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

EstronHawkKing

EstronHawkKing

Well-Known Member
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)
 
This is what happens when a company takes on $20 freaking BILLION dollars worth of debt. Complete and utter idiots. I feel for the good talent caught up in that. Hopefully they got decent severances.
 
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)
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Is that Andrew Downs from The U? Went to HS with him. Solid guy. Damn, that sucks. Hope he is doing okay.
 
SpiderRico said:
This is what happens when a company takes on $20 freaking BILLION dollars worth of debt. Complete and utter idiots. I feel for the good talent caught up in that. Hopefully they got decent severances.
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Man, I had no idea this thing went bankrupt. I can't believe a bank and bond purchasers would lend $20 billion into an industry like radio. That is totally moronic. The guys who borrowed the $20 billion probably got paid pretty well, though.

Sadly, since it was in bankruptcy it is unlikely anyone got a material severance, if any at all. Usually you pay severance if you want to get a release from the employees, but if the entity is bankrupt it doesn't matter because any lawsuit the employee brings is going to wind up with an insurance carrier or as a debt of the bankruptcy estate, so the typical corporate considerations go out the window. Hopefully this case was different. I hope everyone lands on their feet.
 
I just listened to Rob and Andrew's podcast yesterday I noticed how good of a job he does. I'm glad the timing worked out that he still has that. Hopefully that podcast sticks. I liked it a lot.
 
Possibly unpopular opinion: the only person on that list I will really miss (as a Des Moines resident) is Travis Justice. The others range from boring, to massive Clown fans giving Pollard and Campbell fellatio on a daily basis, to just plain stupid (One person on the list). This is certainly not meant to be a personal attack against any of them, and a couple do a solid job, but imo as a regular KXNO listener, they aren’t all great. The two shows that were cancelled were both incredibly weak, and Travis Justice was the only thing propping up the Morning Rush.
 
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RobHowe said:
I was on with Ross and Chris every Tuesday at 4:30 during football and basketball seasons. Have been on with the others throughout the years. Awful news.

Andrew and I took over the HN main podcast from Jon and Deace. We're glad to have him at HN.
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You worked at the IC Press Citizen back in the day, you know what the media industry is like. It's ruthless!!
 
Man, so disappointed. Chris & Ross made a great team. Their show is what kept me sane on my 45-60 min afternoon ride home while dealing w/ Dallas traffic. My heart goes out to them as they’re husbands, fathers, & providers for their families (aspects of this speaks true for all who were laid off). Chris and Ross are very talented and i’m confident they’ll land firmly on their feet hopefully continuing to do what they love......I personally hope it’s doing a similar or same show together on another station.

Love Andrew and Rob continuing the tradition of the podcast Jon made so popular. You two are doing a fantastic job and I look forward to listening to every podcast posted. Thank you so much for all the hawk content which allows me to keep up w/ everything Hawkeye while being 800 miles away in Dallas.
 
Glass1/2fullguy said:
Man, so disappointed. Chris & Ross made a great team. Their show is what kept me sane on my 45-60 min afternoon ride home while dealing w/ Dallas traffic. My heart goes out to them as they’re husbands, fathers, & providers for their families (aspects of this speaks true for all who were laid off). Chris and Ross are very talented and i’m confident they’ll land firmly on their feet hopefully continuing to do what they love......I personally hope it’s doing a similar or same show together on another station.

Love Andrew and Rob continuing the tradition of the podcast Jon made so popular. You two are doing a fantastic job and I look forward to listening to every podcast posted. Thank you so much for all the hawk content which allows me to keep up w/ everything Hawkeye while being 800 miles away in Dallas.
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Thank you for the kind words. We really appreciate it.
 
BrianFerentzForPresident said:
Possibly unpopular opinion: the only person on that list I will really miss (as a Des Moines resident) is Travis Justice. The others range from boring, to massive Clown fans giving Pollard and Campbell fellatio on a daily basis, to just plain stupid (One person on the list). This is certainly not meant to be a personal attack against any of them, and a couple do a solid job, but imo as a regular KXNO listener, they aren’t all great. The two shows that were cancelled were both incredibly weak, and Travis Justice was the only thing propping up the Morning Rush
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BrianFerentzForPresident said:
Possibly unpopular opinion: the only person on that list I will really miss (as a Des Moines resident) is Travis Justice. The others range from boring, to massive Clown fans giving Pollard and Campbell fellatio on a daily basis, to just plain stupid (One person on the list). This is certainly not meant to be a personal attack against any of them, and a couple do a solid job, but imo as a regular KXNO listener, they aren’t all great. The two shows that were cancelled were both incredibly weak, and Travis Justice was the only thing propping up the Morning Rush.
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What I’m sure is unpopular is you feeling the need to come on here and dog on those who have just lost their jobs. Classless.
 
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Glass1/2fullguy said:
What I’m sure is unpopular is you feeling the need to come on here and dog on those who have just lost their jobs. Classless.
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Feel free to whine about someone expressing their opinion. Ultimately, folks lose their jobs because they aren’t providing enough benefit to their employers. Clearly iHeart Media has been mismanaged from the top down, but there is a reason that these particular folks were let go. I, as a regular listen of KXNO, am looking forward to seeing what replaces these shows, because I didn’t find them to be very enjoyable. I gave props to one person in particular for keeping one show afloat. I also think Ross Peterson did a decent job. Andrew Downs, being a producer, I can’t comment on as much. The other three were not great, imo. One can be unimpressed with someone’s performance without attacking them or having any animosity for them personally. Many here attack a number of refs and announcers on a regular basis. We don’t do that on the basis of their character, but on the basis of their performance. Unless of course your name is Jamie Pollard, then you get attacked for acting like a 14 year old boy, yet the majority of the people on this list that broadcasted regularly defended him at every turn.
 
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I've been "displaced" from large companies more than once. I call it violent. And I often think its the lazy way out for companies. I recognize that companies have to evolve to survive. Some companies try other methods.

Some create a dead end career scenarios and hope the layoffs take care of themselves through natural attrition. Some employees cling and others figure it out and move on.

Some take half measures and layoff a little each year. This creates a lot of anxiety for the survivors...people wonder if they're next

Some do it big - sometimes with a notice that its coming and sometimes all at once out of the blue.

I hate to see people who lose their jobs when there are fewer such jobs ..like a game of musical chairs. Some are forced into a career change and it works out great. Others search for the same job and are fortunate, others not so much.

I've seen people recreate themselves and pivot to a new job. Others crash.
 
There is nothing good about getting laid off - looking for work absolutely sucks.

The most important lesson I will take away from my MBA studies at Iowa is to always have an exit strategy.

I have an exit strategy at work because I have been laid off or worked at companies that have been bought out.
 
I don't see how Des Moines can support three sports talk stations between 1460, 1700, and 1350. The sports market isn't exactly jam packed in Central Iowa, its just local college and minor league teams to talk about, and there are only so many local ad dollars for each station to chase. Since the awful Mouth of the Midwest guy quit a few years ago, there aren't any real crazy people doing it anymore. I am kind of amazed that guy even lasted as long as he did.
 
Great. Now I get to hear all about the Brooklyn Nets, the Carolina Panthers and the California Angels, or the Atlanta Hawks, the NY Jets and the Florida Marlins, or the Sacramento Kings, the Tennessee Titans and the Texas Rangers. That is compelling radio for Central Iowa. Can't wait.
 
BrianFerentzForPresident said:
Feel free to whine about someone expressing their opinion. Ultimately, folks lose their jobs because they aren’t providing enough benefit to their employers. Clearly iHeart Media has been mismanaged from the top down, but there is a reason that these particular folks were let go. I, as a regular listen of KXNO, am looking forward to seeing what replaces these shows, because I didn’t find them to be very enjoyable. I gave props to one person in particular for keeping one show afloat. I also think Ross Peterson did a decent job. Andrew Downs, being a producer, I can’t comment on as much. The other three were not great, imo. One can be unimpressed with someone’s performance without attacking them or having any animosity for them personally. Many here attack a number of refs and announcers on a regular basis. We don’t do that on the basis of their character, but on the basis of their performance. Unless of course your name is Jamie Pollard, then you get attacked for acting like a 14 year old boy, yet the majority of the people on this list that broadcasted regularly defended him at every turn.
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pretty much all I-Heart employees (thousands of them) who were let go were the on air hosts. All KXIC Radio employees let go were all on air. That station will now just be automated FOX News/Sports from now on. That is what I Heart is pretty much doing with all their stations in America, run automated satellite fed news, sports. You will hardly hear any local on air employees on I Heart stations.

Jim Doyne from WMT 600 AM was let go by I Heart the other day. That guy had been with WMT for decades!
 
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