List Of On-air Resignations
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This is a list of on-air resignations. These are resignations in the public eye.


On radio

*October 1967 and again in 1985 – Announcer and DJ
William (Rosko) Mercer William Roscoe Mercer (1927–2000), better known to millions of radio listeners simply as Rosko, was an American announcer, commercial voice over specialist and disc jockey (DJ). He is best known for his stints on New York's WOR-FM and WNEW-FM i ...
, known to his fans simply as Rosko, resigned on-air twice: first from
WOR-FM WEPN-FM (98.7 MHz) branded as ''ESPN New York'', is an all-sports radio station licensed to New York City. The station is owned by Emmis Communications and its operations are controlled by Good Karma Brands, under a local marketing agreeme ...
in New York City in October 1967 over the station's employment of radio consultants; and then again in 1985, when he left
WKTU-FM WKTU (103.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station city of license, licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former 32 A ...
in
Lake Success Lake Success can refer to: *Lake Success (California), lake in California *Lake Success, New York, village in New York *''Lake Success'', a novel by American author Gary Shteyngart Gary Shteyngart (; born July 5, 1972) is a Soviet-born American ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, while on the air, again over a dispute with the station management. *November, 1991 – Terry Durney became the first radio presenter in the United Kingdom to resign live on-air. He presented the weekend request programme on BBC Radio Lancashire. He cited the reason as the station's new management team who were making the station a more "speech and sport" broadcaster. *August 8, 1993 – Dave Lee Travis, BBC Radio 1 DJ resigned on-air, citing "There are changes being made at the station that go against my principles" in reference to Matthew Bannister's plans for the station. *September 24, 2001 – Rugby player Mal Meninga's attempted political career lasted a mere 28 seconds. Becoming fazed in his first radio interview announcing his entrance into the
2001 Australian Capital Territory general election Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 20 October 2001. The incumbent Liberal Party, led by Gary Humphries, was challenged by the Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope. Candidates were elected to fil ...
, he resigned as a candidate on-air shortly after the broadcast commenced. *January, 2001 – Juan González, a journalist from the Pacifica Radio Network, announced his resignation whilst co-hosting '' Democracy Now!'', in protest over "harassment and muzzling of free speech." González has frequently returned to the program since then. *August, 2006 – Inetta Hinton, a presenter on WBLX-FM in
Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...
, Alabama, resigned on-air with the phrase "I quit this bitch." *November, 2006 – Bob "The Blade" Robinson, a presenter on WRDU in
Knightdale Knightdale is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, Knightdale has a population of 19,435. That's up from 11, 401 in 2010 United States Census, 2010 . T ...
, North Carolina, resigned on the air after
Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
switched the format of the station he was on for 22 years from rock to country. He played " The Song Is Over" by The Who and then left after the song was cut off. *February, 2008 –
Lucas Campbell Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''L ...
, a presenter of "Rock of Ages" on
Chorley FM Chorley FM was a radio station based in Chorley, Lancashire, England. The station was created by volunteers back in 2001 to broadcast a special two week licence in conjunction with the Midsummer Festival which was located on Botany Bay near the ...
, resigned on-air after station chiefs decided to shift the show to a later slot. *February 9, 2014 – Dublin, Ireland 2FM presenter and former station boss John Clarke quit his daytime Sunday show in dramatic fashion, telling listeners he was "reading the signs" and implying he was leaving the programme before he was forced out.


On television

*February 10, 1960 – Host
Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar repo ...
announced his resignation from '' The Tonight Show'' and walked off during mid-broadcast, after discovering NBC had censored a joke. Paar returned one month later. *November 2012 – Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio, anchors from ABC affiliate WVII-TV in
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...
, resigned on-air, citing "some recent developments (that) have come to our attention." *February 2014 – Liz Wahl resigned from RT America on-air to protest the network's coverage of Russia's annexation of Crimea. *September 21, 2014 –
Charlo Greene Charlo Greene (born Charlene Egbe in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian-American businesswoman and former reporter/anchor for KTVA television in Anchorage, Alaska. Greene received media notice after she quit her job on-air in September 2014 while cove ...
, a reporter from CBS affiliate KTVA in
Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
, declared herself as the president of the medical cannabis organization Alaska Cannabis Club, which campaigned successfully for the legalization of the drug in the state via a November 2014 referendum. She ended the outro with a profane statement, resigned on-air and walked off the set. *October 19, 2019 – Shepard Smith, an anchor for Fox News and host of the '' Fox Report'', resigned on-air after 24 years at Fox, after frequently criticizing and being criticized by President Donald Trump. *March 2, 2020 –
Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...
, host of MSNBC's long-running show '' Hardball with Chris Matthews'', abruptly retired on-air after sexual harassment allegations and controversial critiques of 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary candidates
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
and Elizabeth Warren.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:On Air Resignations Lists of broadcasters Lists of resignations Broadcasting lists