@RADIOKID - Just because they're having a 95X birthday concert doesn't mean they won't change format. Obviously the concert branding deal was done before the new GM came to town. If the ratings are low enough, he (and the listeners, or lack thereof) may not give a crap about the concert deal. Even though it would look cheesy for 95X to go away when it's Birthday Bash is already being promoted, sometimes it's better to cut your losses sooner than later, and get on with something better.
@SirRoxalot - I agree, the station was really caught with its pants down when Stern exited. So were many others, despite knowing months and months and months in advance, that Stern was moving to satradio. For years, affiliates were making all their money in morning drive, and it didn't really matter if you were in the toilet for the rest of the day. Now, the game is changed, and they need to be solid in every daypart. Perhaps a brand new format isn't needed, but a major refreshment of the playlist is.
Any consultant worth their pay knows you have to update the playlist frequently, depending on the format of the station. Heck, you don't even need to be a consultant to do this -- even if you're too cheap to have one, the MD and PD should know this. If they don't, they need to be fired. In addition to updating your currents and recurrents every week, you need to refresh the gold categories once every month... or at least every few months. Every music-related complaint I've seen on this board and other boards has to do with the fact that 95X plays the same crap over and over.
I admit, I only listen to rock stations occasionally, but it's like any other format. Every so often, you have to put certain songs out to pasture for awhile, and let some other titles come into the game for awhile. It's a lot like a hockey or basketball game... you can't play your starters for the entire game... they'll get too tired and worn out. Bring the second and third stringers out, so the starters can take a break, catch their breath. Sure, there are some songs that you just CAN'T take off the playlist, but you need to be really conservative about choosing those songs, and just as conservative about making sure they don't play too often. For example, Billy Joel's Piano Man is a fixture in the AC format, but you don't see AC stations playing it twice every day. Maybe more like once every 3 or 4 days... and properly rotated so it hits in different dayparts each time.
As for talent... every ex-affiliate of Stern that's now floundering in morning drive (and likely the rest of the day) only has itself to blame for failing to have a good, solid replacement lined up ahead of time. Even if you don't hire an experienced morning host from some other market, your existing midday or afternoon person should be capable of stepping up to the plate, even if just temporary. After all, they're already "known" to your listeners, and any midday or PM person should be eager to do mornings, just for the very prospect of the fact that mornings have bigger audiences and bigger salaries. Yet, we've seen 95X follow Stern with one unknown duo which fizzled out, followed by a syndicated duo who are Stern-wannabes past their prime.
You can't replace Stern with a Stern-wannabe show. The Stern fans who liked Stern enough already bought satellite radio so they could continue listening to Stern. The rest of the Stern fans miss Stern, but don't want some Stern-wannabe trying to fill his shoes. That's why B&K failed, and that's why O&A aren't getting a great reception either. It's pretty rare that I actually give credit to Galaxy, but they've got the right idea in having K-Rock and TK99's morning shows hosted by local people who aren't necessarily Stern-wannabes.
In summary... without Stern, 95X never had much else to keep it from collapsing. Even if they do change up the playlist and start getting a good rotation going, I think they'd still be hard-pressed to come up with a good morning show. It would need to be local -- and by local, I mean someone who's been here, not someone moved in from another market. (Well, maybe close-by, like Utica, Watertown, even Ithaca. Not Kentucky or Illinois.)