• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

iHeart Restructures - Departures

Theater of My Mind said:
The digital division is run like a tech company with staff that's generally quite young, in their 20's and 30's. I don't think many of the terrestrial people who were let go this week would fit into their culture.
Click to expand...

Exactly. This is about radio and radio employees and it may spill over to other traditional operators.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
The digital division is run like a tech company with staff that's generally quite young, in their 20's and 30's. I don't think many of the terrestrial people who were let go this week would fit into their culture.
Click to expand...

I think that's an over generalization of the digital division. On-air talent are iHeart stations were expected to post regularly on the station's web page and social media sites. There are a number of show producers on the list, and they certainly are very knowledgeable in technical production. Sure there are probably a few boomers who don't even know how to use email, but they're likely in the minority.

seatownmedia said:
Exactly. This is about radio and radio employees and it may spill over to other traditional operators.
Click to expand...

Like who? Other major groups are also letting staff go, such as Entercom and Hubbard. If you're a radio person who just knows how to cue up records, there won't be a lot of jobs.
 
I'm going to guess walking into iHeart's digital hub in Nashville, once built, will be a lot like walking into Hubspot (the Boston based company that sells marketing automation software). . Lots of fresh-faced recent college graduates, nary a gray hair in the place.




TheBigA said:
I think that's an over generalization of the digital division. On-air talent are iHeart stations were expected to post regularly on the station's web page and social media sites. There are a number of show producers on the list, and they certainly are very knowledgeable in technical production. Sure there are probably a few boomers who don't even know how to use email, but they're likely in the minority.



Like who? Other major groups are also letting staff go, such as Entercom and Hubbard. If you're a radio person who just knows how to cue up records, there won't be a lot of jobs.
Click to expand...
 
gr8oldies said:
I'm going to guess walking into iHeart's digital hub in Nashville, once built, will be a lot like walking into Hubspot (the Boston based company that sells marketing automation software). . Lots of fresh-faced recent college graduates, nary a gray hair in the place.
Click to expand...

There aren't a lot of grey hairs working at any iHeart facility. Other than the talk stations, it's not a company filled with lots of old people.
 
TheBigA said:
I think that's an over generalization of the digital division. On-air talent are iHeart stations were expected to post regularly on the station's web page and social media sites. There are a number of show producers on the list, and they certainly are very knowledgeable in technical production. Sure there are probably a few boomers who don't even know how to use email, but they're likely in the minority.



Like who? Other major groups are also letting staff go, such as Entercom and Hubbard. If you're a radio person who just knows how to cue up records, there won't be a lot of jobs.
Click to expand...

That is a simplistic answer. Many older radio vets evolved with the technology. I was one and I hired many others like myself over the years. Btw nobody has probably cued up a record for atleast 30 years but that was indeed an old school skill :)
 
seatownmedia said:
That is a simplistic answer. Many older radio vets evolved with the technology. I was one and I hired many others like myself over the years. Btw nobody has probably cued up a record for atleast 30 years but that was indeed an old school skill :)
Click to expand...

Yes I understand that. As I said in post #42, most iHeart on-air staff know how to do digital production. They can take that with them anywhere.
 
I'm just not seeing iHeart relocating the displaced on-air and management people to Nashville. I see them hiring recent college graduates who are "digital natives". It'll be like working at any other digital agency in Nashville, and having experience in that field I can tell you they don't hire people over 30. We had an agency in town brag about that in the paper (we have no one working here over 40). Nice they were so open about their practice of age discrimination.

Interesting book: "Disrupted" by Dan Lyons. Older journalist who found himself working at the whiz-bang Hubspot for a time.






TheBigA said:
Yes I understand that. As I said in post #42, most iHeart on-air staff know how to do digital production. They can take that with them anywhere.
Click to expand...
 
gr8oldies said:
I'm just not seeing iHeart relocating the displaced on-air and management people to Nashville. I see them hiring recent college graduates who are "digital natives".
Click to expand...

There are "digital natives" working at the local stations. According to the story in my OP, they are creating what they call "hubs to consolidate programming, marketing, digital, podcasts, sales and sales support resources." That's what I'm talking about. Are they going to take a 60 year old former talk show host and repurpose him as a digital content creator in the digital hub? No. But if you're a local digital content creator, there may be opportunities in another location.
 
That's obviously the new business model.....a giant content farm which will produce on-air, podcasts, videos, etc etc with no interest in running local radio stations.





TheBigA said:
There are "digital natives" working at the local stations. According to the story in my OP, they are creating what they call "hubs to consolidate programming, marketing, digital, podcasts, sales and sales support resources." That's what I'm talking about. Are they going to take a 60 year old former talk show host and repurpose him as a digital content creator in the digital hub? No. But if you're a local digital content creator, there may be opportunities in another location.
Click to expand...
 
gr8oldies said:
That's obviously the new business model.....a giant content farm which will produce on-air, podcasts, videos, etc etc with no interest in running local radio stations.
Click to expand...

New business model? It was in 1926 when RCA & AT&T launched something called the National Broadcasting Company. Two years later Bill Paley started the Columbia Broadcasting System. It became CBS. Worked well then. They call that era "the golden age of broadcasting."
 
Let's say new for the times then. EMF has already successfully done national radio.



TheBigA said:
New business model? It was in 1926 when RCA & AT&T launched something called the National Broadcasting Company. Two years later Bill Paley started the Columbia Broadcasting System. It became CBS. Worked well then. They call that era "the golden age of broadcasting."
Click to expand...
 
gr8oldies said:
Let's say new for the times then. EMF has already successfully done national radio.
Click to expand...

Radio networks became syndication companies. They've been operating this way continuously since the 1920s. iHeart owns Premiere, the syndication company that does Rush, Hannity, American Top 40, and dozens of other national shows. So no, this is an old model, and the elements of it exist already within iHeart. Somewhere in the last decade iHeart started "premium choice," a service that took local talent and made them available to other stations that wanted hosted shows. It's been going on at iHeart for years.
 
TheBigA said:
There are "digital natives" working at the local stations. According to the story in my OP, they are creating what they call "hubs to consolidate programming, marketing, digital, podcasts, sales and sales support resources." That's what I'm talking about. Are they going to take a 60 year old former talk show host and repurpose him as a digital content creator in the digital hub? No. But if you're a local digital content creator, there may be opportunities in another location.
Click to expand...

That's the thing, and it's happening everywhere in TV and Radio. If you've only done traditional production, (spots, promos, ect.) leaving the on-line portion to the "Digital Group", then you've put yourself at a serious disadvantage. Same goes with working certain air shifts for years. If you haven't taken the time to also build up your on-line status though social media, you've set yourself up for a fall.

It's a shame, because there are a lot of talented folks who should probably start thinking about switching careers later in life. They've fallen behind the curve too late in the game.
 
Kelly A said:
If you haven't taken the time to also build up your on-line status though social media, you've set yourself up for a fall.
Click to expand...

I'll take it a step further: If you only do one genre of music, that's another limiting factor. The writing has been on the wall for 20 years. This isn't a surprise to people inside the business. If the users aren't limited by technology or genre, neither should the professionals who do the work.
 
https://news.****************/articles/n38132/Talent-Pool-Helps-Displaced-Radio-Talent-Find-New-Gigs


As a free service to the radio industry, Tracy Johnson Media Group has a free talent marketplace to help radio talent and broadcasters. The Media Talent Pool is free to all, and designed to connect personalities, Program Directors and producers with decision makers looking for talent. Talent can be listed by completing a short form and sending information on their qualifications Broadcasters can scan listings to find candidates to fill openings.

Johnson explained, "This is a difficult time for friends, colleagues and radio pros who are suddenly out of work. But don't lose hope. Great gigs are out there. The Talent Pool is a great place to be discovered and find your next opportunity."
Click to expand...

Now a Talent agency has posted here over the cuts.
 
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/...s-moines-sports-staffers-moves-station-to-fm/

Now Iheart Des Moines division has gotten this


After cutting six staffers from Sports 1460 KXNO Des Moines as part of the national layoffs, iHeartMedia has reversed course and will bring the laid off employees back next week.

In addition KXNO will begin simulcasting on FM replacing Alternative “Alt 106.3” KDXA.

KXNO GM Joel McCrea told WHO-TV that he and noticed the angry reaction to the news from thousands of listeners in Iowa and reconsidered his decision to restructure KXNO. He was given permission by iHeartMedia to re-hire the employees.
Click to expand...
 
https://news.****************/artic...-Senior-Programmers-to-Division-Executive-VPs

More management changes at Iheart

Each member of iHeartMedia's Executive VPs of Programming team will partner with the company's Division Presidents, collaborating with each Division to provide national programming assets, services and resources:

Mitchem and Jeffries will work with Kevin LeGrett and Scott Hopeck and the Region Division, which is comprised of the company's largest markets, including New York and Los Angeles.
Romano and Maynard will work with Division Presidents Tom McConnell, Tony Coles and Linda Byrd and the Metro Division, which houses markets that are large areas that still encompass multiple communities - but are not regional hubs like the company's largest markets.
Travatto, Hurley and Watson Charles will work with Division Presidents Shosh Abromovich, Nick Gnau and Dan Lankford and the Community Division, which includes markets that focus on the shared needs of one community and one trading area for most businesses and advertisers and will also group markets into areas which are geographically close and culturally similar.
Click to expand...
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom