As the first quarter of the year came to a close, the end of the quarter has brought about staff reductions at some iHeartMedia clusters.
Coming two weeks after initiating cost savings that were “to do everything we can to get through this difficult economic time while protecting our employee base as much as possible,” cuts have taken place this week at iHeartMedia markets. The layoffs also extend throughout the company including their tech teams.
Among the known exits:
Birmingham
‘Dollar’ Bill Lawson will retire from mornings at Country “102.5 The Bull” WDXB. Lawson has anchored mornings at WDXB since 2002 wrapping up a nearly 50 year broadcast career.
Chicago
‘Johnnie D’ Glover exits as Program Director at Hip Hop 107.5 WGCI as his position was eliminated. Glover joined the cluster as APD of WGCI and Adult R&B “V103” WVAZ in June 2015 and rose to PD of WGCI in January 2017. Prior to joining the company he served as APD/Morning Show Producer at “V103” WVEE Atlanta and held roles at WQHT New York, WPWX Chicago, and WPHI Philadelphia.
Cincinnati
Justin ‘Dubs’ Johnson departs as Program Director of Rock 102.7 WEBN and Alternative “The Project 100.7/106.3” WEBN-HD2 and National Programming Group Brand Coordinator for Rock. Johnson has served as PD since 2012 after previously serving as producer for the Kidd Chris Show at “Project 96.1” WKLS Atlanta, producer of “The Ron & Fez Show” at WJFK Washington and co-host of “The Hideout” first at WJFK and then WTKS-FM Orlando.
Rachel Elliot also is out at WEBN as midday host. Elliot had been with WEBN since 2018 and had a previous stint in the cluster as Online Content Coordinator from 2012-15. In between she served as a digital host for Fox Sports Detroit. She also tracked middays for Classic Rock 100.7 WRDU Raleigh, nights at 100.1 WKQQ Lexington KY, and weekends on multiple other iHeart Rock and Classic Rock stations.
Cleveland
Ray Davis exits as Program Director of News/Talk 1100 WTAM after 25 years in the role and a total of 36 years at the station and predecessor WWWE.
Senior Account Executive Andrew Feit departs. Feit had been with the cluster for all but one year (when he worked for the company in Atlanta) since 1996.
Dallas
Dave Keiser is out as Vice President of Sales after six and a half years at the cluster. Keiser joined iHeart Dallas in August 2016 after previously serving as VP/Director of Sales for Emmis St. Louis from 2010-16 and a previously earlier stint as Account Manager and General Sales Manager for 94.7 KSHE from 1990 to 2005. He also spent five years as Local Sales Manager for Cox’s WSB Atlanta.
Detroit
Spike has exited CHR “Channel 95.5” WKQI’s “Mojo In The Morning” after over 23 years with the show. Spike joined the station for the launch of the morning show in February 2000 after previous stints at Alternative “105.1 The Edge” WXDG Detroit, “93.3 The Zone” KKZN Dallas and 103.9 WDRE Philadelphia
Huntington WV
Tracey Baumgard departs as Market President after 27 years including the last three and a half in her now former role. Baumgard worked for the cluster in multiple positions since 1996 including in promotions, traffic, accounting, and sales.
Judy Eaton has exited Country “TCR Country” 103.3 WTCR-FM after 33 years with the station.
Milwaukee
Shaun ‘Ridder’ Ridderbush has departed the “Ridder, Scott & Shannen” morning show at Country “FM 106.1” WMIL after nine years with the station.
Oklahoma City
Derrick Nance exits as Senior VP/Sales after over 35 years with the company. Nance began his career at 1000 KTOK as a traffic reporter and producer in 1987 before moving to sales. He rose to General Sales Manager in 1997 and SVP/Sales in 2003. Nance also served as President of Board of Directors for the National Association of State Radio Networks from 2000 to 2021.
Raleigh NC
Danny Meyers and Meghan Lamontagne have exited mornings at CHR “G105” WDCG. Meyers joined WDCG in February 2020 after previously serving as PD/morning host at Rhythmic AC “Movin 107.7” WMOV-FM Norfolk VA. Lamontagne joined the morning show last July after a couple months as a guest host.
Rochester NY
Rich ‘Rizzo’ Deaver and Jeff ‘Rat’ Daly have been let go as afternoon hosts at Hot Talk “Radio 95.1” WAIO Honeoye Falls after just over a year at the station. The duo joined WAIO in March 2022 after previously hosting mornings at MacDonald Garber Broadcasting CHR “106 KHQ” WKHQ-FM Traverse City MI. The duo also worked together at CHR “98.7 Amp Radio” WDZH Detroit where Daly co-hosted mornings and Deaver was the producer. Under the on-air name ‘Rat Boy’ and later just ‘Rat’, Daly also co-hosted afternoons at “Q102” WIOQ Philadelphia, and nights at 93.3 WFLZ Tampa with Josh ‘Puff’ Foreman. Rizzo previously hosted mornings at Classic Rock 94.3 WQCM Hagerstown MD and CHR “92.9 The Beat” KOSP Springfield MO. He was also part of “The Todd Show” on WPLJ New York under the on-air name ‘Meatballs’.
Salt Lake City
Frankie Corrigan and Jess Ferguson exit mornings at CHR “97.1 ZHT” KZHT. Corrigan led the morning show at KZHT since 1997, with Ferguson joining the show in 2005.
Tampa
Jack Harris was let go as morning host at News/Talk 970 WFLA ending his third stint at the station which started in 1993.
Sarah Lanieu departs as VP/Marketing & Promotions after five years with the cluster. Prior to her arrival in Tampa, Lanieu spent five years as Director of Marketing/Promotions for CBS Radio Miami and was also Marketing Director for WPXY Rochester and Promotions Director for WWHT Syracuse.