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KFLY Feels the Economic Crunch

Chris Brotherton
The Commuter

Friday, March 13, 2009

Busterass Marcus mugs for the camera at a U of O football game.

With our economy being in the toilet like it is, it’s never a surprise to hear about cutbacks in the news. However, you don’t hear about all the cutbacks that are going on. Even large companies like Bicoastal Media are feeling the crunch.

One of my favorite local radio stations, KFLY, is owned by Bicoastal Media and recently went through some personnel changes. I was able to speak with Buster Ass Marcus, a member of “The Donkey Show” which is on in the afternoons during the week. Marcus was affected directly by the changes and found out about his new shift when he walked through the door.

Buster Ass Marcus was to be the new seven to midnight guy, running things after “The Donkey Show” is done. This meant that he would no longer be paid for being on “The Donkey Show,” only for backlogging the audio for them and for his own show. Even though he isn’t getting paid for it, he is still showing up at the station and performing on “The Donkey Show,” because he is a part of the show and it wouldn’t be the same without him.

At the time that she was let go, the morning girl, Montana the Rock Bitch, was the programming director. What the company did was took her job and split it between three other people. It had nothing to do with the payment amount of her contract, but rather that her position could be handled by others, if split up. Marcus assured me that this is a standard business practice during a budget crunch, looking for any positions that could be “absorbed” into the company.

Carl, the previous night guy, is now doing the morning spot from 10 in the morning until two in the afternoon and is now in charge of programming the music for the station. Barry MacGuire, who is in charge of programming at KOOL 99.1, has taken over part of the time, helping to do the programming at KFLY. Marcus is the third person, who took over the backlogging of audio.

Even though “The Donkey Show” is the most popular show in KFLY’s lineup, they have never made any bones about the fact that there could come the day when they walk through the door and get handed their pink slips. They may not like the idea, but they are being realistic about it.

Being a fan of “The Donkey Show,” I have been watching the guys (Tanner, Drew, Marcus and Michael Fleming) on their webcam show on Stickam.com. I asked Marcus if he planned on doing any Stickam shows, since he starts in where The Donkey Show leaves off and I was hoping for a little extra inanity. He says that at first he may do some random shows without the camera, as he doesn’t want the extra pressure of the camera on him. I understand that viewpoint very well.

It was a huge thrill for me to talk to someone from my favorite radio show and I would like to thank Marcus for helping me out. He took time out of his busy schedule to call me at home for the interview and was very informative. I hope that nothing is going to happen to the show, as that is what gets me through my afternoons.

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