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Disc jockeys out at local iHeartMedia stations

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Last edited 10:08 a.m., Jan. 23, 2020

At least three disc jockeys at local radio stations owned by San Antonio, Texas-based iHeartMedia Inc. (Nasdaq: IHRT) have been laid off.

Kevin Howard and Liz Delany, hosts of the morning show at 105.9 KGBX-FM, and George Spankmeister, a DJ for 97.3 KXUS-FM, have been booted, according to social media posts.

“Before you hear it elsewhere, the Kevin and Liz show was canceled as of today,” Delany wrote yesterday in a private Facebook post, which was provided to Springfield Business Journal. “I love this community, and I’ve been proud to serve it during these last 21 years. Thank you all for supporting us for so long.”

Reached via Facebook Messenger this morning, Spankmeister said his last day at iHeartMedia was Tuesday.

“The reason was a national restructuring that caused some of us to be ‘dislocated’ — their word, not mine,” he said.

The local layoffs were conduced after iHeartMedia officials announced Jan. 14 “a new organizational structure for its markets group as it modernizes the company to take advantage of the significant investments it has made in technology and artificial intelligence, and its unique scale and leadership position in the audio marketplace.” Following the news release, media reports began to surface nationwide about widespread job cuts.

Angel Aristone, a spokeswoman for iHeartMedia, provided a statement to Springfield Business Journal. She declined to comment on any local cuts or changes.

“During a transition like this, it’s reasonable to expect that there will be some shifts in jobs – some by location and some by function – but the number is relatively small given our overall employee base of 12,500,” the statement reads. “That said, we recognize that the loss of any job is significant; we take that responsibility seriously and have been thoughtful in the process.”

In addition to KGBX and US97, iHeartMedia also locally owns FM stations Alice 95.5 and The Wolf 100.5 and 1400-AM Fox Sports Springfield, according to its website.

IHeartMedia in 2018 filed for bankruptcy and exited proceedings in May 2019, cutting debt to $5.8 billion from $16 billion, according to a report from Barron’s.

Comments

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user36290

Big mistake. Kevin and Liz are the best!

Thursday, January 16, 2020
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