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Brad Krantz, the former WBT-AM (1110) afternoon host, will be returning to his old job this summer as the station plans a departure from the heavy political focus it has used for years.
Krantz and Britt Whitmire, now teamed up on Raleigh’s WPTF-AM (850), will take over afternoons with “The Brad & Britt Show” on July 2, WBT announced Friday.
Vince Coakley, the former WSOC (Channel 9) anchor who last June followed Tara Servatius in WBT’s afternoon slot, will work through June 19. “We won’t be renewing Vince’s contract,” said Carl East, WBT’s program manager.
Krantz joined WBT in 1999 and was teamed with Richard Spires, an outspoken Libertarian. Their show was canceled in 2003.
Whitmire helped with comedy bits on their WBT program, doing voices like Strom Thurmond’s.
“It’s difficult to put into words just how happy I am to be returning to WBT after nine years, but let me try, in as simple a way as possible – it’s great to be home again,” Krantz said in a statement.
East said their new show will be a departure from the heavy political menu WBT has been serving for more than a decade in the afternoon.
“They’re not going to be 100 percent politics,” he said. “They’re going to be a lot more fun. We’ve tried these political shows for a long time, but we need to appeal to a wider audience.”
Krantz and Whitmire were teamed as talk hosts on WZTK-FM in Greensboro from 2004 until this year, when the station flipped to a new format. Their show was moved to Curtis Media Group’s WPTF in Raleigh and carried on sister station WSJS-AM (600) in Winston-Salem. They will continue there through June 19.
East said the afternoon show will have news three times an hour from Jim Barroll and will continue with its traffic checks every 10 minutes.
