Toledo Radio: Cumulus Executive Shakes Up Market

Andy Stuart

It’s been a busy six months for personnel changes in Toledo radio, and the man behind it says it’s all part of his strategy for success.

Sitting for an interview with the Toledo Blade, Andy Stuart began with — what else? — a personnel announcement involving a familiar name.

Half a year into his job as regional vice president and market manager for Cumulus Media Toledo, which owns eight area radio stations (seven in Toledo, one in Monroe), Stuart already has hired several Toledo-established on-air talent.

He brought Denny Schaffer back to the market as host of a morning talk show on adult top 40 WWWM 105.5 FM/Star 105. He hired Johny D. from WPFX 107.7 FM/The Wolfe to handle afternoon drive-time on that station as well. He replaced longtime sports-talk personality Norm Wamer on WLQR 106.5 FM 106.5/The Ticket with Bob Frantz, who had a morning show on WSPD-AM from 2003-2005.

WXKR 94.5 FM (30Kw) 54dBu Coverage

Grizzly Brown

And in what he says is his final big personnel move — at least for now — Stuart is bringing Grizzly Brown from WIOT 104.7 FM to WXKR 94.5 FM, where the rock radio personality will broadcast afternoons beginning Monday.

Brown spent a remarkable 16 years as the Number One Night Rock jock on crosstown WIOT 104.7 FM.

As with all of the Cumulus hires, Brown has a long history with Stuart, dating to when the latter ran the Clear Channel stations in their various incarnations for a quarter of a century.

“I’m very comfortable with ‘Grizz,’ as we call him,” Stuart said. “He’s amazing ... a great rock jock and I can’t wait to have him on the station.”

Stuart also made a significant format change to Cumulus’ Monroe station, as WMIM-FM My 98.3 went from adult contemporary to WMIM-FM 98.3 Nash Icon, a country station that plays a broad range of “gold-based” hits from Nashville spanning nearly 35 years.

In a recent conversation with The Blade, Stuart, who declined to give his age, addressed all of these station changes, if any more are coming, and what will determine if they are successful.

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