Update: RIFs at Total Traffic and the grounding of "KFI in the Sky"

 

While we were out of town last week, we'd been hinted the 2024 edition of layoffs at iHeart Media were not yet completed. We can confirm the latest changes involve their Total Traffic & Weather Service (TTWN) which also is affiliated with their "24 / 7 News" which now feeds KFI and other iHeart stations from a regional hub.

Twenty-eight year TTFN veteran Mike O'Brien is among those who were laid off from Total Traffic. He most recently served as the afternoon airborne reporter for "KFI in the Sky." He is a native of the Inland Empire, a graduate of Redlands High School. The Riverside resident also studied at Saddleback College and California Baptist University. O'Brien previously provided traffic reports for country station 95.1 K-FROG (KFRG) as "Commander Kermit," before heading to all-news KNX and later KFI.

Nick Pagliochini was "the traffic guy" for KFI's "Wake Up Call," Bill Handel's morning show, the Gary (Hoffman) and Shannon (Farren) midday program, plus Ellen K's morning show at sister station KOST. He had been part of iHeart Media for over 16 years. Pagliochini was also heard periodically on a weekly segment during the "Later with Mo'Kelly" show, where he provided information on Friday nights about what to do during the upcoming weekend. He started with TTWN in 2007 as a news anchor for Salem Media's KRLA and KTIE-Riverside, bofore heading to iHeart's The Patriot 1150 (KEIB). Other local stations he's been heard on include KIIS-FM, ALT 98.7 (KSYR), REAL 92.3 (KRRL) and K-EARTH 101 (KRTH), plus KCAL-FM-Riverside.

Bruce Wayne, the original "KFI in the Sky" reporter

At press time, Will Kohlschreiber will still provide traffic reports for KFI, but all of TTWN's airborne reporting has been grounded. This will be the first time in over 60 years that there will be no airborne traffic reports on SoCal radio, which was pioneered in the SoCal skies by Captain Max Schumacher with "KMPC Airwatch" in 1961.

For AM 640, it started with Bruce Wayne providing traffic news for Lohman and Barkley from "KFI in the Sky," later adding KOST to his reports.Wayne was killed in 1986 when his small engine plane crashed at Fullerton Airport. He was succeeded by Mike Nolan, who provided news and traffic reports for both KFI and KOST for 28 years before retiring in 2014. Another who flew "KFI in the Sky" was Jeff Baugh, who offered an airborne view for six years until his passing in 2023.

In total, we've learned there were 10 people, both on- and off-the-air personnel, who were released from TTFN, adding to the 13 members of the KFI newsroom who were downsized last month, plus other layoffs within iHeart Media headquarters in Burbank from on-air, off-air, and sales positions.

We'll let you know what else we learn as we gather more information. If you  have anything you'd like to share, either on- or off-the-record, please reach out at ayodaradio@gmail.com.