In The Wake Of Audacy Layoffs, Where Does Radio Go From Here?

The layoff leveled by radio giant Audacy last week wasn’t a real stunner as we’ve normalized big radio layoffs for decades.

Audacy arrived here with Entercom Communications as a base, acquiring Jefferson – Pilot Communications in 2006, Lincoln Financial Group in 2015, and the big acquisition of CBS Radio in 2017, then rebranding as Audacy in 2021.   

Radio has seen brutal mass layoffs over the years, dating back nearly 20 years with the July 2006 layoffs of hundreds of radio pros via CBS Radio.

Since radio has survived Clear Channel 2009 cuts (Now iHeartMedia) trimming 1,800+ jobs, Cumulus Media mass firings in July 2019,  iHeartMedia’s January 2020 bloodbath, Cumulus Media letting go of hundreds in March 2020 and January 2023’s  Audacy layoffs over Covid-19 concerns.

Even self-proclaimed ‘stable’ companies Saga Communications, Hubbard Radio, and Beasley Media Group suffered layoffs in 2024, the latter reducing 7% of their workforce last May.

The thought came as to ‘who is left to read daily and weekly columns at Barrett Media’?

Having published over 1,000 columns since 2006, left me with another thought – ‘what’s still relevant to put pen to paper? Like watching an old movie where you see a typewriter, phone booth or cassette player, what has been written that’s no longer ‘relevant’?

Looking back through files, here are a few:

The Ice Cream Truck (April 2008)

In this piece, we examined how radio station mobile units were like Ice Cream Trucks, gathering screaming crowds as they rolled through neighborhoods.

Inside that rolling swag wagon were prizes and logoed gear fans begged to own, often paying for station wearables. Today, radio struggles to buy staff jerseys, let alone find someone to man a truck to deliver unaffordable station gear.

Alliances (November 2016)

This missive covered the opportunity to strike partnerships with other local businesses for cross–marketing.

Place talent at parades, festivals, and civic events for exposure, or own a station–themed grocery aisle. Who is available to post at these positions today, let alone create those relationships? 

Service – (February 2019)

With Trader Joe’s as an example of great customer service, I encouraged readers to adopt the same principles in and around their radio brand.

Those values included calling a short list of listeners each week and thanking them for being loyal Listeners, developing a digital or virtual Listener Panel from your database, and giving every station visitor a custom tour of your facility.

Still great standards to adapt if there’s manpower to consistently execute. If you’re inside this crazy business or outside looking in, there’s still plenty of opportunity – if you evolve.

ev-o-lu-tion – the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was an accomplished vocalist and pianist, having studied at the highly regarded New York’s Tisch School of the Arts. Being good in a sea of ‘good’ left her largely unnoticed.  SHE developed an IDEA – to evolve.

Lady Gaga hosted her second Saturday Night Live just last weekend.

Ready to evolve?

Learn AI—Instead of ignoring or running away from AI, embrace it to up your organization’s game. AI can assist in content ideation, developing copy, and even Voice-over generation.

Learn I.T.  – Station Engineer is one of the toughest positions to fill in radio.  Since the vast majority of stations are digital, there’s an opportunity here to stretch your career.  We have engineers in our clusters that also do air work.

Learn Sales—Our industry’s Radio Advertising Bureau (R.A.B.) offers online training courses specifically for radio. Sales Managers often welcome air talent to carry a few clients or a small list.

Good news.

In America there are over 10,000 FM radio stations and 4,000 AM outlets. Audacy owns just over 200. Bad news will come our way again.

Still – plenty of opportunity for us who remain.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.