Corporate radio cuts local voices, but Amy Demboski lands at Alaska-owned KVNT

By SUZANNE DOWNING

June 25, 2026 – The corporate shakeup that swept through iHeartMedia this week has already reshaped Alaska’s talk radio landscape.

On Tuesday, iHeartMedia eliminated dozens of local radio positions across the country as part of a companywide restructuring that heavily targeted local talk and news programming.

Among those losing their shows was Alaska’s Amy Demboski, whose morning program on Newsradio 650 KENI came to an abrupt end after three years on the air. Also Casey Bieber’s show was cut.

The cuts were not limited to Alaska. Stations from Minneapolis to Des Moines, Pittsburgh, Denver, St. Louis, Birmingham, Indianapolis and dozens of other markets saw longtime local hosts, program directors and producers dismissed as the nation’s largest radio company moves toward more centralized programming.

The restructuring follows iHeartMedia’s first-quarter earnings announcement, in which company executives outlined plans to reduce another $50 million in annual costs on top of roughly $100 million in previously announced savings. According to an internal memo obtained by industry publications, the company intends to rely more heavily on technology, centralized operations, syndicated programming, and what executives call its “Guaranteed Human” talent strategy while eliminating redundant local positions.

The memo from iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group CEO Ann Marie Licata and Chief Programming Officer Tom Poleman described the changes as necessary to “move faster” across markets by expanding technology, supporting sales teams, and restructuring programming operations.

For Alaska listeners, the most visible casualty was Demboski’s very popular morning show on KENI.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Within hours of her departure, Demboski announced she would return to Alaska-owned KVNT, where she first entered broadcasting.

“I started my broadcast career at KVNT and I am thrilled to return to this Alaskan company,” Demboski said. “KVNT has always supported candid conversations on topics that Alaskans care about; I think it’s a great fit and desperately needed as we enter one of the most important election cycles in Alaska history.”

Her move echoes that of the late Dan Fagan, one of Alaska’s best-known talk radio personalities, who also left KENI for KVNT during his career.

Unlike iHeartMedia, KVNT is locally owned by CBI Media Group, an Alaska-based company that has long emphasized locally focused programming alongside nationally syndicated conservative talk shows.

Casey Bieber, a familiar Anchorage radio personality who spent 25 years with iHeartMedia and hosted mornings on KGOT, announced Tuesday that he too had been let go in the restructuring.

“Well, it’s been one hell of a ride,” Bieber wrote on social media. “Twenty-nine years in radio. Twenty-five years at iHeartMedia. Twenty years at KGOT. Twelve years doing the morning show. And at the ripe old age of 46, it’s my first time ever getting fired.”

Bieber thanked listeners for supporting his career and said the opportunity to connect daily with Alaskans “will always have a special place within my soul.”

He added with characteristic humor, “In the meantime, I have a standing 7 a.m. tee time at the golf course.”

Industry observers say the latest round of layoffs could rival or exceed iHeartMedia’s major workforce reductions in 2020. Many stations are expected to replace locally produced programming with syndicated or nationally produced shows, continuing a long-running trend in commercial radio toward centralized content.

For Alaska, however, the changes may create an unexpected opportunity.

As one of the country’s largest radio corporations pulls back from local programming, an independently owned Alaska broadcaster is adding one of the state’s best-known political voices at the very moment Alaska enters what promises to be one of its most consequential election seasons.

Tom Steigleman, Chief Executive Officer of CBI Media said, “I was disappointed to hear of iHeart Media’s move to eliminate local content on their stations.  Local content is important, and I’ve been looking for the right person to take over the KVNT morning show since Thomas Loving passed on May 14.  I’m excited to have Amy Demboski coming back to join our team.  We hired Amy a little over 10 years ago to be our Afternoon host on KVNT, so Amy is a known quantity for us.  Amy’s unique insights and commentary about Alaska politics will be great to have back on our station and she will be a key part to what CBI Media wants to accomplish with local content in the future.”

More details about Demboski’s new show, expected to start up within a couple of weeks, will be forthcoming.