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*Loyal listeners of WHUR’s "The Real D.C. Morning Show" in Washington D.C. tuned in Monday morning to find their beloved jocks – Tony Richards, Sharon "TC" Pitt, George Willborn and Herman Washington – fired and replaced by the distinct drawl of Steve Harvey and his Clear Channel-syndicated program, “The Steve Harvey Show.”
To put it mildly, fans are not happy. Since the switch on March 6, the Howard University-owned station has been flooded with hundreds of angry complaints, and even calls to launch a boycott.
Much of the backlash is over the loss of WHUR’s hometown flavor present among the “Real D.C.” personalities, an aspect rendered impossible with Harvey’s New York-based show. The home grown sentiment was echoed in the station's promos, which bragged that the show was "not live via satellite, but live."
Tonya Brewington, a fan of the “Real D.C.” program, called WHUR's decision to cancel the show "jarring" because of the change in tone -- Harvey's show is a little edgier than "Real D.C.'s" more laid-back style.
"I think it's a very bad choice," Brewington, a Web designer, told the Washington Post. "I think the people who listen to [the program] are not the same audience for Steve Harvey. . . . It was more of a community show. You're not going to find out what happened in D.C. the night before by listening to a show out of New York. It's a sad commentary for a radio station that's associated with a prestigious university."