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Post by seattlefollower on May 23, 2024 22:35:19 GMT -6
Even privately held companies and public radio have been forced to make some layoffs this year. While not showing in the Salt Lake - Ogden - Provo market, Alpha Media has virtually slashed on-air staff in midwestern rural markets, touting a "new strategy" and letting go people with decades of seniority and experience. Some of these communities lost their remaining local news reporting outlet with these changes.
Bonneville made some layoffs in Seattle. I don't know about elsewhere around the country.
KUOW-FM had to lay off 8 employees, the first in their history.
KQED was able to secure 9 buyouts but may need to lay off as many as 25 more. (Of note, they employ 387 people! I had no idea commercial radio could be so robust)
KPCC announced a buyout plan.
KCRW made staff reductions via buyouts and a programming cut.
Boston’s WBUR, Chicago Public Radio, WAMU in Washington DC, New York Public Radio, and CapRadio in Sacramento also were hit with layoff or buyout requests.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on May 24, 2024 6:17:05 GMT -6
According to reports this is only the start of the cuts at Alpha with more to come next week. The company got turned over to its creditors a few years ago and the creditors are at least looking at selling to foreign investors. I suspect an announcement around that will be coming in the not too distant future.
Non-commercial radio (which is what I assume you meant with KQED) is not necessarily non-profit or not-for-profit. But beyond that, even not-for-profit companies sometimes act just like their for-profit cousins. Case in point - Educational Media Foundation (K-Love/Air1) rakes in obscene amounts of money in donations and has for many many years, and their CEO made $770,000 in 2021. That sounds like Big Business to me.
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