Fish 104.7, a contemporary Christian pop station in Atlanta for the past quarter century, is leaving the airwaves on Feb. 1 after its parent company Salem Media Group sold its music stations to Educational Media Foundation, owner of K-LOVE and Air1, for $80 million.
This means the end of the market’s longest running morning show featuring Kevin Avery and Taylor Scott, which began in 2000, and the station’s local presence with annual charity events such as its Christmas Wish program. Every year, the station changes to a Christmas format before Thanksgiving for more than a month and often lands at the top of the Nielsen ratings chart for a few weeks.
All Atlanta-based employees at Fish are losing their jobs in a month including midday host Kim Fitz and afternoon host Beth Bacall.
“We’re all in shock, disbelief and grief,” wrote Greg Eaton, a Fish employee on Facebook Monday evening after the news first broke. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to have contributed and been a part of one of the greatest radio stations in America.”