KFDI, 101.3-FM, lays off employees, including its most recognizable personality

KFDI, 101.3-FM, had layoffs almost two weeks ago. It was kept pretty quiet until news broke going into the weekend, and it reverberated for one chief reason: Carol Hughes.

Hughes was a staple at most country shows in the Wichita area in the past couple of decades.

“I have never seen a better ambassador for that radio station than Carol Hughes,” said Dan Dillon, the former news director who also could have been called one of the best former ambassadors for the station.

“Listeners loved her,” Dillon said. “Her contacts in the country music industry were unbelievable. They still are.”

SummitMedia owns KFDI. Summit general manager Todd Johnson wouldn’t comment on the layoffs or confirm the number.

Sources say the layoffs included Hughes, assignment editor Wil Day and one other employee who had been at the station only a matter of months.

Though his title was assignment editor, Day’s position basically was assistant news director. He’d been at the station about a dozen years over two stints.

Dillon, who left KFDI for the district attorney’s office seven years ago, hired Day. He called him a “hardworking news reporter who committed himself to covering the news and severe weather.”

Media outlets have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic due to reduced advertising. These cuts were a result of that, a source said.

Contributing: Denise Neil of The Eagle

This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 9:42 AM.