Audacy underwent a round of layoffs affecting nearly 100 employees Wednesday, and one of the casualties was KDKA afternoon host Rick Dayton.

Dayton — who joined the Pittsburgh news/talk station in December 2020 — hosted from 2-6 PM before being let go. Before joining the radio station, Dayton worked at KDKA-TV for 11 years as a morning anchor.

In response, KDKA is shifting the morning show featuring Larry Richert to now run from 5:30-10 AM, with Marty Griffin hosting from 10 AM-2PM, and former 93.7 The Fan morning show host Colin Dunlap hosting from 2-6 PM.

In a statement, Audacy said the layoffs were a necessary step in its reorganization after a pre-packaged bankruptcy filing earlier this year.

“Audacy is performing well against our 2024 business plan, and we are on track to emerge as a stronger and healthier company, well positioned for a bright future as a differentiated, scaled industry leader with the industry’s strongest balance sheet,” a company spokesperson said.

“As we continue to make large investments and drive enhancements across our business, we are simultaneously implementing some difficult but necessary decisions that will impact less than 2% of our workforce to best position our company for long-term growth.”

Digital “phishing” scams have become a problem, especially for those working for large corporations. WLS-AM 890 morning host Steve Cochran found that out the hard way.

During The Steve Cochran Show Wednesday, the Chicago news/talk host welcomed Steve Bernas, the President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois, to his program. While introducing the guest, he admitted there was a specific reason he was welcoming the executive to the program.

“I never talked about me, as you know, but we’re gonna start with phishing scams. I set a Cumulus record for this $4 billion company, in that I clicked on six different phishing scams,” Cochran said. “And, apparently, no one’s ever been close. I’m quite proud, as you would imagine. I spend all that time this weekend going through court-ordered training.”

Bernas advised listeners to simply not click on any links sent to them in email form to avoid being scammed or seeing their company being hacked.

Cochran said the situation made using his corporate email account with Cumulus difficult. He added “I told my son this story two days again, and I think he’s still laughing. But it’s a very serious thing and you do have to be careful.”

He joked that the only way the company will be able to get ahold of him will be to chisel words on tablets and “they’ll run them up the mountain to me.”

Erick Erickson has found success in the news/talk space by being unapologetically himself. That’s shown in his ratings, but also in the way he approaches his nationally syndicated program.

In a post to his Substack, Erickson showcased the recent ratings results from 95.5 WSB in Atlanta, which sees him atop the market with an 11.5 share in the daypart. Since September 2023, Erickson has been the highest-rated show each month in the Persons 35-64 demographic.

While Erick Erickson thanked his listeners, he noted that he has been studying the metrics of his audience, and has come to the realization that listeners do not want to hear guests on during the program. Instead, they want to hear him, he posits.

“After much study of my audience, it turns out my audience really hates it when I have guests. They would rather listen to me explain things,” Erickson wrote. “So, a big and present newsmaker might get on, but otherwise, it is the audience and me in conversation.”

Erickson — who was one of the only conservative talk radio voices that did not support Donald Trump during the run-up to the 2016 presidential election — shared that he occupies a small segment of the medium, but that has led to his current success, including being added to stations in Sacramento and Austin this week.

“I do a radio show that a lot of ‘experts’ in radio say formulaically should not work. The ratings speak for themselves.”