It was a normal Tuesday in June for KXnO program director Sean Roberts. The day began in the office before a live broadcast that afternoon at a new Qdoba location in west Des Moines, Iowa, with co-host Lucas Strain. The station Roberts had overseen since becoming program director the previous June was in a strong position. The fall ratings book had every program at or near the top of its target demographics.
Everything appeared on track for another successful football season. Then came a Tuesday Roberts won’t soon forget. Another round of layoffs at iHeartMedia would affect not only him, but every live and local program on the KXnO roster.
“To be honest, I was shocked by the timing of it all,” says Roberts. “It all started happening while we were on the air live on location. I got a text from somebody that they got let go. Then another text and another. That’s when I knew what was happening. I knew the last hour of the show. As soon as we’re off the air we’d be getting the phone call and that’s what happened.”
Roberts and his entire on-air staff became casualties of iHeartMedia’s latest round of layoffs. The cuts came as the station celebrated its 25th anniversary while continuing to promote live, local programming centered on Iowa’s college sports teams rather than major professional franchises.
A Second Time Around
The journey for Roberts at KXnO began in 2012 as an intern. Over the years, he filled nearly every role at the station, where, he said, every cubicle and studio was occupied by people eager to serve Des Moines listeners. Today, Roberts said, that building sits nearly empty.
“I love that radio station. The call letters didn’t cause this. KXnO has nothing to do with this,” said Roberts. “The second I got the phone call, I knew this chapter of my life is done. I went back to the building and cleaned out my office and walked out knowing that walking out was my last time walking out of the building that I grew to love.”
This wasn’t the first time Roberts had been laid off from KXnO. In 2020, iHeartMedia included him in another round of job cuts. Following an immediate and vocal response from listeners, the company reversed course and allowed local management to rehire Roberts and five other KXnO personalities.
Following the layoffs in June, Roberts never believed another reversal was coming.
“This was a nail in the coffin. Honestly, if there was an offer to re-hire, I wouldn’t have gone back,” said Roberts. “I was at peace with it and made that decision pretty quickly… I was part of 2020 and felt that if that were to happen again, I would turn it down. I’m not going to go through all that again. It wasn’t worth it for me.”
As the news began filtering in through text messages from staff members and colleagues, Roberts and Strain maintained their composure on the air. Roberts said the final hour of the show was incredibly difficult as they worked to manage their emotions while delivering the same level of content listeners expected.
Roberts said he never saw the layoffs coming and wasn’t part of the meetings that determined the scope of the cuts.
The Day After….
The following day should have been a celebration. Ken Miller was preparing to host his final show on KXnO while commemorating the 30th anniversary of helping bring sports talk radio to Iowa. Instead, Miller chose to sit out his final show in solidarity with the KXnO employees who had lost their jobs the previous day.
“I encouraged Ken [Miller] to do his final show. It’s a tough spot because I’m telling him to do the show. I’m not even his boss anymore,” said Roberts. “I’m so appreciative for how he handled that situation. That’s not an easy thing to do. He helped launch sports talk radio in the state of Iowa… In a way, it’s kind of a blessing he didn’t come in. I have no idea what he would have said.”
Miller co-hosted Condon & Miller with Trent Condon. The lone locally owned program on KXnO, operated independently by Condon. The show went on as scheduled the following day, without Miller and without a full celebration of his legacy.
Instead, Condon opened the program by sharing his heartfelt feelings about the layoffs, what they meant for listeners of local teams and how thankful he was to remain a teammate while so many others were no longer part of the station. That commentary ultimately led to Condon leaving the station after iHeartMedia considered his comments “controversial.”
“No one encouraged TC [Condon] to do that. That was all Trent. I personally don’t think there was anything controversial in what he said, but I don’t make those decisions. If that’s what iHeart thought, who am I to argue with them. It’s not my deal anymore,” noted Roberts. “I appreciated everything he said.”
Local Still Matters
Roberts’ biggest concern for the future of the KXnO brand is the loss of locality. The station built its identity around local sports conversations focused on the teams that matter most to listeners across central Iowa. Now, with national syndication replacing local programming throughout the schedule, he believes those conversations will largely disappear.
“For a sports format to work in Des Moines, you need local voices talking about the local teams. I don’t think you’ll get that support nationally because people aren’t hearing what they want to listen to,” said Roberts. “From a format standpoint, iHeart tends to invest in the bigger markets. I don’t think from a sports standpoint, you’re going to see that in markets like Des Moines.”
Instead of dwelling on what they lost, Roberts and Strain quickly turned their attention to building something new. The duo recently reunited with the launch of Beyond The Bench on the Rush Radio Network, a two-hour daily show designed to deliver the same local conversations that helped make them successful at KXnO. The program is available on YouTube, social media and the TuneIn Radio app.
“For me and Lucas, we wanted to something we could do every day. I still want to be behind a microphone, and the more messages we got from listeners is what led to this,” said Roberts. “We built something, let’s not stop this thing.”
The show joins a network founded by former KXnO hosts Travis Justice and Ross Peterson, who also host a daily morning show on the Rush Radio Network. For Roberts, the opportunity was a no-brainer, allowing him to join other former KXnO personalities who have successfully transitioned into the independent media space.
While Roberts said his immediate focus is getting the show established, he has also found a renewed sense of happiness despite the emotional toll of losing his job.
“This may sound crazy. Yes, I’m sad my job was cut because I love the radio station and business. But my happiness is rooted knowing that the thought in the back of my head of being laid off is now gone,” said Roberts. “I always knew that no matter how great things were, what happened to me and the rest of us at the radio station was going to end in layoffs. It’s just the business of radio… I don’t have that dark cloud hanging over me that everyone in the business knows what I’m talking about.”
Roberts doesn’t pretend losing KXnO was easy. It was the station where he grew from intern to program director, built lasting relationships and envisioned spending much of his career. Walking away meant leaving behind more than a job. It meant saying goodbye to a place that helped shape his professional identity.
But as painful as that chapter was, it also opened another one. Instead of waiting for another opportunity to come along, Roberts and Strain created one themselves. The audience will follow, proving the connection wasn’t tied to a set of call letters. Moreover, because of the voices behind the microphones.
In an industry where layoffs have become an accepted reality, Roberts has found something many broadcasters spend years searching for: peace with what happened and excitement for what comes next.
KXnO may have marked the end of one dream, but Beyond The Bench serves as a reminder that in today’s media landscape, losing a radio station doesn’t have to mean losing an audience. Sometimes it simply means finding them somewhere new.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.