Former talk host Doug Hoerth left behind a legion of die-hard fans who want to know what he has been up to since leaving talk station WPTT-AM (1360) in December. And he has a message for them: "Tell folks thanks for listening," he says.

Hoerth, who has been on the local airwaves since 1980, left radio when his contract was not renewed at WPTT. It was the sixth station to carry his freewheeling style that made him a fixture on the local talk-radio circuit. He worked at the former WWSW-AM, KQV-AM, KDKA-AM, WJAS-AM and the former WTAE-AM before joining WPTT in 1999.

He is still based here and exploring new options, but radio isn't one of them. "I'm getting out of radio," he says. "It's been a blast for 30 years. It's time to move on to something else."

As for Internet rumors that he was headed for a gig with XM Satellite Radio: "There's nothing to it," he says.

Instead, he's turning to the written as opposed to the spoken word. He's at work on a collection of short stories, titled "I Fell in Love With a Lunatic," and has a publisher interested in the book.