I-Heart Radio guts stations across the country with lay off's

EstronHawkKing said:
Sounds like over a 1,000 employees at radio station across the country yesterday were laid off by I-Heart Radio (I Heartless is more like it.) KXIC 800 AM Radio in Iowa City which airs Iowa football, basketball and Wrestling games fired all their on air people like Boston Mike, Jerry Lalor and Mark Pitz. KXIC will only carry Fox News and Fox Sports with Iowa athletic events from now on. WMT 600 AM in Cedar Rapids was forced by I-Heart to let go of a few on air personalities as well. I hope the U of Iowa cuts ties with I-Heart (WMT & KXIC) once their contract ends and Iowa finds another carrier for their athletic events.

KXNO employees in Des Moines suffered as well........

"Just today, names were released of Des Moines employees at sports talk show 1460 KXNO that had been laid off."

  • Andrew Downs (1460 KXNO PD/Producer)
  • Chris Williams (1460 KXNO co-host of the Sports Fanatics)
  • Heather Burnside (1460 KXNO of the Morning Rush)
  • Ross Peterson (1460 KXNO co-host of the Sports Fanatics)
  • Sean Roberts (1460 KXNO of the Morning Rush)
  • Travis Justice (1460 KXNO of the Morning Rush)
Click to expand...
If it’s Heartless it’s because consumers are heartless and not buying the product they are producing.

Horse and buggy was replaced by the horseless carriage.

Radio Talk shows are being replaced by podcasts. Same niche audiences but a lot less overhead.

Still, Peterson and Williams is a little surprising. The Morning Rush was a car wreck most of the time.
 
Fryowa said:
Not here it isn't. There are very nice, 2,000 sq ft homes with attached double garages for $100K all day long. Mine was $69,000 for the house, double lot, and an additional detached garage when I bought it 11 years ago. My gas/electric bill has never been over $100, and my water/sewer/garbage is $78 a month. Property taxes are $1,089 this year.

$20-25 an hour for a trade that costs almost nothing to learn is ridiculously good.
Click to expand...
It's not how much you make if your making enough... If you can live cheap 20-25 is good $. 100k goes a long way down here for houses in the sticks of TN where I am too. Although that's trending up noticeably. 10 yrs ago when I moved here 100k would get you a 2000 ft 3 bdroom 3 bath nice house easy. It's probably closer to 130-140k now. You can get liveable fixer uppers for 40-50ish which is great because labor/and working on homes is cheap too. You can flip em here. Just have to have right location. Some take awhile to sell but value still holds if your patient.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
It's not how much you make if your making enough... If you can live cheap 20-25 is good $. 100k goes a long way down here for houses in the sticks of TN where I am too. Although that's trending up noticeably. 10 yrs ago when I moved here 100k would get you a 2000 ft 3 bdroom 3 bath nice house easy. It's probably closer to 130-140k now. You can get liveable fixer uppers for 40-50ish which is great because labor/and working on homes is cheap too. You can flip em here. Just have to have right location. Some take awhile to sell but value still holds if your patient.
Click to expand...
I live cheap. My modest house is paid for and I drive a 19 year old pickup.

My entire monthly bills are as follows:

$100 Property taxes
$92 MidAmerican gas/electric total 12
$110 Verizon
$78 Water/sewer/trash
$50 YouTube TV
$13 Netflix
$56 Internet service
$78 Home and auto insurance
$17 Water softener rent

$594 in regular bills, plus groceries, gas, and the common incidentals. I could easily live just like I do now for less than $1,000 take home every month.
 
I was just in the car driving and turned to 100.7 The FOX. They play classic rock in E. Iowa and are owned by I-Heartless. The new on air guys for them were talking about how they were out in New York, I turned the channel.
 
Last edited:
Anybody know of a site that shows what company owns each radio station? Does the FCC require this info to be public? It'd be interesting to see who owns what, and who is still locally-owned (like 107.9 in waterloo).
 
Fryowa said:
I live cheap. My modest house is paid for and I drive a 19 year old pickup.

My entire monthly bills are as follows:

$100 Property taxes
$92 MidAmerican gas/electric total 12
$110 Verizon
$78 Water/sewer/trash
$50 YouTube TV
$13 Netflix
$56 Internet service
$78 Home and auto insurance
$17 Water softener rent

$594 in regular bills, plus groceries, gas, and the common incidentals. I could easily live just like I do now for less than $1,000 take home every month.
Click to expand...

Why rent a softner?
 
okeefe4prez said:
Looks like NRG Media owns that particular station.

Here is how to look them up: https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/fm-query
Click to expand...
Mary Quass owns NRG Media, she is CEO & President. She lives in Cedar Rapids and she owns 105.7 FM which is a very good radio station, Rock 108, 107.3 and News Talk 1540. Mary has a very good reputation and I think she use to own K Hawk 98.1. She use to be former Iowa Hawkeye broadcaster Bob Brooks boss. I know Bob really liked working for her. Mary actually moved their station headquarters from Waterloo, and now reside in Hiawatha which is next door to Cedar Rapids.
 
Fryowa said:
That $17 includes salt and they deliver and fill. When it goes to shit I just call and they put a new one in.
Click to expand...
This one’s been in my house for 11 years so they’ve definitely made money on it. I’m guessing they get salt for about a dollar a bag with multiple semi load quantities.

It’s a guy and his wife who run the whole show and he has high school kids doing the deliveries in the summer. They have a laundromat too but their overhead for the softener portion is nill.

I think if mine goes out I have to go to a newer unit and it’s like twenty something bucks a month plus a one-time $60 install but at that point I’m still not worried about it. I know people who spend $400-500 a month on cigarettes lol.
 
Fryowa said:
I live cheap. My modest house is paid for and I drive a 19 year old pickup.

My entire monthly bills are as follows:

$100 Property taxes
$92 MidAmerican gas/electric total 12
$110 Verizon
$78 Water/sewer/trash
$50 YouTube TV
$13 Netflix
$56 Internet service
$78 Home and auto insurance
$17 Water softener rent

$594 in regular bills, plus groceries, gas, and the common incidentals. I could easily live just like I do now for less than $1,000 take home every month.
Click to expand...
We spend a lot of money because we have a money pit 160 acre farm in Wisconsin (which is very nice and restored for being built in 1896)) and a home which is relatively new in Vegas, which was bought cheap and new, after the original owner defaulted on it before moving into it, in 2010. Both are paid for but double expenses add up. But we like both places. I probably piss a lot of money away, but don't keep track of it. I am not frugal but am not wasteful either. It is only money. Have always driven vehicles till death and currently have a 2002 VW Golf Diesel with 420,000 miles on it. It is near hospice care level. Also have a fairly new Toyota Tundra and Camry + older, mint VW GLI with a computer chip in it...super quick, light, and fun. 1.8 turbo which spools quickly.

Aside from that, and more importantly, I have never listened to any of the people who have lost their jobs in the radio station. It is a constantly changing world of economics and technology. I feel sad for all of them and hope they do well.

I really enjoy buying "The Athletic" and read many of the in depth articles for the Hawkeyes, Vegas Knights, Minnesota Twins, etc. I hope it stays solvent, but I know nothing about the industry.

Hawkeye Nation is also a must read...thanks for that!

All the best to those who are hurting and stinging because of job loss.
 
Honestly, I haven't listened regularly to terrestrial radio in almost 15 years ago.....not since I ponied up $500 and got a lifetime subscription to then Sirius (now combined with XM) radio. Best move I ever made.

Oh, I'll listen in to WOC for Hawkeye games and I tune in quite a bit to WRMJ 102.3 FM in Aledo, IL for Cardinals games over the summer, but that's it.
 
I'll be 53 this year and have had a great run as a journalist, if you can even call someone who covers sports that. I grew up wanting to be Oscar Madison and went to college thinking I'd be in newspapers my whole life, or at least that's what I hoped.

Jon talked me into leaving the ICPC back in '03 after 13 years in print. The changes we've seen in the last 20 years in this industry have been head spinning. People read the "newspaper" on line, get their "news" from Twitter and other social media platforms, terrestrial radio is dealing with podcasts by everybody and their mother and you can listen to live games on apps like TuneIn from anywhere, and TV has streaming, where we can watch on demand.

There are many more examples in all areas of media.

I'm interested to see where this all is headed. I'm hoping that these aggregate sites won't end up eating their own.

I'll stay in it as long as I have a gig. I'm prepared for it to end any day. And I'm at peace with that.

Support what you like. It might not be there tomorrow.
 
RobHowe said:
I'll be 53 this year and have had a great run as a journalist, if you can even call someone who covers sports that. I grew up wanting to be Oscar Madison and went to college thinking I'd be in newspapers my whole life, or at least that's what I hoped.

Jon talked me into leaving the ICPC back in '03 after 13 years in print. The changes we've seen in the last 20 years in this industry have been head spinning. People read the "newspaper" on line, get their "news" from Twitter and other social media platforms, terrestrial radio is dealing with podcasts by everybody and their mother and you can listen to live games on apps like TuneIn from anywhere, and TV has streaming, where we can watch on demand.

There are many more examples in all areas of media.

I'm interested to see where this all is headed. I'm hoping that these aggregate sites won't end up eating their own.

I'll stay in it as long as I have a gig. I'm prepared for it to end any day. And I'm at peace with that.

Support what you like. It might not be there tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Well done on the reference ... this will be the image of you in my head from now on. And, this is the only Oscar in my memories. :)

Oscar_20Madison_large.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top