Drastic Cuts in Seattle

I was chatting with a reader this evening about how dire things are for orchestras and stations in this recession, when I got a call that Seattle’s commercial classical station KING-FM laid off most three of its on-air staff members today.  Steve Reeder, who’s been on-air for some 30 years was let go, as was Peter Newman, former Program Director and now overnight host.  Gigi Yellen, the evening announcer is out, as well.

I have all this secondhand, and I’m sure more will unfold in the days to come.

Commercial classical is a hard format to support.  Time for the station to go public!  I hope the foundation that runs the station will consider such a sea change, because Seattle is passionate about its cultural institutions, and it needs a classical station.

More anon…

About Marty Ronish

Marty Ronish is an independent producer of classical music radio programs. She currently produces the Chicago Symphony Orchestra broadcasts that air 52 weeks a year on more than 400 stations and online at www.cso.org. She also produces a radio series called "America's Music Festivals," which presents live music from some of the country's most dynamic festivals. She is a former Fulbright scholar and co-author of a catalogue of Handel's autograph manuscripts.

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