Kentucky Sports Radio host and founder Matt Jones is on his second week of furlough from iHeartMedia as part of COVID-19 caused spending reductions.
KSR is syndicated by iHeart on more than 40 affiliates around the state. Jones signed a five-year contract extension with iHeart in November, shortly after announcing he would not challenge Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Last week, Jones returned from the furlough on Tuesday, after he and iHeart agreed it was important to address the civil unrest in Louisville and throughout the country. Jones’ brief return was for one show only, but the radio host is expected to be back for good next week.
In April, iHeartMedia reduced salaries of its top management and furloughed non-essential staff, attempting to save around $250 million to combat the financial ramifications of a global pandemic. The company also announced employees making more than $50,000 a year would be required to take two weeks of “unpaid vacation” before the end of 2020. This was after an earlier massive round of layoffs by iHeart, which impacted as many as 1,000 employees unrelated to COVID-19 in January.
Although iHeart called it “unpaid vacation,” Jones has referred to the two weeks with less of a sugarcoat, calling it a furlough.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
