Marty Lenz departed KOA 850 AM in Denver last year as part of the widespread cuts at iHeartMedia. He believes his departure wasn’t strictly a cost-cutting move.
Lenz spent eight years hosting Colorado’s Morning News, the morning show on the venerable iHeartMedia Denver news/talk station.
He was paired with Jeana Gondek in the daypart upon his exit. He was replaced in morning drive by Ross Kaminsky.
During an interview with the Colorado Times Recorder, Marty Lenz was asked about working in a straight-news environment at an outlet “so well known for its right-wing yappers.” Lenz said that he took the job seriously and valued the opportunity. But he believes that he and the company had differing views on what the show should be. And he believes that led to his departure.
“I was laid off during iHeart’s annual/semiannual reduction in force. While the official explanation cited cost-cutting … I believe other considerations were also at play,” said Lenz. “On several occasions, the current local leadership noted that our style of morning news program was uncommon within iHeart, hinting that changes might be forthcoming.
“When KOA removed my boss, Greg Foster, in 2022, our corporate news leaders came in to meet with us. Toward the end of my individual meeting, one of the managers suggested there were things we could do to keep KOA a conservative news outlet,” Lenz continued. “I immediately shot back, ‘We are not conservative news. We are not liberal news — we are news.’ I don’t recall his response; I was stunned by his perspective. Looking back now, I see it as a bit of foreshadowing.”
Marty Lenz added that his departure represented “a significant loss of institutional knowledge.”
“Aside from one or two remaining hosts, few, if any, share my longstanding ties to the market,” he concluded.
Lenz joined KOA after previously working at KCBS in San Francisco. At the time of the layoffs, Lenz was reportedly the only member of the iHeartMedia Denver staff to exit.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
