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As Broadcast Radio Struggles to Compete, Morning Show Hosts Are Losing Their Jobs

Morning radio hosts are losing their jobs as stations struggle to compete in a streaming universe with advertising declines and heavy debt loads.

As broadcast companies contend with debt loads, advertising declines and competition from streaming services and popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience, radio stations have spent the last few years laying off dozens of employees, including on-air talent. Before their program director took them aside after a Wednesday broadcast and fired them, Kelly and Jay were moving away from conventional morning-show shtick toward more personal stories, including discussing alcoholism and family issues on-air. Hoy, who currently works as a medical outreach coordinator for a dermatology clinic, praises her replacement crew, Crash & Mars, as “unbelievably talented.” She adds that a Calgary morning show based in Edmonton may appeal to the station’s finances, but not the community.

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