A familiar voice on Mobile radio is heading to Music City. Cherish Lombard, longtime co-host of WABB-FM’s morning lifestyle program “Studio 10,” is leaving the station for a new position at WKRN, the ABC affiliate in Nashville, Tennessee, where she will host a morning show, report and anchor newscasts.
Lombard’s last day on air at WABB will be Friday, and she is expected to start her new role at WKRN in mid-November. Station insiders describe the timeline as a whirlwind, with Lombard traveling to Nashville for an interview and on-air audition before being offered the job.
Lombard’s broadcasting career in Mobile stretches back more than a decade. She first joined WABB-FM in 2001 and spent several years building a following with local listeners before leaving the station in 2008 to work as a news reporter. She returned to WABB two years later to take over hosting duties on “Studio 10,” the station’s morning lifestyle program, where she has remained a fixture ever since.
With Lombard’s departure, WABB is restructuring “Studio 10.” Joe Emer is set to rejoin the show and co-host alongside Chasity Byrd for the time being, station sources say, as management works out a longer-term plan for the program.
Lombard’s move to Nashville could eventually bring a second familiar radio voice to Music City as well. Her fiance, Glen “Qtip” Johnson, who hosts a morning show, has requested a transfer within Cumulus Media in hopes of eventually joining her there. Johnson said he is weighing several options with the company but nothing is finalized, and he expects to remain in his current role at least through the end of the year.
Lombard’s exit marks another notable personnel change in the Mobile media market this year, as local radio and television outlets continue to see talent move between stations and, in some cases, out of the region entirely for larger markets. For listeners who have tuned in to “Studio 10” for years, Friday will mark the end of an era, even as Lombard’s departure opens the door for new voices on Mobile airwaves.