Sonya Blakey
iHeartMedia Chicago announced that PD Sonya Blakey will host weekday mornings, and Marcella Jones will host weekday afternoons on WGRB(AM)/Inspiration 1390AM. In Louisville, Kelly Carls will retire in August as program director of WHAS(AM)/NewsRadio 840.
“Sonya Blakey has a legacy of excellence, talent and passion for the Inspiration 1390 audience and the Gospel music community,” said Derrick Brown, director of urban programming at iHeartMedia Chicago.
According to the announcement, Blakey serves as program director of Inspiration 1390AM and most recently hosted afternoons on the station. She will continue to host V013’s “Get Your Praise On!” on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Inspiration 1390 has captured numerous awards during Blakey’s tenure at the station, most notably a 2015 Stellar Gospel Music Award for “Major Market Gospel Station of the Year.”
Jones will host afternoons from 12–6 p.m. Known as the “Sweetheart of Gospel Music,” she previously hosted Saturday afternoons on Inspiration 1390AM, and has the unique ability to capture an audience and convey to her listeners the real message in the music, stated the release. Jones is presently assistant program director at Kennedy-King College, in Chicago, where she trains the next generation of broadcasters.
Kelly Carls
iHeartMedia Louisville Kelly Carls joined WHAS in April of 1998 as the program director and went on to serve iHeartMedia in various capacities, according to the announcement, including operations manager of the Louisville cluster, regional senior vice president of programming and national news/talk brand manager.
“I have been working since the age of 16. Now, I’m ready to relax and have some fun,” said Carls.
iHeartMedia Kentucky-Indiana Region President Earl Jones said Carls has a strong understanding of the broadcast industry and has helped the company through the evolving radio landscape. “We will miss him tremendously, but wish him the best in his well-earned retirement,” he said.
iHeartMedia Louisville will begin a search for Carls’ replacement soon, said the announcement.
