Afternoon co-host Shari Elliker departed KIRO Newsradio in Seattle earlier this week as part of budget cuts at the Bonneville station. Her co-host, John Curley, addressed the situation after the announcement.
Curley took to his familiar afternoon timeslot with new co-host Jake Skorheim and talked about Elliker’s exit, stating it was always a pet peeve of his when changes were made in a station’s lineup or a format changed and no one ever talked about the situation on air.
“Shari is no longer the co-host. Jake comes in. There’s other people that are not going to be part of this show and part of the station. It’s the finances of the whole thing,” Curley said. “That happens when sales are down or people aren’t spending as much and the economy’s sort of in the shaky spot. So they look at it and they say, ‘Well, how much money do we have? Where can we spread the money around? Who are we going to keep or not keep?’ And that’s what happened.”
Shari Elliker joined KIRO in December 2021 after a long career in markets like Washington D.C. and Baltimore. And while John Curley was sad to see his co-host go, he shared that this departure is better than a previous one Elliker experienced in her career.
“It’s tough for Shari. I called her. I got a text from her, ‘I got fired.’ So I called her and then somebody else in management called me,” said Curley.
“The craziest story she ever told me. She’s been in radio for like more than 30-some years. She went to her boss. This is many, many, many, many, many years ago in another market. And she said, ‘I just have to know. I’m about to sign this mortgage. I’m about to buy this house. I have to know, and you could just be honest with me, it’s okay. We’ve known each other. Just tell me, because I know cuts are coming, am I safe? Am I safe? Because I have to know because if I buy this house, I have to know.’
“‘Oh, Shari. You’re fine. Don’t worry. Oh please.’ That was a Thursday. (She) comes in on a Monday or whatever. And she buys the house on Friday, and they let her go. And she said ‘Why don’t you tell me?’ I just couldn’t. We weren’t allowed to tell you and she’s like, but just as a human being … She’s like, ‘Oh my god.’ So, she has been through it all, ups and downs and all those steps. She knew.”
