Station program director Jason Barrett confirmed what sources said, that listenership to the show Burwell co-hosted with Bob Stelton was higher when Burwell was absent and that was the primary reason Burwell was removed.

That's despite the fact Burwell, a Post-Dispatch sports columnist, is under contract — and will be paid by 101.1 FM management — for the rest of the year.

"I like Bryan personally, but the reality is the audience was more interested in the show when we had a different combination," Barrett said Thursday. "We're in a results-oriented business and the show's performance was not up to par with the rest of the radio station. Therefore, we're making a change to try to provide a better listen for the audience."

Stelton will be on solo, beginning Aug. 30, after fill-in hosts work next week in the 9-11 a.m. weekday slot.

"We're not just going to put somebody in to work with Bob just to have a-two man show," Barrett said. "If we're going to put somebody in with him, it would have to be a game-changer."

Burwell, who did not want to comment about the matter, won't be totally gone from the station. He will appear on Rams pregame programming this season, then he'll be free to work elsewhere in local radio beginning in January.

His dismissal is the second of a 101.1 host since it took the sports-talk format at the beginning of 2009, and the other involved the same show — Pat Parris was dropped in November, with Stelton replacing him in January.