A longtime Southern California radio station is transitioning to an all-music format, as its hosts confirm the entire staff has been laid off.
KCAL-FM 96.7, a classic rock station based out of Redlands, announced plans to become an “All Music, All the Time” classic rock format starting Saturday, Aug. 1, Southern California News Group reported.
“The next chapter starts now,” the station said in a Friday, July 31, Facebook post. “Classic rock. Nothing but music. All day across the Inland Empire.”
Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation, which owns the station, did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.
Self-dubbed “The Inland Empire’s Rock Station,” the channel has been serving the area for decades, first signing on the air in 1965. Four years later,
"The Rock Spectrum" became the station’s moniker after it adopted a rock format, featuring soft rock during the day and harder rock at night.
“KCAL has a longstanding history in the Inland Empire, and this next chapter builds on the station’s strong rock heritage,” Kelly Sanders, chief operating officer of Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation, said in a news release obtained by Southern California News Group. “We rebuilt KCAL around the music our listeners grew up on, the songs and the artists that made classic rock, and we built it right here at home. KCAL will deliver a focused, consistent listening experience with broader appeal for both our audience and advertising partners.”
The change, the company’s release reportedly says, “expands the station’s musical focus and will have fewer interruptions and more music throughout the day.”
Hosts confirm layoffs. 'Yes, all of us'
Multiple KCAL-FM radio hosts confirmed on social media that the entire station’s staff was laid off Friday morning, a day before the station’s transition to its new format.
“Yes, all of us,” the station’s evening host John DeSantis wrote in a Facebook post. “They will be moving to an automated, human-less format. To say this is shocking is an understatement.”
Among the laid-off employees is Daryl Norsell, who worked at the station for 42 years, the past 36 as the station's afternoon host.
“I can't be anything but grateful. ... My four hours in the studio was always my favorite part of my day. My escape from whatever else was going on to be with my friends,” Norsell wrote in a Facebook post.
Norsell said he began working in the radio industry at 18 years old and started working at KCAL two years later.
“I've literally grown up and spent my entire adult life on the air with you playing music that I love and sharing stories and experiences,” Norsell said. “We've been through triumphs and tragedies, marriages and divorces, births and deaths, and always the sense of community and the ability to find the joy and laughter in it all helped make all of it more meaningful.”
Patrick Tish, the station’s morning show host, was another longtime KCAL staff member impacted by the layoffs.
“My 15 year run at KCAL has ended. Thanks to everyone along the way. I loved every minute of it. On the bright side, today is the 1st day I didn't have to get up at 4 AM,” Tish wrote in an Instagram post.
DeSantis said he would have more to say later after he's had more time to process.
“But for right now, I just want to thank all of you for letting me be part of the KCAL family. It has been a radio dream come true. You will always rock," DeSantis said.
Norsell echoed the sentiment.
“I'm going to unplug from everything and disappear with my awesome wife, Kori, for a while to decompress and then dive into whatever adventure the next chapter is going to bring. I'll be ready for it. I truly want to thank everyone that was a part of this incredible run. Cheers. And YOU ROCK!”
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: SoCal radio station moves to all-music, entire staff laid off, hosts say
