Breeze-FM host Kim Adams lost her job in the middle of her show

Kim Adams was as surprised as anyone to hear the abrupt format flip at WDZH-FM (98.7) on Thursday. 

The station made a sudden switch from easy listening "The Breeze" to alt-rock at noon Thursday, following CIMX-FM's switchover from alt-rock to country music. And just as quickly, Adams found herself jobless. 

"Literally in the middle of my show, my boss called my cell phone, and told me as of that minute they were flipping over. We went from Gene Autry to Nirvana, and that was it," Adams said Thursday. "I didn't realize something like that could happen." 

Adams, a Mount Clemens native and a former meteorologist at WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) and later WDIV-TV (Channel 4), had been the midday host at the Breeze since Feb. 2019. Her show aired from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

And as of Thursday, it was terminated, along with the station's "Chadd and Kristi Morning Show" and nighttime host Sandy Kovach's show. Midday host Race Taylor voice-tracked his show from New York.

Adams' show was her first gig in radio, a notoriously ruthless business where format switches happen without warning, sometimes in the middle of a song. She was unaware of the 89X flip, or how the domino effect would suddenly affect her livelihood. 

"This was honestly one of my most favorite jobs I’ve ever had," said Adams, a single mother of five and a breast cancer survivor who has been in remission since 2019. "It's kind of both in radio, where it's super fun but it's also super brutal, and I'd only experienced the super fun part of it. So now I've got a taste of the other part. All good things must come to an end, I guess."  

The Breeze was the former pop-leaning AMP Radio, and switched over to the easy listening format in Nov. 2018. The station was in the middle of Christmas music season, which changes over Nov. 1 and lasts until just after Christmas, when it pivoted to an alt-rock format boasting artists such as the White Stripes, the Killers, Cage the Elephant and the Black Keys. 

Debbie Kenyon, market manager for station owner Entercom, says the station will be hiring talent for all day parts going forward and will be posting jobs soon.

Adams — who also hosts a podcast, entitled "Live Fearless" — isn't immediately sure what's next, but she's been through hardships and picked up the pieces before. 

"I gave myself today to cry and feel sorry for myself," she said. "Tomorrow I put on my big girl pants and figure it out."

agraham@detroitnews.com

@grahamorama