UTICA-ROME — The day after budget cuts resulted in the sudden dismissals of longtime WIBX 950 morning show host Bill Keeler and producer Davey Smith, we’ve learned that WIBX’s news department has also been completely eliminated.
Partially to honor commitments to guests who were previously booked to appear on WIBX this morning, before they knew they’d be out of their jobs, Keeler and Smith went live on YouTube for a little over an hour this morning.
During the webcast, it was revealed that Jeff Monaski, the lone remaining employee of the WIBX news department, was also let go as a result of yesterday’s budget cuts. He wasn’t even in the building to get the news — retired anchor Jim Rondenelli had been filling-in because Monaski was previously scheduled to be off yesterday and today.
Monaski joined the conversation by telephone, and other former WIBX employees including Andrew Derminio and “Mean” Gene Conte also called in to share their sympathy and support. The group reminisced about earlier years when WIBX newsroom was much more adequately-staffed.
During the webcast from what was described as “Studio 1A” in the basement of Keeler’s home, the longtime host said he wasn’t doing the webcast to get negative about Townsquare — and he stayed true to that word. He said the firings yesterday were a shock, but not a complete surprise, as he knew sales revenue was below expectations.
Keeler also revealed he has been planning “something different” for quite some time, but had not revealed the plans to anyone else yet. While not revealing much, the host simply said he wasn’t planning to still be at WIBX when the station reaches its 101st anniversary in December. He said more would be announced “next week” and it would involve multiple platforms.
Meanwhile, it appears Townsquare didn’t quite fully prepare themselves for removing Keeler and his colleagues. Listening to the WIBX stream this morning, we caught the 8:00am top-of-hour legal ID, which ends with a toss to Fox News. But instead of switching to the Fox News feed, the station instead aired a music bed… which eventually featured an announcer proclaiming “The Guy Benson Show begins in 5 minutes,” with an update at each passing minute.
Such countdowns are usually not intended to be broadcast, but rather, for live board operators or engineers to monitor a feed off-air to confirm they’ll be switching to the correct feed at the correct time. (Had there still been staff in the studio, we presume someone would have been able to ensure the correct feed made it to air.)
The one thing that did work correctly, was the commercial break which usually runs after the Fox News feed concludes, followed by a likely-prerecorded weather forecast, before rejoining the Guy Benson show feed at the six-minute mark typical for syndicated talk shows.
Your editor wasn’t listening earlier to hear if the same error was made at 5, 6 and 7am.
Covering the happenings at dozens of TV and radio stations in two markets is no easy task! We’re always grateful for your “official” station announcements and “unofficial” insider tips. Anytime you’ve got news to share about local radio or TV, use our Contact Form. You can choose whether to include your own contact info, or remain anonymous.
CNYRadio.com once again thanks those who provided the initial tips when this all started on Friday. Although it took a bit to confirm what we were hearing before anything could be published here, those initial messages were key in helping CNYRadio.com to share this story. We also send good wishes to Keeler, Smith and Monaski as they explore their next steps.
Dave Krause says:
As a competitor with WIBX both in the 1970’s with WTLB, and 2018 -20 with 95.5 THE HEAT, the changes at WIBX are a huge loss to the Utica – Rome market. Hopefully, there are still locals such as Ken Roser as well as the outstanding management at WKTV Ch 2, who will pick up some of the slack. Our “Hot Seat” program, weekdays on 95.5, also gives residents some alternative perspectives.