It was shocking when Program Director Andrew Downs as well as on-air talent Heather Burnside, Travis Justice and Sean Roberts of "Morning Rush," along with Chris Williams and Ross Peterson of "Sports Fanatics," were let go on Tuesday from iHeartMedia's Sports KXNO 1460 AM.
The Des Moines Register reports it was equally shocking to see the immediate outpouring of love from listeners and advertisers across the state.
And it was shocking to get the phone call Wednesday that KXnO wanted them all back.
"It’s odd to have the week start the way it did," Downs told the Register, "and then come out with the big thing I always wanted (for) the station to just kind of fall into my lap."
After laying off six employees and canceling two shows on Tuesday, iHeartMedia, KXnO's parent company, will restore those jobs. And the "Morning Rush" and "Sports Fanatics" shows — which were canceled because of the layoffs — will return to the air.
The shows will also get an FM simulcast signal on KDXA 106.3 FM, which Downs called a "game-changer" for a sports radio station.
"So instead of 5,000 watts, we go to 25,000 watts. It’s a game-changer in reach and will only lead to more listeners and more revenue and higher ratings," said Keith Murphy, who co-hosts KXnO's popular "Murph and Andy" show. "This is really like a from-the-ashes type moment. We didn’t just get back to where we were. We’re better off."
The news was first announced on the "Murph and Andy" show's Twitter page.
"When you see just the people that reached out to me, I was like, 'Oh boy,'" KXnO general manager Joel McCrea told the Register. "I just thought about that and went, 'OK, I made a mistake. I’ve got to fix this.'"
The original cuts stemmed from nationwide restructuring by iHeartMedia. McCrea declined to comment on the specifics of how he was able to fit the six employees back into iHeartMedia's restructured look, but he said it was something that had to be done.
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