It took only a 10-minute Zoom call, according to San Diego sports-talk radio personalities Annie Heilbrunn and Craig Elsten.
Before the call, the two were undoubtedly prepping for “The Annie & Elsten Show,” their midday talk show on KWFN-FM 97.3 The Fan, one of six San Diego radio stations operated by Audacy.
Then, during a Zoom call, Philadelphia-based Audacy told them they were part of a nationwide layoff that affected hundreds of hosts at radio stations across the country.
Elsten said in a March 6 Facebook post, “I was informed in a Zoom call this morning that our show was being immediately dissolved as part of a nationwide set of layoffs for the Audacy Corporation. I was told that the decision was made by corporate outside of SD, and had no bearing on our show’s ratings, success or quality, all of which were high. We didn’t struggle or fail, they just pulled the plug because our names came up on the spreadsheet.
“It sucks to put your heart and soul into something only for it to be shut down in 10 cold minutes, but, listen, that’s show biz. But, I loved my time at 97.3. Never had more fun day-to-day at a job. Padres Hot Tub continues and hopefully bigger and better to come. Time to work on the golf swing.”
Since 2015, Elsten has hosted Padres Hot Tub, a podcast.
In January 2024, Heilbrunn and Elsten were paired to co-host The Fan’s weekday, midday slot (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), replacing “Coach” John Kentera, who departed the station the week before Christmas 2023.
A San Diego native, Heilbrunn joined The San Diego Union-Tribune as a news journalist in 2005 before transitioning to covering the Padres and Chargers in 2009. In 2012, she joined Fox Sports San Diego as the host of “Padres Social Hour” and a host-and contributor to “Padres POV.” By 2017, she had risen to the role of sideline and field reporter on Padres broadcasts, a position she held with Bally Sports San Diego for seven seasons.
Elsten has worked the past 28 years in the San Diego market in television, radio and podcasting. He started his San Diego sports broadcasting career at XTRA Sports 690 in 1996, and worked in radio until 2009 at XTRA, KLSD-AM and KOGO-AM. He returned to radio to work at The Mighty 1090-AM from 2012 to 2018 as a Padres host, covering San Diego State University Aztecs football and basketball and hosting multiple weekend programs.
He also served as the director of media relations and broadcasting for the San Diego Sockers from 2009 to 2015, before transitioning to the San Diego Gulls from 2015 to 2018 as the club’s play-by-play voice on radio and TV. Elsten then returned to the Sockers in 2018 as the club’s chief marketing officer, director of communications and broadcast voice. He has done play-by-play broadcasts for Major League Baseball, the Gulls, Time Warner Cable, World Championship Sports Network and UC San Diego.
In addition to KWFN-FM, Audacy owns and operates five other San Diego radio stations, including KBZT-FM ALT 94.9, KYXY-FM 96.5, KXSN-FM Sunny 98.1-FM, KSON-FM 103.7 and KXSN-HD3 Channel Q.
According to Barrett Media, KSON’s assistant program director and midday host Greg Raneiri also was let go. Ranieri also served as midday host for Portland’s 99.5 The Wolf.
Audacy, the nation’s second-largest audio group behind iHeart Media, operates more than 230 broadcasting brands and claims 165 million monthly broadcast listeners. Among its largest radio stations include KROQ and KRTH 101 in California, 100.3 Jack FM in Dallas and WINS-FM in New York. The company also operates a podcast division featuring such titles as “Office Ladies,” “Fly on the Wall” and “The Goop Podcast.”
Barrett reports the number of companywide Audacy layoffs last week could be as high as 300 employees, including content producers and administrative staff. Audacy made the cuts less than six months since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Audacy was restructured as a private company in September 2024.
The company said in a statement last week, “Audacy has made workforce reductions to ensure a strong and resilient future for the business. We are streamlining resources to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving media landscape and to best position Audacy to continue serving listeners and advertisers with excellence.”
Other notable departures included: Los Angeles KNX News 97.1 program director Alex Silverman and longtime anchor and investigative reporter Charles Feldman.
Efforts to reach Heilbrunn, Elsten and Raneiri for additional comment for this article were unsuccessful.
MindgruveMacarta Hires David Shapiro as Earned Media VP
MindgruveMacarta, a San Diego-based marketing agency, has hired David Shapiro as VP of earned media. Shapiro will lead the agency’s earned media efforts, including public relations, organic social media, content marketing and SEO.
A statement said Shapiro’s appointment reflects MindgruveMacarta’s commitment to helping clients achieve measurable results through cohesive marketing strategies and data-driven insights.
David Shapiro“Dave is a proven leader with a remarkable track record of building and scaling content marketing and earned media teams to maximize impact for enterprise brands,” said Chad Robley, chairman and CEO, MindgruveMacarta. “We are excited to have him spearheading our earned media practice as we sharpen our focus on delivering cohesive data-driven content strategies.”
Shapiro has more than 16 years of experience working with global brands to create content programs that drive engagement through earned media channels. Before joining MindgruveMacarta, he served as chief marketing officer at Unabated Sports.
Previously, he worked with Neil Patel Digital and advised clients that included Adobe, SoFi and Western Union. Shapiro also expanded the earned media team at iProspect, managing the Bank of America and T-Mobile accounts.
“MindgruveMacarta sets the standard for performance marketing, data technology innovation and optimizing ROI on marketing programs,” said Shapiro. “The opportunity to enhance our earned media offerings while helping clients navigate the new era of generative AI is incredibly exciting. By integrating earned media disciplines, we deliver strategies that support our clients’ ambitious revenue growth goals.”
With more than 300 employees, MindgruveMacarta operates offices in San Diego, Denver, Mexico City, São Paulo, Amsterdam, Madrid and London.
Creative Agency 62ABOVE Begins Visit Carlsbad Campaign
San Diego creative marketing agency 62ABOVE has begun media expenditures for the spring iteration of its “All Good” advertising campaign for client Visit Carlsbad.
With a media budget exceeding $500,000, the spring campaign features TV spots with scenes of theme parks, restaurants and beaches that are running on TV streaming services and smart TVs.
A 62ABOVE statement said last year’s launch of “All Good” resulted in doubling the number of visitors to Carlsbad and increased “intent to visit” by 158% among target audiences.
“We’re thrilled to launch our spring campaign with 62ABOVE,” said Mark Rudyk, VP of marketing and communications, Visit Carlsbad. “Their commitment to encapsulating what sets Carlsbad apart from other destinations is apparent in these spots, which showcase our ‘All Good’ vibe while simultaneously capturing the fun, trendy, cool energy that Carlsbad offers.”
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
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