There aren't a lot of details as of now, but it sounds like KUFO's getting a pretty major overhaul—and losing some of Portland's most talented radio personalities in the process. (The fate of another popular KUFO show, The Rick Emerson Show, is still unknown; we'll update if and when we hear anything else.)
Cort and Fatboy have been friends of the Mercury for a while now—Steve's been a regular guest on their show to talk about TV, and they were kind enough to have me on once to blather about a comic book, and the Mercury geek contingent took up a regular row at their Battlestar Galactica screenings a while back. I guess the news of their firings wasn't particularly surprising to Cort and Fatboy, but for us—and I'm guessing more than a few Portland listeners—learning that there isn't gonna be any more Cort and Fatboy is definitely a shock. Portland radio just got suckier.
UPDATE, 4:35 PM: As noted in Cort and Fatboy's final podcast, Chris Patyk—who was KUFO's program director—has also been fired. (The mysterious anonymous forces at Oregon Media Central claim that KUFO is bringing in a new program director, Dave "Ditch" Milan, out of San Diego.) Elsewhere in the rumor mill, word is that KUFO's bringing in some guy named Ricker from Seattle. Still no word on the fate of any other KUFO programs.
UPDATE, 5:15 PM: It's looking more and more like Rick Emerson's been shown the door, too. Meanwhile, listeners who try to listen to Cort and Fatboy's final podcast via the KUFO page get the following message: "Sorry, the audio you are looking for is not available". Huh. Too bad there's nowhere else people can hear it....
LISTEN:
Cort and Fatboy's final podcast - October 23, 2009
