WBUR initiates employee buyouts to avert layoffs

[DavidZ]

WBUR Initiates Employee Buyout Offers To Avert Layoffs - RadioInsight

Boston University Public News/Talk 90.9 WBUR-FM Boston will initiate a round of contract buyouts in an attempt to prevent layoffs. WBUR CEO Margaret Low sent a letter to employees highlighting the need for the station to cut 10% of its budget ahead of the start of the new fiscal year on July...

radioinsight.com

 

[theotherguy]

4 weeks + a 1 week per year worked + accrued vacation and just in time for summer?!

In 2024 standards in this industry that's a pretty decent deal, especially if you have a few decades under your belt.

 

[ex radio pimp]

Odd that they advertize all kinds of jobs all the time for the past few years.

 

[fybush]

Odd that they advertize all kinds of jobs all the time for the past few years.

Why is it odd?

A going business still needs to keep itself going, and you can't stop filling openings as they occur.

 

[davideduardo]

Why is it odd?

A going business still needs to keep itself going, and you can't stop filling openings as they occur.

And the openings may be in areas where they don't have a staff member eligible for a buy-out who could transfer. Different skills: how many announcers, fund raisers or office staffers would qualify for an opening in the engineering department?

 

[theotherguy]

The Boston Globe reported yesterday that GBH now "warns of possible layoffs" as they face a 7-million dollar shortfall.

...because why let BUR have all the fun...

 

[TheBigA]

The Boston Globe reported yesterday that GBH now "warns of possible layoffs" as they face a 7-million dollar shortfall.

...because why let BUR have all the fun...

This is actually a national issue, not restricted to Boston. For a long time, it was only commercial broadcasting that had shortfalls and layoffs. Now the same issues affecting commercial radio are affecting non-commercial media. Those things are the dilution of the advertising/sponsorship money, and the feeling on the part of users that media should be free, affecting memberships.

Some public stations sought to diversify their revenue with news sites such as DCist in Washington. Last month, WAMU shut down that site and laid off the staff because it was drawing focus away from the primary service, which is radio. That's just one example. There are similar layoffs taking place around the country.

 

[ex radio pimp]

Why is it odd?

A going business still needs to keep itself going, and you can't stop filling openings as they occur.

I get that they ahve to keep it going. But you would think that if finances are in a tough place that you might not hire and hire and hire and by the way, pay very well considering where the industry is. I had a friend interview there for a podcast producer job that paid almost 80 grand.

 

[TheBigA]

I had a friend interview there for a podcast producer job that paid almost 80 grand.

WBUR is owned by Boston University, so all employees of WBUR are paid based on university scale and rates.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

i find it interesting, people kvetch about how bad radio paid them or how bad they hear it pays.... then when people get paid well, the complain theyre paid too much!

 

[Mark Roberts]

4 weeks + a 1 week per year worked + accrued vacation and just in time for summer?!

In 2024 standards in this industry that's a pretty decent deal, especially if you have a few decades under your belt.

No, it just shows you how low the bar is in the media industry. In the corporate world, what you've described would be considered a bare minimum.

When I was in financial services, the standard was a month for each year having worked. Utilities were a little less generous but still resulted in a decent payout. Often there are lump-sum payments as well to cover COBRA premiums, in exchange for signing an additional non-disclosure agreement.

 

[TheBigA]

No, it just shows you how low the bar is in the media industry.

Or the education industry, since as I said, WBUR uses Boston University HR.

 

[Kemosabe]

Some public stations sought to diversify their revenue with news sites such as DCist in Washington. Last month, WAMU shut down that site and laid off the staff because it was drawing focus away from the primary service, which is radio.

As I recall, Gothamist, DNAInfo, LAist, and DCist were acquired by a consortium comprising WNYC, KPCC, and WAMU. Will the New York and Los Angeles -ists suffer the fate of their Washington counterpart?

 

[TheBigA]

Will the New York and Los Angeles -ists suffer the fate of their Washington counterpart?

No, in fact KPCC has completely rebranded the radio station after LAist. The NY version has gone through a series of layoffs.

New York Public Radio Cutting 12% of Workforce | Barrett Media

"I know this news is hard to hear, and knowing macroeconomic factors have led to this moment doesn't soften the blow when national trends land on your own doorstep."

barrettnewsmedia.com

 

[Mark Roberts]

Or the education industry, since as I said, WBUR uses Boston University HR.

I don't know the specifics but, particularly since BU is a private institution, it's always possible that it could have a different set of benefits for different sets of employees. As long as it's not discriminatory based on protected classes, that is generally legal. For example, utilities will have different sets of benefits for unionized and non-unionized employees - I pick utilities as an example since they tend to have large unionized work forces. Similarly, some benefits may be available only to employees at certain levels or at (or above) certain pay levels. Again, this may or may not be the case at BU; it's dependent on what BU has decided to do.

 

[Weiserguy]

I don't know the specifics but, particularly since BU is a private institution, it's always possible that it could have a different set of benefits for different sets of employees. As long as it's not discriminatory based on protected classes, that is generally legal. For example, utilities will have different sets of benefits for unionized and non-unionized employees - I pick utilities as an example since they tend to have large unionized work forces. Similarly, some benefits may be available only to employees at certain levels or at (or above) certain pay levels. Again, this may or may not be the case at BU; it's dependent on what BU has decided to do.

It might be a little more complicated than that, Mark. Boston University is a Jesuit school, much like Fordham in the Bronx, or University of San Francisco, or even smaller-market schools such as University of Scranton. There are a number of Jesuit universities, and they may all adhere to common HR policies and practices.

 

[fybush]

As I recall, Gothamist, DNAInfo, LAist, and DCist were acquired by a consortium comprising WNYC, KPCC, and WAMU. Will the New York and Los Angeles -ists suffer the fate of their Washington counterpart?

There was no consortium. Each site was acquired separately by each station.

 

[Mark Roberts]

It might be a little more complicated than that, Mark. Boston University is a Jesuit school, much like Fordham in the Bronx, or University of San Francisco, or even smaller-market schools such as University of Scranton. There are a number of Jesuit universities, and they may all adhere to common HR policies and practices.

I know this is positively fascinating (not), but here's what BU's own webpage says:

Should the University find it necessary to reduce its workforce by eliminating filled positions, affected employees will be laid off. Employees whose positions have been eliminated and who have completed three months of continuous service are eligible for severance pay. Severance pay is based on the employee’s most recent date of hire and is pro-rated for a partial year. Severance pay is calculated at the rate of one (1) week’s pay for each full year of continuous service at Boston University.

Link: Severance Pay Plan | Human Resources
A bit on the chintzy side but better than anything I ever got from a radio station (in the case of KTRH, nothing). I bet administrators/executives get a better deal, though. Executives certainly do in the private sector.

 

[MassMusicMan]

Boston University is a Jesuit school, much like Fordham in the Bronx, or University of San Francisco, or even smaller-market schools such as University of Scranton.

They are no such thing. You're thinking of Boston College.

 

[Kemosabe]

There was no consortium. Each site was acquired separately by each station.

The following article of 23 February 2018 seems to imply a consortium:

WNYC, KPCC, and WAMU Acquire Gothamist Assets | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News

WNYC is America's most listened-to public radio station and the producer of award-winning programs and podcasts like Radiolab, On the Media, and The Brian Lehrer Show.

www.wnyc.org

WNYC (New York), KPCC (Southern California),and WAMU (Washington, D.C.)—today announced they have joined together to acquire key assets of Gothamist and its associated sites: LAist and DCist.