Finally someone has gone behind the curtain at Dave Ramsey's operation and unearthed some non-flattering stories of how his outfit is run. Being one of the daily mainstays on 92~Three, Dave's got some 'splainin' to do. This first appeared on the Religion News Service web page, and was recently published by The Tennessean in Nashville. It's a long read, but worth it! Is Dave Ramsey's empire the 'best place to work in America'? Say no and you're out
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Beans & Rice & Rot?
- Thread starter DrAkbar
- Start date
The irony of it being published by Religious News Service is that Dave's fairly religious. In his own kind of way.
There were a lot of stories on the Covid part of this board when he held a mask-free Christmas party. His caterers were pretty offended by the whole thing.
www.nbcnews.com
There were a lot of stories on the Covid part of this board when he held a mask-free Christmas party. His caterers were pretty offended by the whole thing.
Caterers at finance guru Dave Ramsey's holiday party told not to wear masks, complaint says
A complaint filed with the city of Franklin, Tenn., said that masks and gloves would "scare those in attendance.”
www.nbcnews.com
His way or the highway straight out of Financial Peace University. This expose will probably result in more stories from current and former employees. Especially interesting in the article is how Ramsey dealt with the ex wife of sidekick Chris Hogan.
It reminds me of when the company I worked for back in the 90s instituted "random drug tests" that just happened to target the executives that were obviously coked up out of their minds.
At my previous job in software, I had a co-worker who left to work for Dave Ramsey. He would’ve been the perfect fit for that company based on what that article described. According to his LinkedIn profile, he moved to Texas a couple years ago and works at a different company now. I can’t imagine he would’ve left Ramsey's company on bad terms. He and his wife were devoutly religious and, from what I can tell, still are.
The worst person I ever worked for was a former OM at a Cumulus cluster. Another co-worker told me had been personal friends with Dave Ramsey, and one of his first moves was firing one of our local talk hosts and replacing him with Ramsey. I always figured anyone who voluntarily spent time with that guy was as horrible of an excuse for a human being as he was, though I have no idea if or how well the two actually knew each other. He had worked at WSM/WWTN at one point. So, the two of them would’ve had the opportunity to cross paths more than once, but he certainly didn’t heed Ramsey's financial advice. He had horrible financial problems, lost one of his vehicles, and was driving a station van for several months after he arrived at our operation.
The worst person I ever worked for was a former OM at a Cumulus cluster. Another co-worker told me had been personal friends with Dave Ramsey, and one of his first moves was firing one of our local talk hosts and replacing him with Ramsey. I always figured anyone who voluntarily spent time with that guy was as horrible of an excuse for a human being as he was, though I have no idea if or how well the two actually knew each other. He had worked at WSM/WWTN at one point. So, the two of them would’ve had the opportunity to cross paths more than once, but he certainly didn’t heed Ramsey's financial advice. He had horrible financial problems, lost one of his vehicles, and was driving a station van for several months after he arrived at our operation.
Thanks for posting, very disturbing. I'll be sharing this piece to all my contacts in broadcasting.
Ramsey is pure human filth! An absolute P.O.S.
Ramsey is pure human filth! An absolute P.O.S.
It astounds me that this story hasn't been more widely reported. Kudos to RNS for showing some spine!The irony of it being published by Religious News Service is that Dave's fairly religious. In his own kind of way.
There were a lot of stories on the Covid part of this board when he held a mask-free Christmas party. His caterers were pretty offended by the whole thing.
Caterers at finance guru Dave Ramsey's holiday party told not to wear masks, complaint says
A complaint filed with the city of Franklin, Tenn., said that masks and gloves would "scare those in attendance.”
Agreed. It's not getting covered by radio industry news outlets because Ramsey advertises with them, and they don't dare report on this because they know that if they did, he'd cancel his advertising with their company.
I used to listen to his show a few years ago, but if one listened for several days, it started to get repetitive. Also, I found it odd that one person would call and tell Ramsey that they were in over their heads financially, and he'd take the time to explain all the steps of his program and suggest how they should work through each one. A few days later someone else would call with the same situation, and he'd seemingly lose his temper, start berating them and tell them he wasn't going to tell them how to keep more "stuff" than they could afford, and their only option was to try and sell their possessions for whatever they could get for them, or return items if possible and beg to get money back for them.
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In a way, he's "playing the hits." Talk is a format, and successful talk is a formula. As for Dave berating people, I suspect that's by design. His phone screeners make sure that certain types of people with certain types of problems get through, and from there Dave can offer his advice, berate them if needed, and sell his program. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Yet there's something else happening here, if the article is to be believed. Ramsey is not just a successful talk host peddling a product, but a terrible boss being abusive to his employees.
I can't be the only one who read this and said "he fired someone for having premarital sex? In RADIO?"
Some of the people who work for him have been there a long time.
Lol, I recall at my first station, management bought a couch for the lobby with the idea that the jocks could sleep there if they had a quick turnaround between shifts or got stranded there due to weather, etc. More sooner than later they determined which tracks would give them the most amount of time to "entertain visitors" on said couch. When all the music was on carts, they added the cue tone so once a song started to fade it'd fire the next cart. With the setup there, they could get up to 6 songs back to back on the air before they needed to rush back into the studio.
hmmm...bet "Afternoon Delight" was one of the six songs played back to back for the enjoyment of those doing the horizontal mambo!
Dave would not approve...unless you were one of his "authors" and needed you for a book tour.
Point well taken rick. However, it should be the other way around. In good conscience, the stations should cease advertising with Ramsey.
Frankly, they should be pummeling him hard where it hurts the most: his wallet.
The Dave Ramsey program is a barter syndicated talk program. The radio station that carries it does not pay actual dollars but clears the network commercials. There are a number of minutes each hour that the local station sells, making money by running the show, essentially, and without the cost of the air talent to do a program locally.
b-turner... not exactly. There is a TON of money changing hands behind the scenes between Ramsey & many of his radio affiliates.
Yes, some stations take Ramsey purely on barter, but most have a more complex relationship with the show. Affiliate stations typically have NTR revenue (box office split for live events & other local 'sales') and / or a direct, brokered relationship (termed 'strategic marketing dollars') with Ramsey. Typically, half of the strategic marketing dollars need to be used on Ramsey-specific advertising in the market, while half can be used for general station marketing, which Ramsey knows will also benefit his show as a result. For stations that have seen their marketing budgets disappear over the last 25 years, it's a way to suddenly fall into a pot of marketing gold. It's not uncommon for Ramsey to spend $100k+ annually in 'strategic marketing dollars' in a top 100 market to clear his show on a local radio station. Also, once Dave has built up his Endorsed Local Providers (ELP) base, ELPs often buy an ad schedule during his show, or a wider daypart, on the local affiliate.
The slush fund of dollars surrounding the show make it harder for stations to drop ... as they know the financial hit they'll take if they do. Often, the GM or GSM orders the PD to air the show, and dictates when. Over time, and in tough advertising climates, station GMs often become more reliant on Ramsey revenue (which Ramsey likes to dial back on directly, as the years go on) more than they are willing to heed the advice of their Talk Programmer or Consultant to make a change to more traditional programming that they know is likely to fare better with their listeners.
Thanks for posting, very disturbing. I'll be sharing this piece to all my contacts in broadcasting.
Ramsey is pure human filth! An absolute P.O.S.
An absolute POS that pays the bills and delivers good numbers and all the good books (not *the* Good Book.)
I have long maintained that Bonneville needs to figure out what their non-Beans&Rice broadcast day looks like - and now, before that inevitable day when TMZ or whoever else leaks some Wallen/Manson-type shenanigans, now might be a good time for Bonneville to revisit their live & local m.o. of not-too-distant yesteryear The b&r gravy train WILL end.
Not disputing that irg. However, if any local "personality" did the exact same thing that Ramsey got away with (i.e. including the COVID super-spreader party), they would've been canned on the spot.
Or put another way, if Ramsey's show was on KFYI, make no mistake: KTAR would've reported on it. The hypocrisy is glaring.
Bonneville could do the "right" thing and end that "gravy train" immediately. In the long run it would serve them better, in my opinion.
Thanks for responding, your point is well taken. Respect.
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