Management for Atlanta radio station V-103 announced they’ve hired two new hosts after terminating longtime radio personality Wanda Smith and her colleague Miss Sophia.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Rick Caffey, the SVP of Entercom which V-103 is under, was looking to expand the station’s digital side and hired Lindsey Fields, 32, who goes by the pseudonym “Jade Novah” and JR Jackson, 31.
photo credit/ Instagram: Jade Novah (L) and JR Jackson (R)
Novah has an impressive background in music and sung background vocals for Missy Elliot and for Tyler Perry’s musical “Madea’s Big Happy Family”. She’s also written songs for several musicians including Christina Milian, Mya and more. She reportedly went viral in 2013 on streaming platform YouTube after performing a cover to Rihanna’s hit song “Diamonds.” The Cleveland native doesn’t appear to have any experience in radio, but does consider herself a “content creator.”
Jackson is from Bronx, New York and has a strong background in sports interviewing and has his own sports segment on YouTube titled “JRSportBrief.” He’s covered major events such as the World Cup, the Olympics and NCAA’s Final Four and interviewed countless athletes including Kobe Bryant, Usain Bolt, LeBron James and more. His radio experience includes working for sports talk 660 and The Fan which are stations in New York.
Both Novah and Jackson are scheduled to appear on V-103 with host Frank Ski on January 22.
Smith’s firing from V-103 came as a shock on January, 3 to several fans. She’d worked with for the radio station for almost two decades and was a co-host of Frank Ski‘s original morning show which was revamped in 2018. The cause of her firing has yet to be released, but several fans suspect it has to do with her quarrel with comedian Katt Williams that took place in September 2018.
Smith has been silent about her exit from the Atlanta station until now. She shared a post on her Instagram page on January 4 that read, “But God.”
Several fans sent their best wishes to the radio veteran.
“God has something better in store for you… God Bless🖤.”
“I hope that you will blessed with something even better in 2019. 🙏🏾💕 God got you Wanda.”
Other people suspected Frank Ski played a role in Smith’s firing. Some fans noticed Ski was still following Smith on Instagram but she’s no longer following him. “@frasnkski definitely had her fired,” noted one person.
“That shows that V-103 has no loyalty to the people that work for them.
If Frank had something to do with this, GOD WILL SURELY HANDLE HIM,” another comment read.
Miss Sophia, a local drag queen who worked with V-103 from 2006-2010 and returned last year, told CBS46 on Friday that Smith wasn’t “in a good space” since being let go from the show.
“Wanda has been there for over 25 years so to be in an industry for over 25 years, you expect to have the big hoopla when you get ready to leave … So to her, I believe it was a total shock,” Sophia said. “And it was also a shock for me when she came out of the office and told me that they had let her go as well.”
