iHeart cuts engineers

[ContinuousWave]

Surprised no one else posted this:
(And yes I was one of those affected)

iHeartMedia Cuts Engineers Across The Country As It Begins Rolling Out New Tech Initiatives - RadioInsight

iHeartMedia instituted a round of cuts today focusing on engineering departments at its broadcast operations. The cuts come as the company continues to implement operational changes that began in the wake of the widescale cuts of January 2020. As the company stated in Thursday’s annual earnings...

radioinsight.com

 

[Kelly A]

Sorry to hear you were adversely effected. It was pretty clear in 2020 that once the local studio rules were eliminated, combined with the announcement of content centralization, that certain local positions would be eliminated. The writing was on the wall that would include going to contract engineer's rather than staff.

 

[TheBigA]

Some comments I've seen say engineers were hit first, but of course iHeart has been cutting talent and other staff for years. Yet I know a lot of talent who've been fired and rehired by iHeart multiple times. As they say, it's not personal, it's business. I think engineers should view this the same way. The article mentioned that some engineers were immediately rehired on a contract basis. I know several people who've made more money that way than by being an employee. It allows you to work for competitors and charge what you're worth. There's a direct connection between revenue and staffing, and the revenue now is in new media. Obviously there's lots of work there for technical staff, so it's an opportunity for personal reinvention.

 

[Kelly A]

Some comments I've seen say engineers were hit first, but of course iHeart has been cutting talent and other staff for years. Yet I know a lot of talent who've been fired and rehired by iHeart multiple times. As they say, it's not personal, it's business. I think engineers should view this the same way. The article mentioned that some engineers were immediately rehired on a contract basis. I know several people who've made more money that way than by being an employee. It allows you to work for competitors and charge what you're worth. There's a direct connection between revenue and staffing, and the revenue now is in new media. Obviously there's lots of work there for technical staff, so it's an opportunity for personal reinvention.

From the engineer's position, it's a double-edged sword. iHeart can potentially set the terms and your rates, essentially saying this is what they will pay you, and for what level commitment. Take it or leave it.

The other downside, is hiring the engineer that was just RIF'ed may be too familiar. The staff expectation can become that your former employed-station will become the priority, in spite of the fact an engineer could add the competition to their list of clients. Even if you're clear that in the case of an emergency it's first come, first served, everyone will be wondering why Bob isn't responding immediately. Unless iHeart is willing to pay what amounts to a retainer, essentially paying an engineer to make them a priority in the event of a problem, it's going feel like one is being pulled in too many directions. Even then, as an engineer, do you ask for a priority retainer from iHeart, then be locked out of a retainer from any of your other clients?

I'm not saying that iHeart's plan is a recipe for failure. Given their reorg, it makes perfect business sense from their perspective. It's more of a problem for the engineer who used to be an employee, or any engineer who takes on a regional group of iHeart stations under contract.

 

[TheBigA]

It's more of a problem for the engineer who used to be an employee, or any engineer who takes on a regional group of iHeart stations under contract.

I didn't say it was easy. It's not. But what I've found is that engineers are better connected in terms of knowing the market than (for example) talent. Engineers can be as valuable as sales staff, if they present themselves that way. I remember being at a station when the main transmission tube went out. We didn't have a back-up. Our engineer called all of the other stations in the area, and within an hour, he was able to borrow their backup until our replacement was delivered. That's demonstrating value through contacts.

 

[kenglish]

What happens to all that stuff that needs to be saved? Most engineers have already filled their homes, their garages and basements, trailers and back yards with spare parts and junk that might be needed in an emergency.
Hopefully, with no studios or offices, there will still be room at the transmitter for storage and power tools.

 

[Kelly A]

What happens to all that stuff that needs to be saved? Most engineers have already filled their homes, their garages and basements, trailers and back yards with spare parts and junk that might be needed in an emergency.
Hopefully, with no studios or offices, there will still be room at the transmitter for storage and power tools.

Wait, engineers are being laid off by a major group, forced into becoming freelancer's. Your concern is parts storage?
If a contract engineer wants to stock spare parts for transmitters or whatever, that's their thing. If not, and they want their customer to order repair parts, then they don't need storage do they? Just because some of the old, crusty-guard wants to hoard parts in their home, doesn't mean that's a sound business strategy. In fact, it's not.

 

[kenglish]

You really are the most humorless person I know.

 

[Kelly A]

You really are the most humorless person I know.

Really? Could it be that you're lacking in the sense of humor department?
Tell me how engineers being laid off is humorous? Better yet, tell me how anyone being laid off is funny.

 

[davideduardo]

Really? Could it be that you're lacking in the sense of humor department?
Tell me how engineers being laid off is humorous? Better yet, tell me how anyone being laid off is funny.

The lay-off of engineers is frightening. What we are going to have is a near total lack of RF experience and knowledge, hastening the end of all AM broadcasting and vastly sacrificing things like site maintenance, non-wired STL connections and the like. What we will have is a lot of people who can "fix" the sales staff's computers or "fix" the studio monitors and not many who can keep us on the air.

And I am reminded that the other meaning of "fix" is "castration".

 

[TheBigA]

What we are going to have is a near total lack of RF experience and knowledge, hastening the end of all AM broadcasting

I don't see it as that dire. As the article says, they're rehiring a lot of these same engineers to perform the transmitter functions.

The cuts that started today will see some engineers immediately brought back on a contract basis as we heard took place in at least one PPM market where they already were the only local engineer. They will now also assist with a few neighboring markets in a similar basis.

This is obviously an outgrowth of the main studio rule and the use of home studios during covid.

 

[kenglish]

I remember a time when even the smallest stations had a couple of engineers on staff, and knew of several good ones they could call when in a bind.
Now, I worry about engineers going for days at a time without sleep, driving hundreds of miles in the dark or in very bad weather, between sites when there are multiple "fires".
God forbid, a solo engineer grabs a beer on what once was a "day off", and then gets called out. That's a quick DUI in some places.
I know there used to be a guy in Hawaii who contracted most engineering services there. He had a pretty good staff.
I wonder if the contracts in many markets might band together in one shop, have themselves some iron-clad agreements, and maybe vacations and a pension plan?

 

[davideduardo]

I don't see it as that dire. As the article says, they're rehiring a lot of these same engineers to perform the transmitter functions.

These will be contract engineers. They are going to pay less or by the hour or project, and the contract engineers will have to pay their own medical and FICA. They will also have to drive to adjacent markets. Overall, not a good prospect for the future.

This is obviously an outgrowth of the main studio rule and the use of home studios during covid.

It's mostly from executives with no engineering or technical background or knowledge who think that automated stations can repair themselves. We will end up with HAL running the stations.

 

[kenglish]

Maybe the government will come down on calling engineers "contractors", much like they are going after Uber and other people who free-lance. Broadcast engineers probably weren't on their radar in the past, but could be soon.

 

[davideduardo]

I know there used to be a guy in Hawaii who contracted most engineering services there. He had a pretty good staff.
I wonder if the contracts in many markets might band together in one shop, have themselves some iron-clad agreements, and maybe vacations and a pension plan?

Roycroft in Honolulu was both a legend and known as not being too cooperative with other engineers. He was very good at diplexing and triplexing, but terribly traditional in some things and had some considerable disagreements with engineers at stations that did not hire him.

Later addenda: here is an entertaining article about Alan Roycroft from a Kiwi DXers publication: Alan Roycroft – A Tribute

There are good contract engineers, but they are a declining group in terms of numbers. For example, the great Mark Persons in Minnesota retired last year after many, many years of helping to build and maintain dozens of area stations all over the state.

Many areas have engineering teams that are independent or a group who help each other out unofficially. But the real issue is that the older engineers who know directionals and higher power RF and the like are leaving the business and being replaced with "binary" techs with limited RF experience.

 

[davideduardo]

Really? Could it be that you're lacking in the sense of humor department?
Tell me how engineers being laid off is humorous? Better yet, tell me how anyone being laid off is funny.

I just want to see how these large groups deal with a regional emergency such as a hurricane or an earthquake or flood. If they fly in the emergency team (if airports are open), the job may be overwhelming and take much longer than anticipated while, at the same time, the stations in their home markets are abandoned.

The concept works well only in "good" times. In emergencies, it is a true house of cards and very fragile.

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe the government will come down on calling engineers "contractors", much like they are going after Uber and other people who free-lance. Broadcast engineers probably weren't on their radar in the past, but could be soon.

Their main interest is collecting income taxes, not mandating jobs. The FCC has not been kind to engineers over the last 40 years.

 

[TheBigA]

I just want to see how these large groups deal with a regional emergency such as a hurricane or an earthquake or flood.

As you know, the broadcasting rules for dealing with emergencies changed after 9-11.

 

[davideduardo]

As you know, the broadcasting rules for dealing with emergencies changed after 9-11.

I am not talking about civil emergencies. I am talking about when multiple stations are affected by natural disasters like quakes, fires, floods, storms and other "Acts of God" where facilities are harmed or destroyed.

 

[davideduardo]

Their main interest is collecting income taxes, not mandating jobs. The FCC has not been kind to engineers over the last 40 years.

I think that kenglish may be referring to state governments, such as the effort in CA to make "freelancers" into officially recognized company employees.