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And they plan to spill the beans about their firing during their first show back on May 27. In January, KIRO-FM canceled the show by not renewing the contract for the popular Seattle morning team. The Ron & Don Show was heard on KIRO for 13 years before it was abruptly canceled 11 minutes after the show ended on January 10.
On Friday, Don O’Neill posted the following to his Facebook page: “Cancelled? As the radio tower dies…THE RON and DON NATION….WE RISE! You can’t cancel cause radio! What happened at KIRO ? Episode #1. Monday May 27th. - We are BACK! - ron and don”
The firing caught both employees at the station and listeners to the show by surprise.
A company statement at the time said: “A decision was finalized this evening between Bonneville Seattle and Ron Upshaw & Don O’Neill to end their 13 years at the station. Today was their last show on KIRO Radio. We want to thank them both for their service and contribution to the station, our company and to the communities we serve. They both have left long legacies on KIRO Radio and we wish them only the best."
When they lost their jobs, they decided they were not going to leave Seattle. And, while they were on the beach, both Ron and Don got their real estate licenses as well, which is prominently posted on their landing page to the new podcast RonandDonRadio.com. It’ll be interesting to see if Entercom has anything to say about Ron & Don’s new logo. Our first thought was that the new podcast would be heard on Radio.com from the logo (they are launching their podcast on Anchor).
This is a perfect transition for fired radio hosts. Stay in the market where you’ve built an audience and take them with you to a new platform. At a minimum you’ll see exactly how powerful your show is (or was) on the radio station. Of course, the upside is, if you sell the show yourself, you keep all the revenue for yourself. Fans have been lighting up Don’s Facebook page after hearing about the news.