The cuts continue at Meruelo Media Los Angeles as Rock 95.5 KLOS has dismissed afternoon hosts Kevin Ryder and Doug ‘Sluggo’ Roberts.
Roberts, who joined KLOS in 2019 as APD/MD/afternoon host. He had a nearly 30 year run at Alternative 106.7 KROQ from 1990 until moving to KLOS in 2019 with eight of those years pulling double duty in New York on “92.3 K-Rock” WXRK from 1996 to 2004. He also was part of the music programming and writing team at Variety Hits “93.1 Jack-FM” KCBS-FM and has hosted shows on SiriusXM’s 80s Alternative “First Wave” and 90s Alternative “Lithium” since 2004.
Ryder would join Roberts in February 2021 following an over 30 year run at KROQ. He and Gene ‘Bean’ Baxter anchored mornings together from 1989 until Baxter’s departure in 2019 and then continued with Jensen Karp and Allie MacKay until their firing in March 2020. The “Kevin & Bean” show was previously syndicated to other west coast markets including San Francisco, Fresno, Phoenix and Reno and they were inducted into both the National Radio Hall of Fame and the NAB Hall of Fame. Ryder, Baxter, Roberts and once and current KROQ Program Director Kevin Weatherly all came to KROQ from KZZP Phoenix in 1989 and 1990.
Meruelo Media eliminated all four midday hosts on their stations in February with “Power 106” KPWR afternoon host ‘DJ Felli Fel’ exiting a week later. Meruleo since added Pio Ferro as SVP/Programming in May. The company then sold one of its two Los Angeles television stations, KWHY-TV to the Church of Scientology in July for $30 million. In addition to KLOS and KPWR, Meruelo owns Classic Hip Hop 93.5 KDAY and Spanish Hot AC “Cali 93.9” KLLI.
The firings come as KLOS earlier on Friday started a “Where’s Kevin” marketing campaign with Honda to build awareness of he being at the station.
In response to the speculation that Meruelo Media is looking to sell its radio properties in Los Angeles, Ryder told Variety, “I hope they sell it to somebody who cares about it.”
Ironic time to start a “Where’s Kevin???” campaign.@SluggoDoug and I were both fired today from @955KLOS pic.twitter.com/4g5TpmrRzQ
— – (@thekevinryder) September 7, 2024