Some of Southwest Florida’s most popular radio personalities are off the air after a wave of national layoffs at iHeartMedia.
Local layoffs include longtime Kix Country morning personality Todd Matthews and the entire crew of 105.5 The Beat morning program “The Freakshow” with hosts Brian “Flyin Brian” Jameson, Nicole Hernandez and DJ Rifik.
“After 25 years at 105.5 The Beat and working with iHeart Media in Ft. Myers, I was informed that yesterday was my last day,” Jameson wrote June 24 on Facebook. “It has been a LOT of fun and I hold no ill will towards the company. I was a number on a page and it wasn’t personal. …
“25 years is a long time to be on one station, and it was an incredible run. To anyone I ever worked with, I thank you. You helped me propel The Freakshow to the top of the ratings for two and a half decades, and I can’t thank you enough. To anyone who’s ever listened to me, I thank you too! I have talked to generations of listeners, numbering in the millions over the years.”
33-year career ends for Kix Country radio personality — at least for now
Kix Country’s Matthews lost his job after more than three decades on Southwest Florida radio. He also hosted middays at FM station Seaview 104.9 and afternoons at 95.3 FM The Beach.
Matthews called the layoff “a shock.” Especially since he had the longest-running country-music morning show in Southwest Florida, “Matthews in the Morning,” which he says ran continuously for 33 years at Kix Country.
“I’ve been generating some pretty good revenue for the stations that I was on,” the Port Charlotte resident said. “So that caught me a bit off guard.”
He hopes to eventually get on the radio again, but he says that may take a while — at least six months or more. Like most people in the radio business, he signed a contract with a non-compete clause, which forbids him from working for a competing radio station for a specified length of time.
So now Matthews is looking at other options for work.
“I’m trying to find what the next opportunity might be…” he said. “I’m not sure about a radio future. I’m not ruling that out. But you know how it is when something as major as this happens. Your mind goes one way one day, one way the next day.”
It’ll be hard adjusting to life after 33 years in radio, he said. And he’s still getting used to the concept.
“It’s a major life change after so long…” he said. “It’s been a truly remarkable run that I will just miss terribly.”
iHeart Media layoffs affect Fort Myers, Port Charlotte radio stations
The Texas-based iHeartMedia owns and operates hundreds of broadcast radio stations across the United States. In Southwest Florida, that includes FM stations 105.5 The Beat, 95.3 The Beach, Magic 100.1, Cat Country 107.1, KIX 92.9 and four more stations.
The layoffs are part of a major restructuring and cost-cutting effort for iHeart’s programming operations. They happened last week across the country and affected many stations and employees.
It’s unclear how many iHeart employees were laid off locally. Lisa Ballance, market president overseeing iHeartMedia’s Fort Myers and Port Charlotte area radio stations, didn’t immediately return a June 29 email requesting comment.
According to a June 23 memo to iHeartMedia employees, the layoffs were designed to make the company faster and more adaptable, build a stronger product for listeners and change how iHeart programs its stations to “reward and develop … (the company’s) leading and up-and-coming talent.” The memo was sent from Tom Poleman (chief programming officer and president of iHeartMedia) and Ann Marie Licata (CEO of the iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group).
“We have given this a great deal of thought and do not take this step lightly,” said the internal memo, published by the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, radioINSIGHT and other news websites. “We are deeply grateful for the contributions of those affected, and we’re committed to supporting them through this transition.
“At every step, our commitment remains the same: To build a stronger, more connected audio platform built on the strength of our broadcast radio assets, and combining our commitment to the communities we serve with the scale of our technology and the authenticity and creativity of our people.”
The memo continued by saying: “Faster is better, and that’s the goal of our changes. With that in mind, we’ve built new tech capabilities over the last several years that have enabled us to both deepen our relationships with the listeners and communities who depend on us and improve the support we provide to our sellers.
“We’re now moving to scale this approach, implementing structural changes within our Programming organization and expanding responsibilities for key leaders.”
‘The Freakshow’ hosts talk about layoffs, what’s next
“The Freakshow” broke the bad news to its listeners June 24 with a post on Facebook and Instagram:
“After almost 25 of rocking mornings at 105.5 The Beat, The Freakshow has been let go from iHeart Media and is off the air,” the show wrote. “We were assured it had nothing to do with our performance, and we hold no ill will.
“What I REALLY wanted to do here was to say THANK YOU! Thank you for almost 25 years of listening to us, coming to our live events and making mornings FUN! We have a LOT to be proud of….amazing ratings, tons of live shows — and the most important part has been getting to make you laugh and hopefully make your morning commute better.”
“The Freakshow’s” Nicole Hernandez joked on Instagram that she’s somehow entered her “temporary housewife era” with lots of time watching Bravo and hanging out by the swimming pool.
“This is just a pit stop, not the destination,” she wrote. “For now, expect polls, questionable life updates, and me pretending my errands are scenes from a reality show. I’ve gone from morning radio to morning coffee on the couch, and honestly… the ratings are strong.”
“The Freakshow’s” Jameson wrote on Facebook that he’s proud of the work he did at The Beat and he looks forward to whatever’s next.
“Now begins something new,” he said. “What that will be, who knows? For now I am going to focus on family and take a break. (After) 25 years of waking up at 3AM, I think I could use a rest for a minute.
“I am at ease and very calm, and I know everything will work out — and probably even better than before! Every time I’ve had a setback in life, it’s always led to better. I’m a firm believer in that. Thank you all for your incredible support and I love you all.”
Jameson and the rest of The Freakshow’s hosts didn’t immediately respond to Facebook and Instagram messages seeking comment for this article.
Matthews says he’s grateful for all 33 years he’s worked on the air in Southwest Florida.
“I’ve built so many amazing long-term relationships with listeners, colleagues and business leaders,” he said in an email. “My proudest moments came from serving the community, in particular after Charley and Ian.
“My most fervent hope is to one day find my way back to sharing laughs, conversation and good times with my old friends.”
iHeartMedia memo to radio employees about layoffs
Here’s the full memo sent to iHeartMedia employees, according to Billboard:
Hi all,
As the number one company in audio, our business model is to build engaged relationships with listeners and then monetize those relationships. Our business success is built on putting our listeners and our communities first ― and in support of that mission, we’re now taking an important step that will move us further into the future: Evolving how we program our stations to reward and develop our leading and up-and-coming talent.
What sets us apart as a company is our dedication to creating new opportunities for our top personalities, making sure ‘Guaranteed Human’ is at the core of everything we do. Real voices and real talent strengthen our real connection and commitment to our communities.
We also know that our sellers need faster and easier to use information about our programming, talent and audiences. Faster is better, and that’s the goal of our changes. With that in mind, we’ve built new tech capabilities over the last several years that have enabled us to both deepen our relationships with the listeners and communities who depend on us and improve the support we provide to our sellers. We’re now moving to scale this approach, implementing structural changes within our Programming organization and expanding responsibilities for key leaders.
These moves are designed to:
While we will be creating new roles to support our future needs, we also recognize that some colleagues and existing positions will be impacted as part of these changes. We have given this a great deal of thought and do not take this step lightly; we are deeply grateful for the contributions of those affected, and we’re committed to supporting them through this transition.
At every step, our commitment remains the same: To build a stronger, more connected audio platform built on the strength of our broadcast radio assets, and combining our commitment to the communities we serve with the scale of our technology and the authenticity and creativity of our people.
Ann Marie and Tom
— Reporter Charlie Whitehead contributed to this story.
Charles Runnells covers arts and entertainment for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 or email crunnells@usatodayco.com. Follow or message him on Facebook(@charles.runnells.7), Instagram (@crunnells1) and X (@CharlesRunnells).
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Popular Southwest Florida radio hosts off air after iHeart layoffs
Reporting by Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
