Plus, Eagles fans can pay $100 to throw snowballs at Santa. And GoPuff will now deliver you a live Christmas tree.
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Former Preston and Steve cast member Kathy Romano (photo courtesy of Chorus Photography) | the late WMMR DJ Pierre Robert (Getty Images) | Nick McIlwain, who announced his resignation from WMMR last week (photo courtesy of Chorus Photography)
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Is This the End of WMMR as We Know It?
Last Wednesday morning, I watched the sun rise at French Creek State Park, where my family rented a cabin for Thanksgiving week. I sipped hot coffee from a metal camping mug as I did my best to complete a New York Times crossword puzzle – on paper, I should add – from the covered porch. This trip was meant to be a 99-percent phone-free experience, which was, believe it or not, the idea of my two teenaged kids, and we all did our best to honor this, hence the paper crossword. But I couldn’t help but notice my phone going crazy at some point that morning. So, what was all the hubbub about?
As text after text and DM after DM told me when I eventually gave in and peeked, longtime Preston & Steve morning-show cast member Nick McIlwain had announced, during Wednesday’s show, that it would be his last day on the air. He’d been with the show since Bill Clinton was in the Oval Office. And then on Wednesday, without advance notice to listeners, poof. That was it. His announcement came one month after the death of Pierre Robert and six months after the station terminated Kathy Romano as a Preston & Steve cast member.
On air, McIlwain made it clear that he wasn’t being forced out and that this was his own decision made after much contemplation.
“I took Preston out to lunch a month or so ago,” McIlwain recalled for listeners. (I listened to a recording following my return from the woods.) “And then Pierre died. Our entire lives have been thrown into chaos over the last few months. It really started for us here in this room – and anybody who is a fan of the radio station – back in May, with Kathy. So it’s just been a lot. A lot of ups and downs. And lately, for me anyway, more downs than ups.”
Later, he did his best to fight back tears.
“I feel like a change might help me improve my life, my physical and mental health,” he shared. “And make me feel a little more like a human being… Mental health is important. Full stop. I’ve dealt with depression and anxiety most of my adult life… and if you know someone with depression, reach out to them. Human interaction is a wonderful salve.”
McIlwain’s contract reportedly wasn’t set to expire until 2030, which is when the contracts for the show’s namesakes are also due to end. He didn’t say specifically what the next chapter of his life would hold – or even indicate if he himself knows.
His departure from the immensely popular (relative to terrestrial radio, anyway) show that he had been a part of for so long would be newsworthy in and of itself. But what makes his announcement even more important is the context surrounding it.
While many radio stations are essentially run by robots these days, WMMR has always been a much more personality-driven endeavor and one where the community of listeners and fans is so important in a way that you just don’t see at other major FM stations in the region. You start pulling out pieces of the puzzle, and the effects are palpable. WMMR listeners care.
The real trouble at WMMR began in 2022, when Beasley Media Group, the Florida-based corporate overlords who own WMMR, fired late-afternoon DJ Jaxon, who had been a fixture at the legendary station for close to 20 years. At the same time, the company also eliminated the overnight live broadcast, which had been a real rarity in the industry. “Today was a really dark day in the station’s history,” one longtime WMMR employee told me on the day of those decisions.
“We’ve been live and local 24/7 and used that for all the good it brings us for 54 years,” another WMMR source told me following Jaxon’s termination. “But corporate ownership simply doesn’t care. And that’s the real punch to the gut. They are completely profit-driven. And they don’t care about history or legacy or what the station and the people who work there mean to Philly and to the listeners. They care about one thing and one thing only: money.”
Then came 2024, when Pierre Robert’s producer and sometimes sidekick known as Pancake, lost his job, as did at least two other WMMR staffers on the same day. A station insider referred to that as a “terrible fucking day.”
But 2022 and 2024 were to have nothing on 2025. In May, Beasley fired Preston & Steve cast member Kathy Romano, who had also been with the show for decades.
“It’s really hard, man,” Preston Elliot said on the air during his announcement that Romano would be no more. “We are profoundly sad about this.” (Romano has since landed her own morning show at B101.1 – in the exact same time slot as Preston & Steve.)
As for what was going to come next, nobody could have predicted it: the untimely death of Pierre Robert, WMMR’s most iconic (by far) personality. From a business standpoint, the implications of that are immeasurable. Folks didn’t tune in to hear “Ramble On” or the latest from the Foo Fighters. They tuned in to hear Pierre serve those songs up. And now? McIlwain departs, leaving Elliot, Steve Morrison, Casey “Casey Boy” Fosbenner, and Marisa Magnatta as the remaining cast members.
All of which begs the question: Is this the end of WMMR as we know it?
“We have been absolutely gutted,” says a current station staffer who insisted on remaining anonymous out of concern for their own job. “Things are just dismal.”
Don’t get me wrong: There is still a lot of talent at WMMR and the Preston and Steve Show will continue to entertain. But you can’t lose a guy like Pierre Robert and a third of the on-air talent of a show like Preston and Steve and think that things are normal. But perhaps Beasley is looking for a new normal, one that doesn’t rely so much on “personalities” – with their pesky agents and pricey contracts – and prefers one that is, plain and simple, cheaper.
My prediction, as someone who for decades has closely followed the radio industry in Philadelphia and WMMR in particular? After 2030 (at the absolute latest), WMMR will be virtually unrecognizable.
From the Department of Highly Questionable Lists …
Is Philly really the fourth most sinful city in the entire republic? If so, shoot me a tip and let me know where all this alleged sinning is happening.
From the Department of Not-So-Questionable Lists …
Congrats are in order for Joan Shepp, which the New York Times just named one of the 50 best clothing stores in America. For more on Joan Shepp, check out this feature we just ran.
Did Somebody Say Snow?!
Yeah, yeah, it looks like we might see a little of the white stuff on Tuesday. And by a little, I mean a little. There’s no need to dash off to Ack-a-me for panic shopping. Check here for the latest weather alerts.
We Have a Winner!
If you bought a PowerBall ticket at the Wawa on Frankford Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia recently, you might want to check it out. Turns out a winning $1 million ticket was sold there. In case you’re wondering, you could cash that in and buy 131,752 of these.
By the Numbers
$100: What it will cost you to attend an Eagles-Chargers watch party hosted by law firm Zarwin Baum next Monday at Live! Casino & Hotel in South Philly. Yes, there’s lots of food and drink and a bunch of big TVs, including one measuring 4,000 square feet. But the real hook here? Attendees get to pelt Santa Claus with snowballs. Fake snowballs, yes. But still a fun homage to the lore of Eagles fans and their bad behavior.
$105.50: The price for a five-foot-tall Fraser fir Christmas tree, a tree stand, and multi-colored tree lights, delivered to you by GoPuff. This is the first time that GoPuff is delivering Christmas trees in Philly. Me, I’ll be standing in the freezing cold in the coming days as my son cuts a live tree down at Linvilla. On December 26th every year, he declares, “I call cutting the Christmas tree down next year.” As if any of the rest of us would want to lay down on frozen ground in December. For more farms where you can get a tree, consult this.
15.5 acres: Size of a site along the Delaware River that will soon feature a Norwegian Cruise Line terminal. The company has committed to making more than 40 ship visits there each year. I’ve never been on a cruise ship, and I think after watching Train Wreck: Poop Cruise on Netflix, I won’t be buying tickets anytime soon. But you do you.
Local Talent
No, there’s no Eagles Christmas album this year. So what do you get for that Eagles fan in your life? How about holiday plush dolls of the golden-throated trio of Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson? Proceeds benefit local charities. For this and other ideas of gifts that also do good, consult our 2025 Do Good Gift Guide here.