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Update: Local iHeart layoffs

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  We'd heard about another round of layoffs happening across the iHeart stations nationally, there are at least two changes we're now aware of. One is the end of the Mo' Kelly evening program on KFI. His producer, Tawala Sharp , confirmed this on social media : "All Good Things Come To An End" And, with extreme pride in everything we did, comes the announcement that our program, "Later, with Mo'Kelly", has come to an end on KFI AM640. I truly appreciate every hour, minute & second spent creating greatness with @mrmokelly, Trust and believe, this was simply a business decision for iHeartMedia Inc. & iHeartRadio. Nothing personal. But I believe that this moment in time came to an end because the Most High said so, and because I trust in the Creator's guiding hand I will continue to walk in the light and ease on down the yellow brick road the Most High has laid and will continue to lay before me. Borm Morris W. O'Kelly, the radio and TV ...

We're back -- and not AI generated!

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                                                                   The team in Nanao, Japan after a day of cleanup work. (click on any photo to enlarge) Hello again, I know it’s been awhile. I’m a teacher, so consider I was on summer break and am now back for the new semester. Shameless plug, if you’re interested in how I spent part of my summer, please take a look at my other blog, ayoda.tumblr.com or ayodanoto.blogspot.com – but let’s get back to the airwaves. Jed "the Fish" Gould, Wink Martindale Much happened this past summer, which we hope to say something about in the ensuing days and weeks to come. These include the passing of Jed “the Fish” Gould and Wink Martindale , the departing words of KROQ’s Nicole Alvarez , more changes with Saul Levine and his stations, among other stori...

Another brief hiatus

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  We're now in Ishikawa, Japan doing our (somewhat) annual volunteer trip to help out with disaster relief efforts. More details available at either ayoda.tumblr.com or ayodanoto.blogspot.com. Back online soon with some reflections on some significant changes in the LA radio market. Stay tuned! ayodaradio@gmail.com

Update: Rob Archer out at KNX

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  We just learned that now-former KNX afternoon anchor Rob Archer  has been let go by Audacy, along with two members of the station's digital staff. He made the announcement on his LinkedIn page : The future, as they say, is wide open. Some personal news: I'm no longer with KNX. After 10 good years, it's hard to say goodbye to so many talented friends and colleagues. Ironically—or maybe poetically—this Saturday marks my 45th anniversary in radio. So yes, I’ve been here before. More soon. Archer is a native of Florida. He told Don Barrett  about his start in radio:  When I was 16, my dad announced it was time for me to learn the value of money, so he started charging me rent. I lined up two jobs: one at the drug store, and one at the local Country station, WSWN/fm. I took the radio job so I wouldn't have to work in a stock room loading heavy boxes. Within a few months I was doing afternoon drive, after school. Eventually I performed every job at the station, except en...

LA and ICE protests -- when is / isn't the news?

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Over the weekend, we took advantage of free Metro rides to visit Little Tokyo, specifically on Saturday night. We had a delightful time, leaving around 7 p.m. When we got home, I turned on the TV to watch the local news. Suffice to say, we left Little Tokyo just in time. Jason Armond, LA Times In a major market such as Los Angeles, both radio and TV generally do an admirable job with breaking news. The past weekend's protests about local immigration raids was a rapidly evolving story. By Sunday, the LA stations were providing wall-to-wall coverage. But at least on the radio, it wasn't perfect. Rebecca Ellis, LA Times Tuning in Sunday morning, as expected the two major news outlets, KNX and KFI, were providing continuous coverage particularly when fires broke out and freeways were being blocked. Not unexpectely, the Dean of local radio journalists, Pete Demitriou , was leading the KNX team coverage (and taking an indirect shot of pepper spray). He was joined by John Baird and Em...