Long-time WDEL talk show host Al Mascitti is out as the station reshuffles its lineup.
“This was one part of our strategy to better coordinate better our news and talk resources across the state. After the success of airing Allan Loudell’s Delaware’s News at Noon on WDEL and Delaware 105.9 for the past three years, this became the next opportunity to share content between the two stations,” said Delmarva Broadcasting Vice President and General Manager for Delmarva Broadcasting.
Mascitti provided a liberal counterweight to conservative talk show host Rick Jensen, who holds down an afternoon slot on the station. The blunt-spoken Mascitti came to the station after working as a columnist and food critic for the News Journal.
Of late, Mascitti had expressed his disdain for his former employer, which has undergone a major downsizing that included the departure of nearly all of its veteran reporters.
Reath said the only change on WDEL is the Susan Monday Show, which will now air weekdays between 9 am and noon. Monday, a veteran talk show host, will now simulcast her show statewide from the 105.9 studio.
“Everything else on the station, including Trafficwatch, high school sports, drive-time news blocks, weekend talk shows and the Phillies remains in place,” Reath said.
WDEL has undergone major changes in the past couple of years, with the addition of an FM frequency that filled in gaps in its AM signal. Long-time CEO Pete Booker stepped down as CEO of Delmarva and was succeeded by a radio executive from the Washington, DC area.
Delmarva also sold off a couple of stations in the Salisbury, MD area.
Reath said Delmarva has continued to add reporters at both of its news stations over the past 18 months. Also added were a digital editor who helped launch DelawareSportsZone.com. That site covers high school sports across the state and has seen terrific traffic in just its first six months.
According to Reath, the news/talk/sports websites (WDEL.com, Delaware1059.com and DelawareSportszone.com) had more than 7.1 million site visits in 2015. Radio audiences on WDEL and WXDE total nearly 100,000, Reath added.
Loudell and Mascitti, meanwhile, took an old school approach, avoiding the use of Facebook and Twitter, two social media tools used by many newspeople and talk show hosts. Both Mascitti and Loudell are frequent bloggers.
New WDEL morning talk show host Monday does maintain and Twitter presence. Monday is known for taking a middle of the road stance.