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More longtime Birmingham radio personalities have left the air this fall as Summit Media replaces hosts with syndication.

On Oct. 29, Kim Moore, also known as The Night Bird, quit her decades-long, highly-rated night show on 98.7 Kiss FM. She worked at the station for more than 25 years.

Moore is one of multiple people who have left various stations so far this year. In June, Darryl Johnson of 98.7 Kiss FM and Young Dil of 95.7 Jamz were laid off. In October, Leo Taylor and Pisani Baldwin of 610 WAGG also were laid off. Baldwin made the announcement on Facebook.

“And just like that the station that has been a staple for our community is no longer as you’ve known it to be,” Baldwin said.

Summit Media owns radio stations around the country and is headquartered in Birmingham. Representatives currently working at Summit Media did not respond to repeated calls or emails from AL.com.

Kiss, JAMZ and WAGG are three urban stations that drove the highest radio ratings in Birmingham, according to Nielsen Ratings.

As of Nov. 20, the hosts have either been replaced by a syndicated personality that’s based in other markets or music has filled the time slot where they were previously on air.

Johnson, Dil, Taylor, Baldwin and Moore had all worked for the company since its inception in 2012. Prior to that, all of the stations were owned by Cox Media where the same talent previously worked.

The hosts took pride in playing music that appealed to local listeners. Now, they say, the stations don’t sound the same.

“They changed the format on 95.7 Jamz, it was as if they were being paid to play certain records, which is an indication of payola,” Taylor said.

Johnson, who was on air at Kiss since 1997, recently developed a health condition. A GoFund Me was created to pay for medical expenses.

Sheila Smoot, previously the news director at Summit Media up until June 2024, will now air “The Sheila Smoot Show” weekly on WAGG and Tuscaloosa’s Townsquare Media station, WTUG, according to a statement she provided to AL.com.

Smoot has had a long career in broadcasting. She said she believes the market is changing.

“Twenty years ago you didn’t have directors of social media. Or you didn’t have digital content creators. You didn’t have those jobs. So when you’re in media positions, you got to understand that’s how it will always be,” Smoot said.

Recent layoffs have caused people on social media to call for a boycott of the company.

Bruce Henderson Jr. commented under Baldwin’s post, “Praying for you all! Time to boycott! If we all stop listening, they will get the message!”

“You can’t fire all our favorite and we still listen to you! I’m livid,” Phoenix Rising said on Facebook.

Under Rising’s post, Rose Walker commented, “I stand with you, no more will I listen to any of these stations!”

In August, former Jamz personality, Buck Wilde, announced that he was returning to the hip hop station. Wilde took Dil’s former on-air slot, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

In 2023, Summit Media did not budget for the annual live radio broadcast of the “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” for the Magic City Classic. Smiley took it upon himself to host the show at Hoover’s Stardome Comedy Club.

This year, “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” returned to the BJCC Concert Hall as part of the Magic City Classic lineup through a partnership with the city of Birmingham. Summit Media assisted in broadcasting the show.

A popular Birmingham night spot is moving further downtown in January.

Carrigan’s Public House, also known as Carrigan’s Philanthropub, will be taking a place in The William, located at 1911 3rd Avenue N. Carrigan’s has been a staple of downtown life since 2013 and is currently on Morris Avenue.

Owner David Carrigan said the move will take place sometime after New Year’s.

“The space will be a little more intimate, but with a lot of the same design character,” he said. “As far as menu, we’ll have the same full cocktail program. The bar side will be familiar. The food we will upgrade a little, and put a few more sharable items, a little elevated, a little nicer.”

Staple foods such as the burger, corndog and house cut fries will remain.

The restaurant will be open all six days, with lunch offered. The move allows a certain downsizing, but with more of a focus on quality, he said.

“We were one of the first full-on restaurant bars, and we’ve kind of watched things change downtown,” Carrigan said. “We’re adjusted to what we’ve seen that’s changed in the market. Some of that’s post-COVID, some of that’s saturation with other options.”

One entrance will be through a back alley as well, which Carrigan’s hopes to light and reactivate.

“It’s something new and exciting that has been successful in other cities,” he said. “We have the buildings and infrastructure to do it.”

The William is a redeveloped building originally constructed in 1905 as a furniture store which has been converted into a mixed-use development. It takes its name from a department store that was once located there, as well serving as an homage to Carrigan’s father of the same name.

The building includes 27 residential apartments styled as boutique-living. Residents will get personalized concierge services, such as cleaning and laundry services.

After redevelopment, the William has a 65-foot interior atrium across all five floors, with nine apartment units to each floor. Two apartments each face the street and the alley, while the other five get exterior lighting from the atrium.

“That allows natural daylight on every floor,” he said.

There will also be space for retail shopping and a private rooftop cocktail bar run by Carrigan’s, which will serve as an event space similar to one at the present Morris Avenue location.

“We want to have some private cocktail evenings, reservation only, and mixers for the tenants,” he said.

Carrigan said the move goes hand-in-hand with his hopes for downtown walkability.

“We’re really excited about being in the city center,” he said. “Maybe that’s not a primary motivation, but it’s an indirect motivation. My passion is for downtown adaptive reuse projects.”

The apartments are preleasing and slated to open Jan. 1. For more information, visit the website.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— The Alabama men’s basketball team had its second consecutive go-around against a ranked Big Ten team on Wednesday, and it went better than the first. The No. 8 Crimson Tide picked up a marquee non-conference win, 100-87, against No. 25 Illinois in Birmingham.

Alabama (4-1) took a 52-38 lead into the break thanks to a red-hot first half from forward Grant Nelson, who put up 19 points in the C.M. Newton Classic’s first 20 minutes. The Fighting Illini (3-1) struggled to keep pace as the Crimson Tide hit its first four three-point attempts of the game in a row.

Illinois fought back in the second half, despite also dealing with fierce opposition from the scoring of Alabama guards Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon. Brad Underwood’s squad spent much of the second half down double digits, but managed to whittle it down to 71-62, 73-65 and 86-78 at various points. Even so, it wasn’t enough for the previously-unbeaten visitors to get it done inside Legacy Arena.

The level to which star Crimson Tide point guard Mark Sears factored into the contest was curiously negligible. He and Jarin Stevenson struggled from beyond the arc, and Sears did not score any points. Nelson finished just shy of an Alabama career high with 23 points, and Philon finished with 16 points. Holloway netted 18 points. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. equaled Philon with 16 of his own.

Wednesday's contest was the Crimson Tide's final game prior to a much-anticipated Nov. 26 matchup with No. 7 Houston in Las Vegas. Following a tough road outing last Friday against then-No. 13 Purdue, the Illinois triumph creates some big momentum for Alabama going into that game.

How it Happened:

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Second Half:

First Half:

Pregame:

How to Watch: C.M. Newton Classic

Who: No. 8 Alabama (3-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. No. 25 Illinois (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

When: Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. CT.

Where: Legacy Arena at BJCC, Birmingham, Ala.

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

TV: SEC Network

Series: Alabama leads 3-1 with the first matchup occurring on Dec. 12, 1953

Last meeting: The Crimson Tide took down the Fighting Illini 79-58 on March 17, 2015. Alabama's Levi Randolph and Rodney Cooper combined for 39 points on 13-of-20 from the field, Randolph and Retin Obasohan each grabbed seven rebounds, and Randolph also led the Tide in assists with five.

Last time out, Alabama: Alabama men's basketball fell to No. 13 Purdue 87-78 on Nov, in West Lafayette, Ind. for its first loss of the young season. The Boilermakers had the lead for a heavy majority of the evening and Alabama couldn’t maintain its couple of leads in the second half due to a massive run by Purdue. Purdue had the lead for nearly 30 of the game's 40 minutes while the Tide led for a little over five minutes. The ball movement took some time off the clock with each possession and may have tired out Alabama's defense as Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 26 points, guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer each logged 17 points while Smith also tallied 10 assists.

Last time out, Illinois: The Fighting Illini defeated Oakland 66-54 at home to advance to 3-0. Tomislav Ivisic led the way for Illinois with 20 points on a very efficient 9-of-14 from the field, while tying the team-high in rebounds with six and also recording a stellar four steals. Ben Humrichous was the only other member of the Fighting Illini to score double figures as he added 10 points to the stat sheet.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 8 Alabama basketball picked up a nice win for the resume on Wednesday night, knocking off No. 25 Illinois 100-87 in the annual C.M. Newton Classic in Birmingham. The win moves the Crimson Tide to 4-1 on the season, bouncing back from Friday night’s loss.

Alabama made another change to its starting lineup this game, moving Jarin Stevenson to the bench in favor of Labaron Philon, to start alongside Mark Sears, Latrell Wrightsell, Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The starting lineup change allowed Alabama to finally get the fast start on offense that it’s been craving all year. The Crimson Tide came out firing from deep, and Nelson started the game extremely hot, making his first three shots from beyond the arc.

The ball moved quickly and players moved without the ball actively. The offense looked a complete level higher than what we’d seen so far this season. By the under-12 timeout of the first half, Alabama had already pushed the lead to 10 points, while shooting over 60 percent from the floor.

It didn’t stop there, either. Alabama pushed out to a 17-point lead off a 13-0 run in the middle of the first half, with Philon repeatedly finishing at the rim like a pro. The Crimson Tide kept Illinois at arm’s length for the remainder of the first half, holding a 14-point lead at halftime behind Nelson’s 19 points at the break.

The surprising stat of the half, and the game, was 0 points from Sears, who’s in the middle of a minor shooting slump. Despite a scoreless half from its best player, Alabama showed how many other capable weapons it has offensively, with nine other players scoring and four players making a first-half three.

Omoruyi picked up two quick fouls to start the second half, being sent to the bench with four fouls still with 17:48 left in the game. Omoruyi’s exit tested the Tide’s interior defense that got exposed against Purdue, and the Illini outscored Alabama over the first four minutes of the second frame.

Alabama did a nice job pushing the lead back out to 17 in the second half, but an 8-0 run from Illinois over a quick 90 seconds brought the lead back down to single digits at the under-12 timeout. But the Tide answered the punch, responding with a 7-0 run over two minutes to push the lead back to 15 by the under-8.

Back and forth the game continued, with Illinois again making a push late in the second half courtesy of talented freshman Will Riley. Entering the under-4 with the final stretch of the game looming, Alabama had just a 9-point lead, but the Crimson Tide was able to hold the Illini off until the final buzzer to secure the nice win.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Grant Nelson – 23 points, 8 rebounds

Labaron Philon – 16 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists

Aden Holloway – 18 points, 3-of-4 from 3-point range

WHAT’S NEXT

Alabama will travel to Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week to play three games in the Players Era Festival event. The Crimson Tide’s first game will be against No. 7 Houston on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT. The game will air on TBS.

Alabama has genuine southern food- no doubt. When it comes to Thanksgiving, many restaurants package premade Thanksgiving Boxes. We’ve gathered a list of the best places to get Alabama’s genuine Southern cooking and where to order ahead this Thanksgiving.

Choose between the Thanksgiving Dinner option serving 6-8, or order A La Carte. Specialty items include Butternut Squash Bisque and a Charcuterie Board that serves 12. Mason Dixon Bakery will not be open on Thanksgiving day, so make sure to plan ahead.

You can choose between an oven-ready turkey, a smoked turkey, a pre-sliced turkey, and more. Bates House of Turkey also offers Turkey Sausage and Cornbread Dressing on the menu. Bates House of Turkey will be closed on Thanksgiving day.

Southern Alehouse offers slow-cooked meat options, including prime rib, turkey breast, and ham. It also offers family-size side dishes and sweet Southern desserts, such as bread pudding, brownies, and cookies.

Southern Alehouse will be closed on Thanksgiving day, but open for the rest of the week.

Real and Rosemary have two different options. One for 8-10 and one for 4-5 people. Meal includes turkey or ham, trimmings, gravy, relish, sugar and spice nuts, and tea or lemonade.

They won’t be open on Thanksgiving day, so place your orders ahead!

Choose between the Heat n’ Serve Feast, which serves 8-10 people, or the Family Dinner, which serves 4-6 people. These “hassle-free” meals include classic Thanksgiving foods like turkey breast, cornbread dressing, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls, and pecan pie.

Cracker Barrel is open with their regular hours on Thanksgiving day. We recommend using the online waitlist for a shorter wait time!

Gourmet Handmade has a sliced oven-roasted turkey or ham serving 3-4. Or, a sliced roasted turkey or ham platter serving 7-10. They also offer a maple-sliced spiral ham that serves 20. Gourmet Handmade won’t be open on Thanksgiving day.

Bow and Arrow offers a customization route. Pick your meat by the pound, sides, and desserts by the half pan. They will be closed on Thanksgiving day.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que has smoked turkey or ham for gatherings of 4-6. If you’ve got a larger crowd to feed, they have whole smoked turkey and ham that feeds 12-15. Martin’s will be closed on Thanksgiving day.

What places did we miss? Let us know by tagging The Bama Buzz on Instagram, X, Facebook + LinkedIn.