Posted by j on June 04, 2010 at 08:49:57:
Fish Cuts Bait, Lured By New Hooks
Yesterday morning, a man known simply as "Fish" dropped a bombshell on unsuspecting Madison listeners when he announced that he was splitting from longtime radio wife Connie and would be leaving mornings on Clear Channel Top 40 WZEE (Z104)/Madison to pursue other interests. Connie & Fish are beloved in the market, having been there for a decade, and he'll get an appropriate sendoff this morning on-air; they were also heard on sister WQBW/Milwaukee until it flipped last week. "This has been something Fish has been considering for months and involves him taking his career in new directions," says VP/Market Manager Jeff Tyler. "While we are sad to see him go, the staff -- and especially Connie -- wish him absolutely the best and support his decision to try something new in his career. It's something I think all of us have considered at one time or another and wi shed we had acted on." Fish fans are invited to stream his farewell show at www.z104fm.com.
Fish's departure leaves a ginormous hole, which the station will fill by auditioning candidates on-air over the next few weeks -- and will even let the unwashed masses participate in the selection process via Facebook, Twitter and Z104's website. "We can never replace Fish, and we'll always be friends and fans of each other, but we're going to have a blast on the air auditioning some great talent for the co-host position," says Connie.
�Fish� Calloway is leaving the �Connie & Fish� morning show in Wisconsin.
The timing�s interesting. The show was based at Clear Channel CHR �Z104� Madison and also imported to Milwaukee on classic rock �Brew� WBQW (97.3). But the Milwaukee station�s been transmogrified into a CHR named �Now�, and the �Connie & Fish� show is no longer on it. In fact the Connie & Fish show is now just Connie and a job opening. Fish is departing. Clear Channel DOS Kurt Peterson says �this is something [Fish] has been considering for months and involves him taking his career in new directions.� Kurt says �It�s something I think all of us have considered at one time or another and wished we had acted on.� Calloway�s actually doing it, and today�s his last day on Z104. They�re planning a big morning today of �remembering, reminiscing, laughing� and shedding some tears � a generous farewell to a longtime contributor. Starting Monday, Connie begins auditioning new co-hosts � on the air. Peterson says they�ll be gauging audience reaction using resources like Facebook and Twitter, making it a �reality search.�