Today FM goes up in flames after on-air explosion

The future of MediaWorks talk network Today FM and its news service are in doubt after a proposal to close the station prompted an on-air staff revolt. Today FM abruptly cut to pop music after breakfast host Tova O'Brien announced she and all her colleagues were losing their jobs - and morning host Duncan Garner said they had "been betrayed."MediaWorks talk network Today FM and its news service have been pulled off the air today. The proposal to close the station prompted an on-air staff revolt this morning. Today FM abruptly cut to pop music after breakfast host Tova O'Brien announced she and all her colleagues were losing their jobs - and morning host Duncan Garner said they had "been betrayed." 'They've f--d us': Today FM hosts blast management: Colin Peacock talks to Māni DunlopThis evening, Today FM's social media pages were locked or removed and an announcement was posted on their website calling it a "difficult decision" to take the station off the air. An announcement credited to their head of digital was briefly on the Facebook page this afternoon, blasting "cold corporate decisions" and saying that "we were robbed. You were robbed."Today FM went off-air in spectacular fashion this morning, with morning host Tova O'Brien leading a group of staff into the studio as her colleague Duncan Garner was broadcasting, before announcing that "they've f***** us".O'Brien was referring the Mediaworks' upper management and board, which had just informed the staff they were proposing to shut the network, giving staff only a few hours to submit on the plan.The presenters had good reason to feel like the company had gone back on its commitments.MediaWorks' leadership had repeatedly said that it viewed Today FM as a long-term project, affirming that they wanted the brand to continue even as it struggled in the ratings.Its spokesperson Anna Cross recently told Stuff the station "is performing in line with its commercial business plan"."It's important for a network radio business to have an effective competitor in the talk segment and one that is an attractive proposition for advertisers and audiences," she said.In an interview with Mediawatch last year, its then-head of news and talk Dallas Gurney said he wanted to build a brand to take on talk radio market leader Newstalk ZB, even if the task took years."Today FM's success won't be measured by its first week. Or its first two weeks," he said."It's about doing the same thing every day. Radio is habitual and that has got to be our focus. We just keep going. We keep doing the same thing."…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details