Ronn Owens moves to KSFO amid KGO shakeup

Ronn Owens in a 1976 photo provided by KGO, shortly after he joined the station. Ronn Owens in a 1976 photo provided by KGO, shortly after he joined the station. Photo: Chronicle File Photo: Chronicle File Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Ronn Owens moves to KSFO amid KGO shakeup 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

Veteran radio talk-show host Ronn Owens will be moved from KGO radio, his home for the past 40 years, to politically conservative sister station KSFO next week, Owens told his listeners Thursday.

The announcement came in the middle of what one KGO staffer called a “bloodbath” at the Cumulus Media-owned station. Sources said the station — once the Bay Area’s top radio news outlet — laid off most or all of its newsroom employees Thursday.

All told, 20 to 30 employees lost their jobs, said the sources, including some who were fired. Most sources asked to remain anonymous because they feared that speaking out could affect their severance pay or job prospects.

KGO and Cumulus management did not return calls and emails seeking comment.

The station did not immediately say who would take Owens’ longtime 9 a.m.-to-noon spot when he makes the switch Monday to KSFO, which is also owned by Cumulus. But sources said the station would air the talk-show team of Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty live from Sacramento’s KTSE-AM from 6 to 10 a.m. The pair, billed as Armstrong and Getty, mix conservative politics, discussion of social issues and humor.

Owens tried to put a positive spin on the move, saying, “I’ve been saying ‘KGO’ all my life and on Monday I’m going to say ‘KSFO.’ I’m going to look at this as a new adventure.”

But his listeners were having none of it. “They are disrespecting you,” a caller named Tanya declared as KGO phones lit up after the announcement.

“You’re the smartest guy in the room,” said Bruce of San Francisco. “Cumulus doesn’t know the Bay Area. They’re not us. You are us.”

At KSFO, the liberal Owens will find himself holding forth amid conservative syndicated voices like Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage, who will lead into Owens’ 3-to-6 p.m. show. Owens said he would provide an alternative to the “drivel” that his new “Hot Talk” colleagues provide, but conceded he was worried about facing “a group of listeners at KSFO who don’t love me.”

Owens has spent 32 of his 40 years with KGO talking in the mornings. His longevity and stature translate into major “gets,” such as MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, who was on the show Thursday to talk about his interview with Donald Trump in which the GOP presidential front-runner declared that if abortion were to be made illegal, women who sought termination of a pregnancy should be punished.

In 2014, Owens shared the news with his listeners that he had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2001. He was anxious about public reaction and said he didn’t want to be pitied. In the end, he said, he found support from people he often talks about as “family.”

Owens had a heads-up on what was coming for him Thursday, unlike the KGO staffers who were laid off. Several said the news operation had been gutted with no notice, no staff meeting and no explanation. Those who lost their jobs were escorted from the building.

The news director, Angela Corral, and all the anchors and reporters were among those laid off. Corral said she was terminated over the phone on Thursday while on vacation with her family in Paris.

“So many good people lost their jobs,” Corral said. “It really is sad.”

She said she was unsure if KGO planned to retain any news coverage, saying some part timers were told they might be able to continue working.

Several let-go employees gathered at Grumpy’s, a nearby pub, to commiserate.

Kristin Hanes, a reporter for nearly five years, learned of the layoffs when she was contacted by a reporter on Twitter. She was immediately terminated when she reported to work.

“I am quite saddened by the way Cumulus chose to blow out the entire newsroom staff,” she said. “The radio airwaves lost a talented group of journalists. Despite that, I am thankful to have worked at what once was a flagship station in the Bay Area.”

SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents most of the laid-off staffers, issued a statement calling the firings “an outrage to the community of listeners who rely on the station.”

“Cumulus has an obligation to provide quality local news programming,” the union said. “We’re concerned that today’s bulk layoffs, together with the company’s decision to move Ronn Owens to KSFO, will dramatically hinder that.”

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor of The San Francisco Chronicle. Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com, mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV, @ctuan