Ellis Cannon removed from sports talk show

(January 12, 2010) Clear Channel officials removed sports talk show host Ellis Cannon from their airwaves starting yesterday, his ratings-popular, weeknight two hours replaced by nonstop political programming at WPGB-FM, also known as News Talk 104.7.

Cannon, 50, the lone regular sports voice on the otherwise political station, worked his final 6-8 p.m. shift Friday. Yesterday, without further explanation, the station announced that two syndicated shows would fill its weeknight hours, Michael Savage moving to 6-9 p.m. from 8-11 p.m., and followed by the newly added, "Lost Hour of Glenn Beck." No on-air announcement was made when Savage's show began last night, and local Clear Channel officials declined telephone messages and e-mails seeking explanation.

Cannon, who was unavailable for comment, also served as the 104.7 lead-in to Pirates game broadcasts, the pre- and postgame host on Steelers Network games via flagship WDVE-FM, and a afternoon sportscaster providing updates on WBGG-FM, Fox Sports 970. It's unknown how, or if, station officials will replace Cannon in those roles.

A former trial lawyer who also appeared on Fox News Channel and Court TV as a litigation analyst, this Midland native left his Downtown firm in 1996 to start a local sports publication with his brother, Henry, and, two years later, launch a show on what is currently WEAE-AM, ESPN Radio 1250. He moved to News Talk 104.7 in January 2004. He remains the publisher of the "Pittsburgh Sports Report" and "KidSports Magazine."

His show, the first weeknight sports-talk format on a local FM station in a quarter-century, if not longer, was considered an Arbitron success by Clear Channel officials throughout his six years. That may well have helped to blaze a trail for the company to hire Mark Madden, four months after he had been taken off the air at ESPN Radio 1250, and place him on WXDX-FM weekdays.

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