Bloodbath at KNX & KFWB

[calguy]

Don Barrett sent a bulletin this afternoon about mass terminations at KNX and KFWB. Barrett reports more than 20 staffers have been fired and that the story is still developing.

 

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

CBS cut several earlier in the week up here in Seattle. I wonder if this is chain-wide mandate to cut costs in the markets where they are not selling assets by cutting people.

 

[emailfailed]

It's my understanding on Friday 14 people from KFWB and 12 people from KNX were shown the door.

Here is a parcel list of KFWB people let go on Black Friday on Wilshire: Chris Sedens, Christina Villacorte, Larry Carroll, Micheal Forrest, Sharon Katchens, Lori Kelman, Jennifer Bauman, and at least seven other people who haven't yet been informed their services are "no longer needed at CBS."

Over at KNX Vicki Cox and at least 11 other people are reported to have been let go.

I don't know if any personal at the FM's downstairs were let go (or are going to be let go).

Curiously with OC reporters Lori Kelman and Jennifer Bauman gone KFWB in effect no longer has an OC Bureau and with Sharon Katchens gone there is now no Long Beach/South Bay Bureau. Ostensibly if a major story breaks in the OC in the middle of the afternoon it's going to be up to Pete Demetriou or Steve Lentz to fight traffic down "the 5" and prey to the news gods there is still a story when they arrive. KNX still has somebody down in "the OC" and I have a feeling we're going to hear a slow merge of the two news stations.

Sources tell me CBS has also cutback on their sales staff at the Wilshire complex.

Truly sad times for those who lost their jobs and it may not be over yet on Wilshire.

All of this comes on the heels of KFWB GM Andy Ludlum being shown the door less than a month ago.

Any thoughts on what's next?

PS: The irony for KFWB's woes is the September PPM was released and 980 had their highest ratings, such as they are, in years and narrowly beat KNX.

 

[AnimatronicAbeLincoln]

Cost cutting is probably going on across the company. How many senior-level executives at corporate have been let go so far?

 

[Carmine5]

As one air personality told me, it's not like the old days where if you were fired from one station you could go across town and get hired by a rival station. Now, all the major market stations are pretty much owned by just two or three companies. Consolidation has virtually destroyed employment opportunities in radio and TV.

I mean, what chance have all these people got of finding work in the LA market? The problem is even worse for those who are older.

C5

 

[djmimi]

egads, what is CBS going to do - simulcast a bunch of stations?? Was Jack Popejoy on the list??

 

[calguy]

Thanks to djmim for the names of the dearly departed. Don Barrett reports with a bit more complete list of names today. From KFWB it's Lori Kelman, Jennifer Bauman, Chris Sedens, Larry Carroll, Lonnie Lardner, Sharon Katchen, Peter Bergman, Dave Adacary, Kimberly Plummer, Fred Peabody, Christina Villacorte, Mike Forest, Dirck Morgan and John Darin. The list from KNX so far is Gerry Mulvaney, Vicki Cox, Laura Ornest and Michael Linder. I doubt that CBS is done, though I don't know how much they could cut from their FM's as they're already pretty lean. Roy is obviously doing what he knows from his time at Cheap Channel. My contacts there say that CC Burbank is a ghost town unless everyone shows for a meeting. My question is why Andy Ludlum was let go of instead of David G. Hall? DGH has done more to screw up those two stations than anyone in recent history while Ludlum's station showed improvement. Roy even said that DGH had made many mistakes, but still gave KFWB back to him. The Long Beach and OC bureaus are closed now and even worse for those trying to cover stories there, now that KNX and KFWB are on the Miracle Mile they have a pretty good commute just to get to a freeway. Terrible planning on CBS's part for sure. If radio is really dying, it's the people running it that are killing it, not the competition.

 

[SandyG]

KLSX let a bunch of sales people go in August and September. Something like 6 or 7. Yet I hear from a friend on the inside that more is coming and that the internet department is so bad that Roy is going to axe most of them. I also hear a programming department "big wig" being shown the door soon....but that is just a rumor...isn't it?

 

[oldiesfan6479]

I also hear a programming department "big wig" being shown the door soon....
but that is just a rumor...isn't it?

Other than Kevin Weatherly, who, with his recent ascension in the VP ranks
is undoubtedly higher now in the CBS management "favorites" order than
Wonder Roy (in the eyes of NYC corporate), are there additional El Lay PDs
besides Jhani Kaye and the infamous : DGH?

 

[BACKnUSSR]

I also hear a programming department "big wig" being shown the door soon....
but that is just a rumor...isn't it?

Other than Kevin Weatherly, who, with his recent ascension in the VP ranks
is undoubtedly higher now in the CBS management "favorites" order than
Wonder Roy (in the eyes of NYC corporate), are there additional El Lay PDs
besides Jhani Kaye and the infamous : DGH?

There's Jack Silver at KLSX and Paul Goldstein at KTWV.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

There's Jack Silver at KLSX and Paul Goldstein at KTWV.

I was unaware of Paul Goldstein at KTWV.

In Roy's recent re-sort of responsibilities (prior to the KNX/KFWB
"screw it...let's just voicetrack nights and weekends" bloodbath),
wasn't Jack Silver lateralled to a "station manager" position for CBS
El Lay? Or was that someone else?

 

[davideduardo]

There's Jack Silver at KLSX and Paul Goldstein at KTWV.

I was unaware of Paul Goldstein at KTWV.

In Roy's recent re-sort of responsibilities (prior to the KNX/KFWB
"screw it...let's just voicetrack nights and weekends" bloodbath),
wasn't Jack Silver lateralled to a "station manager" position for CBS
El Lay? Or was that someone else?

Bob Moore.

 

[goriajk]

A TRAGEDY!!! I listen to KFWB and KNX for the most part (I listen to Sirius and KSWD for music) - I'm deeply saddened in hearing this awful news. The loss of great anchors like Michael Linder (KNX) and Larry Carroll (KFWB) along with the closing of the KFWB LB/So. Bay & OC Bureau is just gosh-awful. :'( Stupid move, CBS. JG

 

[nmoore6676]

When I first moved to California I listened to KFWB for news. For some reason I always preferred their coverage to KNX before they were co-owned. Until maybe five years ago I maintained a battery powered radio tuned to KFWB but gradually I started noticing that when I had personal knowledge of breaking news I found it being reported more often on KFI than either of the two "All News" stations.

I have to think combining operations and keeping one fully staffed news station on the air would make more sense than decimating the two. Maybe the ultimate plan is to do just that but why not wait until the plan is fully formed then do it. This move is purely bad PR so why not take a page from the Saul Levine playbook and make KFWB all “Real Oldies” or “Music of Your Life” and then flip it to the planned format after a few months.

 

[amfmxm]

Something about the LA CBS massacre really stinks. As recently as 2005, the Los Angeles CBS cluster was ranked by BIA as the highest-billing radio cluster in the U.S. with an estimated $310 million in revenue.

For argument's sake, let's estimate that the 26 employees axed were making an average of $100,000 yearly, meaning that--with benefits and payroll taxes added--CBS would have saved about $3 million by getting rid of them. That's one percent of the cluster's revenue.

Okay, so billing is down. To what? $250 million? That means they saved 1.2 percent.

Taking it a step further, let's say the cluster was cash flowing 60 percent--$150 million on $250MM in revenue. That puts their savings at 2 percent of cash flow.

So CBS will now make $153 million instead of a mere $150 million in profit this year. And 26 people have their lives turned upside down for the sake of Protecting The Profit--and ensuring that the CEO can still take the private jet instead of being forced to fly first class on a commercial carrier...

 

[media1170]

Hey Ray,

Turn off those 2 utility hogs over on the east side of down town and down in Torrence. That should help keep the "overhead" down.
Isn't Dave Hall one of Phil Hendrie's characters?

 

[MusicMaestro]

A TRAGEDY!!! I listen to KFWB and KNX for the most part (I listen to Sirius and KSWD for music) - I'm deeply saddened in hearing this awful news. The loss of great anchors like Michael Linder (KNX) and Larry Carroll (KFWB) along with the closing of the KFWB LB/So. Bay & OC Bureau is just gosh-awful. :'( Stupid move, CBS. JG

Dittos--a very stupid move, CBS! Let's the quality of news reporting doesn't suffer a dropoff as well. Geez, what's next???? :