ATHENS, Ohio — Athens County has lost three local radio DJs in recent months, amid changes following Total Media’s purchase of local radio stations WXTQ and WATH.
Radio personalities DJ Barticus, Butch and the Lizzard have all left the airwaves — the Lizzard in August, Butch in October and DJ Barticus last Friday.
Michael Bart, aka DJ Barticus, said no Athens-based DJs are on Total Media’s local radio stations anymore, with the company’s increased reliance on purchased, pre-recorded content. (Live voices that still appear as DJs on the station are not Athens-based, Bart said.)
Bart said Total Media has fully transitioned to new software that allows the company to use a music subscription service featuring playlists and pre-recorded DJs.
“It comes with a pre-recorded DJ voice on it all day and all night,” Bart said.
As the station began to rely increasingly on the subscription service, Bart said his experience working at the station was “like you’re racing on this treadmill and your replacement is already there.”
Syndicated DJs are paid by a national company, explained Lizzard Huber, known simply as the Lizzard on air.
“They voice track and they send their voices out to stations all around the United States,” Huber said.
Huber criticized the shift to syndicated content and said featuring local people on the air is an important aspect of community.
“Especially in small Appalachian communities like this, people need to talk to each other,” Huber said. “I think it’s also really important to keep personality in media, especially in a small town. … We have some really beautiful people here.”
Local voices off the air
Bart had worked for WATH since 2017 and has DJed for about two decades.
“I’m really thankful that I did get to be on the airwaves,” Bart said. “I’m very thankful that I got to be that voice.”
Bart said he was fired Friday, Nov. 3. He said he received negative feedback from his supervisors after he played “Thong Song” that Tuesday — a piece within the station’s music library.
Bart, the Lizzard and Total Media performed a radio stunt in May, in which Lizzard played “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley — “Rickrolling” listeners — and Bart played “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails on repeat. Bart said he was confused about why that stunt was appropriate, whereas “Thong Song” was not.
Huber said she was not surprised to learn Bart was fired. “I think they were just done — one, paying DJs, and two, having to fight with DJs about the fact that their job is DJing,” she said.
Bart said he was also directed to stop providing voter information for Tuesday, Nov. 7’s general election.
“I care very much about this current election — you know, Issue 1 and Issue 2 — that I figured I just need to mention these every day, mention when early voting hours are, and I never once told people how I stand on those issues or how to vote,” Bart said.
Total Media executives did not respond to the Independent’s request to comment in time for publication.
Butch — the DJ who hosted Classic Cruize-In with Butch on WATH and Full Throttle Rock on WXTQ — said he worked for the station for three years and loved it. Among his favorite parts of DJing was when listeners would call in to request songs.
“I made somebody’s day,” said Butch, who requested that the Independent use only the name of his DJ personality. “It’s a thrill to call up and say, ‘Hey, I want to hear this song’ and get your name out on the radio and get to hear a song.”
Butch said anywhere from 15 to 25 people would call into his Sunday show with requests, including regulars who would call in each week.
“I just wish I was still there,” Butch said. He declined to comment on the nature of his departure from the station.
Huber, the Lizzard, said she was fired from the station after an incident in August prompted her to walk out of the studio to “cool down.” She had worked at the station for about three years.
In August, Huber hosted a morning show with Rodney “Porterhouse” Tomblin, who oversees Total Media’s Athens broadcasting. Toward the end of the program, Tomblin, who was broadcasting from Jackson, Ohio, where Total Media is headquartered, pivoted to an interview with Bernie Moreno. Moreno, is a candidate in the Republican primary for Ohio’s 2024 U.S. Senate race, has aligned himself with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Huber said this was her first experience with a politician appearing on WXTQ. She was not expecting the interview.
“I did get fired up, because they told me I can’t be biased, and then with saying that, didn’t let me drive the Jambulance in the Pride parade anymore, started airing more right-based commercials — things like that,” Huber said. “I walked out for 25 minutes, texted them, I said, ‘I just need to cool down,’ and before my shift was over, they called me and told me I was terminated.”
Tomblin did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Almost exactly a year ago, the Federal Communication Commission approved a purchase agreement between Jackson County Broadcasting, Inc., doing business as Total Media, and WATH, Inc. The majority shareholder in Jackson County Broadcasting is Alan Stockmeister, a prominent Jackson County business owner.
According to campaign finance data from OpenSecrets.org, Stockmeister is a regular donor to the Republican Party and GOP candidates at state and national levels. He is also a member of The Ohio State University Board of Trustees.
Some Athens County voices remain on the airwaves, including sportscasters and Pastor Barry Bolin, who hosts a Sunday morning show with other religious leaders as well as weekday devotions. David Palmer, the station’s former owner, continues to host his long-running talk show, “Party Line.” Total Media is required to continue Palmer’s show under a provision in the station’s purchase agreement.
Tomblin previously told the Independent, “What we want to do is take the model that we’ve got and just enhance it, make it better, become more involved in the community.”
Corinne Colbert contributed reporting to this story.
DISCLOSURES: The Athens County Independent has a content-sharing agreement with Total Media, in which the company shares the Independent’s coverage on air. Additionally, Michael Bart’s spouse, Emily Beveridge, serves on the board of directors for Southeast Ohio Independent News, which publishes the Athens County Independent. Neither Total Media nor the Independent’s board members have input on editorial decision-making.
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