Exelberth (front right) in character during filming of Oz: The Great and Powerful

Melissa Exelberth was heard providing traffic reports on numerous radio stations, including WCBS 880 and WINS, during a 16-year run at Shadow Traffic (today’s Total Traffic). The accomplished voice-over artist, who left the former Westwood One company in 2008, is now making a splash being seen in her first feature film.

Exelberth has a part, including a moment of dialogue in Oz: The Great and Powerful. Although mixed reviews accompanied the film’s arrival last weekend, the movie opened with more than 80 million dollars at the box office.

She got the chance to see the yellow brick road first hand because of her voice work in the pre-production with director Sam Raimi.

“That just led to my getting to say a few words on-camera in the movie,” Exerberth tells FishbowlNY. “It was kind of one of those things that evolved from the voice-work that I did earlier.”

Her pre-production work on Oz dates back to early 2011.  But the on-camera acting experience was once-in-a-lifetime.

“Even though I come from a production background, I had never, ever worked on anything of this scale,” Exelberth says. “It was huge.”

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Gary Stanley was a talented sportscaster. For nearly 20 years he was a top-flight sports anchor on WCBS 880. Most of that time he was based in the Shadow Traffic (now Total Traffic) studios in Rutherford, New Jersey.

As we reported earlier this week, Stanley left the company, and in turn the station.

• Related: FishbowlNY, Veteran Sportscaster Stanley Exits WCBS 880

Details are emerging about Stanley’s exit.

FishbowlNY has learned that Stanley was forced to take a leave of absence in the fall due to poor job performance.

We’re told that Stanley was warned to get his act together. He did return to the air, before his now less-than-mysterious departure. Although the specific reason for his firing is not known.

What is known, however, is Stanley was not the friendliest person in the business.

“Nobody at Shadow/Total Traffic liked him,” an insider tells FishbowlNY.

He could be acerbic or downright mean to fellow staffers.

“[He was] miserable to deal with, always complaining,” the source contends. “[He] always looked for shortcuts when it came to doing his job.”

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His voice has been a mainstay on WCBS 880 since the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994. Gary Stanley has left his full-time sportscasting role with WCBS, produced by Total Traffic in New Jersey.

FishbowlNY has obtained the email that was sent to staffers yesterday.

The terse statement gave only two lines about Stanley.

“I regret to share with you that Gary Stanley is no longer with the company.  We appreciate Gary’s years of service very much and wish him only the best.”

The email adds the promotion of Tom Stephens to full-time on the WCBS sports schedule.

FishbowlNY attempted to reach Total Traffic for confirmation.

Stanley’s time on WCBS predates Shadow (now Clear Channel’s Total Traffic) with four years working directly for the All-Newser.

Since 1985, Stanley has been the voice of Iona Basketball radio play-by-play.

He graduated from Fordham University in the mid 1970s with a B.A. in Communications.

It’s been a tumultuous 10 months since Westwood One’s Shadow/Metro Traffic was acquired by Clear Channel and ultimately renamed the Rutherford, New Jersey operation Total Traffic.

With Clear Channel in place, the media conglomerate brought in many of its own personnel. That included at the top. David Fein, who has been with Clear Channel since 2003. Fein was the VP, regional director of operations for Clear Channel Radio’s Total Traffic.   

So once the merger took place, Fein was essentially number 1, or 1a.  But Crys Quimby, the Shadow/Metro VP of programming and operations remained. FishbowlNY had reported in November that Quimby might be on her way out, as rumors circulated at the Route 17 complex that Fein felt he was the only manager needed to oversee the day-to-day operations, not the two-headed monster.

Now, FishbowlNY has learned exclusively, it’s Fein who may be pushed out. It would be a shocking climax to the merger, as his company, it would appear, is in the driver’s seat.

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Updating a story we reported Wednesday, more names have been added to list of Metro Traffic staffers laid off by Clear Channel this week.

Fred Bennett, a longtime Metro Traffic executive, confirms to FishbowlNY that he has been let go. Veteran traffic reporter Lori Blanchard, FishbowlNY has learned, has also been laid off.

Bennett, spent a combined 17 years with Metro Traffic in two different stints. Bennett, who rejoined Metro in 2006, had been the president and general manager of Metro Television since last year.

Blanchard was a Metro mainstay for 15 years. As her alter ego Carla Quinn, she was the evening traffic reporter on WNYW/Channel 5 newscasts at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. since 2002.

Bennett and Blanchard join Brian Duhaime, Kathy Hogan, and Mike Weinstein as layoff victims at the Rutherford, New Jersey offices.

In April, Clear Channel acquired the Metro Traffic division from Westwood One.

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