After the retirement of 32-year morning show host Jim Murphy and the sudden firing of his replacement, Chris Carson, Green Bay’s WIXX has a new AM drive program, Huggie, Natalie, and Corey, it will pit against a longtime station voice that moved across the street.
Daniel “Huggie” Amsden has been on afternoons at the Midwest Communications-owned station since 2022 after previously working in Seattle, Portland, Boise, and Las Vegas. He will be joined by Natalie Jansen, who moves to Green Bay from Saga Communications’ Milwaukee Radio Group at 102.9 The Hog (WHQG).
After the initial show announcement, the station revealed that WIXX Brand Manager Corey Carter would also join the show as the third chair on February 6, ahead of an official February 7 launch.
Now Huggie and crew will be going head-to-head with the personality he replaced on WIXX – 24-year Green Bay radio veteran Otis Day.
In an interview with WFRV-TV, former host Chris Carson blamed his three-week tenure on Woodward Communications’ 95.9 KISS-FM (WKSZ)’s hiring of Day and Jim Murphy’s former WIXX morning co-hosts Katie Schurk and Nick Vitrano. WKSZ cut six-year morning hosts Jake Kelly and Tanner Jay in favor of the retired Day.
WIXX management told WFRV-TV that, “Chris Carson was hired with the intent to complement our (now) former co-hosts. When market conditions changed beyond our control, our management team made the difficult decision to modify our strategy, which unfortunately didn’t include Chris Carson.”
Vitrano and Schurk, who left the station the week after Murphy in the Morning concluded, are currently waiting out their non-competes with no official start date set.
Despite the circumstances, Amsden is optimistic about the opportunity. He posted on social media, “I can’t believe this is happening! Like I said, this is my dream. Meeting Natalie … everyone just knew that we were meant to meet and take on this journey together. She’s one of the greatest people I have ever met… you’re going to love her! Give us a chance as we grow together and build a show that everyone can love. We are geek’d to share our mornings with you.”
