Temple University’s WRTI splits with a longtime on-air host

WRTI-FM (90.1), the Temple University radio station, has parted ways with its popular morning-drive classical host, Gregg Whiteside.

To the listening public, the split appeared to be abrupt, coming Monday following Whiteside’s regular on-air shift. His final show had nothing to suggest an imminent departure, opening with “Good morning, Gregg here with you again as always.”

Whiteside has been a fixture at the station since 2004, according to a now-deleted bio on WRTI’s website, and has hosted the morning show since 2012. He has also been the producer and announcer for WRTI’s Sunday broadcasts of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s concerts, and has accompanied the ensemble on tour.

“I feel that the time has finally come to hang up my headphones, and begin the next chapter of my life,” wrote Whiteside in the station’s first public acknowledgment of the departure, published on its website Friday afternoon.

Alongside that statement, WRTI general manager William Johnson wrote that Whiteside’s “service and leadership in making our mornings and Sunday afternoons some of the best in radio have earned him this retirement and our thanks.”

Johnson declined to answer further questions. Whiteside did not respond to messages left for him this week.

On the air every weekday from 6 to 10 a.m., in a peppy baritone, Whiteside, 73, was an aficionado who came wrapped in a folksy package. Formerly at WQXR-FM in New York, he delivered Vivaldi and Mozart with sophisticated observations about a piece’s style or orchestration, but did so with a spirit of wonder that was decidedly non-academic.

It was a mix that attracted an ardent following.

“For me, he is the top radio broadcaster ever on Philly radio,” said Robert LaBar, a listener from Aldan, Pa., citing Whiteside’s musical knowledge and pronunciation of classical names. His opening morning monologue “covered everything,” said LaBar, “even sports scores from last night that the morning newspapers do not have.”

Philadelphia Orchestra broadcasts will continue on Sunday afternoons, though the format may change. An orchestra spokesperson said the group’s relationship with WRTI dates to 2012, and that it expects to develop newly recorded shows with the station.

WRTI has turned over the morning-drive slot to another host, Bliss Michelson, who has been with the station since 2014. WRTI splits its air time between formats, generally classical during the day and jazz after 6 p.m., though programming in both genres is available 24 hours a day online.