KNBR, the self-proclaimed Sports Leader in the Bay Area, made some significant cuts Wednesday, laying off several well-known members of its on-air staff.
Paul McCaffrey, the co-host of the “Murph and Mac Show,” was one of those cut, as was F.P. Santangelo, the evening show host. “Murph and Mac” ran from 6-10 a.m. and Santangelo’s hosting shift was 6-10 p.m. Those slots are now listed as “KNBR programming” on the station’s website.
Afternoon co-host Adam Copeland, who was promoted to programming director in recent weeks, addressed and lamented the layoffs at the top of the 6 p.m. hour along with Tom Tolbert, who joins him on the “Tolbert & Copes” afternoon show.
“I love the guys we let go of today. I’m looking forward to the future, but I really think we need to tip our cap and applaud the work that those guys have done,” Copeland said on what he called a “really difficult day”, according to SFGate.
“For the people that I’ve worked with, the people that I know, the people that were let go today, it’s not because of your performance,” Tolbert added. “It’s just the way this business is going.”
Much of the rest of Wednesday’s programming was normal: McCaffrey and co-host Brian Murphy hosted their morning show, with appearances from Giants play-by-play man Duane Kuiper and others.
“I want to thank everyone @KNBR for the amazing opportunity to be a part of their station for a second time around!” Santangelo, a former Giants and A’s utility player, tweeted in the afternoon. “I was informed today that due to budget cuts there will no longer be a 6-10 p.m. show.”
“I was also informed today that I won’t be continuing with @KNBR,” producer Erik Engle tweeted. “It was a hell of a ride and I’m grateful for all the growth, opportunity, good times, and better people.”
Copeland also noted that Lee Hammer, the former program director, would be leaving, as well as some digital staffers.
KNBR-680 has long been the radio home of 49ers and Giants games, and was long the unchallenged top sports talk station of the Bay Area, but in recent years it has lost significant ground to 95.7 FM, which has the rights to Warriors games.
