D/FW Radio: The Freak Tweaks On-Air Assignments

Starting today, new lineup changes are coming to KEGL The Freak-FM 97.1, the most significant shift movements so far on the free-form talk radio station.

The Dallas Morning News reports Danny Balis and Mike Sirois will move from the afternoon program to the morning slot and join Kevin “KT” Turner.

Jeff Cavanaugh and Julie Dobbs will move from the morning show and join Mike Rhyner in the afternoon slot. Michael “Grubes” Gruber will continue to be the producer.

The morning show is now called The Downbeat and the afternoon show is The Speakeasy.

The 12-hour stable of programs also has time changes, mostly starting and ending an hour earlier. The Downbeat airs from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. The Ben and Skin Show, which features Ben Rogers and Jeff “Skin” Wade, runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Speakeasy airs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“We have a very loyal listener base, and we want it to continue to grow,” Sirois said in the station’s announcement. “We’re building something fun.”

It’s the first lineup change and Dominic “Zakk” Zaccagnini, iHeartMedia programming director, said in an email that ratings were not a factor.

“The catalyst for this change was to make a better fit for our same staff to further excel in a weekday lineup that best suits their professional and personal lifestyles,” Zaccagnini said.

In 2000, Rhyner retired from The Ticket, a station he started in 1994. He came out of retirement to launch The Freak on Oct. 3. Balis, Sirois and Gruber, also former Ticket personalities, joined Rhyner later.