Andre Gardner, the afternoon drive host and resident Beatles fanatic at 102.9 WMGK-FM for the past 22 years, hosted his final show at the classic rock station on Friday.
The Philadelphia Business Journal reports Gardner, who broke the news to his listeners on-air, said in a message posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he was informed Thursday by executives at WMGK parent company Beasley Broadcast Group that his position has been eliminated due to budgetary issues.
Beasley spokeswoman Heidi Raphael confirmed Gardner’s departure via email, thanking him for his contributions and wishing him well. She did not respond to an inquiry about whether any other Beasley employees were laid off.
Gardner signed a multiyear contract extension with Beasley in April 2023.
“The radio business has faced huge challenges over the last decade, with a continuing decrease in ad revenue and the shift to digital,” Gardner said in his post. “The change has forced radio companies like Beasley, iHeart and Audacy to make some tough strategic decisions.”
Gardner went on to thank Market Manager Paul Blake and WMGK Program Director Eric Johnson for “gifting me a true rarity in this business — the chance to say goodbye on the air this afternoon. I will be forever grateful.”
— Andre Gardner (@andregardner) October 18, 2024
Save for a stint at New York’s 92.3 K-Rock from 1993 to 2002, Gardner has been a staple in the Philadelphia-area radio and rock music scene since the late 1970s. According to his LinkedIn page, Gardner started in 1977 as a high school student working weekend shifts at Trenton’s WPST before moving on to WIFI-92, Sunny 104.5, and Z-106 mixed in with very short stints at stations in Atlanta, Dallas and Fort Pierce, Florida.
Gardner was hired as music director and nighttime disc jockey at 94.1 WYSP when the rock station was at the height of its popularity with Howard Stern working morning drive. He left for K-Rock five years later but returned to Philadelphia after being hired by Buzz Knight to handle afternoon drive for WMGK, where his show has consistently been among the top-rated in his time slot among the key adults-25-to-54 demographic. Up until last year, Gardner spent 20 years as host of the station’s Sunday morning "Breakfast with the Beatles" syndicated program.
Gardner told his social media followers that he could not say who would succeed him on the WMGK afternoon shift “but I can assure you that you will be in good hands … What’s next for me? Who knows?! And THAT is actually very exciting!”
No comments:
Post a Comment