Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Ann Arbor Radio Lays Off Martin Bandyke and Brian Larsen

7. February 2009 • Nancy Shore
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As reported in the Ann Arbor News, Cumulus radio station 107.1 WQKL laid off local radio personality Martin Bandyke as of Friday afternoon.

Doesn’t look like anyone is going to replace him as of now.

News Director Brian Larsen was also let go.

According to the Ann Arbor News, the layoffs appear to be part of a nationwide reduction in staff by Cumulus.

National company Cumulus Media also owns country station WWWW (102.9 FM), liberal talk station WLBY (1290 FM), which now hosts the Lucy Ann Lance Show, and sports station WTKA (1050 AM), where Michigan football games are broadcast.



  1. These cuts are not surprising; the media industry has benn hit hard by the severe economic downturn. Both fellows are talented and will bouncr back.


       —John Dory    Feb. 8 '09 - 02:14AM    #
  2. Maybe they should try looking for a job here.


       —Nancy    Feb. 8 '09 - 07:59PM    #
  3. While the media industry has been hit hard by the economic downturn, it has been hit even harder by the extremely high debt loads that major media conglomerates assumed as they went on buying sprees — gobbling up station licenses by the dozens. That debt was only sustainable as long as the economy was humming, credit was freely available, and profits were reliable and very high.

    If these stations had local ownership, they could do original local programming (at least part of the time) and still generate good profits. The entire radio industry has been strip-mined by big corporations; now that the economic picture has changed, they are abandoning their mines and leaving unsightly gashes on the media landscape.

    As for whether the fellows find work, I wouldn’t be too sure about that. There are tens of thousands of talented broadcasters who’ve been cut nationwide. Lots of people chasing a diminishing pool of jobs.


       —jvwalt    Feb. 9 '09 - 07:48AM    #
  4. Bamdyke and Larsen are not the only media personalities with local ties who have left their employment recently. Rob Packard, who was raised in the Ann Arbor area, has left his long time employment with the NBC-TV affiliate in Toledo.
    Rob was previously awarded an Emmy and was considered a revered television journalist in Toledo.


       —Mark Koroi    Feb. 17 '09 - 08:12AM    #
  5. Hey all, according to Martin Bandyke’s website, he is now back at 107.1:

    2/19/08

    Hi Everybody.

    I have some incredible news for you —- due to listener demand, I am returning to Ann Arbor’s 107one starting Monday, March 2!

    Words can’t begin to express my gratitude to everyone who asked for my return, from listeners to advertisers to business & community leaders.

    Your voices have been heard, and I am deeply thankful.

    I am also extremely grateful to Ann Arbor Radio and Cumulus Media for their efforts on my behalf.

    Besides my 6-10am morning drive show returning to the airwaves on March 2, I’m pleased to announce that Fine Tuning will also return to its regular 4-6pm Sunday timeslot starting Sunday, March 8.

    Best,

    Martin


       —Nancy Shore    Feb. 20 '09 - 07:13PM    #