Clear Channel Axes ?Jon and Zach? Show

Zach Arns, co-host of Clear Channel Communications’s successful “Jon and Zach Morning Show,” was fired March 14. The company’s market manager, Tony Beringer, said it was time for the multicasted show — which originates from KMXF-FM, “Mix” 101.9, in Fayetteville — to go in another direction.

The decision came despite a decade of Arbitron ratings domination by the pair. In the most recent ratings book, the show earned a 24 share among females aged 18 to 34 in this market, or roughly double the listenership of any competitor.

“We not only want to win in Northwest Arkansas but in multiple markets,” Beringer said. “In order to do that under the current format we have the show in, which is contemporary hit radio, then it needs to be more relatable to women.”

The show is simulcast to Fort Smith, but two other Clear Channel markets — Lawton, Okla., and Little Rock — recently had dropped “Jon and Zach.”

Arns said that although the decision was Clear Channel’s and not his, the show was a part of his life he enjoyed and that he’ll remember fondly. Jon Williams, Arns’ partner, made similar remarks in an open letter to listeners at www.jonandzach.com.

A search for Arns’ replacement is already under way.