More longtime Birmingham radio personalities have left the air this fall as Summit Media replaces hosts with syndication.

On Oct. 29, Kim Moore, also known as The Night Bird, quit her decades-long, highly-rated night show on 98.7 Kiss FM. She worked at the station for more than 25 years.

Moore is one of multiple people who have left various stations so far this year. In June, Darryl Johnson of 98.7 Kiss FM and Young Dil of 95.7 Jamz were laid off. In October, Leo Taylor and Pisani Baldwin of 610 WAGG also were laid off. Baldwin made the announcement on Facebook.

“And just like that the station that has been a staple for our community is no longer as you’ve known it to be,” Baldwin said.

Summit Media owns radio stations around the country and is headquartered in Birmingham. Representatives currently working at Summit Media did not respond to repeated calls or emails from AL.com.

Kiss, JAMZ and WAGG are three urban stations that drove the highest radio ratings in Birmingham, according to Nielsen Ratings.

As of Nov. 20, the hosts have either been replaced by a syndicated personality that’s based in other markets or music has filled the time slot where they were previously on air.

Johnson, Dil, Taylor, Baldwin and Moore had all worked for the company since its inception in 2012. Prior to that, all of the stations were owned by Cox Media where the same talent previously worked.

The hosts took pride in playing music that appealed to local listeners. Now, they say, the stations don’t sound the same.

“They changed the format on 95.7 Jamz, it was as if they were being paid to play certain records, which is an indication of payola,” Taylor said.

Johnson, who was on air at Kiss since 1997, recently developed a health condition. A GoFund Me was created to pay for medical expenses.

Sheila Smoot, previously the news director at Summit Media up until June 2024, will now air “The Sheila Smoot Show” weekly on WAGG and Tuscaloosa’s WTUG, according to a statement she provided to AL.com.

Smoot has had a long career in broadcasting. She said she believes the market is changing.

“Twenty years ago you didn’t have directors of social media. Or you didn’t have digital content creators. You didn’t have those jobs. So when you’re in media positions, you got to understand that’s how it will always be,” Smoot said.

Recent layoffs have caused people on social media to call for a boycott of the company.

Bruce Henderson Jr. commented under Baldwin’s post, “Praying for you all! Time to boycott! If we all stop listening, they will get the message!”

“You can’t fire all our favorite and we still listen to you! I’m livid,” Phoenix Rising said on Facebook.

Under Rising’s post, Rose Walker commented, “I stand with you, no more will I listen to any of these stations!”

In 2023, Summit Media did not budget for the annual live radio broadcast of the “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” for the Magic City Classic. Smiley took it upon himself to host the show at Hoover’s Stardome Comedy Club.

This year, “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” returned to the BJCC Concert Hall as part of the Magic City Classic lineup through a partnership with the city of Birmingham. Summit Media assisted in broadcasting the show.