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| Matt Kolsky speaking at Sag-Aftra rally last year |
ALTHOUGH he made it clear he didn't think his pro-union speech at a Sag-Aftra -KNBR rally last year, was keynote in his firing, it certainly didn't help matters. In addition, Matt Kolsky's colleague, Joe Hughes, also involved in a pro-union video was also fired by KNBR late Friday.
Ryan Covay, an evening talk host and producer at KNBR with less tenure and vocal union talk, was not terminated.
Coincidence? Perhaps, you be the judge.
Friday was a telling day at KNBR. Cumulus' cash cow sports station --one of the few successful stations it runs in SF, was its usual self, only management was about to slash and dash two daytime hosts and put an end altogether to sports updates, which were nothing more than more commercials.
The first host to get the heave-ho was Joe Hughes which caught many staffers off guard, including Gary Radnich and Larry Krueger; Hughes was their own update guy and took part in their morning show. Beyond that, Hughes's dad was friends with station Opps Mgr, Lee Hammer and his job seemed safe. Only, Hammer wasn't directly involved with Hughes's ouster. Cumulus' SF VP and Market manager, Justin Wittmayer, 86ed both Hughes and Kolsky.
The firings weren't that shocking and their unlucky recipients didn't involve anybody even remotely "special" at KNBR but they did surprise staff inside the building and almost immediately, rumors hit that more layoffs perhaps involving even "star" personnel were on the horizon. KNBR is still rocking and rolling for the most part in its key demographic constituency: adult males between 18 and 49 who love sports, beer, and boobs. In addition, its own cash cow, the SF Giants baseball games were just around the corner and that's where KNBR makes the bulk of its money.
Yet, the dual canning exposed the non-harmonious atmosphere inside the studios where the hungry, ambitious "little people"; those producers, occasional hosts and go-to guys who do all the heavy lifting and coordinate a lot of the station's weaponry; a station that took in over $20 million in revenue the past few years, weren't immune from being axed by the notorious cloud company from Atlanta.
Welcome to the real world.
It's not a pretty picture at the Cloud Company SF Cluster.
