News outlets are reporting that iHeartMedia, owner of the popular TK101, has laid off on-air talent nationwide as the company restructures its radio programming. Some have reported as many as 1,200 staff have been laid off.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, management sent employees a memo this week, outlining a need to speed up the sales process after building new tech capabilities over the past few years.
One local cut is Brian “Crash” Edwards—VP of Programming for iHeart Mobile/Pensacola, PD/afternoons on Active Rock WTKX (TK101), middays on Classic Rock WRKH (96.1 The Rocket), afternoons on KWNW (Rock 102)/Memphis, and VO talent & programmer of FloraBama Radio.
On Facebook, Steve Shannon with 95.3 The Bear in Tuscaloosa wrote: “The ongoing iHeart radio layoffs will go down as one of the largest if not the largest staff purges in radio history. Long time dedicated employees in many cases having their lives uprooted by greed. Some radio stations are being completely gutted to next to nothing in one swoop. We cannot even keep up with the number of names we’re hearing are affected. Safe to say there is NO LOCAL iheart radio left. Cookie cutter corporate radio. And if you remain, sadly your day is probably coming. Support your local community. Don’t listen to iheart & don’t advertise with iheart. You mean nothing to them.”
