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Karraker was one of the victims when WXOS (101.1 FM) parent company Hubbard Radio eliminated “The Opening Drive,� its weekday morning drive-time show, last week and fired those working on the program. Also ousted were Dan McLaughlin, Brooke Grimsley and Matthew Rocchio.

Karraker had been entrenched at the station, as he was the sole remaining host who was on the air when it debuted in January 2009. In fact, he started the previous October to help in the planning stages. Given his stature in the market and longevity, a career that started in 1983 with an internship then a significant stint at KMOX (1120 AM) and three other stations, he is one of most prominent sportscasters in ºüÀêÊÓƵ broadcasting history.

The 101.1 show he had been on was replaced by “The Morning Afterâ€� — a program owned by longtime ºüÀêÊÓƵ broadcaster Tim McKernan that had been running on another Hubbard outlet, 105.7 HD-2 (a hybrid digital channel) and continues to do so with Doug Vaughn, Martin Kilcoyne and Jackson Burkett alongside McKernan.

Karraker, 62, understands the finances of the current traditional media landscape, and how replacing one show with another that already was in house and now is being simulcast can be financially beneficial for management in a difficult environment. To wit: ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ AM sports-talk station, KFNS (590), dropped its local programming in July in its own cost-cutting move.

“With the economy of the industry, I was not surprised about this,� Karraker said this week. “I’ve been there before. ... From that standpoint, being the veteran guy — I might have been the highest-paid guy (at 101.1) — I don’t know. It’s happened before.

“That’s one thing about being in the business for 41 years, I understand. I get it.�

But it still stings.

“When you lose your job you kind of lose your sense of value,� Karraker said. “Regardless of why it happens, I’m a guy who wants to do something every day. Now I wake up every morning and say, ‘What am I going to do? What is my value?’ That’s been the hardest part. I have to be doing something.�

He’s not the first big-name ºüÀêÊÓƵ broadcaster to be ousted in recent years. WXOS dumped Bernie Miklasz and KMOV (Channel 4) did so with Steve Savard in 2020.

WXOS management has not returned messages for comment. But Karraker isn’t fuming. In fact, he’s praising the man who hired him 16 years ago and also ended his epic run at 101.1 — John Kijowski, who now oversees Hubbard’s ºüÀêÊÓƵ operations.

“I feel bad actually for the people who have to do� the notifications, he said. “Nobody wants to upend somebody’s life. I understand what they’re dealing with now. They have to make choices, I’m sure there are others they could have made, but this was the most sensible one from a financial standpoint.

“John Kijowski has been amazing to me, from the day he hired me till the day they let me go. He’s been fantastic. It’s more than just treating me as an employee. He’s treated me as family. I don’t have enough good things to say about John Kijowski.�

Karraker and his colleagues got the bad news last Friday. He said near end of the show they were informed of individual meetings requested after the program ended.

“Once you get that email, you knew what was happening,� said Karraker, adding he was the first to be called in. “They were very gracious, they were very complimentary. I thought they handled things very well.�

He chose to take the high road.

“Even then I told John, ‘You’re the best’" I’ve ever worked for. "I choose happiness. That’s my goal in life. I could get angry, I could throw a fit, I could go on social media and rip people. But what good is that going to do?�

Looking ahead

Karraker said he is without a job now for the first time in his career. When he was between full-time positions before, he was moonlighting by doing some sportscasting for Charter cable.

“I’ve never had a day until now where I wasn’t getting a paycheck from radio or TV,� he said. “I’ve always been employed.�

But he’s not hurting.

“I’m very comfortable with the way they treated me,� he said of his severance package.

He said he has a noncompete clause in his contract, preventing him from working in local media for a specified period that he did not disclose. But it’s likely that he can’t work in the market until at least next spring, and he’s confident he’ll find another job when ready.

“I am obviously a broadcaster but I’m also not defined by that,� he said. “I know there are other things I can do. I know I’m marketable enough so whether it’s radio or something else, I’m employable.

“We’ll see what happens,� he added. “I hate to take somebody else’s job. I don’t want somebody to get fired because I’m taking their job. I’m at the point where I’d love something either created for me or I create it myself. I don’t want to be in a position where I’m causing a Brooke or a Dan or a Matthew to not have a job.�

Maybe a panacea for sports-talk radio is on the horizon, one that could make the business much stronger by the time Karraker could return — sports betting being legalized in Missouri, something on the current ballot. If approved next week, bookmakers would be expected to flood sports shows with ads once such wagering starts.

“If we have legalized (sports) gambling in Missouri, sports radio succeeds. It’s as simple as that,� he said. “And they’ll get their return on investment.�

But even if that happens, he’s not convinced there would be room for the return of two ºüÀêÊÓƵ radio stations airing daylong local sports programming.

“With all due respect to everybody who’s out there, unless somebody would play syndicated radio for part of the day I don’t know at this stage if we have enough good, marketable people here to do two stations’ worth of shows,� he said. “I would like to think we could do it because we are a great sports town, but a lot of it has to do with the participation of the corporate community.�

In the near term, Karraker said he will have more time to devote to multiple charities he supports. There’s more.

“I’m going to relax, get some exercise — the morning radio schedule doesn’t lend itself to exercise — and just hang out,� he said.

Meanwhile, Karraker is appreciative of the many well-wishes he has received.

“The support of the town has been overwhelming,â€� he said. “The social media support I’ve gotten is just amazing. This town has always had my back. I attribute that to treating people the right way — but also to the fact we’re all the same person, we’re all ºüÀêÊÓƵ sports fans.â€�

And he’s a fan of his now former colleagues.

“The lineup at 101 is strong and they’ve done a great job of promoting from within,� he said, adding: “Boy, 16 years there went fast.�

Changing of the guard

“The Morning After,� which has existed for two decades, made its 101.1 debut Monday, and began with cast members issuing a as well as Kenny “Iggy� Strode — a key “TMA� member for years who also was laid off.

“We want to honor and show our respect to the people who are no longer here,� McKernan said. “... Friday was not a fun day for anyone. We all think the world of all five of those people. We’ve worked closely with all of them and are friends with them off the air and think the world of not only their broadcasting abilities but them as people. So this isn’t really a particularity pleasant situation but it is where the business is at this particular moment.

“It was more bitter than sweet on Friday, which I suppose is strange but that’s the truth,â€� McKernan later added. “And I know there are a large number of people in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area who are unhappy about it. And I totally get it. And I totally respect that, because it’s an unfortunate set of circumstances. So our responsibility is to do our show, but it would be wrong to not talk about the caliber of broadcasters and people who are no longer working here because of the state of the industry.â€�

Kilcoyne, who has returned to the program that he was on for its first two years, said the situation was “awkward if we’re being honest. ... It is a weird time in the whole business. I’m excited to be here, but it really was bittersweet.�

Longtime “TMA�er Doug Vaughn addressed the financial situation:

“These are good friends of ours,� he said. “So it really hurts to see them face the real business end of the layoffs. The business has just changed in massive ways, where podcasting is now fighting with terrestrial media for all the advertising dollars. This is one of the results of it. I saw the same thing at Channel 4, they had big layoffs there, too,� in 2020 that included Savard. “Local media just doesn’t bring in the advertising dollars that it once did. And unfortunately, that means people have to pay a price at some level.

“We pretty much just walk down the hallway into another studio but it was a life-changing moment for those people,� Vaughn added. “The good thing is that they’re all so immensely talented and well respected that they’ll land on their feet and find something else hopefully very soon that will make them happy.�

Karraker, who has thrived in his stick-to-sports approach, spoke highly of his replacements with their show that has been a hodgepodge of topics inside and out of sports — including risqué segments and others considered to be juvenile by some — across its two decades. Its arrival on 101.1 leaves the market without a true local sports-talk show in morning drive time.

“They’re great broadcasters and good people,� Karraker told the Post-Dispatch of the successors. “I don’t begrudge anybody,� saying he can relate because it was uncomfortable for him when he replaced Miklasz. “I understand what they were dealing with. If they offer you the job, you have to take it. No animosity there. I think they’ll do well and I wish them the best of luck.�

McKernan also discussed the departure of Strode.

“My hope was when they started talking to us about 101 ESPN, was that we would all be a part of it,� he said. “That’s the reality of the situation is it was not to be. My hope is at some point we will get a chance to work together whether it be on this program or we do something in addition to this program.�

Strode has an offbeat approach, likes to talk about adult movies and with those actresses on the air. There is a school of thought that he was too extreme for 101.1.

“As far as a unique, unapologetic personality, he’s the absolute best because he doesn’t care,� McKernan said on the air. “... I’ve learned more about Hedonism in the last eight years than I ever thought was there.�

He called Strode “an absolute legend.�

Strode, 67 and with 33 years in radio, took the high road as did Karraker.

“You know me, I’ve scorched enough bridges before,� Strode told the Post-Dispatch. “But I have nothing bad to say at all about (operations manager) Tommy Mattern or John Kijowski, they treated me right. I understand the business.�

Strode, who said he is exploring reviving a YouTube channel he once used, added that he’s not bitter about being replaced by Kilcoyne.

“Martin, he knows his sports,� Strode said. “I just hope people give the show a chance. I miss my guys on ‘TMA.’"