WTZN-FM (93.7) listeners woke up to Christmas music instead of talk yesterday.

The Zone, aka "The Man Station," a short-lived talk format aimed at male listeners, is being dumped for a new format, which is set to launch Friday at 5 p.m. Until then, the station will enter a time warp and play Christmas music 24/7.

WTZN debuted in April, with a lineup of local talk hosts that included Scott Paulsen, John McIntire and John Steigerwald, along with the syndicated Dennis Miller show.

The local trio and McIntire co-host/producer Gab Bonesso are out; the rest of the Zone programming was syndicated.

Paulsen returned calls to confirm he'd been fired, and McIntire told readers of his "MacYapper" blog today that he had been fired and attributed it to a decision made at CBS headquarters. The company has been switching several talk stations in other markets to music.

McIntire said that he was "stunned" by the sudden announcement: "I believed in the product. But in today's universe, they want instant results."

CBS Radio Pittsburgh vice president of programming Keith Clark would not say why the change was made or what the new format will be.

The Zone Web site has been taken down and replaced with the words "PITTS-URGH -- Something's Missing." The missing letter has the local rumor mill churning with speculation that the missing "B" stands for B-94 -- the longtime contemporary hits format on the former WBZZ that was displaced by a rock format (K-Rock), and six months ago, The Zone.