iHeartMedia recently instituted another round of layoffs affecting programming staffers around the nation after reporting $910 million in losses in the second quarter alone. For the most part, the news/talk format genre was relatively unscathed. That is, except for WTAM 1100 late morning host Jimmy Malone, who exited after spending just over two years hosting on the Cleveland news/talk station.
A Cleveland radio legend, after spending more than 30 years hosting a talk show in morning drive, Malone took over the 9:00 AM timeslot previously occupied by Geraldo Rivera in 2022.
Malone’s one-hour show was a continuation of local programming for the station before into national syndication with The Glenn Beck Program and The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. And that opportunity to have conversations about local issues was one Malone relished. After finding out about his exit, Malone shared he was most disappointed by not being able to share the news with the community he built in the daypart.
“I thought that after almost 35 years in the community, it would have been nice to say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna end your show, but we want to let you say goodbye’,” Malone said. “That would have been nice. But I wasn’t afforded that … I had been a pretty loyal employee, and they chose to handle it differently. So I’ll just have to move on.”
Jimmy Malone is a self-professed “woke liberal.” As you might expect from a station airing shows hosted by Glenn Beck and Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, he didn’t exactly fit the mold for what WTAM 1100 listeners were expecting to hear on their station. He admitted the situation could be awkward at times because of the difference in how his show was styled compared to previous iterations.
“In the past, I was always able to interact with my listeners. But in this situation there were a lot of people – and I’m not even saying if they were right or wrong – that, because the station was so right-wing, didn’t want me there,” Malone said. “It would have been too risky to take phone calls. I didn’t want to have a show where I’m arguing with people. Some of the emails and texts were pretty vicious. But that’s part of life these days.”
He freely admitted he would have rather been in a different situation rather than walking into the proverbial lion’s den each weekday at 9 AM.
“I was trying to make the best of the situation that was in front of me,” he shared. “I didn’t talk politics. Very rarely did I talk politics. I didn’t try to take phone calls. I developed, and I was enjoying it a lot, and I was interviewing a lot of great authors, a lot of great journalists and trying to do a show where I could entertain and inform the community in ways that don’t get a lot of attention anymore. We had built up quite a following of authors and journalists and present community-type stuff, and I feel good about it, so I’m still proud of what I accomplished there, but I just wish it had ended a little differently.”
After spending more than three decades in commercial radio, it would be easy to question what the future might hold for Jimmy Malone. He joked that he’ll have the time to decide what the next opportunity looks like for his radio career.
“Without saying too much, I’m sure there’ll be other opportunities in radio,” Malone stated. “I’m lucky that I wasn’t like two years into the business with no savings, so I’m able to do some things differently if necessary. But if the right opportunity comes along, I’d love to still be a voice in the community. And if it doesn’t come along, I’ll be grateful for the 30-something years that I had. Most don’t get that opportunity.”
With WTAM 1100 ending The Jimmy Malone Show, it will give the Cleveland host more time to focus on his scholarship fund. The college scholarships are awarded to Cleveland-area students with financial need who have a positive outlook on life and who have been accepted at an accredited college. More than 300 students have been helped by the fund Malone established in 1993, with recipients featuring an 85% graduation rate. Currently, 75 students receive four-year scholarships from the Jimmy Malone Scholarship Program.
“That’s my passion,” he said. “I might just want to spend more time mentoring the students. I get a lot out of that.”
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
