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7 Mountains Media Layoffs Johnstown/Altoona

S

seth barrick

Over the past month and a half Seven Mountains Media has made significant cuts to ther markets in Altoona and Johnstown. First they let go of KC O'Day who was morning host/PD of Waly 100 in Altoona, she also voicetracked afternoons on Key 96.5 in Johnstown. At the beginning of December they let go of Pop Radio 92.1 Johnstown and 104.5 Altoona afternoon host/PD Russ Beckett. And just today, December 17, they let go of morning co-host of Froggy 98.1 Altoona and Big Froggy 101 State College JoJo. JoJo's partner Lily is still with the stations I believe but their morning show was so popular it got added to the State College market in 2023.

All three of these had been on the air in their respective markets for quite some time, KC O'Day was on for over 30 years, Russ Beckett was on 20 years and JoJo was on for 14 years in Altoona.

I'm not sure what has changed with this company but something drastic has. When they purchased stations in these markets from Forever Media in 2023, they dropped all Westwood Once programming and began programming eash station locally in house. They also hired a few djs in each market to add to the local appeal. I must say the stations sound alot better now than they did before but getting rid of three popular hosts in less than 2 months in both markets is ridiculous. Anyone have any idea what has changed? If they keep this up this will effect ratings and advertising dollars.
 
7 Mountains Media was one of the few remaining companies that appeared to value talent. And understand the role they play in a successful radio station. Although small in size, Altoona was mighty when it came to revenue for the company. These cuts are very concerning.
 
ted chittenden said:
If I'm reading the tea leaves correctly, Seven Mountains Media did not obtain the amount from advertising that they were expecting; hence the cuts.
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That is probably the case. It seems drastic to be cutting half of the #1 morning show from the #1 station though. You would think they'd try to protect that brand from cuts.
 
Seltzer said:
That is probably the case. It seems drastic to be cutting half of the #1 morning show from the #1 station though. You would think they'd try to protect that brand from cuts.
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At least this morning there was no morning show at all, Froggy was running fully automated the whole time. The drama unfolding on facebook sure is fun to read through.
 
secondchoice said:
Without copy right issues, can you fill us in?
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Here

radioinsight.com

Social Media War Of Words Follows Jojo’s Exit From WFGY & WFGE

After fourteen years at its Altoona cluster and eleven in mornings at Country "Froggy 98.1" WFGY Altoona PA, Jojo exited
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com

This is pretty crazy, and the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The way 7M is talking, they think JoJo is going to go postal on the building. On the other hand, JoJo is referring to some vague conflicts he's having with the station.

Like I said, the truth is somewhere in between.

That said, I once worked at a station that had to fire and lock out an allegedly eccentric, unstable morning guy. He was talented, but a bit of an odd cat. I didn't mind him. He called me up a few times not long after on my night shift on the sister station (we were a little bit chummy, and I was kind of on the outside of the station's daytime office politics clicque anyways, which I preferred, and he realized - we were both outsiders). I never knew what happened between him and management. I felt it best to not even inquire. Good call for me on that one.
 
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Jojo is now asking for people to subscribe to his Facebook page for exclusive content, that's definitely taking it too far. This is definitely a 2 sided issue, it appears there was some internal conflict going on for some time. I enjoyed their morning show but feel it would have been better on a chr or hot ac format.
 
seth barrick said:
Jojo is now asking for people to subscribe to his Facebook page for exclusive content, that's definitely taking it too far. This is definitely a 2 sided issue, it appears there was some internal conflict going on for some time. I enjoyed their morning show but feel it would have been better on a chr or hot ac format.
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No, no its not.... the subscribing wont/doesnt neccessarily have anything to do with why he left. It is a way for online content creators to make money.
 
gr8oldies said:
There's a good time for management to just stop talking
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The post from the company is laughable. You fired 3 long term employees.....PD and morning shows who had been there for 20 and 30 years respectively. And a 14 year vet and long time morning host. That's three people. And you say you don't make personnel changes rashly? Three people in a 6 week period or so is pretty drastic.
 
The other thing....if it wasn't a financial decision, then they will look to replace Jojo. Let's see if that happens or if they think the brand is strong enough it can survive with a weaker morning show.
 
Jojo has definitely handled himself in a way that wouldn't have me rushing to make him my top choice if I had a morning show opening to fill
 
Seltzer said:
The other thing....if it wasn't a financial decision, then they will look to replace Jojo. Let's see if that happens or if they think the brand is strong enough it can survive with a weaker morning show.
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Is Lily also gone? They have posted a position for a new morning show host, but I can't tell if it's someone that will join Lily or start a brand new show: Froggy 98 Mornings
 


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