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| Tim Johnstone |
Tim Johnstone, program director and afternoon host at 94.9 The River (KRVB) in Boise, was laid off Tuesday, ending his 25-year run at the Lotus Communications adult-alternative station.
The departure featured no on-air goodbye, no social media post, and no statement from Lotus Boise GM Nick Coe; Johnstone’s bio and show page disappeared from riverboise.com within hours, with afternoons now using music-intensive imaging and voicetracked sweeps.
Part of a company-wide 8–10% cut after missing Q3 revenue targets, the Boise cluster is reportedly is down 12% year-over-year in local billing. Johnstone received 60 days’ pay plus unused vacation.
Johnstone, 53, launched The River in 2000 after flipping 100.3 The X to AAA in 1995, became PD in 2012, and kept the station #2 25–54 in Boise; he voiced promos for 20 years, emceed Treefort Music Fest’s main stage 2017–2024, and sat on the Idaho Humane Society board.
Listeners posted over 400 comments on The River’s Facebook, launched a Change.org petition with 1,100 signatures in 24 hours, and pushed #SaveTimJ locally; ex-co-host Ken Bass called him “the heart of the station.”
Johnstone is considering offers from Townsquare’s WOW 104.3, Cumulus Boise, and a 2026 Treefort Music Director role; he told a colleague he’s “walking the Greenbelt with the dogs this week” before deciding next steps.