Staff Shrinkage Hits KNBR/SF
• RAMP has learned of several major layoffs inside Cumulus Sports-Talk KNBR (680/104.5)/San Francisco — The San Francisco Chronicle reports that longtime morning co-host Paul “Pauly Mac” McCaffrey is out, along with producer Erik Engle, along with evening host and former MLB player F.P. Santangelo, who broke his own news Wednesday afternoon, via X: “I was informed today that due to budget cuts there will no longer be a 6-10pm show.” He’s right — the station is now airing CBS Sports Radio programming from 6-10pm as well as overnights. The status of Brian Murphy, McCaffrey’s co-host since 2005 is unclear, as is the status of the show’s Sr. Producer Markus Boucher.
And there’s more — veteran programmer Lee Hammer (left), 25-year cluster veteran is also gone, along with four members of the station’s six-person digital team.
Adam Copeland, who last month was upped to PD of KNBR, KGO-AM (The Spread 810), and KTCT-AM 1050 also co-hosts the Tolbert and Copes afternoon show on KNBR with Tom Tolbert. At the end of Wednesday’s show Copeland candidly addressed the staff departures, commenting, “It’s been a really difficult day. 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.” Tolbert added, “It’s awful. I’ve been through a few of these and it never gets any easier, because a lot of good people don’t have their jobs. It’s a business; it’s the way that radio is going. It just is what it is. You do the best job you can and move on, but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t affect a lot of people and their families.”
Lee Hammer, a member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame has notably served in multiple programming roles in the building over his quarter-century of service — he was named interim PD of Talk duo 810 KGOand 560 KSFO in 2015, while also programming KNBR 680 and KTCT (KNBR 1050), positions he held for 12 years and 19+ years, respectively. In July 2017 Hammer was promoted to Operations Manager for Cumulus San Francisco and VP of Play-by-Play Programming for KNBR. In Nov. 2018 Hammer was named PD of 810 KGO and 560 KSFO. He was most recently serving as a liaison between KNBR and the San Francisco 49ers and Giants.
