WNOW/92.3 NOW FM is making changes to its weekday lineup. Program director Rick Gillette is switching everyone with the exception of morning host Ty Bentli.

After that you need a scorecard to keep track. Micki Gamez is back in the midday slot, which she temporarily relinquished for afternoons when former Nick Cannon got ill.

“She’s the perfect foil to go up against the Seacrest syndicated debacle in middays across the street,” Gillette tells FishbowlNY.

Zann moves into the afternoon drive spot. He had been on evenings since last June.

“We moved Zann because she’s a breath of fresh air, and New York needs some fresh air in afternoons,” Gillette says.  “She’s the obnoxious chick who’s going to bully her way on the already packed number 2 train headed for Brooklyn every late afternoon.”

The station’s reworked 6 to 10 p.m. shift is led by Toro, previously on  from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Toro is a Nuyorican born in the projects overlooking Coney Island.

“Renowned and well paid in the tri-state for his amazing DJ/mixing skills, [Toro] has no future in radio outside of New York because he is just SO New York,” Gillette says. “92.3 NOW is so all about New York [so] we had to let this native son out of his cage a little earlier every day, allowing him to entertain the masses in the early evening and then prowl the late night club scene after his show every night.”

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CBS Radio is handing the keys to morning drive at 92.3 NOW FM to Ty Bentli. Not a familiar name in these parts, Bentli previously did afternoons at a Clear Channel station in Los Angeles. Bentli’s first day at NOW is expected to be next Thursday.

“Ty’s talent and passion are unquestionable, but what only those who have worked with him know is his herculean work ethic,” program director Rick Gillette tells All Access.

Bentli succeeds Nick Cannon, who quit the show in February due to health concerns.

Here’s a look at what FishbowlNY stories made the most buzz this week.

1. NY1′s Pat Kiernan (left) Auditions for Dream Job, Co-Hosting Live, March 6
2. Sue Simmons Out at WNBC After More Than Three Decades, March 7
3. Nick Cannon, Former NOW Morning Host, Battling Autoimmune Disease, March 5
4. O, The Oprah Magazine Has No Love for Stedman, March 8
5. WNYW’s Julie Chang Handicaps American Idol, March 7
6. Veteran Sports Anchor Len Berman Resurfaces at Channel 5, March 2

Keep up-to-date with the latest FishbowlNY news. Click here to sign-up for the FishbowlNY daily newsletter, bringing you our articles each afternoon directly to your inbox.



As we reported last month that Nick Cannon walked away from his morning gig with NOW FM/WXRK to deal with his health concerns. Cannon, the husband of Mariah Carey and recent father of twins, had been hospitalized in January with mild kidney failure. Several weeks later he suffered from blood clots in his lungs.

Now the health picture is coming into sharper focus.

Cannon tells People magazine that he has a lupus-like autoimmune disease. He adds that it doesn’t appear to be hereditary as “no one else in my family has it.”

He told People that the blood clots were the scariest with which to deal.

“I’ve known people who have passed away from that,” Cannon says.

Doctors found that the clots were directly linked to his kidney infection. His kidney problems, in turn, were a result of the autoimmune disease.  While he says that everything is in order now, he was told by doctors that the kidney condition is “something I’m going to be living with all my life.”

Cannon, 31, who still hosted America’s Got Talent on NBC, is setting his sights on recovery.

“I feel blessed to be alive,” Cannon told People. “If it wasn’t discovered, I don’t know [what would have happened].” 

Nick Cannon gave his NOW FM/WXRK listeners a surprise this morning. It was the versatile performer’s final day hosting his radio show.

Cannon,  suffering from various health concerns in recent months, plus a hospital stay necessitated by a mild kidney failure, told his audience that he needs time to get better. Reports say Cannon, who at night hosts America’s Got Talent on NBC, was rushed back to the hospital last week for blood clots on his lungs.

The 31-year old will spend more time with his nine-month old twins, and his wife, Mariah Carey.

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Nick Cannon, hospitalized in Los Angeles with mild kidney failure, is set to return as 92.3 NOW/WXRK morning host. According to Cannon’s Website, he will back at the mic Tuesday.

His personal page also says Cannon, who also hosts NBC’s America’s Got Talent, was released from the hospital over the weekend kidney surgery.

Cannon, 31, is married to Mariah Carey. The couple had twins in 2011.

There’s no word if Cannon will host the show from California while he convalscences.

Three editions of America’s Got Talent took the top slots for the week, according to the Nielsen Company.

The NBC talent competition, hosted by WXRK/NOW FM morning man Nick Cannon, averaged 721,000 and a 3.5 rating.

 WNBC/Channel 4 didn’t stop there–tying at number three with The Voice (680,000/3.4). The Voice result show tied for tenth (528,000/2.6).

The BET Awards pulled in a fifth-place performance (635,000/3.1).

60 Minutes kept its familiar pace for WCBS/Channel 2 with a number six (614,000/3.0).

More from the Top 10 after the jump

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Nick Cannon, the multi-faceted entertainer and morning show host at 92.3 NOW, has been named the host of weekly countdown show broadcast on CBS Radio stations nationwide.

Each week, there will be two recorded versions of Cannon’s Countdown. The program is specifically geared to CHR Pop/Rhythmic and Urban stations with a mix of music and celebrity interviews. The four-hour and three-hour shows, respectively, are set to debut in two dozen markets the weekend of April 23.  

Cannon’s Countdown, which will be heard on 92.3 NOW/WXRK, is launching an online destination showcasing the program’s top songs from either formats.

The website is also the must-stop place for daily digestible lists of what is hot in pop culture and will chronicle lists of Cannon’s favorite things, while providing his point of view on the latest entertainment and fashion news, event listings, new music, and cool gadgets.

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This morning on the ”Rollin’ With Nick Cannon” morning show, heard on 92.3 NOW (WXRK), Cannon told listeners that he and his wife, singer Mariah Carey, are expecting twins.

He made the announcement in the 7 a.m. hour.

While Cannon was first to tell his fans the news this morning, Carey spilled this beans during the Christmas in Washington taping on December 12. 

At the event, which airs tomorrow night on TNT, President Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama asked Carey, 40, about her pregnancy. Excited, she told them about the “double treat” coming soon.

Carey is due in the spring.