Saying "it's exceedingly difficult to compete," Brewer Media decides to pull the plug on their news/talk operation in Chattanooga, Tennessee. WPLZ-FM (95.3) "The Pulse" will flip starting after the New Year, causing the loss of over a dozen staffers. Among those who will be unemployed when 2012 begins are news director Louis Lee, PD Gary Poole and talk show hosts Robert T. Nash and David Karnes, according to the Times Free Press newspaper. A new format has yet to be announced. Brewer Media president Jim Brewer II tells the paper it was his small market battle against a industry giant Cumulus Media that led to his decision, saying "Being a small, single market cluster, it's exceedingly difficult to compete against national broadcasting companies who have so much syndicated programming and infrastructure ... I think we offered a good product and I will miss having NewsTalk in our building." The family-owned Brewer group also publishes an alternative weekly paper named "The Pulse", and operates radio stations "Power 94" (urban WJTT), "Groove 93" (urban AC WMPZ) and "ESPN Chattanooga" WALV (105.1).