Denise Fondo Out at KNX

[KMan]

Lance Venta is reporting longtime PM drive traffic reporter Denise Fondo is out as part of their nationwide restructure.

She never returned to the studio after COVID, and the audio quality from whatever home set up she was using was awful.

More Names From This Week’s Audacy Layoffs - RadioInsight

 

[Gregg.]

KNX has traffic every ten minutes 24/7/365. If they let Ms. Fondo go, they still have to fill the slot with someone else. And I assume KNX traffic reporters are unionized. So the replacement would likely make the standard hourly wage.

The only thing I can think of is Ms. Fondo gets more than union scale? But is that difference enough to get rid of her?

 

[KMan]

No clue about her contract stipulations.
Brian Douglas has been filling in. He usually does a split shift as the "in studio" jam cam reporter. Probably just dump that position.
In 2020 during COVID, Audacy eliminated Barbara Brooks' evening traffic shift, and made everyone else's (except for Tom Tran) longer.

Also, don't forget a few years ago Audacy ended their contract with Total Traffic nationwide, and brought all their traffic anchors in house as employees. For KNX, York/Tran/Fondo were already in house, but three planes + reporters they used during rush hour dropped to 1, and all the off hours reporters changed.

Other Audacy stations, like 1010 WINS, ended up with all new "in house" traffic reporters, in some cases displacing reporters who had done traffic for them during drive time for decades.

I wonder if they wish they were still bartering advertising time with Total Traffic rather than having these positions on the head count?