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RADIO WARS: 97.5 the Fanatic Names New Afternoon Host
Published:
Bill Colarulo will be the new host of 97.5 the Fanatic’s afternoon show, it was announced Tuesday on the midday show. He’ll be working with Ricky Bottalico and Sylvana Kelleher. Their first show together will be June 9th. Mike Missanelli and Ray Dunne will remain in their current time slot.
It’s a swift and impressive rise for Colarulo, a former lawyer who was an unpaid contributor for JAKIB Media just a few years ago. That turned into a weekend morning gig with the Fanatic, which went well, resulting in Colarulo getting the opportunity to fill in on weekdays for vacations and other absences. He was then named co-host of the Mike Missanelli show when Missanelli returned in August of 2024 to work the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. slot.
Sources have told Crossing Broad for a year now that Program Director Scott Masteller is incredibly high on Colarulo, which, no shit, is obviously confirmed by his quick promotion to PM drive.
Colarulo fills the spot vacated by Tyrone Johnson, who was let go in April after more than two years as the main host of The Best Show Ever? Johnson was Missanelli’s producer and co-host up until 2022, when Mike first departed the station. He was promoted to the main anchor chair to lead a program that included Jen Scordo, Hunter Brody, and Ricky Bottalico. Brody was laid off less than a year later and found a new gig at WIP, while Scordo was let go in May of 2024. Connor Thomas has been filling Johnson’s slot in the interim.
Johnson later said on his YouTube channel that there was nothing contentious about his departure, and doesn’t have any ill will towards the Fanatic, the remaining hosts, and management.
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Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com