VENTURA : KKUR Lays Off 5 On-Air Personalities

Ventura County radio station KKUR laid off five full-time on-air employees Friday and will begin subscribing to a satellite-delivered music system this weekend, the station’s general manager said.

The layoffs were necessary because of a decrease of about 15% to 20% in advertising revenues, general manager J.R. Engel said.

“These are tough times, and we need to contain costs wherever we can,” said Tom Miserendino, president of KKUR’s parent company, Eric Chandler Communications of Ventura, whose offices are in Encino.

KKUR, which broadcasts across most of the county including Oxnard, Ventura, Ojai, Camarillo and parts of Thousand Oaks, will still be “live in every respect in terms of its local news staff,” said program director Robin Mitchell, one of the five employees.

News reporter Jennifer Quinlan and deejays Susan Landers, David Jeremiah and Scott Wilkinson also were laid off.

Mitchell said he has experience in several major markets and is confident that he will find work elsewhere. The three other employees were not available for comment.

The station’s programming will not change significantly, he said.

“On the corporate level, the move was well thought out,” he said.

The station, which plays adult contemporary music, will now be serviced by Satellite Music Network of Dallas, Engel said.

“I’m excited about what we’re doing and know that we will be able to provide what Ventura County listeners want from radio,” Engel said.