North, McNeil and Bernstein drew listeners at their peak and were great on the air. All self destructed in different manners.
Bernstein was done in by his narcissism.
I thought his ratings were really good. I did not like that I liked to listen to him at times as while he is an egomaniac it did not feel like you were listening to dead air.
I'm in the camp that it was probably a money issue with Audacy and they found a way out.