Toms River: Radio conglomerate Townsquare Media made the decision to fire four local on-air talents today. The decision to let these employees go right before Christmas is really sad and depressing. Anyway, below is the roster of beloved local talent who are now off the air. Unknown if any of the DJ’s were able to say goodbye to their fans on the air today.
Also worth noting is that we don’t have the full story of the firings, but it was all money. This was likely a downsizing/ layoff opportunity to cut costs with live air talent. Townsquare, like many other radio station owners, needs to make a profit. With local advertising dollars not being spent by local businesses- voice tracking is a cost-effective move for a station.
WJLK-FM (94.3 The Point): Liz Jeressi
WCHR-FM (105.7 The Hawk): Andy Chase & Chris Varacchi
WOBM-FM (92.7): Justin Louis
Townsquare is a media, entertainment and digital marketing solutions company principally focused on small and mid-sized markets across the U.S. Our local media assets include 322 radio stations and more than 330+ local websites in 67 U.S. markets, including iconic brands such as WYRK, KLAQ, K2 and NJ101.5, and a streaming radio app, radioPup, available for iOS and Android. Townsquare is the third largest owner of radio stations in the United States.
That sucks
Sucks for 105.7. Liked both of them
Why???
Why?wtf?…andy chase rocks
What??? Liz Jeressi???
Liz Jeressi…you will be greatly missed ….I don’t know what I will do with my mornings anymore. Wishing you all the best
Omg I’m so sad to hear that Liz is gone ????????
Danielle Nicole who will Lou pick on now?? I love them
How do you fire half of a long standing duo?
Danielle Nicole
Over 11 years of radio- gone like that. ????
Liked Liz; can’t stand Lou.
Liz, from Lou and Liz in the morning? Damn, that’s cold.
Courtney Traeg
Lou in the morning now…
Ocean County Scanner News
I love Liz & Lou together ☹️
Very sad
They don’t have a clue how to run local radio ,it’s a Sad Sad day , I keep saying if Bob was in a grave he’d be rolling over in it his 50 years there meant nothing
Marianne Calandriello Levy omg I was just going to say their first mistake was getting rid of Marianne but then I see you posted already. Hope your doing well
Shannon O’Neill Thank You Shannon ..I’m doing very well ,They did me a favor by letting me go , Thee only thing missing in my life is Bob .. Thank you for caring
Merry Christmas, Stay Safe and Healthy !
Why?
So now what ??? Horrible
Guess they didn’t mind the press that Andy Chase created for the Oceans of Love billboard. Unreal
Bill bitch speada next
Damn they got rid of andy for all that he’s done with Ocean of Love Inc
This is disgusting. What a loss for both the radio community and Ocean County as a whole. Andy worked tirelessly for local businesses and charities. His dedication, professionalism, and kindness are a beacon to the community. Shame on Townsquare media. I will no longer be listening
I used to listen to WOBM-FM all the time before Townsquare Media took them over. I still listen occasionally but it seems like there’s more commercials and less music now. I feel bad for Justin Louis; he was a decent DJ on the few times I heard him.
It a shame. Guess I’m going to satellite radio.
Some thanks Andy Chase gets for his philanthropy over the years, going on top of the billboard for the Ocean Of Love fundraiser every year. I’m also going to miss Justin Louis’ coverage of local events and things happening in the area. Letting people go this time of the year is pretty shameful. There go a few more reasons to listen to terrestrial radio.
So sad????. Why were they let go?
Lynn Rankin-Guenther
Cost-cutting budget reasons. Nothing about ratings or anything they said.
So sad
Were Chase & Varacchi the only area personalities on The Hawk? If I’m not mistaken, they were on air between Free Beer & Hot WIngs (from Michigan) and the syndicated Ultimate Classic Rock Show. I guess they think their audience wants a station without any local presence. We’ll see how well that works out.
Michael De Fortuna
It’s all going voicetracked now- local talent is too expensive.
Ocean County Scanner News: That is true. But somehow Beasley Broadcasting manages to keep their stations fully staffed, live & local. WDHA & WRAT aren’t major market stations, but as far as I know, they have personalities on the air around the clock.
not that we listen much lately anyway but I’ll never even accidentally turn to 105.7 on the dial again. Hopefully we find out where Andy and Varacchi go so we can support them.
not that we listen much lately anyway but I’ll never even accidentally turn to 105.7 on the dial again. Hopefully we find out where Andy and Varacchi go so we can support them.
While we don’t have specific details- most were laid off as a cost cutting measure.
Crazy that they’d fire Liz Jeressi but keep Judy Franko on 101.5. She and her co host should’ve been gone years ago!
Craig CR yes
Radio is dying. Most of these DJ’s make very low wages to begin with.
Radio conglomerates are crumbling.
What a shame
So sad Andy Chase did for all especially Oceans of love!!
More of a reason to listen to the RAT. (Steve Hook and Jimmy Steal, great LOCAL DJs!)
Glen Thompsen don’t forget Gotts!!
Wasn’t Andy Chase the Oceans Of Love Billboard Guy
Yes he was.
Andy Chase does the billboard radio a thon for Oceans of Love. Wow… Shocked to hear this!!!
I love Andy Chase and Varachi.. that really sucks
Barbara Burgess-Frankowitz me too! This is a big bummer!
Jacquelyn Stewart Walcott …I love the inter action between Andy and the lovely Christina.. they crack me up
Barbara Burgess-Frankowitz haha, agreed!
As I recall they are pretty right leaning…….cencorship ?
Charles Cron
This firing was nothing to do with censorship- just budgets.
yes, they were but even if it were “the reason”, you’d never hear about it, so they just claim budget. Yeahok.
Gerry Park
Boooo
Replay Bob Grant
Wow!!!
If i can get them, i listen to Preston and Steve on WMMR in the morning
Liz has been with 94.3 forever. Such a shame! They let go a good person. I like Lou but They have been a team for so long that it won’t be the same.
Maybe owners of companies should start cutting there own pay and keep the employees especially if there good employees instead of putting more people out of work.
Andy Chase and Varachi have been with the Hawk for as long as I can remember that’s extremely surprising and sad, I wish all 4 DJ’s the best of luck, hopefully they all land somewhere better and quickly
So Lou goes it alone. ????
Wow, Justin Louis ????
As a once 1970’s FM Prog Rock DJ, the best advice I can give them is get out. I will stick to SiriusXM, where I can still listen to WNEW-FM DJ’s. Terrestrial radio has sucked for decades. Once corporate media took over, it just destroyed the medium.
So they kept Andy so he could do the billboard and make the station look good, then let him go?! Ridiculous!
So sorry for these DJ’s. Love Liz how could they let her go?????????
Nicole Binondo
After 11 years we are hearing.
What a Christmas gift to the DJ’s and their families????
Joe Rossi this is messed up
No more hawk for me. Thats absolute bs
Yvette De Angelis Thiemer: Agreed. If you’re going to listen to terrestrial rock radio, ‘MMR or The Rat is the way to go. They always have live & local DJs on the air, even during late night hours.
And right before Christmas,sad
Why keep Lou? His voice in the morning is super annoying and he laughs at his own jokes.
Joey Raccuia
When I saw the headline, I was hoping it was Lou Russo. Can’t stand his voice; I actually turn the volume down. Love Liz, though. Hope she finds something soon.
Yet they keep Dumbass and Jewey on 101.5.
Jim Sigler Spadea should get the boot!!
Wow, that sux.
Lizzy Ricciardi Moore, Liz?! Wow!
Terrible news! I liked all of them ????
I would exactly put it the same as the person before me but……they should get rid of the assh*le in the morning, Bill Spadea, and Dennis & Judy…..because of them (mostly Spadea) my 20 years of listening to 101.5 is over!
Carol Taylor: They are literally the only people in statewide media who challenge the actions of this Governor. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, we always need people who challenge those in power to keep them honest (or attempt to, at least). Also, it bears mentioning that Dennis & Judi have been with the station for over 20 years.
Carol Taylor
For whatever reason, 101.5 always has good ratings.
Carol Taylor Totally agree,especially Spadea!!
Who will do Holiday Break ins????
Time to tune out Townsquare Media ???? you blew it !!!$$
What a slap in the face to Chase for all he has done for our communities and families…
Agree ????
What a shame that these great radio personalities had to be let go. ????
Pretty sad they were actually all very good , sad when big business does this kind of crap over money …. like they don’t have it … gimmie a break ….
Any reason given for them being fired ??
What a crazy thing to do to let Andy chase go wow .
WOW! Andy AND Varacchi?!?!?! Talk about not knowing who does right over there. What a screw.
The Point will never be the same ????
Sad to see Justin Louis go. ????
It wasn’t Opie and Anthony again?
This is awful. I love Andy and Liz!
Why??
That’s the radio business, it’s cutthroat. The people who get fired don’t even know it’s coming, they find out leaving work like normal.
Sad to see Justin Lewis go. He was a great D.J. had the voice and personality for it. Poor choice 92.7/WOBM. There’s 1 or 2 others i would have let go before Justin Lewis ????????????
Janyce Marra Andy chase was fired! ????
Sheree Fusco-Dietze WHAT? You got to be kidding me.
After all of the great things he did for charity. Guess I’ll not be listening to The Hawk anymore.
Joseph Goldner damn they let Andy Chase go. He was hilarious at the free beer and hot wings live shows and i think he used to do the billboard of love charity event.
Mike Battaglino he did the billboard every year..him and Varrachi were longtimers. Ton of class right before Christmas.
Zero class- Chase and Varacchi deserved way better.
As to why? Covid has destroyed many businesses that make up the base of advertisers that support these radio stations. Car dealerships, retail stores are suffering and the first item to cut back on is advertising and so the radio stations are hurting. You have to cut costs to live to see another day and that’s what happened.