Although I’ll wait to see what more the BT officialdom lets drop tomorrow, color me not exactly surprised by this turn of events.

The very in-depth focus grouping and surveying that the station did a couple months ago indicated that new owners Greater Media were kicking the tires, seeing what would give. The tone and tenor of those surveys was very negative, searching out listener complaints about all the on-air talent. I have to assume that Jeff Katz did not come out well in that process.

But we also have to note that Katz tied himself very closely to local, state, and national Republicans, the same Republicans who were just roundly rejected by the public. WBT station leadership would not be the first to panic in the face of perceived shifts in public taste and outlook.

On the third hand, however, WBT is somewhat rare in the AM talk radio universe as being as well known — and deservedly so — for its straight-up news operation. To the extent that station management was concerned that Katz’ brand of firebrand talk compromised that, they may have jumped as well — and with more justification. Basically if General Media was looking for a more Jay Severin type of host, Jeff Katz would not be your first choice.

I’ll also to be curious to see if Tara’s 9 to 12 slot is filled by John Hancock eventually. My totally subjective gut feeling is that BT prefers Hancock’s laid back banter later in the PM. Local listeners would take a big hit, however, if the shake-up is a prelude to piping in additional syndicated fare. I’ll be keen to hear if that might be in the works. Charlotte has truly been lucky to have so much local talk in heavy rotation on a station like WBT.

Bonus Observation: Does this mean more on-air time for Pete Kaliner? Pete had been doing the Sunday show that Tara used to do.

Update: The Uptown paper of record’s hed — WBT gives the boot to conservative Jeff Katz — is very misleading. If you didn’t know better — and there are folks out there who have never listened to the station — you would think that Tara is not a conservative.

Update II: Keith just said “you reap what you sow” re: Katz. Ouch.