Longtime country radio personality Amy Paige got laid off for the first time in her 18 years on Nashville radio on Aug. 6, her 55th birthday.
Paige, in a phone interview with The Tennessean, said she is nothing but grateful for her career so far.
"Your mission is to be light, levity and joy," she said. "With every bit of my being, I loved it."
Paige was part of nationwide layoffs last week for Cumulus Media, which, among other properties, owns Nashville country radio stations 103.3 WKDF and 95.5 WSM, where Paige has worked as a midday personality since 2022. Paige also worked middays at The Big 98, owned by competing median chain iHeart Radio, from 2011 to 2020, and on Nashville-based satellite country music stations from 2006 to 2011.
Cumulus Media
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March and is hoping to get FCC approval soon to emerge from bankruptcy, broadcasting trade outlets report.
Cumulus Media Nashville leaders did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment on Paige's departure and information on other layoffs at Nashville stations.
Paige said she enjoyed her last shift at 95.5 WSM on Aug. 6, getting on-air birthday wishes from some of her regular listeners, like The Cookie Lady from Westmoreland, Dumptruck Dave, Twitter Glynda, and Amazon Michelle from Clarksville.
"For me, the most important thing is the connection piece of it," she said.
Paige said she brought several "Goodwill things" as gifts to her meeting with her boss and fellow on-air personality, Travis Daily, where she suspected she'd be laid off.
After leaving WSIX in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, Paige said she was grateful to get another four years on air starting in 2022 with WKDF and WSM. Paige often sang and danced in the studio, shaking maracas along to the music.
"I got to shake my maracas for another year!" she said. "I feel like I've been so lucky."
Paige said she'll look for another job soon, in or out of media.
The question she's asking herself — "How can I connect with people and really enjoy it on a day to day basis like I’ve been doing?"
Paige said her Nashville radio career highlights so far all have been around raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, which provides free care to children and teens facing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Paige's team raised nearly $1 million during her stint at WSIX, which led her being able to announce one of the NFL draft picks when that event came to Nashville in 2019.
Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Longtime Nashville radio host Amy Paige laid off on her birthday
