Talk radio legend Neal Boortz to retire? Herman Cain to replace him?; Update: It's official

Major announcement by Neal Boortz and HC on Mon 6-04 10am-11am EST LIVE! Listen live http://t.co/GsQ5yxbp on line. #999 #TCOT #TeaParty. HC

— Herman Cain (@THEHermanCain) June 4, 2012

Twitter’s abuzz tonight over this cached announcement set for tomorrow and tweeted out by trade publication Radio Insight:

Today national radio talk show host Neal Boortz announced live on his program that he’s retiring from his daily show and passing the torch to his friend and colleague, Herman Cain. His last day hosting The Neal Boortz Show, which premiered on News/Talk WSB in 1993 and now airs on more than 200 radio stations with six million weekly listeners, will be January 18, 2013.

“It’s time for me and my wife, Donna, to hit the road and travel in ways that we have not been able to through most of our 42 years together,” said Boortz – also known as “The Talkmaster” and “The High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth.”

“As my listeners know, we love traveling, and the restraints created by my daily radio show commitment have kept us on a rather short leash. At present, our post-show travel plans extend through most of 2013 and well into 2014 ranging from Florida to Alaska and Antarctica. We will then figure out where to go from there.

…

Herman Cain Returns

Herman Cain, former News/Talk WSB evening host and former Republican Presidential Candidate, returns to radio full time inauguration day – January 21, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. Until then, Cain continues to join Boortz for their Monday and Friday 10:35am ET segments and to deliver commentary at 8:45 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. daily.

Cain said, “Neal has spent his career as a bold, vocal advocate of what is right in this world and condemning that which is not. I promise the torch Boortz is handing off to me will blaze as bright, as bold, and as loud as ever.”

Not only will Cain inherit Neal’s microphone, he’ll also inherit the Boortz syndicated radio audience.

“Also, I am ecstatic that Neal has kept the radio host’s chair warm for me all these years,” Cain joked. “He may be ‘The TalkMaster,’ but Neal’s listeners know I’m the ‘The Dean of the University of Common Sense.’”