CC Cuts ......AGAIN

[justareporter]

At the risk of beating an old, lame, almost dead horse...the folks at Clear channel clearly don't get it. You can't makemoney if you don't spendmoney.

Clear Channel's John Hogan orders further "cuts on the expense side" - ASAP
San Antonio decrees harsh measures because "we are generating less revenue for Q1 than we budgeted and less than what actually ran last year. At the same time, our budgeted expenses for Q1 are up 4%." Hogan's list of Q1 expense reductions includes: "all research monies after 2/1. All advertising and promotion monies after 2/1. All new sales hire guarantees not already implemented, effective immediately (do NOT hire any additional salespeople, effective immediately). All new hires budgeted but not hired, effective immediately (do not hire any additional new employees). Any/all discretionary monies (i.e., travel, meals and entertainment) for your market. Additionally, you are not to replace any departing personnel without specific approval from your EVPO." Hogan says "I completely understand the challenges associated with implementing the above cuts...unfortunately, there is not another alternative."

Realmanagers know how to turn a negative into a positive and make money even in down times. Regardless, you never kill your product just to make your bottom line.

And some wonder why radio is having a hard time.

 

[KFodor]

Please remember...Clear Channel is one company.

Some 9,000 or so stations are not owned by Clear Channel. And not all radio companies operate in the same way.

Some of them still do "spend money to make money".

 

[justareporter]

Mr. Roberts:

No disagreement. However CC owns 1000 or so stations which represents a significant segment of the radio industry. And it appears sometimes as though CC "leads the way." The practically invented "voice-tracking" and the wholesale slaughter of promotion and salary lines.

 

[jimwalsh2001]

Believe it or, not there is some cause for optimism even here (and I'm not exactly know as an optimistic guy). ;D There are indications that the carnage is winding down...

 

[Don62]

Please remember...Clear Channel is one company.

Some 9,000 or so stations are not owned by Clear Channel. And not all radio companies operate in the same way.

Some of them still do "spend money to make money".

No, CC doesn't own all stations. However, it is the biggest U.S. radio owner.

The more important information is that CC owns some of the key radio stations, including the top News-Talkers in many (not all) markets, such as Tampa, Miami, etc.

Those stations are a shell of what they were, especially in Tampa, and continue losing personnel to layoffs.
CC's reliance on running reruns of daily syndicated shows on the weekends, at least in Tampa, has hurt the station's ability to cover live and local breaking weather, like a tornado warning, as discussed on the Tampa board.
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,90617.0.html
The station had personnel on hand, apparently, but apparently higher-ups dictated the station stay with canned programming and didn't allow trained news people to do much of anything live on-the air.

This kind of thinking has allowed other media (TV news) to react quicker and take WFLA's former "heritage" NT status away.

 

[DaleGriffin]

Please remember...Clear Channel is one company.

Some 9,000 or so stations are not owned by Clear Channel. And not all radio companies operate in the same way.

Some of them still do "spend money to make money".

No, CC doesn't own all stations. However, it is the biggest U.S. radio owner.

The more important information is that CC owns some of the key radio stations, including the top News-Talkers in many (not all) markets, such as Tampa, Miami, etc.

Those stations are a shell of what they were, especially in Tampa, and continue losing personnel to layoffs.
CC's reliance on running reruns of daily syndicated shows on the weekends, at least in Tampa, has hurt the station's ability to cover live and local breaking weather, like a tornado warning, as discussed on the Tampa board.
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,90617.0.html
The station had personnel on hand, apparently, but apparently higher-ups dictated the station stay with canned programming and didn't allow trained news people to do much of anything live on-the air.

This kind of thinking has allowed other media (TV news) to react quicker and take WFLA's former "heritage" NT status away.

Don either that is an interesting interpretation of that thread or more mass hysteria from you directed at CC and WFLA. Which is it?

 

[Don62]

Please remember...Clear Channel is one company.

Some 9,000 or so stations are not owned by Clear Channel. And not all radio companies operate in the same way.

Some of them still do "spend money to make money".

No, CC doesn't own all stations. However, it is the biggest U.S. radio owner.

The more important information is that CC owns some of the key radio stations, including the top News-Talkers in many (not all) markets, such as Tampa, Miami, etc.

Those stations are a shell of what they were, especially in Tampa, and continue losing personnel to layoffs.
CC's reliance on running reruns of daily syndicated shows on the weekends, at least in Tampa, has hurt the station's ability to cover live and local breaking weather, like a tornado warning, as discussed on the Tampa board.
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,90617.0.html
The station had personnel on hand, apparently, but apparently higher-ups dictated the station stay with canned programming and didn't allow trained news people to do much of anything live on-the air.

This kind of thinking has allowed other media (TV news) to react quicker and take WFLA's former "heritage" NT status away.

Don either that is an interesting interpretation of that thread or more mass hysteria from you directed at CC and WFLA. Which is it?

Neither.
The station had personnel on hand. Apparently, they weren't allowed to announce anything other than the fact that there was a warning. Only once. With one "on the scene" report from a field reporter.
Then the EAS announcement every other station ran.
That in total lasted no more than 5 mins. out of an hour or so.

Everything else was crappy reruns of a second-rate Limbo wannabee griping about how bad John Edwards is, commercial after commercial, Fox News full, traffic, and an announcement of possible severe weather inside an ordinary average weather report for a now mediocre station.

No tones, no beeps, nothing to indicate anything was amiss.

So the syndicated programming is so all-important that it cannot be interrupted for anything? Would Jack Harris or Ted Webb have just sat there muted while all this was happening? Someone dropped the ball.

Those clowns don't have TV screens at the station to watch what's going on with the weather and other things? Schnitt comments on TV coverage all the time.

The station the next day BTW did announce that two small tornadoes touched down in the area.

But you'd never know about any kind of weather emergency were you to rely on radio.

 

[SeanMGilbow]

Reminds me of August 20...Clear Channel's WTVN relies on WBNS-TV for its weather. 10TV began simulcasting about 20 minutes after a tornado warning was issued for Franklin County. A tornado did touch down near the Ohio State University Airport.

And as of this month, there is no local news on "NewsRadio 610" after 6 p.m.

 

[nolaradiobuff]

On the Clear Channel Talker here, WRNO 99.5 FM, they let go the local morning show, moved out one midday talker, moved the other to 9A-Noon (from 11A-2P) and broadcast Sean Hannity from 5a-9A, Noon-5P and Midnight-3A. That's right: 12 hours of Hannity a day.

So, 7 hours daily of local talk down the drain. Even if they were bad programs, they were still local and had some redeeming qualities.

 

[Don62]

Please remember...Clear Channel is one company.

Some 9,000 or so stations are not owned by Clear Channel. And not all radio companies operate in the same way.

Some of them still do "spend money to make money".

No, CC doesn't own all stations. However, it is the biggest U.S. radio owner.

The more important information is that CC owns some of the key radio stations, including the top News-Talkers in many (not all) markets, such as Tampa, Miami, etc.

Those stations are a shell of what they were, especially in Tampa, and continue losing personnel to layoffs.
CC's reliance on running reruns of daily syndicated shows on the weekends, at least in Tampa, has hurt the station's ability to cover live and local breaking weather, like a tornado warning, as discussed on the Tampa board.
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,90617.0.html
The station had personnel on hand, apparently, but apparently higher-ups dictated the station stay with canned programming and didn't allow trained news people to do much of anything live on-the air.

This kind of thinking has allowed other media (TV news) to react quicker and take WFLA's former "heritage" NT status away.

Don either that is an interesting interpretation of that thread or more mass hysteria from you directed at CC and WFLA. Which is it?

Dale, you would have just sat silent, muted, and kept your mouth shut, while all kinds of weather havoc was breaking loose in your primary coverage county area?

It's more important to keep to the clock, run every single spot, all of a national newscast full (don't dare tell your listeners about anything wrong), then bury weather information within a normal weather report?

TV news cleaned WFLA's clock. Funny thing is, WFLA did have a newsman in at that time. But he apparently wasn't allowed to do much more than a brief report.

How many news people does WFLA have? 20? Cheap CC can't afford to have one working on Saturday p.m.?

Oh. It's not important. Their competition is running a show about colonostophy or something stupid. Guess Schnitt fits in well there.

 

[DaleGriffin]

Please remember...Clear Channel is one company.

Some 9,000 or so stations are not owned by Clear Channel. And not all radio companies operate in the same way.

Some of them still do "spend money to make money".

No, CC doesn't own all stations. However, it is the biggest U.S. radio owner.

The more important information is that CC owns some of the key radio stations, including the top News-Talkers in many (not all) markets, such as Tampa, Miami, etc.

Those stations are a shell of what they were, especially in Tampa, and continue losing personnel to layoffs.
CC's reliance on running reruns of daily syndicated shows on the weekends, at least in Tampa, has hurt the station's ability to cover live and local breaking weather, like a tornado warning, as discussed on the Tampa board.
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,90617.0.html
The station had personnel on hand, apparently, but apparently higher-ups dictated the station stay with canned programming and didn't allow trained news people to do much of anything live on-the air.

This kind of thinking has allowed other media (TV news) to react quicker and take WFLA's former "heritage" NT status away.

Don either that is an interesting interpretation of that thread or more mass hysteria from you directed at CC and WFLA. Which is it?

Dale, you would have just sat silent, muted, and kept your mouth shut, while all kinds of weather havoc was breaking loose in your primary coverage county area?

It's more important to keep to the clock, run every single spot, all of a national newscast full (don't dare tell your listeners about anything wrong), then bury weather information within a normal weather report?

TV news cleaned WFLA's clock. Funny thing is, WFLA did have a newsman in at that time. But he apparently wasn't allowed to do much more than a brief report.

How many news people does WFLA have? 20? Cheap CC can't afford to have one working on Saturday p.m.?

Oh. It's not important. Their competition is running a show about colonostophy or something stupid. Guess Schnitt fits in well there.

I'm, sorry I didn't respond to your Clear Channel derangement syndrome and that made you come after me again. TV beat radio hear, no one argued that. They did break in and do warnings, it was covererd in the other thread. Stop listening to CC Don, they are rotting your brain.

 

[Don62]

You're the one calling me out on this. You're the one that started this fight, pal.

Try living in a city where the monopolistic radio owners care more about pinching every penny than warning people about weather perils.

Defend those sorry excuse for a broadcaster all you want, but it wasn't your house that was in the path of a possible tornado.

I'm sure people at your station wouldn't have kept their mouths deliberately shut during such a storm and would have quickly dumped out of the Rush and Hannity junk in an instant. Not at CC.

CC sucks. And they screwed up by barely mentioning a weather hazard that other media kicked their buts on.

I remember a time - just a year or so ago in another better talk radio market - when radio owners really cared about their listeners.

 

[DaleGriffin]

You're the one calling me out on this. You're the one that started this fight, pal.

Try living in a city where the monopolistic radio owners care more about pinching every penny than warning people about weather perils.

Defend those sorry excuse for a broadcaster all you want, but it wasn't your house that was in the path of a possible tornado.

I'm sure people at your station wouldn't have kept their mouths deliberately shut during such a storm and would have quickly dumped out of the Rush and Hannity junk in an instant. Not at CC.

CC sucks. And they screwed up by barely mentioning a weather hazard that other media kicked their buts on.

I remember a time - just a year or so ago in another better talk radio market - when radio owners really cared about their listeners.

1. I don't work for CC
2. I ignored your pathetic rantings
3. You came after me again
4. Tornados hit every single day - got to the Midwest boards and start ranting about those broadcasters.
5. Find something else to do on a Saturday besides listen to a company you hate.

A summary of every Don62 post:

Clear Channel bad... grunt grunt grunt.. back in the day radio good... grunt grunt grunt. Me want old days.

We get it.

 

[Don62]

3. You came after me again

What? You're being picked on?

'xcuse me, fella, but you threw the first punch in this thread.

To set the record straight, you called me on this one, not the other way around.

[size=10pt]Don either that is an interesting interpretation of that thread or more mass hysteria from you directed at CC and WFLA. Which is it?[/size]

 

[Don62]

I remember a time - just a year or so ago in another better talk radio market - when radio owners really cared about their listeners.

A summary of every Don62 post:
Clear Channel bad... grunt grunt grunt.. back in the day radio good... grunt grunt grunt. Me want old d

So.... Dale. You would say "screw the listeners. Leave the station on automation. We don't care."

The days of providing severe weather coverage were "the good old days?"

What I was referring to was in another market, on a weekend, one year ago. The stations did what they should do. They weren't cheap dates and let the woman pick up the check.

I got news for you buddy: that's their job. With all of its millions, CC can't even do its job. What a crummy excuse for a "radio" company, one that hates its workers so much the workers fear their "Christmas bonus."

 

[gr8oldies]

I don't know the situation specifically, but we can always debate how extensively any station goes into weather panic mode, some go wall to wall at the hint of a thundershower, and some do little but run the EAS automatically. In Columbus last year, Clear Channel's WTVN was all over a tornado warning on a Saturday afternoon as well as several other stations. No one, by the way, is guaranteed continued employment at a Clear Channel radio station or at the Ford plant. It sucks, but people got fired routinely in the good old days too.

 

[justareporter]

Gentlemen,

Somewhere the focus of this original post got lost. Sure, ford laid people off in the good old days...so too the 7-Eleven last week. But neither is a radio station licensed by the Federal Government to serve "the public interest, convenience and necessity." I know that sounds like an old, tired phrase but it is the reason these stations got licenses in the first place.

If the Feds really wanted to get serious they would get serious with owners....either start doing what you were licensed to do in the first place...or we will find owners that will.

CC treats its employees, the public like step-children all the while giving the law and the Federal Government the finger.

 

[DaleGriffin]

I remember a time - just a year or so ago in another better talk radio market - when radio owners really cared about their listeners.

A summary of every Don62 post:
Clear Channel bad... grunt grunt grunt.. back in the day radio good... grunt grunt grunt. Me want old d

So.... Dale. You would say "screw the listeners. Leave the station on automation. We don't care."

The days of providing severe weather coverage were "the good old days?"

What I was referring to was in another market, on a weekend, one year ago. The stations did what they should do. They weren't cheap dates and let the woman pick up the check.

I got news for you buddy: that's their job. With all of its millions, CC can't even do its job. What a crummy excuse for a "radio" company, one that hates its workers so much the workers fear their "Christmas bonus."

Oh good, CC derangement syndrome AND Dale Jackson derangement syndrome.