Talk radio is losing one of its sharpest programmers. KFI-AM 640 PD Robin Bertolucci is departing her role with the iHeartMedia Los Angeles news/talk station. The news comes on the same day that her husband Don Martin exits as Executive Vice President of Sports for iHeartMedia.
Bertolucci spent the past 22 years programming the venerable Los Angeles radio station. KFI has featured talk radio stars Bill Handel, John and Ken, Gary and Shannon, and Tim Conway Jr., just to name a few, and has been one of the strongest forces in all of talk radio. In addition to leading KFI, Bertolucci also oversaw The Patriot 1150 AM.
Under her tutelage, KFI AM-640 has routinely been a Marconi Award finalist in the News/Talk Station of the Year, Legendary Station of the Year, and Major Market Station of the Year categories, in addition to individual hosts and projects being nominated for the prestigious honors. She was twice voted the top Major Market Program Director in Barrett Media’s Top 20 of News/Talk Radio series.
“A thing that defines me is that I have been able to have a career and do it the way I want to and find a path that is uniquely my own,” told Barrett News Media during a 2023 profile interview. “When you help craft a station or help build a station that feels perfectly right for a community and would only work there and is unique to that place, that’s one of the things I am most proud of. KFI is a very special station, and I feel honored to work there and work with the people and continue to make it uniquely Southern California.”
Prior to moving to Los Angeles in 2002, Bertolucci worked for KGO in San Francisco and KOA in Denver. Her decision to exit comes on the heels of widespread layoffs at iHeartMedia. The company is in the midst of cutting 5% of its workforce.
In an internal memo, Bertolucci thanked everyone for an incredible 24 years. She told the team she was proud of them, and honored to have been able to work with everyone. To put it in perspective, she shared that when she arrived her son was in pre-school, and he is now 27 years old.
Bertolucci also pointed out the uniqueness of the KFI way, explaining that the brand has been a true outlier filled with talented people on air and behind the scenes. She expressed her appreciation for her time spent guiding the brand, and said she’s going to catch her breath before deciding what comes next.
iHeartMedia EVP of News/Talk and Sports programming Chris Berry is serving as the interim PD of KFI and KLAC in the interim.
Barrett Media congratulates Robin on an incredible run guiding KFI, and wishes her the very best moving forward.
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