Dan Mason is the one respectable guy at the helm of a corporate giant these days, and he deserves major props for the rebirth of once-great brands like B94, KFRC and CBS-FM.
Raymond: knowing Clarke since his days at Point Park College in 1977 and working with him twice over time, I would tell you that Clarke's "not showing up" was a direct result of the way he was treated by his superiors. Clarke has always been a "night person"; his bioclock starts later than the average person. This is pure discrimination on the part of his superiors and should have been litigated IMHO. No one noticed the hours he would put in after 5pm when the suits went home. Frankly, that's the only way a lot of the quality work a PD needs to do ever gets done, thanks to the boatload of endless, meaningless politicking and BS that has to be done to get by in Big Brother radio today. Rather than allow for this, they decided to use it against him, to their eternal discredit. When Clarke realized what was going on, his motivation ended...and I don't blame him a bit.
Yes, a PD has to be running at 100% AND THEN SOME. But it is the responsibility of those above the PD to motivate, encourage and back their minions, not just as a srvice to their employees, but to deliver the greatest value for money to their company. Clarke's superior at The Beat does exactly the opposite to anyone he perceives as a threat to his position due to his own fear and insecurity. Ladle a great big helping of "not my team" (Clarke was acquired by Clear Channel in the AM-FM purchase) and, voila, a brilliant career is brought to a halt by a political hack job from a very small, and IMO, evil man.
I reiterate: Jim Meltzer...you know I'm right. You were there. Do the right thing. Wipe the floor with those SOBs.
