Denver Radio: Steffan Tubbs Lands At KNUS

Steffan Tubbs is now hosting afternoon-drive host for KNUS 710 AM, reports westword.com.

The gig offers a career-rebirth opportunity for the longtime host of KOA's Colorado Morning News, who was dismissed by management at iHeartMedia, the outlet's owner, following his August 2017 bust on suspicion of domestic violence by telephone and then not rehired even after the charge was dropped despite his accuser having previously been arrested for allegedly harassing him.

In the age of the #MeToo movement, when prominent media figures accused of harassing women have been treated as toxic even if they deny any wrongdoing (as Tubbs does), he realizes how fortunate he is to have landed at KNUS in a time slot previously occupied by Dan Caplis.

KNUS 710 AM (5 Kw DA)

"If I hadn't been able to get another job in Colorado, I would not have been surprised given the climate," Tubbs concedes. "It wouldn't have been the right decision, and it would have been unfair to me, but I would have understood it. That's why I'm really, really thankful and blessed to be going to a company that really understood what happened."

At the end of the day, he goes on, "it was what it was. I thought KOA management was going to see that, but they didn't. So now I'm on to a new chapter."

The wheels at KNUS were greased by the outlet's morning host, Peter Boyles, who invited Tubbs to be a guest on his program in December. According to Tubbs, "Pete and I have known each other since 1994, and he had his issues" — a reference to Boyles's 2013 firing at KHOW, another iHeart Media station, after he grabbed producer Greg Hollenback by a lanyard around his neck, and his subsequent shift to KNUS. "But he said, 'Don't let what happened define you. You're still a great broadcaster. Come on my show.' And then he really helped open the door."

KNUS is owned by Salem Media Group, which is best known as a religious broadcaster. "I didn't really know any of the people there," Tubbs says. "I've worked in this market for a long time, but never really got a chance to meet them. But they've all been just great."