McKernan Addresses Report on Company's Future
Tim McKernan, Doug Vaughn and Jim "The Cat" Hayes on Wednesday were back together on The Ryan Kelley Morning After for the first time in a few weeks.
Midway through the first hour, McKernan addressed a report regarding KFNS and the future of insideSTL posted online last week.
Listen to what he had to say below.
McKernan also posted the following on the topic on The TMA Fan Page:
It's been a week since the story was reported with some inaccuracies and/or some important details left out. I wanted to wait to address the KFNS article until I was able to discuss it on the air…so nothing could be taken out of context.
To clarify for those who didn't hear it (and you can listen in Segment 1 from 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. where we talked about it):
-I am not buying into KFNS. That is inaccurate. Not sure how/why it was reported.
-Also not sure how/why a story like that was reported without contacting me, but no one who has reported it has contacted me to ask for its validity or for a comment.
-There is not a start date, because the deal has contingencies that were not reported.
-If the deal becomes official—and only if/when it becomes official—will we begin to make plans for KFNS. In the meantime, it's business as usual for us at 920. We are not doing anything differently/making any plans until the deal would become official.
-It would *not* be a merger. insideSTL Enterprises, LLC will remain a separate entity with the exact same ownership structure it has now. insideSTL.com would become the website for KFNS if the deal becomes official.
-If the deal becomes official, current KFNS owner Randy Markel and I would form a new entity, and that entity would operate KFNS. As a gesture of goodwill, Randy named the new entity McKernan Radio Group. I sincerely appreciated it, and that gesture is an illustration of the kind of person Randy is. However, as I always say anytime I discuss this stuff, the success of this show/station/business is absolutely not about me. It's not false humility. It's the truth, because there are so many people on-air and off-air who have made this happen. Contrary to what was reported that I am buying into KFNS, I am receiving 25% ownership in the radio station as part of my deal to host TMA and serve as President/CEO of the station.
I am sure you have other questions…especially based on what I read last week when this story came out…so now that I've discussed it on-air and with our staff, I wanted to answer that which I can answer here.
Brendan Marks