Two popular radio hosts no longer on the air

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIDK/KIFI) - Long-time morning news radio hosts, Neal Larson and Julie Mason, are no longer on the airwaves as of Monday, April 20, 2020. According to Larson's Facebook page, the two resigned from KID Newsradio Monday morning.

Larson's Facebook page goes on to read, "I've never been one to air dirty laundry on social media, and I'm not about to start. That's bad karma and it just isn't us. We don't wish anyone misery or harm. Many of you probably know that there comes a point professionally -- after making every effort conceivable to improve a situation -- when it's just time to move on. It doesn't necessarily make good sense on paper, but instinctively in a moment of deep down clarity, you know it's just time to move forward. That happened for Julie and me today."

News anchor Todd Kunz talked with both Larson and Mason Monday afternoon about what led up to the decision to leave, after talking with station management.

"I believe that there were a lot of characterizations of the show that we did on Friday that were not accurate. He was clearly, clearly upset in his email. And so I emailed him back. We had a phone call afterwards and we decided it was time to part ways because of the way that it was characterized," said Larson.

"We weren't going to be allowed to have conversation. There was going to be some regulation on what was being said and that doesn't really, when you're a conservative and you have core values, that doesn't really stick well," said Mason.

Kunz asked Larson and Mason about what they would tell their Eastern Idaho listeners and what the future holds for both of them?

"I would say to our audience that we have appreciated that opportunity to be there for them and to be a part of their day and we're grateful for that," said Larson.

"We are going to see which door we are going to walk through. We are definitely not done. We have our own individual podcasts that we do right now. So for now, we'll play around on that platform and have a good time because that's what we do," said Mason.

"TheNealandJulieShow.com," interjected Larson.

"Yep. And we have a good time, plus inform people. So we'll continue with that and we'll just see which door we are going to walk through," said Mason.

Larson has spent 29 years in the Eastern Idaho radio market with almost nine of that at KID Newsradio. Mason has been with KID for two and a half years.

Kunz talked with general manager, Richard Mecham, by phone Monday night.

"They were not terminated. They resigned and they did it 15 minutes after reading the email. I did not dictate what the future was going to be with the station going forward. This was one issue. I asked to meet and discuss. They resigned," said Mecham.

Rich Broadcasting owns and operates the radio group. KID Newsradio is not affiliated with KIDK Eyewitness News 3.