Bloodbath at Bonneville: 'the big [email protected]' is toast; 7 laid off

The Mormon Church, (LDS) who owns KIRO and KTTH, dropped $40 million promoting the anti-gay marriage Prop 8 which passed last week in California.

Yet KIRO's Murrow award-winning Big Story @ 6, Tony Miner's long-form news show, has been cancelled. We now get an hour more from the puerile Ron & Don m-f, 3-7p).

Five full time employees were laid off: four of whom were were in the newsroom. They were reporter/blogger Jim Valley; reporter Jeff Pojula; traffic reporter and weekend news anchor Eric Kirchener, (who still works mornings at King 5); engineer - Jim Tharp, and a desk editor named Joe.

Part-timers, Mike "Brownie" Brown, and a control room guy also got the axe. I didn't recognize the other's name so I'm guessing he worked with Seahawks or as a "control room technician" aka board operator.

The loss of The Big Story is especially sad and a blow to quality AM programming in Seattle.But it's not the first cut-back, recently. Nineteen staffers were shown the door when the simulcast was announced at the end of July.

It won't be the last cutback; staffers left on the Bonneville stations (KIRO, KIROFM, and KTHH) are said to be nervovery nervous these days.

Too bad they saw couldn't see fit to invest more in saving quality news in Seattle than denying rights to people in California.

Comments

[Mike Barer]

The Silver lining is that we don't have to hear Dori Monson in Prime time on "talk shots"

[KSO]

Sad day in Seattle radio. BTW, unfortunately California Prop 8 passed.

[john]

Did you say prop 8 was defeated last week? Just another in your long list of "typos"...Darcy is not a liar, etc.

[Ryder]

This is horrible!

I have never heard a better radio news show than Tony's. None. Period. I don't ever want to hear KIRO brag about it's news department again.

Never.

Is KIRO to become nothing more than talk? Almost as bad is that it seems they have brought in Peter Wiseback or whatever the bleep his name is. I don't knoww about the rest of you but I have become totally sick of talk radio. All they do is bitch and moan.

If Osama Bin-Laidup and his boys want to vaporize that place it won't hurt my feelings much.

But getting rid of the best news cast on radio? Unlike NPR at least Tony was interesting.

I'm ranting aren't I......

And rambling................

C'mon Osama, do your thing!

Next thing ya know, Cisco will be gone.

But not the idiots. I bet the idiots start going back to the shock style.

I'm still rambling aren't I.

Okay, I'll quit.

Maybe KOMO will hire Tony.

Me, I like rabbits............

[Jo]

I was SO excited when I heard a voice that wasn't Dori's when I tuned when progressive talk wasn't coming in clearly - and then they said "filling in for Dori" and I was so disappointed - any chance he was sick and they will tell him tomorrow????

[AuthenticAndrew]

Ron and Don still suck. I turned them on the other day for a minute to hear another one of their fake arguments in which Don "Ron" O'Neil illogically insisted that some football player's act of celebration with a black and white glove somehow mattered to anyone anywhere. And it went on and on, ten minutes later, same non-topic. And that's the last I ever heard of them.

TBTL is what is wrong with America. I liked it in the begining but their sworn oath to pay attention to their navels, worship celebrity, condemn the un-cool and ignore anything that matters to adults has sealed that show's fate for me. With or without ratings, TBTL says something very awful about Seattle culture and modern thought.

[trickydick]

Marriage is a right? Or are you saying it's a right now that it is defined and slated to be added to their constitution and that because it was defined to what was traditionally known to be marriage that it violates gay peoples right to co-opt it? Democracy at work...

[Tim]

Get rid of Dave Ross.

Boring.

[Sclub]

Prop. 8 doesn't have a damn thing to do with KIRO layoffs and you know it.

Radio layoffs are happening everywhere, everyday, all over the place.

[joanie]

That's a pretty big cut it seems to me. Now I guess we know why they simulcast on FM? Cost cutting?

Also, sorry to see Valley and Brown go. I liked both of them on air.

[Ken]

Good try at bringing in Prop 8, which is not related in any way to the current economy, local or national.
Dave Ross - Keep
Dori Monson - Keep
(Good balance of two opposing views)
Ron and Don - OK, don't listen.
TBTL - best evening show on the Radio.
GET RID OF PHIL HENDRIE. Worst show ever on radio!

[AuthenticAndrew]

Prop 8 made Mormons 40 million dollars poorer. Mormons own KIRO. Follow the money as they say.

[Fornax]

It is absurd to bring in Mormon support of Prop. 8 into this discussion and shows how little most posters here know about the radio business. KIRO is owned by Bonneville International Corporation which is in turn owned by the LDS Church. Bonneville is probaby the only radio group owner with dry powder, actual cash to spend. Look for Bonneville to buy more radio stations as prices drop in the future. Bonneville being church-owned has probably contributed to the company being less likely loot and pillage the local community than the big broadcast groups. Not that it was anything commendable, but the LDS Church spending $40M to support Prop 8 (which did pass, nitwit) is chump change and not likely to noticed by any single church-owned property. While a complete listing is private, we do know through Deseret Management Corporation the church manages investments in radio and television stations, investment and insurance companies, book publishers and stores, a newspaper, Hawaiian real estate and residential and commercial properties in Utah. Bonneville has tried to manage each radio property/cluster as a stand alone profit center. Look what's going on in the broadcast industry. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, salaries cut. With Seattle advertising way off, cutting 5 full time employees (no disrespected intended to the cut) is really very minor.

[Mike Barer]

Everyone missed Michael's point. He pointed out the money LDS run Bonneville may have spent on Prop 8, juxtapose with the lay-off at KIRO and "The Truth"

[Fornax]

No Mike, his point is off base. It's not the same money. The stations and ultimately the corporation stand on their own. The money the church uses for its misguided activism is not co-mingled with other corporate entities. (and we know what they think about co-mingling!) It's much more sophisticated financially than one big Mormon piggy bank. I do agree with you that less Dori Monson anywhere is a good thing.

[OhGeez]

What a sore whiner that started this thread.
Layoffs are happening everywhere in media. Radio, TV, newspaper etc. If you have a problem McDonald's stock is up. They could use another patty flipper.
If people have a problem with Prop 8, go after the judges that overturned the will of the people the fist time. This problem goes back to 2000. The LDS are only a part of it, out of many other organizations and people.

[ironsides]

Talk about blather! Who is the idiot who wrote the lead-in to this blog? Prop 8 won! Have you seen the news lately? have you seen all the homosexuals raging in the streets? It is because they lost.

[Former Bonneville Board Op]

Sad to see Eric go. Very professional guy. It was nice working with him. Great people and station manager. Hate to see people getting laid off in this economy. Wish we (Bonneville and myself) could have come together better. Some people get to go out the way they wanted to go out and I got that opportunity...thanks Bonneville!

[jt]

Yap all you want about getting rid of this show and that - have you ever heard of RATINGS people? Sub-par shows get rid of themselves - via Arbitron.

[Byron]

With the size of staff that they have at Bonneville, I expect there will be more cuts prior to the New Year, and not just at Bonnevile.

Since the economy seems to be getting worse, and little chance for recovery especially in 2009, watch for the cuts to continue at Fisher and CBS. Unfortunately they won't cut at the well-into-six figure corporate level of salaries.

[Ralphus]

KIRO does talk radio? hmm... Tony who? hmm... who cares?

But I AM GLAD prop 8 passed. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

For morning radio, try national Glen Beck or local Kirby Wilbur.

[ed calvert]

Well maybe when Mariner baseball starts it will hopefully cut into the last hour of Don and Ron

Top story at 6 was a welcome diversion to the daylong callins and discussions about nothinism

[GreedyBast*rd]

Typical liberal thinking. They know how to spend other people's money better than those who have/made it.

[Mungo]

I'll miss Brownie.

[AuthenticAndrew]

GreedyBastard are you saying people with lots of money have superior judgement in matters of morality?

[waldo]

There will be no cutting off Ron and Don....Mariners are set to announce their 710 all-sports format, where the M's will live next season. R & D will stay on FM for full shifts. Too bad!

[ABM]

What they should of done is get rid of the WORST program in the history of radio (NOT TBTL)-the Ron & Don show, Phil Henry & run news form 7pm to 4am

[listener]

Bring Mike Webb back!...He's what!?! Ooops, sowwy!

[KS]

Sounds like Dave, TBTL and maybe Dori and Ron and Don (who have done sports in the past) are all getting the ax around April 1, if the report about KIRO-AM going to an all-sports talk format and taking over for KJR in the sports talk arena.

What about 97.3 FM though ? I'll miss Bob Brinker from the AM side if this comes to pass. However, KXL has separated the AM from the FM in Portland - where the FM side does the sports coverage now. Maybe similar for KIRO except the AM side does the sports.

[Doc Ron]

Great to have him back. Haven't missed several who have left KVI. Great to have Pastor Pete back.

[D.C.]

I think Mike Webb & Ron&Don would have gotten along splendidly.

[Cheap taobao agent]

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.