'LEARN TO CODE', they said -- 142K Tech layoffs look like a broken promise

I clearly remember the Great Recession, which happened after the real estate crash of 2008-2009.  I had just been laid off in 2006-2007, and when the big Crash happened, I was in college, for the second time, and after 2010 I was working semi-regular in the legal industry through the rest of the Recession.

Many of my boss's clients during the 2010's were bankruptcy cases. We helped a lot of people get back on their feet again.

I also remember driving down the main street of my city during the early to mid-2010's and seeing half of the windows boarded up or covered by illustrations and posters. There were a lot of vacant buildings and empty storefronts, and that only started changing at the end of that decade.

Then, of course, there was a small economic boom before the Pandemic hit.

The lingering nature of the Great Recession in many parts of the US was not widely publicized, for some reason. But there were some articles by some US and UK newspapers concerning the delayed Recovery -- especially in the Rust Belt and in parts of the South, as well as Appalachia and the Rural Western US. Many media observers said that some career fields that were slammed by the Great Recession would never return -- especially coal industry jobs, and other legacy fields like manufacturing, lumbering, mining, and a lot of energy production.

What were all those laid off workers supposed to do?

"Learn to Code," they said.

Just deal with the fact your job is never coming back, go to school, and "Learn to Code."

After all, computer tech is growing, and those jobs will be limitless. Computers and the internet are the future. There will always be jobs in those fields.

Or so they said.

In other words, all those laid off energy, manufacturing, and service workers -- especially those in legacy fields -- were supposed to go to tech school or college and get 'retraining', and the buzz phrase in the 2010's -- just 10 years ago, really -- was 'Learn to Code', learn how to program computer apps, web services, websites, and computer systems.

Being laid off on New Year's Eve 2006, I found out the hard way just how difficult it can be to find employment in your field when your field of work is in decline. According to NAICS -- the job statistic part of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics -- my field was 'Sound Engineering'. And thanks to computer tech taking over in Radio and Recording, the numbers of 'Sound Engineers' in the US was in decline. 

The field of 'Sound Engineering' simply was NOT predicted to increase in numbers. It's one reason that when I went back to college, I had to choose the paralegal field because it most fit my aptitude and previous schooling, and because I didn't have the math capability to 'learn to code' or get into a tech field.

That said, when I kept hearing politicians and news media pundits tell laid off workers that they just needed to "Learn to Code", I was suspicious, because nothing seems guaranteed in this world, especially with job markets. I had learned that in Radio.

After all, when I went to college the first time around in the 1980's, Radio, TV, and Newspapers were supposed to be growing fields that would never suffer massive job losses. It only took around 25 years for those fields to turn into disappearing, 'legacy' fields where annual layoffs are a normal thing. Newspapers folded by the thousands in just one year in 2022. The number of journalists in the US right now is around 10% of what the number was in 1986, when I graduated from the University.

And the number of journalists drops every year now. It's the same in Radio and TV.

LEARN TO CODE -- THEN WE'LL LAY YOU OFF

So -- how did this "Learn to Code" thing turn out?

Well, not so good after all, it seems.

Many of America's biggest tech firms are announcing massive layoffs that make those in Radio look pale. Some estimates of last year's tech layoffs amounted to 245,000 tech workers. 

This year, so far, 142,000 layoffs in Tech have been announced. That is 387,000 tech jobs either lost, or about to be lost, in just a year and a half.

You can read about this here, on Yahoo! News.:

https://tech.yahoo.com/general/article/tech-layoffs-2026-over-142000-jobs-cut-at-meta-linkedin-wix-webflow-and-more-144545455.html

Well known Tech companies like Meta (Facebook & Instagram), LinkedIn, Intuit, Amazon, Microsoft, Wix, CloudFlare, PayPal, Cisco, Coinbase, GM, Nike, Snapchat, GoPro, Vimeo, Disney, Oracle, T-Mobile, Epic Games, and Ubisoft have all announced layoffs scheduled for this year.

Although the US economy has been hit by a war-related boost in energy prices and some industries were hit by the tariffs that were enacted in the Spring of 2025, most of these Tech companies are saying that the adoption of AI is the reason for most of their layoffs.

AI WAS PREDICTED TO KILL JOBS -- in the 2010's, No One Listened

AI was forecast long ago to be a problem for the American worker. I remember reading articles in the newspapers back in 2012, 2013, and 2014 about how AI was going to make 50% of the workforce redundant within 50 years.

There were a lot of people back then saying that would not be true -- AI would just be another form of Tech, and Tech companies would always need people to program the AI.

In other words, "Learn to Code."

How's that working out, folks? Not too good.

Needless to say -- I really feel for all the people being laid off. 

Trust me: I know how that feels. 

AI IS KILLING SELF-PUBLISHING FOR A LOT OF AUTHORS

I've said here before that I am an independent author. I don't make much, if any, money from my eBooks, but I do have a strong connection to the independent author forums and author social media, and track what goes on in independent authoring and publishing.

And some independent, eBook authors online are complaining that AI-written books are literally killing their incomes. All the AI competition -- AI-written books, introduced by the hundreds every week, all with AI-produced covers, flooding the eBook marketplace, making eBooks written by REAL authors more and more invisible -- it's killing self-published authors books and revenues.

And this sort of trend is coming to EVERY CONTENT FIELD, and probably most career fields. 

AI has already made photographers, illustrators, journalists, writers, authors, voice talent, models, actors, editors, paralegals, telemarketers, secretaries, receptionists, musicians, video producers, clerical workers, and some educators redundant. And the job losses from AI are just starting.

Lawyers, teachers, analysts, researchers, agents of all types, librarians, professors, historians, middle level managers -- all these career fields and more may be next in line for the AI job loss chopping block.

And if you add in the increase of AI programmed robots in completely automated factories -- and similar robotics-related job losses -- there won't be much left for human employment.

And the AI losses right now are hitting the Tech field, the field that everyone said would always be immune to layoffs and job-killing AI.

So how do we fix this problem? Can we?

I really don't know. But it bothers me to see this happen. Like I said, I was laid off in 2006. My Radio job never came back. My old newspaper job I had in the 80's never came back. If I were to try to find new employment in the legal field tomorrow, I doubt there are jobs available. If I were depending on income from my eBook sales, I'm sure I'd be feeling the pinch from AI-produced competition.

We're in a new era, folks, and it doesn't look all that pretty. And sometimes this merry-go-round of get laid off / get retraining / get laid off again / get more retraining just looks more and more like a broken promise.

IN OTHER LIFE....

I just paid off the last of my late mother's debts. That's a big load of rocks off my shoulders. The weather's been a bit better. My neighbor, who is a mechanic, moved back in across the street with his wife and kids, so hopefully my Lincoln Continental can get fixed and back to 100% so I can drive around a bit once more. It runs. I just need it to run dependably.

I added about 90-100 feet (30 meters, roughly) to my shortwave antenna on the 19th of May, and 25th of May, by running a spool of wire outside to my hawthorn tree. At first I added about 50-60 feet, and then I added some more a few nights later. I know have about 7-8 dbu additional signal strength for my radios.

It's my way of preparing for the Solar Minimum, I guess. Right now there is a Morse Code, ham radio contest going on. I heard the Chatham Islands this morning -- a station called ZL7IO. The Chatham Islands are a part of New Zealand, and they're right next to the International Date Line. Pretty cool to hear, even if it was just Morse Code.

My XHDATA D808 radio is really good with Morse Code, actually. It's also great for MW and LW. It has Airband, which is useful for current, local weather reports from the Renton Airport. FM is good, but I'm not an FM DXer, so I can't say how DX-worthy the FM is on the D808. But the other bands really pull in the signals well.

I've still been riding my bike at nights, when it's cool and quiet out. And I'm still playing my bagpipes, trying to learn an old tune called Blue Bonnets Over The Border. I always wanted to learn it, but never thought I could. I've got it about 80-90% down.

Now it's back to writing my next eBook which won't sell because of AI. :-)

Enough doom and gloom. Here's some 2010's pop to brighten your day. Andy Grammer put out this hit in 2010, right after the Great Recession was kicking in big time. It's a great song. I first heard it on Radio Disney in 2011. Keep Your Head Up!

I miss the early 2010's. Yeah, the economy was still crap, but the pop music was so good, and it was so upbeat and fun.

Until next time, my friends,

Peace.

C.C. -- Sunday, May 31st, 2026.

American Radio Giant IHeartMedia lays off more Radio workers in latest round

In Radio, there's an old adage that 'everyone gets fired sooner or later'. 

For years it was a running joke at radio. I used to hear 'I was fired' stories a lot during my 20 year stint in the industry.

When I lost my first radio job -- I was an intern at a local classic rocker in October-December of 1987 -- the Program Director said "Hey, don't worry. Radio people won't think you're bad news because you got fired. I got fired from my first radio job, too!"

It just happens in Radio. 

Lately, it's been happening more and more.

The problem is that with the financial woes hitting my former career field lately, layoffs and 'Reductions-in-Force' are getting more and more frequent. And this time it's apparently hitting a lot of middle management and sales people -- including some programmers -- at American radio media giant IHeart.

IHeartMedia has announced a series of layoffs that hit various operations all over the US. Even a programmer in Seattle (at Sports radio station KJR-FM) is being laid off.

Here's a couple articles from online media newspaper Barrett Media.:

https://barrettmedia.com/2026/04/08/iheartmedia-begins-round-of-layoffs-affecting-management-sales-staffs/

https://barrettmedia.com/2026/04/15/marc-james-departs-kjr-as-iheartmedia-continues-ongoing-layoffs/

Other people at IHeart stations are being let go, including some air talent. It's like February 2020 all over again -- seeing social media posts by morning DJ's and the like who are saying good bye to their loyal and faithful listeners.

Here's a news story about a veteran morning host in Connecticut who's being let go.:

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/allison-demers-layoff-ct-radio-whcn-22208013.php

It's all very sad, really. The vast majority of those laid off will never work in Radio again.

A lot of us who used to work in the industry look at this debacle with a mixture of sarcasm and chagrin. Many of us -- who no longer work in Radio -- know exactly how it feels to be laid off, and never work in Radio again. Every guy I was laid off with -- all seven of us, when they eliminated our entire department in December of 2006 -- never worked in Radio again. 

That's the chagrin part.

The sarcasm part? That's when you read of yet another round of layoffs at a radio company and you wonder if there is anybody left at that company to lay off.

IHeartMedia has a mixed reputation in Radio. Many credit the company for trying to move their operations online, where the future seems to lie. The IHeartRadio online platform has been a success. 

But many Radio fans also dislike the company for the consolidation, homogenization, and sometimes heartless appearing actions, like when the company got rid of 10% of its radio staff in early 2020 -- including many DJ's and airstaff who loved their jobs, and found themselves laid off, with little chance of working in Radio ever again.

Some of the social media posts by laid off DJ's were heartrending. They were working at a dream job, relating to people, connecting with their communities, and -- as far as many of them knew -- they were still getting ratings.

Then the axe came down.

To many who used to work in Radio, these rounds of layoffs that seem to occur every year -- not just at IHeart, but at the other big American Radio companies too -- are just another indicator of the downward slide that the industry is taking. 

Less people on the airwaves, more automation, less local content, and the medium seems less and less personable.

Although the Radio industry is hitting some hard times, there still are a lot of cool and diverse radio stations on the night time airwaves. KBBR 1340, out of North Bend, Oregon is one of them. KBBR plays an interesting mix of oldies and classic hits. North Band, and its sister city, Coos Bay, are on the Southern Oregon Coast, where the weather is in the mid 60's F year around.

IHeart has famously adopted an anti-AI stance, with commercial announcements and some PR releases announcing that the company is anti-AI, and that the voices and songs you hear on their stations are 100 percent human.

Now the jokes about this latest round of layoffs is 'where are the humans? They're all being laid off!' and the like.

However, there is a revenue problem that is behind a lot of these layoffs.

One other large American radio company, Cumulus, is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. During the proceedings, Cumulus reported that its broadcast radio revenues declined 15.9% in 2025. Network revenue (including WestwoodOne) was down 22.5%; Advertising revenue from Radio was down 12.9%. The company as a whole lost $200 Million last year.

Here's a report on Cumulus's revenue declines from RadioInk.:

https://radioink.com/2026/04/10/cumulus-reports-200m-loss-for-2025-as-chapter-11-continues/

The drops in broadcast radio, spot advertising, and network revenues are indicators that Radio's revenues, industry wide, aren't in terrific shape. Many who work in the business side of Radio believe that what Cumulus is facing isn't a rarity. After all, CBS Radio News is being eliminated because of revenue losses.

Online there are plenty of folks who claim that these nosedives in revenue are because Radio isn't 'live and local' anymore, or because the music stations have short playlists, or because big Radio companies like IHeart 'ruined radio'.

The fact is the internet has damaged radio. There is no getting around that. I have no idea what Radio is going to sound like in 2036, but my guess is that there will be even less human voices on the airwaves, more syndication and consolidation, and less AM and less FM stations on the airwaves. 

In fact, the number of Radio stations in the US continues to decline. RadioInk reports that even FM is in decline -- in the past four months 19 commercial FM stations in the US shut down (there were 32 AM stations shut down during the same three month period).

https://radioink.com/2026/04/10/radio-loses-ground-in-q1-2026-as-license-decline-continues/

These station shutdowns and the recent layoffs are just more symptoms of the issues the Radio industry is facing. And Radio is not alone in this. Newspapers, Magazines, Broadcast and Cable TV -- all these media that used to be taken for granted as important and vital media are starting to feel the pinch.

The world is changing, folks. It's all internet content.

The Internet is killing Radio.

I'll end this with the most positive note I can: If you're a Radio fan, keep tuning those radios, and enjoy the fact that there are still stations on the night time airwaves to listen to.

Quit bitching and griping about the fact that it's not 'live and local', or that the stations don't play every one of your favorite songs. The industry is having money problems, and the listeners and advertisers have increasingly drifted online. TikTok, Instagram, X, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, et. al. are the new "radio". 

Online podcasts are the new 'talk radio', just as streaming is the new 'music radio'.

It's just the reality. 

Right now I'm going to return to my fiction writing, and listen to my GE Superadio 1, which sits near my writing desk in my den, and it is playing a bunch of stations on 1400 kHz. It's a wild mix of sports, Classic Hits, and a bunch of other stations all mixed in.

Until next time, my friends,

Peace.

C.C. -- April 16th, 2026.

AM Radio Bloodbath Now Hits FM, too: Two large US Radio companies shut down 20 AM & FM stations nationwide

The logo for 'Jack FM', WLXX 101.5, Lexington, Kentucky -- a station shut down during recent budget cuts at one of America's largest radio companies. Lexington is a fairly large city, with about 300K in the metro region. Jack-FM's usually do fairly well in the ratings, as they play a wide range of Classic Hits from the 1980's to the 2000's and early 2010's. But the Jack format didn't save this FM station from being shut down. Radio station shut-downs are now hitting FM as well as AM.

My industry is dying. Radio is dying. The Great Recession kicked it in the guts, the internet economy slammed it in the head, the Pandemic economy cut it off at the legs, and now the industry is starting to fold.

When I hit the internet with my first cup of coffee or tea every day, I usually check the Radio site called _________________. It's a forum of Radio industry insiders, experts, former Radio workers, and Radio hobbyists, and often it's a good source of news on what is happening in the industry.

Earlier this evening I was slammed by a news report on ___ that two of the largest Radio companies in the United States -- Cumulus and Townsquare Media -- are shutting down 20 AM, and FM, radio stations. There are staff cuts, too, but they're not just cutting staff. They're literally shutting down radio stations as well.

Here is a link to the news article posted on ___.:

[Link Removed -- bad site. see the Appendix. -- C.C.]

The stations' programming ranges from Country, to News-Talk (an FM as well as AM's), to Sports-Talk (with both Infinity Sports Network and Fox Spots taking a hit), to "Jack" style 80's-00's Classic Hits, to Classic Country (an FM at that), to 'Lite Rock' (an AM with an FM translator), to an FM Classic Hits station (in Missouri). That's just a sampling from the article linked above, and its source says that there are more station shutdowns to come.

MANY THOUGHT FM RADIO WAS IMMUNE

Up until recently, the revenue issues associated with Radio's new, shaky business model (FM, AM, HD, + online) have only hit the AM band, and staffing. I've reported on these AM stations going off the air over the past several years, since the Pandemic ended. 

The stations that went off the air in this region, since 2019, are fairly numerous -- KNPT Newport OR, KUTI Yakima WA, KMED/KYVL Medford OR, KKPZ Portland OR, KDWN Las Vegas NV, CKMX Calgary AB, CFTE Vancouver BC, CKST Vancouver BC, CHED 630 Edmonton, CKGO 730 Vancouver (the last two were replaced by sister stations that were moved to their frequency) are just a few of the stations in the Western US and Canada that have shut down operations permanently. There have been other stations in the Eastern US and Canada that went off the air, too -- CHML Hamilton ON a classic example.

The most recent shakeup on the West Coast of the US was KGO 810 San Francisco being changed to play KSFO 560's conservative talk programming -- and KSFO 560 was then shut down. It is no longer on the air. 810 now identifies as KSFO. 

Some of these stations that were switched off permanently may still have a small online presence. But most are gone, gone, gone. As you can tell, the stations I just listed above were all AM stations.

But now this trend is shutting down some FM stations as well. FM radio, as a medium, is NOT immune to the difficult economics of Radio these days.

SPORTS TALK TAKES A SMALL HIT

Several of the shut-down stations in the article linked about are Sports talkers. For the past few years, Sports stations have been able to survive on low ratings, because -- the prevailing wisdom states -- Sports talk stations don't need ratings. They have a lock on men. Advertisers that want to reach men will use Sports talk stations, regardless of their ratings.

But it turns out that Sports stations aren't immune to being shut down due to Radio economics. The advertising revenue crunch is hitting Sports radio, too.

IT SUCKS TO SEE IT HAPPEN

It is probably obvious I'm a MW/AM radio fan. I like tuning into the distant stations at night, and I'll listen to the programming -- be it Classic Hits, Classic Country, Sports talk, public radio from OPB (Oregon Public Radio) or the CBC, some religious music and programming, some news-talk, a lot of South Asian music, ranchero, etc.

And for the past several years those of us who are AM radio fans have had to endure the negative comments about AM radio being 'ancient' and needing to go off their air.

But now FM radio is also feeling the pinch. A bunch of the 20 stations owned by Cumulus and Townsquare Media that are being shut down are on the FM band -- the one that the AM decriers always like to say is the only 'Radio' that counts.

NEWS FLASH: FM radio is not sacrosanct. Ever since WPLJ -- once a TOP STATION in America's Market #1, New York City, sold for millions less than it was worth in the 1990's and 2000's, the writing for FM has been on the wall. 

FM Radio is not beyond the reach of cost cutting.

It's sad, because from time to time I have been an avid FM listener, too. FM was where you could hear all sorts of great pop and rock music in the 80's through the 2000's. When I got a Sanyo FM-AM boombox on Christmas 1982, I was glued to it for years until that radio was stolen. I tuned the Rock stations and Pop stations and some R&B stations. And there is no denying that for decades, FM Radio has been a vital part of American music culture.

Now it is fading, along with AM.

My Sangean PR-D14, my last purchase from now-defunct Fry's Electronics. It is my kitchen radio, on 24/7. It will bring in DX, but usually I have it tuned to local talk, NPR, or the local Catholic Station on 1590. When I bought this radio in 2020, there were a lot more radio stations on the air. That number, on both FM and AM, is declining.

GET 'EM WHILE YOU CAN

One of my mantras that I repeat periodically on this blog site is 'Get 'Em While You Can!'

This applies to Shortwave and Medium Wave, two media that are obviously in decline, and it appears with the recent shutdowns, staff cuts, stock price declines, and other Radio economics, the decline of Radio in general is only going to accelerate.

If you have a radio, switch it on, listen around -- both FM and AM, and SW too.

The day will come those bands will be all static and hiss, with maybe a couple pirate stations here and there. You never know when your favorite program, or favorite station, is going off the air.

My guess is that at this rate, the AM band has 10 years left. FM maybe 15. SW maybe 5.

DEAR RADIO: 

DON'T EXPECT STREAMING TO SAVE YOUR STATION

At the same time, streaming will not 'save' Radio. There are still roughly 15,000 radio stations in the US. In no way will all 15K stations today be viable internet streaming channels tomorrow.

The competition is just too infinite, and online, visibility is everything.

RADIO DISNEY'S DEMISE WAS A HARBINGER OF THE FUTURE

Remember Radio Disney? They switched off their AM stations and sold them in 2015. At the time they switched off their AM stations, they admitted that 16% of their audience -- mostly teens and younger people -- were still listening to the AM's.

They sold off all their AM radio stations anyway.

They said their audience would automatically go online, to their stream.

Apparently, that didn't happen. Their predictions and prognostications about their new, preferred choice of broadcast medium were wrong.

Streaming was the new business model, they said. Streaming was the future, they said. AM and OTA radio is old school, they said.

For a couple years they were on HD2's (until late 2017) and then just on their own online stream.

Then they shut the entire operation down. The RD page is now a 404.

Streaming did not save them -- and their programming was good, backed by a plethora of Disney media and singing stars. Their DJ's and announcers were very good and engaging. Still, that business model failed.

When one of the largest media companies in the US has no more faith in Radio, in general, it says something. I think the shutdowns and layoffs since the Pandemic are the writing on the wall. 

I hate to make such statements, but one thing I've learned over the years is that you have to be a realist. My former industry -- a dream job, really -- and one of my favorite hobbies, is on borrowed time. That's the reality.

Until next time, my friends,

Peace.

C.C. March 15th, 2025.

August 21, 2025: I edited out the name of a forum I used to go to, but because of their moderation policies, I am not promoting their website, or an associated website, in any way anymore.

One of the US's Biggest Radio Companies lays off 300 people, including Air Staff

Recently, one of the biggest Radio companies in the US has announced a series of layoffs, because of their bankruptcy. Audacy (formerly Entercom -- they have a few stations in my metro region) announced 300 layoffs, including popular, veteran DJ's and other airstaff, along with programmers and other vital positions at their radio stations across the country.

Here is a link to an article that discusses the layoffs.:

https://radioink.com/2025/03/06/audacy-lays-off-hundreds-in-major-post-bankruptcy-move/

Here's another link, continuing the listing of Audacy radio personnel laid off.:

[LINK REMOVED by C.C., August 2025.]

It's a sad day for Radio, really, as these layoffs at larger and smaller Radio companies keep happening. The prevailing mantra is that advertising revenues are in a slump and still declining, because Radio is a 'legacy' media (like TV, Cable, Newspapers, Magazines) and 'legacy' media aren't the place to go to advertise anymore.

There are other issues within the advertising world, of course. Advertising itself is changing, as many online stores do not need to advertise anywhere outside their own website, or they just use placement on a search engine instead. The dominance of the internet has changed not only audio media like Radio -- which depends on advertising -- but also the nature of advertising itself.

That all aside, a lot of people who were laid off at Audacy were popular airstaff, and -- as I've said before, several times on this blog -- they will probably never work in Radio again.

The industry is in decline, and although Radio could possibly do more to promote its medium to the public, the writing is on the wall: everyone is going online for all entertainment and information -- be it news, music, TV shows, books, etc.

THE VOICE OF AMERICA MAY BE SEEING CHANGES

Since the 2024 Presidential election in the US, and the change in administrations, the Voice of America may be seeing some changes as management of the radio service changes.

Some believe that the VOA is past the pull date, and needs to go all online. I've read many comments by people in the Radio business even saying this sort of thing.

It's amazing that people in an industry view their own industry with such distaste. VOA reaches out to poor people in Africa, for example -- a continent which is NOT covered by lots of cellphone service (as any look at cell service maps can show you), and where internet isn't readily available. Over 55% of Africans are impoverished, and live in rural areas away from the big cities where there is cell service, internet, and a lot of FM radio.

VOA was designed to take America's news, opinions, culture, and entertainment to such people.

Yet we may be seeing such services being curtailed or reduced later this year. It's almost as if carrying America's viewpoints to poor, rural people in other areas of the world doesn't count anymore. And surprisingly, a lot of people in the Radio business seem to agree with that idea. It's as if they don't really believe in the power of Radio anymore.

Right now, no one knows exactly how the future of VOA will go.

Rumors are that the BBC may be considering similar moves. The World Service will be online only in many regions.

In many of these regions, China is expanding its influence, both in the media, and economically. Apparently, the Chinese do not share the West's current view of the power of Radio as an information medium.

Timmy the Cat during better days... This pic was from 2015, when I first started this blog.

RIP my little friend.

IN OTHER LIFE....

Last weekend I began to feel soreness in my throat, and a head cold coming on. Throughout the week, I made sure I got extra sleep, and took garlic extract and Eleuthero extract, and it seems to have mostly killed the virus.

My cat Timmy, who I got in 2012, died on me last weekend. He had been ill from a virus or some other ailment, and having no working car, I couldn't take him to the vet. I was giving him kitten formula, and he seemed to be improving, but one afternoon I went to check on him and he was dead.

It really sucks to lose a little pal. Timmy used to be a bit stand-offish at first. I had heard that he originally was a barn kitten, so he always had this independent streak about him. But over the past year he began to meow a lot, wanting to be petted, and rubbing against me. 

But then I lost him. Sucks, but that's life.

My cat Racofrats, when a kitten. He is doing well.

I still have other articles to finish. I'll probably post the Solar Cycle article next, as I am thoroughly convinced that compared to previous ones, this one is a poor performer.

Then I will post others.

Stay tuned.

C.C., March 8th, 2024

Canadian media company fires Radio airstaff; FM station north of Toronto near shutdown

It's a sad time for Radio in my other mother country, Canada.

At least a couple times last year I posted articles about Radio companies in Canada either taking stations off the air, or laying off airstaff. Three FM's near Ottawa almost went off the air -- a new buyer showed up at the last minute for at least two of them. CHML 900 in Hamilton was shut down abruptly, leaving its airstaff and listeners in the lurch.

CHML 900, the News and News-Talk station in Hamilton, Ontario -- Canada's #9 city -- was shut down abruptly one day last year, with the programming halted and replaced with a tone, and then all the staffers were laid off. Unfortunately, abrupt firing of staff is a long time Radio practice. One day I showed up to work to find that 7 or 8 people in my building were gone. They had been given their notice as soon as they entered the door to go to work. Now that Radio is experiencing revenue issues industry-wide, these sorts of layoffs are becoming more and more commonplace.

Like a recent Canadian station in Markham, York Region, Ontario, that is experiencing revenue problems and may go off the air -- CHML was 'live and local'. A lot of folks in Radio think 'live and local' is the answer to Radio's woes. The example of CHML and other stations show that 'live and local' doesn't seem to make a difference. Either  the ad money's there, or it isn't.

Bell Media got rid of several stations, and in 2023 several AM'ers across Canada were shut down completely. Some radio stations in Western Canada also combined operations with other stations last year, reducing airstaff in the process (news stations in CKWX Vancouver and CFFR Calgary did this). 

Also in Vancouver and Edmonton, news-talkers CHED 630 and CKNW 980 moved their signals to different frequencies, with the stations on those new frequencies basically going off the air, and the airstaff on those stations (880 CHQT and 730 CKGO) being let go.

Obviously, Radio is in flux in Canada, and it's not just hitting the AM band.

Now Corus Media, one of Canada's larger media companies, has laid off airstaff, including some airstaff at a station I hear at night, CFFR 660 Calgary. The company says it saw a 14% dive in ad revenue over 2024. They also saw an 11% cut in ad revenue for their TV stations.

https://broadcastdialogue.com/more-staffing-cuts-confirmed-across-global-news-corus-radio/

Another recent news item showed that an FM station in the highly populated York Region of Ontario, Canada -- CFMS 105.9 'The Region', located in Markham, a city just north of Toronto with over 300K people (the surrounding York Region metro area has over a million) -- is about to go off the air because of declining revenue. Markham itself is the 16th largest city in Canada.

https://www.barrietoday.com/local-news/radio-station-nearing-shutdown-pleads-for-municipal-support-10248009

CFMS is a news and multicultural variety station that also plays Adult Contemporary music. The fact that it is an FM station in a metro area of over a million (York Region) shows that even FM stations in populated areas can have financial issues. 

Declining ad revenues are a really big problem in Radio these days. When Newport, Oregon's news-talker KNPT 1310 went off the air in early 2024, their owner said that their ad revenues dropped by over 50% since the Pandemic hit, and revenues never went back upwards. That took several stations -- AM, FM, and streams -- off the air permanently, leaving coastal Lincoln County devoid of news-oriented radio stations except for an Oregon Public Radio FM station, KOGL, 89.3.

Now we are seeing further cutbacks in the radio industry as Radio companies -- both in the US and Canada -- are feeling the economic pinch. Legacy media -- be it Radio, TV, Cable TV, or newspapers and magazines -- are all being hit with drops in advertising revenues.

Even Public Radio is seeing budget problems as increases in costs are often greater than increases in funding. Here in the US, our conservative government is trying to cut Public Radio funding from the government completely -- leaving all funding to underwriting and donations. Many stations and Public Radio networks may survive Federal government cuts, but others may see stations go off the airwaves.

This could include AM as well as FM public radio stations.

One excuse for government officials to cut Public Radio funding is the same one used by people in the Radio business whenever you talk about AM radio and Shortwave radio: 'everybody's got internet... They've got their cell phone, that's where they get their news and information.'

Sounds terrific. But if a government official like FCC's Brendan Carr says basically the same thing concerning NPR and Public Radio in the US, all of a sudden people in the Radio business don't like hearing that mantra.

The problem is that few in Radio are truly defending Radio. Because Radio is in financial dire straits when compared to previous decades, it seems that the movers and shakers in the industry are at a loss when it comes to keeping the medium, the platform alive.

They often say "we're building our digital platform" as a solution. But any content creator can tell you that online is not a panacea for media. Once you're online, you're competing with millions of other content sites and creators.

Recently, a bipartisan bill introduced in the US Congress, to keep AM radio in vehicles, got pushback from RADIO PEOPLE. I frequent several Radio forums and subreddits, and it's amazing how many Radio industry people are fine with AM being allowed to be removed from car radios and soundsystems.

When Radio people are against a Radio platform, it's no wonder that attacks on the industry by government and corporate interests are succeeding.

Who is speaking out for Radio?

IN OTHER LIFE

As I stated in an earlier article/post here, I took a respite from writing my blog. The weather got cold, I had a property issue to deal with (basically pouring water on a 'fire' that other people were pouring gas on, while lighting matches -- it all had to do with a remote piece of property where we have a dispute with neighbors). My car is still not dependable, and I have an ailing cat, Timmy, who seems to have gotten a bug and is getting better. 

For a couple days he didn't show up at my front door, or kitchen window, as per usual. Finally, I looked around, and he had been hiding out -- sleeping in my living room, behind a chair on a cat bed. I had thought he'd gone outside, but he hadn't. He wasn't feeling well. Finally, I got him to eat some canned cat food with cod liver oil sprinkled on it -- he ate a little off a spoon, then would stop. Then a few hours later I got him to eat again. I placed a heating pad in the cat bed, too. Now he's up and around maybe once a day. After losing a cat just five months ago, it's heartening to see one of my cats get better for a change.

HEARING MALI ON SHORTWAVE!!

I've been DXing every night and/or morning, and although some MW stations have re-appeared from the ether that were missing since 2014, many have never reappeared on any of my radios. 

The re-appearing stations? KEJB Eureka, 1480, with oldies. Eureka is a city on the far northern coast of California. KEJB plays a cool mix of oldies. I hadn't heard them in at least 10 years and they began showing up again.

KDUN, Reedsport, Oregon 1030 is another reappearance. They used to be a nightly listen in 2012-2013, then they went off the air. When they came back on the air, I never heard them until a couple months ago. They play an interesting mix of Classic Hits.

Another reappearing station is KSWB, Seaside, Oregon -- also on the Coast. They were a nightly listen in 2012-2014 or so, then disappeared for 10 years. Now they are back. They aren't as strong as they were in 2013, but it's cool hearing them. Co-channel Classic Hits station KKNX Eugene OR hasn't returned yet, though. I used to hear both of them, playing their mixes of Classic Hits. When the Solar Minimum kicked in, they both disappeared.

Which leads to my opinion about the Solar Cycle: This cycle is a DUD. I should be hearing a lot more than I'm hearing on both MW and SW. Back in 2012 I used to hear KVNS, Brownsville, Texas on 1700, nearly every night, just using a Sony SRF-42 and a small loop. I haven't heard them in well over 10 years. 

I know that some out there think the Solar Cycle Peak is awesome. Sure, it's awesome when compared to a minimum. But it's a mediocre, crap Cycle we're in. Anyone who has logbooks going back several decades (as I do) can tell you that.

But you get what you get.

This isn't to say it's all been bad on SW and MW. Just three hours before posting this article I heard MALI on Shortwave! It was on 5995 kHz, after 0600 UTC (after 10 p.m. Pacific time).

I heard it on my new XHDATA D109WB radio, which I had my indoor 25 ft. / 8 meter wire clipped to. I have heard Mali maybe once or twice before, a year or more ago, on a different radio (probably my Panasonic RF-B45 and indoor wire). RTV Mali broadcasts 50KW from Bamako, the capital. The signal was not readable, but I could tell it wasn't English, some of the speech sounded similar to African accented French, and the music I could hear definitely sounded African.

RTV Mali also came in on my Tecsun PL-398, although the bass response on the XHDATA is greater, making it easier to follow the music. It came in on my Panasonic somewhere in between the XHDATA and Tecsun, with the main differences being the sound or fidelity.

I unclipped the indoor wire and my XHDATA was even bringing in the station off the whip. It wasn't readable, but it was still barely there. 

The XHDATA D109 is a great little radio. I got it just before the tariffs hit on February 4th. I will have an article worked up on it that I hope to publish in a month or so, after I have plenty of time to run it through its paces.

So, even though I still think this Solar Cycle is a dud, it's much better now than it was during the Solar minimum, and I will take whatever I can get. If Mali comes in now and then -- awesome.

Until next time, when I post some of the articles I've been working on,

Peace.

C.C. February 22nd, 2025

(Washington's Birthday)

More Job Layoffs in Radio: IHeart slashes hundreds of positions nationwide

The largest Radio company in the United States, IHeartMedia, has started laying off "less than 5%" of their workforce, as announced in the radio press (and other news outlets) recently.

The layoffs include managers, programmers, positions that oversee operations of entire 'clusters' of IHeart stations, as well as air staff. The NY Post says the layoffs amount to "hundreds" of positions.

As I reported in this blog four years ago (and it was also reported in the Radio press, as well as elsewhere), IHeart laid off roughly 10% of their workforce at the beginning of 2020. There have been other layoffs in the Radio industry by other companies since then, including some IHeart positions. 

So -- since the beginning of 2020 -- the largest Radio company in the US has gotten rid of maybe 12-14% of their workers.

IT HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE

In this section I am listing links to several earlier articles I wrote in this blog concerning the previous layoffs in Radio. There are a few common threads in the reasons for the layoffs. First, Radio revenues are down, largely because ad rates industry wide have declined. Secondly, leaders in the industry think that Radio is in decline and are acting accordingly. Thirdly, the companies involved are in debt, or otherwise having revenue problems, and possibly ratings issues as well. Fourthly, the industry's bigger players are consolidating operations, thanks to available technology. With more centralized operations, middle management positions -- like program directors in major and middle sized markets -- are less needed, or important. 

And the mostly unstated reason is that listeners are going online -- but not necessarily to online platforms run by Radio companies.

So here are the articles I wrote:

This article is about the IHeart layoffs at the beginning of 2020, where they laid off 10% of their workforce.:

Interrock Nation: THE SLOW DEATH OF RADIO

These articles deal with various layoffs, or station closures that also negatively affected Radio employment.:

Interrock Nation: Radio Morning Shows Experiencing Decline -- another moneymaker for Radio is fading

Interrock Nation: Another Large Radio Company Slashes Jobs in the Midwest US

Interrock Nation: Canadian Radio Company Slashes Jobs, Kills 7 AM Radio Stations

Interrock Nation: SO LONG, RADIO DISNEY. You had a good run.

This next, extensive article, 'Who Killed Radio', goes into detail concerning the numerous processes that reduced the Radio medium from something vital and relevant to an industry in decline.:

Interrock Nation: WHO KILLED RADIO? -- The Processes, People and Decisions that Destroyed the Radio Industry; + Mondo Bando, proto-metal, 1976!

This chart reflects the popularity and listenership among the various large music streaming platforms in the United States. IHeart, at the bottom of the chart, is apparently considered a key player. But they only have 8% of the 18-34's, which does not look promising for online Radio streaming platforms. If the biggest Radio company in the United States can't get more than 8% of the younger demographics, what does that say for the future of Radio online?

(To more easily see the graph, you can right click, and open it in a new tab).

REVENUES ARE DOWN, OR FLAT -- BUT COSTS ARE STILL GOING UP

This latest series of IHeart layoffs are yet one more indicator of an industry in decline, and an unfortunate one. IHeart's impetus for laying off just under 5% of their workers is that -- despite some claims of Radio companies seeing more revenues recently -- revenues overall are down in Radio, and costs are still up, due to inflation.

In one of the articles below, it is claimed that IHeart's online media platform has increased numbers of listeners. Of course, other data (see the graph above) shows that IHeart's online platform is not one of the top players in online listening, and it's only got 8% of streaming listeners in GenZ and the Millennials.

THEY'LL JUST 'GO ONLINE' -- NOPE

Some commenters and experts in the Radio industry believe that the laid off IHeart radio workers will be able to find similar jobs in related fields, mostly online. They think some of the Radio skills transfer to other fields. After all, audio entertainment, in general, is headed online. So why wouldn't the lost jobs also drift online?

Well, the biggest problem with that style of thinking is that online is a different animal. Some of the tech -- audio and visual tech used -- may be similar, but the online content business model is much, much different, and much less apt to have actual employees.

Most podcasts (aside from the big names like Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Shawn Ryan, Rick Beato, David Pakman, the Daily Wire podcast guys, and the like) are one or two person affairs, where everything is done by one person, using their computer, with perhaps a nice backdrop, a good microphone, and a high quality web camera. They don't need the extra people that traditional media have usually needed. Also, as AI and other automated technology increases, the need for former Radio skills in other fields will be lessened.

If you have AI gathering your news for reporting, who needs actual people?

If you have AI voices for announcing your YouTube infotainment videos, who needs actual announcers?

If you have an easy to use Digital Audio Workstation on your computer, which has less of a learning curve than the SADIE, AudioVault, or SONIC systems that were popular in Radio in the 2000's, who needs a sound engineer or sound editing tech?

And if you are a smaller operation, podcasting on a platform that can monetise your podcasts via a contractual agreement -- who needs sales reps?

I'll repeat what I've said previously whenever these stories of layoffs come up: The vast majority of the laid off people will never work in Radio again, and most of them will never work in a related field again. They will have to be retrained in another industry. 

I wish them luck. Been there, done that.

Technology, and changes in media from legacy industries like Radio, TV, Cable, and Newspapers to everything being online content (much of it not bringing in much revenue unless you are a BIG player like the aforementioned podcasters) has made many of the skills used for Radio redundant.

And, as I said before, a lot of podcasters are small businesses with moderate incomes. No extra revenue for employees.

I feel for the laid off people. They got their notices just before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most of them know that they won't work in the field again, and many of their skills -- like the sound engineering skills I had when I worked in Radio -- do not transfer outside of the industry.

But it is what it is.

Here are two news articles on the layoffs, which I've referenced throughout the article.:

Widespread Layoffs at iHeartMedia as Music Radio Gets Downsized

Radio giant iHeart Media slashes hundreds of jobs

[Link removed, August 2025. -- C.C.]

A picture of my Squeakers in better days. I had just gotten my DSL router, and had just hooked it up. She was -- naturally -- curious about it. This was around 2012? 2013? I still miss my cat....

IN OTHER LIFE...

Just a week ago, we had Halloween. I took a handful of pics of decorations in my neighborhood. I think I will put them in a separate blog article. I only had two small groups of trick-or-treaters -- three kids in all, with three more people if you include parents and one of the kids' mom. They all got candy (except the one mom, who doesn't tolerate candy well).

So now I've got more mini chocolate bars to eat -- enough to last me for a year.

The weather is somewhat moderate for November, which I'm fine with. The MW DX conditions have picked up a little. As most long time DXers know, this Solar Cycle has been a dud. But it does seem to finally be showing a little promise. I actually heard a couple Oregon stations again for the first time in over a decade! 

I have several posts I've been working on and they just need pics. So over the next couple weeks there will be a cluster of them posted, including one on the Solar Cycle.

So stay tuned.

Peace.

C.C., November 9th, 2024.