Wichita radio stations lose three DJs as part of nationwide iHeartMedia restructuring
Wichita lost three on-air personalities during the nationwide iHeartMedia layoffs that stripped many radio stations across the country of local on-air personalities and other employees on Tuesday.
Locally, one full-time and two part-time on-air personalities were let go, said Don Pollnow, the market president for iHeartMedia Wichita, which includes four radio stations: Channel 96.3, 102.1 The Bull, B-98 FM and Alt 107.3.
Although he said he could not comment on the layoffs, Pollnow did say that it could have been worse in Wichita.
“We weren’t affected nearly as much as some of the other markets,” he said.
Among those affected were Manny Cowzinski, a longtime local disc jockey who got his start on Wichita radio in 1990 as an on-air personality and assistant program director for KKRD, 107.3-FM. He had been with iHeartMedia for more than six years and had an afternoon on-air shift at ALT 107.3 and an evening shift on 102.1 The Bull.
“I enjoyed my time at iHeart and have gained lots of friends along the way,” he said on Wednesday.
Also gone: Larry Allen, who had served as a weekend host on B-98-FM since 1994, and Ashley Gray, who was the midday host on ALT 107.3.
The layoffs were all over the news on Tuesday as iHeartMedia announced a “new organizational structure” and “technology transformation” for its company, the largest owner of radio stations in the country.
In April of last year, iHeart station B-98 dismissed its morning show team Adam “Lukas” Cox and his co-host Careth Beard as well as program director and afternoon disc jockey Dave Wilson. The station replaced Cox and Beard with a nationally syndicated morning show based in Louisiana called “Murphy, Sam & Jodi.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 2:05 PM.
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