Gabe Hobbs
Gabe began his radio career in 1975 in Paducah, Kentucky and went on to work in Evansville, Indiana, Knoxville and Nashville before ending up in Tampa in the late 80’s to program WFLZ-FM. In September of 1989 he launched the now legendary Power Pig (CHR) on 93.3 WFLZ. Later that year he was promoted to Operations Manager of both WFLZ-FM and its sister station WFLA-AM. Turning his focus to the AM, he re-launched a news/talk format on WFLA which has been the springboard for the careers of a number of well-known national hosts such as Glenn Beck, Lionel, Mark Larsen, Todd Schnitt (aka M.J.) and Cigar Dave.
By 1996 Gabe was the Southeast Regional Director of Programming for Jacor Communications (Jacor merged with Clear Channel in 1999.) In 1998 he relocated to the company’s Atlanta offices and was promoted to National Director of News/Talk/Sports. In 2000 he became Vice-President of Programming News/Talk/Sports and moved back to Tampa.
In January 2009, his positions as brand manager for 280 of the company's 1,200 news/talk/sports stations and AM operations person for the Tampa cluster (WDAE, WFLA, WHNZ) were both eliminated, ending his 25-year association with the company, 20 of which were in news/talk.
With a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio & Television from Murray State University, Gabe is a two-time winner of the Radio & Records Industry Achievement Award for News/Talk Executive of the Year, and carries the honor of being named one of the best corporate programmers in America by Radio Ink Magazine.
During the course of his career he has helped launch and re-launch numerous radio stations around the country with great success. He also assisted in the launch of the Fox Sports Radio Network in 1999 and the highly successful Glenn Beck Show in 2002.
Today (2013), Gabe is president of Gabe Hobbs Media, LLC in St. Petersburg.
Station History
1989 - 1998 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (Operations)
2000 - 2009 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (Management)
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