merger.

In 2019, MediaCo bought a controlling stake of WBLS and its hip-hop sister station Hot 97 from Emmis Communications for a reported $91.5 million in cash.

Fellow radio vet and former 98.7 Kiss alum Fred “Bugsy” Buggs has been filling in middays for Scott until a permanent replacement is announced.

“My objective was to use the power of that microphone to speak into the spirit of the village that raised me,” Scott added in her post. ”Although this is the end of my journey with WBLS, it is, of course not the end of OUR journey. Stay Tuned!”

She continues, “My objective was to use the power of that microphone to speak into the spirit of the village that raised me. Thank You! for allowing me to do that for 3 decades. I appreciate every one of you that made this epic journey possible. Thanks to my legendary radio family for being a source of inspiration, my beautiful children for sharing me with millions and never complaining & Thank God for giving me the strength to endure it all. Although this is the end of my journey with WBLS, it is, of course not the end of OUR journey. Stay Tuned! Love Shaila New York’s Sweetheart.”