‘Terrible shape’: Calgary morning hosts caught in radio layoffs wave

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A pair of in style morning hosts at a Calgary music radio station are amongst a slew of airwaves layoffs in western Canada, with one saying it’s the signal of an ailing business.

After six years on mornings on 95.3 Wild FM and extra not too long ago at its sister station 101.5 As we speak Radio, Jessica Hoy and Bobby Might, often known as Jess and Bo, stated Wednesday they’ve been let go by the station, owned by Pattison Media.

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In an Instagram publish, Might stated for the previous two months he’d been planning to depart the station in mid-March however that his departure was sped up by his employer.

And he didn’t mince phrases in regards to the form his business finds itself in — a actuality he stated led to the layoffs.

“Radio is in horrible form with the present CEOs and shareholders at hand nationwide and I HATE to see my coworkers go down with it,” stated Might, who’s been on radio for a complete of 17 years.

“These extremely proficient and exhausting working individuals don’t deserve this nevertheless it’s the enterprise now. Skills have sadly change into only a quantity on a bit of paper.”

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His co-host Hoy stated in a Fb publish their departure was an abrupt one.

“I’ll miss so many issues about our present, the listeners we chatted with day by day, the co-workers we had in our nook and having the ability to pay my payments,” she wrote.

“We actually did love attending to know you. We want we might have stated a correct goodbye.”

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And there was at the very least one layoff prior to now week at different rock station X92.9 with Matt Berry, its director of music and music equipment being let go after 15 years there.

“It was a time full of enormous laughs, lifelong pals, unimaginable music, a couple of drinks, and recollections I’ll cherish for a lifetime,” Berry stated on Fb.

X92.9 proprietor Harvard Media didn’t reply to a request for remark as of late Wednesday afternoon.

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Pattison Media President Rod Schween wouldn’t say what number of jobs have been axed however stated a variety of its radio stations in western Canada, together with Calgary’s 95.3 and 101.5 have been impacted.

“We’ve had modifications at each of our Calgary stations however I can say it’s lower than three per cent of our general workforce,” stated Schween.

“Sadly, we’ve received a mix of weak nationwide promoting revenues and a few stations combating rankings and we don’t see a few of that altering shortly.”

He stated each Calgary stations had fallen under the top-five rated slots within the metropolis.

“We’re not as robust as we have been prior to now and it’s impacted our monetary outcomes,” stated Schween.

There are not any plans within the works, he stated, to alter the musical codecs of the 2 stations, that are nation and combined modern for 95.3 and 101.5 respectively.

Mounting competitors which means a greater variety of reports and leisure selections are on the root of the corporate’s challenges, stated Schween.

“I want it was nonetheless the glory days however we nonetheless firmly consider within the medium — there are many optimistic issues on the market within the business,” he stated.

“All the pieces has to alter and evolve and that’s exhausting.”

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

X (Twitter): @BillKaufmannjrn

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