Philly Radio: iHM Recent Layoffs Included Staffer On Maternity Leave

Bex, Formerly with WIOQ

Bex, the co-host of Top 40 radio station WIOQ Q102’s afternoon drive show, was laid off by parent company iHeart Media while on maternity leave.

Bex, whose real name is Rebekah Maroun, revealed her departure from the station on social media, and a spokeswoman for San Antonio-based iHeart Media confirmed that she “exited the company” on Nov. 4.

The Philly Business Journal reports Maroun had been co-host and executive producer of the "Bex & Buster" afternoon show since July 2021. According to her LinkedIn page, prior to that, she was co-host and executive producer of a morning show at iHeart in Boston from 2018 to 2021. She also worked at Audacy-owned New 96.5 (WTDY-FM), a Philadelphia station with a similar format to Q102, from 2013 to 2017.

With Bex’s departure, Buster, whose real name is Brandon Scott, is now working the afternoon drive shift solo from 3 to 7 p.m. The rest of the station’s programming lineup includes New York-based Elvis Duran during morning drive, Rach on the Radio middays and Nico Oso evenings.

During an Instagram live Q&A last week, Bex told her followers that, “I was actually laid off while on maternity leave in November! Will eventually speak on it but getting everything squared away!! Miss being on the air for sure but grateful for the time with the little ones!! ... And love Buster dearly! This has nothing to do with him. … Just how corporate America works. Appreciate you listening always!!!”

Maroun declined a request for further comment.

The radio industry veteran was part of company-wide layoffs at iHeart implemented on Nov. 4 that impacted dozens of employees. In Philadelphia, radio industry trade publications had already identified two others impacted by the cuts — both from Q102. They are evening host Sam "Nugget" Dababneh and Mike Kaplan, program director for both Q102 and modern rock station Alt 104.5 WRFF-FM.

A source said several sales professionals in Philadelphia were also laid off.

During iHeart’s third quarter earnings call on Nov. 7, analyst Jim Goss of Barrington Research asked CEO Bob Pittman if he felt the cuts to on-air talent “continues to erode the value of the quality of the offering to listeners.”

Pittman responded by talking up the company’s modernization initiatives and associated cost savings, saying that technology can increase operating leverage by speeding up processes, streamlining legacy systems and enabling talent to create better and faster. He said the latest technology will allow the company to cut expenses by $150 million in 2025 and allows iHeart to more easily put a host situated in one location on the air in one or more other markets.

In addition to Q102 and WRFF, iHeart, based locally in Bala Cynwyd, also operates mainstream urban station Power 99 FM (WUSL-FM), smooth jazz 1480 AM (WDAS-AM) and Spanish contemporary station Rumba 106.1 (WUMR-FM).