Bob Lonsberry is gone.
After more than 10 years on the air at KNRS (FM-105.7), the radio host has been let go.
Lonsberry, who did his morning show from Rochester, N.Y., has been replaced by an expansion of "The Glenn Beck Program," which now airs from 6-10 a.m. weekdays. (The program is repeated in the afternoon.).
Lonsberry is continuing his separate midday talk radio show on WHAM in Rochester. (Ironically, he's filled in occasionally on Beck's syndicated show.)
Lonsberry stated on his blog that his dismissal was not just ratings oriented, but quite possibly politically motivated.
However, his former station dismissed the latter assertion.
"We thank Bob for his years of service to KNRS and his dedication to our community and wish him well in his future endeavors," said Stuart Stanek, general manager of the Salt Lake Clear Channel cluster and owner of KNRS.
"Bob has alleged that his dismissal was politically motivated. That allegation is not true. In the April Arbitron ratings report, using the industry-standard benchmark, Bob's program finished in 22nd place among all radio stations in the Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo metro area," Stanek said.
"We are disappointed that Bob's program did not generate acceptable audience ratings, which is the sole reason for his departure."
"I got killed by a frequency change and something called the People Meter," Lonsberry stated on his blog, as reported at AllAccess.com.
"A new way to measure radio ratings, it took our station from the top to the bottom. It essentially said that 10 years of ratings were all wrong and that nobody was listening to the show. Our sponsors had plenty of customers, our listeners determined the outcome of elections, station events always drew well, and then a switch flipped. Personally, I think it's an unreliable system that is going to cost radio companies untold hundreds of millions and it might even gut the talk-radio industry," Lonsberry wrote.
He also said that his opposition to "a candidate who made $600,000 from one of our largest advertisers last year, does make me wonder. Strings get pulled in the real world, and politics is hardball, and our program's effort helped tip the nominating convention, so it's not impossible that I lost my job in SALT LAKE so that somebody else could get a job in WASHINGTON."
Lonsberry was definitely a unique Salt Lake radio host. He did his homework and knew the current events of Utah well — in many cases better than residents do. He will be missed.
TWENTY YEARS AGO IN SALT LAKE RADIO — Russ Novak and Peggy Ijams are the new morning personalities on KSFI. … Chere Wood becomes the KSFI promotions director. … Bob Jennings, Ron Jensen and Nina Green are laid off from KRSP-AM radio. … KSFI begins airing vocal music instead of just "elevator music."
e-mail: lynn@desnews.com