Popular Springfield radio show host Dawn McClain yesterday launched a new morning program with a local competitor two months after her exit from Journal Broadcast Group’s “The Morning Buzz” on 96.5 FM.
Veteran host Dawn McClain teamed up with Rich Deaver to start “Rich & McClain Mornings” on Mid-West Family Broadcasting’s 92.9 FM. She left Journal Broadcast in July after 12 years with the company.
Rex Hansen, vice president and general manager of Journal Broadcast in Springfield, said he was jolted to learn McClain had landed at a competitor’s station.
“She told us she was leaving to start a management career over at Gordmans, so this has been a big surprise to us,” Hansen said in a phone interview yesterday.
McClain had partnered with Jay Fotsch, a 13-year Journal employee, for six years on “The Morning Buzz,” often ranking highest in the Springfield market among females ages 18-34 – the station’s key demographic, according to Hansen.
Jason McCutchin, president and general manager for Mid-West Family Broadcasting in Springfield, said Operations Manager and Program Director JD Garfield had talked informally with McClain about coming to work at 92.9 before she left 96.5, but formal talks didn’t begin until after her exit.
“We couldn’t make an offer while she’s employed someplace else due to noncompete reasons, so we just told her that if things changed in her world, we would be very interested in hiring her,” McCutchin said.
Midwest Family's 92.9 FM, which is known by the moniker 92.9 The Beat, hasn’t had a morning show in place since its most recent brand change in August 2012, according to McCutchin. He said the station planned to launch a show in around six months, but the opportunity to hire McClain sped up the station’s plans.
Hansen said while there still is some concern about what impact the move could have on the station, he’s pleased with McClain’s successor, Lindsay Blake.
“Dawn has to do what’s right for her. She decided to go a different direction, and we are thrilled to have Lindsay,” Hansen said, adding Blake had previously worked for the station. “We wish (McClain) well.”[[In-content Ad]]
