TRN Yanks Rusty Humphries For Talking Woes

Only five minutes into his show Monday, Talk Radio Network yanked Rusty Humphries off the air and substituted a previously recorded show from the host after he began to explain the troubling times facing the talk radio industry, according to InsideRadio. 

The move came as TRN suspends operations at its news network as talk shows pare back to “basic operating essentials.”

A frustrated-sounding Humphries says he hadn’t mentioned Talk Radio Network by name and had no intentions of making malicious comments about the struggling network. 

Rather, Humphries says he wanted to explain to listeners how advertiser do-not-buy lists are hurting talk radio. 

“I was just talking about difficulties in talk radio, with the attacks by liberal groups on advertisers and radio stations, in a way that I thought was going it be positive for TRN but I didn’t get a chance to get there,” Humphries tells InsideRadio. 

“With the stories that are popping up in the general media, I thought it was important the audience heard me acknowledge that there was an issue and that we’re working on it.”

The episode was only the latest in a series of extraordinary developments at the independent, Oregon-based company, where hosts say they are working without pay, producers or adequate explanations from management about the network’s current plight. 

Like other talent, Humphries says he’s had minimal communication with TRN CEO Mark Masters. Humphries, who moved to Oregon to work for TRN says, says working for free would be an easier pill to swallow if there was more communication from his employer

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