It was only a matter of time at WOR. It’s the sense of radio insiders that staffers at the venerable news/talk station were on borrowed time since Clear Channel purchased the 710 frequency in August.

Now, FishbowlNY has learned that numerous changes have taken place at WOR, with others still possible, all within days of Christmas. Here’s what we know at this point. Midday host, Dr. Joy Browne is out. The psychologist spent 15 years dishing advice to callers on WOR.

Mike Huckabee‘s syndicated show has been dropped.

A source close to the information tells FishbowlNY that only scratches the surface.

“All local show promos are off… news department will be absorbed into Total Traffic. It’s a bloodbath there today.”

Part of that bloodbath, we’re told, is the dismissal of former New York Governor David Paterson. The unorthodox hire joined WOR for a weekday two-hour show, succeeding Steve Malzberg in September 2011.

Paterson’s spokesman confirmed the firing to FishbowlNY.

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In honor of his 40th anniversary in New York radio, Bob Grant is being honored by 77 WABC-AM on Monday.

Calling it Bob Grant Day, the station, which Grant calls home for a third time, will have a salute to the legendary talk show host.

Mark Simone hosts the two-hour on-air roast of Grant from 10 a.m. to noon.

Listeners will hear some of Grant’s favorite memories, plus live tributes from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Mike Huckabee, and Monica Crowley.

The station also says you can expect some surprise guests from the history of New York radio.

Fans are welcome to call and share their memories of Grant.

Bob Grant Day will be streamed online at www.wabcradio.com. Additionally, WABC will produce a behind-the-scenes video of the event that will be available later Monday on their website.

Grant, 81, started the New York portion of his illustrious career on September 20, 1970 at WMCA. He had a memorable stint doing afternoons at WABC from 1984-1996, along with two gigs down the dial at WOR-AM.

Grant returned to WABC in September 2009 to host Sunday afternoons from noon to 2 p.m.

It’s a classic technique: dump bad news late in the day on a Friday and hope the news media and the public mostly ignore it. Bonus points if it’s a holiday weekend. Double bonus for a summer holiday weekend.

We kept one eye on Twitter all day on Friday, waiting for some crazy news to break. Who knew it would be about former VP candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin? In the afternoon, news started to trickle in. The first reports from a press conference in Alaska without a live transmission were that Palin would not run for a second term. Then it became clear that she would be resigning, at the end of the month, and her lieutenant governor will be taking over her role for the remainder of her term.

In the days that followed, talking heads and critics have attempted to make sense of the unexpected turn of events, but Palin’s reasons for her resignation are still unclear. CNN‘s Anderson Cooper interviewed Palin’s spokeperson Meg Stapleton on Friday but didn’t get any closer to understanding the decision (see video above). Conservative pundits Karl Rove, Mike Huckabee, Chuck Grassley and George Will all appeared on Sunday morning talk shows questioning Palin’s unprecedented move.

Some have (not surprisingly) managed to find the humor in the situation. Political analyst Andy Ostroy suggested a few other jobs for Palin including Alaska tour guide and personal shopper, while Berkman Center fellow David Weinberger listed the top 10 reasons she resigned. Number one? “Desperate bid to be mocked by Tina Fey one last time.”

Expect more weighing in over the next few days as all the “media elite” start to return from their holiday weekend vacations. No rest for the weary!

Over at Eat the Press Rachel Sklar picks up on a “ridiculous…slanderous to potentially dangerous” episode of former Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee‘s new Fox show Huckabee. In one segment Huckabee speaks with noted financial expert Chuck Norris about how the recent collapse on Wall St may be due to “economic terrorists.” Per Sklar:

The most potentially damaging claim was Huckabee’s suggestion that the U.S. financial markets are being deliberately targeted by economic terrorists. His source for this is his friend — unnamed and unidentified other than Huck’s explanation that he’s “in the financial markets.”

Watch the video here.