There’s a lot of mixed messaging in media today. It’s no different than anything else in sports. When a team declares it’s all in on roster building, then passes on opportunities to acquire impact talent, its actions contradict its words. That’s mixed messaging. In radio, commercial-free hours still have sponsor messaging because advertisers are buying the lone piece of real estate in that commercial-free hour. When a broadcasting brand such as iHeartMedia promotes “guaranteed human” but continues to lay off humans, that’s mixed messaging.
Tuesday began yet another round of layoffs by iHeartMedia. I say “another” because that’s exactly what it is. Since I was laid off by the company in November 2024, there have been several more rounds of “reductions in force.” I’m not immune to understanding that layoffs are part of business, but this is becoming too much of a norm rather than an outlier.
“When you end up unemployed… say f**k it and go to the beach,” wrote one affected iHeartMedia employee.
“You can have good ratings, good revenue, etc. It doesn’t matter. Your number on that excel sheet can be picked any day,” writes another affected iHeartMedia employee.
“I’m just waiting my turn. It’s coming and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it,” said another iHeartMedia employee who is still awaiting word on her future.
Define Human
Without a doubt, layoffs are not rallying cries for employees. However, November 2024, October 2025, April 2026, and now June 2026 have all arrived. Each round of layoffs leaves its mark, forcing talented people to reevaluate their career aspirations and future in the industry. One that heals for some. Others never truly get over the moment.
Four times in less than two years, the biggest audio company in the country has lost some of its “human” touch. I agree that great content can win. But it takes local humans creating local connections with local audiences to deliver it.
For example, when iHeartMedia eliminated my position at WDAE in November 2024, the company also cut the local midday show hosted by Jay Recher and Zac Blobner. In its place came syndication. A national sports radio show that didn’t give Tampa Bay teams the attention they deserved. The scuttlebutt surrounding playoff runs, coaching changes, and the usual banter about key moments from the previous night’s games disappeared. For the midday audience, there was none of it.
Fifteen months later, audience demand for local content shifted the thinking. WDAE returned to live and local programming in middays.
This isn’t a knock on the quality product FOX Sports Radio provides as the sports radio partner for iHeartMedia. But while technology, budgets, and business models may change in the boardroom, one thing doesn’t change: local human connection. That’s a human guarantee worth living by.
No Guarantees
Human connection with those who walk the streets in your local community. Human connection that extends beyond the sports radio program and onto your social media feed. Bonds that can last for generations. Not just through topics of discussion, but through products and partners as well. We see research metrics every day showing that sports radio talent remains among the most influential voices in advertising.
That’s why iHeartMedia should seriously consider removing the mixed messaging of “guaranteed human.” It falls on deaf ears when listeners’ favorite humans are removed without notice.
The sole point of iHeart’s “guaranteed human” approach is human beings. Keeping humans in front of the audience, then letting AI do its work behind the scenes. It’s a novel way to market brands to consumers by assuring them that what they’re hearing on the radio, or through the iHeartRadio app, is indeed a human being.
Listeners of KXNO in Des Moines woke up Wednesday morning didn’t hear their favorite human beings. No discussions about their favorite topics or the latest involving the Iowa Hawkeyes or Iowa State Cyclones. Those same listeners also didn’t hear the content they’ve grown to love in afternoon drive.
Because of those personnel decisions, Ken Miller’s final show on KXNO never happened. Miller was set to retire at the conclusion of Wednesday’s program. The show was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his role in helping launch sports talk radio in Des Moines. Instead, because of the roster cuts, Miller stayed home. He chose not to attend in solidarity with his teammates who lost their jobs the day before.
There’s never a right time to enact layoffs, but companies often overlook the listener. They remove familiar voices without explanation and deny audiences the chance to say goodbye. That leaves listeners asking, why would I stay with a brand that keeps taking my favorite humans away?
What’s human about that?
You can say the same thing about stations in Birmingham, Anchorage, Indianapolis, Lexington, Pittsburgh, and my own home in Tampa Bay. Markets large and small. Stations ranging from sports radio to gospel. People who spent one, two, three, and even four decades working for iHeartMedia were out the door through no fault of their own.
All while iHeartMedia maintained its own café presence at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in France, where top syndicated talent engaged in discussions about building trust with the listeners they serve. The message was that human connection is paramount above all else. Yet no true local voices were represented.
Something To Consider
Local radio station employees want strong leadership. They want leaders who believe in the product they pour their passion into on a local level. CEO Bob Pittman once held that standard and vision. However, four rounds of layoffs in less than two years tell a much different story.
The radio business has always evolved. Formats change. Technology changes. Distribution changes. Cost structures change. None of that is new. What has never changed is that listeners build relationships with people, not platforms. They don’t wake up each morning for a corporate slogan. They tune in for the voices that inform them, entertain them, and become part of their daily routine.
That’s why “guaranteed human” is such a powerful promise. It’s also why it rings hollow when the very humans responsible for creating those connections continue to disappear without warning for local audiences.
Marketing campaigns can tell listeners that radio is built by people, but every layoff sends a different message. Layoffs tell them those people are expendable. At some point, iHeartMedia has to decide which message it truly believes. Because the greatest competitive advantage radio has never been technology, artificial intelligence, distribution, or scale. It’s been the local personalities who earn trust one conversation at a time.
Remove enough of those voices, and eventually the audience stops hearing the promise. All they hear is the silence left behind.
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.
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.
