June 14 2012 12:00 AM

Alt-rock station needs a 'fresh change,' general manager says

garettmichaels
Garett Michaels

After a nearly 10-year run, Garett Michaels has left his post as program director of FM 94/9.

"Although the last three years have been particularly challenging, I'm incredibly proud of the brand we created and the legacy we built over the last 10 years ago," Michaels wrote in an announcement posted on AllAccess.com earlier today, calling his departure "bittersweet."

Michaels declined to comment to CityBeat, but his boss at the station describes the departure as a "mutually arrived-at decision" between the two of them. Rick Jackson, senior vice president and general manager of FM 94/9, 97.3 FM and Smooth FM 98.1, explains that 94/9 has been struggling financially and needs a "fresh change." 

"It's just not working, and we both knew it," Jackson says in a phone interview. 

While Jackson commends Michaels' performance, he says 94/9's ratings haven't changed significantly in a decade, and it's suffered from the overall economic morass. He said the station needs to work better as a business but said there are no plans to change its format. 

Jackson has picked a new program director to replace Michaels but he said he can't yet publicly announce who it is.

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