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A Year Ago at Citadel

PTBoardOp94

PTBoardOp94

A year ago today, lots of people got laid off from Citadel Media's Dallas operation.

364 days ago, most of the Citadel Media 24/7 music networks were in disarray, with many losing their program directors and numerous jocks.

But today, Citadel Media seems to have re-established its swagger, with a lower-cost business model, and ad sales seem to have picked up.

A year ago, I was pretty unhappy that so many long-time personalities were laid off. Today, I don't think many people could tell you the names of the two co-hosts on the AC format's morning show on November 11, 2009.

So, I guess, while I would have preferred the way things were, I have to give a lot of credit to the staffers who are still with Citadel for working to put things back in order.
 
There has been a lot of discussion about the changing face of radio broadcasting on the board over the last 12+ months.

I am not sure that the resentment felt is so much to do with the changing times to which radio is forced to adapt as the way that adaptation has unfolded.

When dealing with air personalities it is a difficult because if they disagree or are otherwise disgruntled they have a very open and public forum in which to voice their discontentment
(see http://www.79waky.com/audio/TomDooleyKHJ.mp3)

Still, I know of companies that have let the morning guy know there is a new show coming in 3 weeks. I once asked that guy as he came in how it was going today. They reply "Great, I am looking forward to another day of reading liner cards that say 'You said you want real personality in the morning and we listened...'" - even though he was moving to the PM drive slot I bet the regular listener could have picked up pretty easily on his lack of enthusiasm for the change, perhaps flipping and finding a new favorite morning frequency before the new show even hits town.

I also know of companies that have gone to the staff and said "Times are tough right now and we will have to reduce payroll to make it through. This means paycuts or layoffs. If you feel that you can't handle the paycut, let us know now."

More often, it was "thanks for doing the charity radiothon for 12 hour yesterday. This security guard will be with you while you collect anything that doesn't belong to us from your desk." and that's where the resentment comes in. It is in how most of the companies choose to handle it. Again, there is a fine line to walk with someone that has a microphone, but it can probably be walked better than it was by many companies. I am not speaking of Citadel specifically. I have no idea how they handled the slaughter, but it didn't bode well for the reputation many companies in the radio industry.
 
I'm not sure what the Part Time Board Op's point was. If it's that nobody remembers the people who were fired, consequently, it was a prudent decision on Citadel's part, then he's right. Nobody remembers the inventor of the Oral Polio vaccine or the inventor of Insulin either. If it's the fact that a broadcast operation in the state of Texas can get by with part time hourly personnel, then it's probably true. Any operation can cheapen their labor costs and hope that nobody notices. The issue is: can a broadcast operation survive and even make a profit by paying people $15.00 an hour? There seems to be a vast supply of people who have pleasant voices and who can read fairly well who are more than happy to work for $15.00 a hour, so why pay more?
 
pro4aa said:
I'm not sure what the Part Time Board Op's point was. If it's that nobody remembers the people who were fired, consequently, it was a prudent decision on Citadel's part, then he's right. Nobody remembers the inventor of the Oral Polio vaccine or the inventor of Insulin either. If it's the fact that a broadcast operation in the state of Texas can get by with part time hourly personnel, then it's probably true. Any operation can cheapen their labor costs and hope that nobody notices. The issue is: can a broadcast operation survive and even make a profit by paying people $15.00 an hour? There seems to be a vast supply of people who have pleasant voices and who can read fairly well who are more than happy to work for $15.00 a hour, so why pay more?
Click to expand...

Wow...$15? Not a lot of places even pay that! A part-timer at the wolf makes $10.12 an hour. ...he says "I really only make 10.00, but the coke machine is screwy and spits out 2 sprites everytime I buy one, so I count that as an extra .60 per shift!"
 
DFW_Radio_2000 said:
pro4aa said:
I'm not sure what the Part Time Board Op's point was. If it's that nobody remembers the people who were fired, consequently, it was a prudent decision on Citadel's part, then he's right. Nobody remembers the inventor of the Oral Polio vaccine or the inventor of Insulin either. If it's the fact that a broadcast operation in the state of Texas can get by with part time hourly personnel, then it's probably true. Any operation can cheapen their labor costs and hope that nobody notices. The issue is: can a broadcast operation survive and even make a profit by paying people $15.00 an hour? There seems to be a vast supply of people who have pleasant voices and who can read fairly well who are more than happy to work for $15.00 a hour, so why pay more?
Click to expand...

Wow...$15? Not a lot of places even pay that! A part-timer at the wolf makes $10.12 an hour. ...he says "I really only make 10.00, but the coke machine is screwy and spits out 2 sprites everytime I buy one, so I count that as an extra .60 per shift!"
Click to expand...

We have a tendency to blame the big bad corporations for low pay, but it's really a simple case of supply and demand. If people would refuse to work for $10-$15 an hour with no benefits, then pay would go up. But as long as it's everybody for themselves, and "at least it's a job", then nothing will change and your friend will continue to be paid in Sprites.
 
My point is from a listener, or affiliate's, point of view, the layoffs last year didn't break anything horribly as had been feared at first - unless the station was a Timeless affiliate.
 
We now know that these layoffs were made in anticipatiion of Citadel's Dec 2009 bankruptcy filing. By making the layoffs before bankruptcy, the company didn't have to get the court's approval. The court DID approve continuation at full salary of Mark Levin, Farid Suleman, and the 50% interest in Sean Hannity because they are "essential" to the business. Now you know where the local station people stand....
 
Citadel is a balance sheet, not a broadcast operation. Whether Farid's compensation was worth it is something to be determined by the shareholders, who put him in place and are standing behind him. Without bankruptcy protection and the write-off of $billions in debt, the shareholders certainly would have been restless. The elimination of 30 or so full-time employees last year was like the removal of a grain of sand on a beach of quicksand.
 
pro4aa said:
Without bankruptcy protection and the write-off of $billions in debt, the shareholders certainly would have been restless.
Click to expand...

There are no shareholders...all the shareholders, including employees owning company stock, were WIPED OUT.  The banks now own Citadel.  Yet the banks were convinced to keep Suleman and Levin and Hannity.

http://www.citadelbroadcasting.com/citadel_broadcasting.aspx?id=6270

NOTE:  All shares of Citadel Broadcasting Corporation common stock held on or before June 2, 2010 were canceled upon the Company's emergence from bankruptcy on June 3, 2010 as part of the Modified Joint Plan of Reorganization approved by the US Bankruptcy Court.
 
The banks are the shareholders, and they saw fit to keep Suleman, Levin and Hannity for whatever reason. Time will tell whether that strategy is successful. It's all about the money. As Part Time Board Op mentioned, they fired most of their full-time people a year ago and the place didn't implode, but how is it functioning in terms of revenue? How it appears to be doing isn't important.
 
Suleman is nothing more than a horse thief. He stole from the former owners (stock holders) and owed the banks, who took over and put him back in charge. He is one of the worst of the worst. Luckoff has it right. With that being said, there are several ABC/Cit Radio Networks stations out there looking for another option. Other options are out there. My guess is that eventually people will grow tired enough of their crappy substitute for real, live programming from a network (VT'ed most of the time now) and seek other options. Contracts and the confort zone slows this process, but I doubt it will stop this process. Five years from now it's likely the ABC Network or whatever it's called now will have several defectors. But, the head crook probably will be long gone by then, with a bag of loot from the safe in his hand. Truely to him, it doesn't matter. I'd like to think it's just radio that's like this, but I know better. Today's corporate world is all about CEOs and their pals ripping off the company, legally, and leaving the stock holders holding the bag. I think the tide is turning though. People are a lot less willing to invest these days in the stock market without more control on their investments, unless it's a 401k, where they have no direct control at all. Personally I would like to see the 401k system eliminated and replaced with another personal retirement savings plan of some sorts. Absentee landlord type stock buying has given the Sulemans of the country wayyyyy too much freedom to pilfer and loot.
 
I find outrageous the "debtor in possession" concept, where in 99% of bankruptices, the same management that looted the company, racked up billions in debt, and drove the stock price to zero, are allowed to keep their jobs...because it's very important to keep the people who "know how to run the company."

Of course, when GM failed, Obama demanded the resignation of CEO Rick Wagoner...and was roundly denounced on talk radio for "interfering with free enterprise."
 
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