Only in America... ???
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/a...el-doles-out-stock-to-execs-ceo-farid-suleman
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/a...el-doles-out-stock-to-execs-ceo-farid-suleman
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Citadel Doles Out Stock To Execs, CEO Farid Suleman To Get 1.9 Million Shares
- Thread starter John C
- Start date
Um...Um...Um.... Ya
When have you seen anything different? (No fair listing Madoff)
This is why I wonder why, from the get go, people think the top side is in for "a downfall"!! Ain't gonna happen!
Just sayin
When have you seen anything different? (No fair listing Madoff)
This is why I wonder why, from the get go, people think the top side is in for "a downfall"!! Ain't gonna happen!
Just sayin
I wish you would give Farid and Judy a break. They worked very hard for that money. Think of all the effort that went into screwing the shareholders and lenders, terminating the employees, cutting salaries and vacations, having the Court void contracts and bonuses. It takes a lot of hard work to accomplish these things and these two pulled it off without a hitch. They're the envy of every broadcast maven in America. Break out the Dom!
BTW, read more here: http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/
BTW, read more here: http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/
Wait, isn't this the company that just lost one of their top sales people in Buffalo because they wouldn't restore vacation time & benefits taken away during the run-up to the bankruptcy?
Nice to know that the new board of directors is watching out for both employees and prospective shareholders. Anybody out there champing at the bit to buy some of those "Class A" shares that will be issued? Sure would be funny if the value of that stock ended up in the penny category. Then again, Fagreed's price is probably guaranteed.
Cue "TheBigA" to defend this travesty.
Nice to know that the new board of directors is watching out for both employees and prospective shareholders. Anybody out there champing at the bit to buy some of those "Class A" shares that will be issued? Sure would be funny if the value of that stock ended up in the penny category. Then again, Fagreed's price is probably guaranteed.
Cue "TheBigA" to defend this travesty.
Citadel is a microcosm of the business world in general these days: Fat cats at the top getting fatter while employees are so content to have a job (often doing the work or two or three former employees) that they don't dare complain about reduced pay, hours and benefits.
In the case of the sales person referred to by Rox, some employees find another job. It isn't like Entercom (especially recently) is Club Med, but getting out of Citadel might make the person in question think it is. Then again, what difference will his absence make at Citadel? Two new hires who previously worked the counter at Best Buy can be trained to replace him and anybody else who isn't happy at Fort Farid. "Here's a phone book, build an account list. Now get out and sell." Nobody is irreplaceable. Yes, I jest.
What's happening now in radio and banking is the capitalist's dream: An endless supply of cheap labor that doesn't dare complain. Call it the Wal-Mart Syndrome. The only drawback is the slow death this particularly distorted strain of capitalism inflicts on the middle class (reduce medical and health benefits, etc.) which is where the essential consumers come from. You can't buy or furnish a home working at Sprawl-Mart. To say the least, this is a very short-sighted approach to the market, whether it's radio, banking or retail.
A prime example is the Wall Street crooks. Under the pretext of protecting and/or increasing our money as well as enhancing the security of our futures, they gambled with our money, richly rewarded themselves and then said, "Ooops. YOUR money is gone. Sucks to be you. Wanna play again, double or nothing?" They then rewarded themselves with lavish bonuses. This is exactly what Suleman and his ilk did in radio. Lice.
In the case of the sales person referred to by Rox, some employees find another job. It isn't like Entercom (especially recently) is Club Med, but getting out of Citadel might make the person in question think it is. Then again, what difference will his absence make at Citadel? Two new hires who previously worked the counter at Best Buy can be trained to replace him and anybody else who isn't happy at Fort Farid. "Here's a phone book, build an account list. Now get out and sell." Nobody is irreplaceable. Yes, I jest.
What's happening now in radio and banking is the capitalist's dream: An endless supply of cheap labor that doesn't dare complain. Call it the Wal-Mart Syndrome. The only drawback is the slow death this particularly distorted strain of capitalism inflicts on the middle class (reduce medical and health benefits, etc.) which is where the essential consumers come from. You can't buy or furnish a home working at Sprawl-Mart. To say the least, this is a very short-sighted approach to the market, whether it's radio, banking or retail.
A prime example is the Wall Street crooks. Under the pretext of protecting and/or increasing our money as well as enhancing the security of our futures, they gambled with our money, richly rewarded themselves and then said, "Ooops. YOUR money is gone. Sucks to be you. Wanna play again, double or nothing?" They then rewarded themselves with lavish bonuses. This is exactly what Suleman and his ilk did in radio. Lice.
SirRoxalot said:
Well I'm not going to "defend this travesty", but you guys need some new material. Your responses to anything Citadel does are becoming as predictable as the rotations on 96.1 Joy FM. Maybe we need a sub-forum for "grumpy old men who hate Citadel".
Oh, and HDBG - overusing the expression "just sayin'" went out with MySpace. It's so 2005. Just sayin'.
2005 ??? Dang, I suppose I should get a new calendar (that explains why I'm always a day or two behind
)That's all
HDBG
SRP said:
Maybe that's why I prefer the more light-hearted threads like "The Stiffs". How can someone not be outraged at what's happening at the top of Citadel? Yes, I know it's happening all over but hopefully not to this extreme. I thought "9" hit it on the head with his analysis. A similar tale is being played out in Albany where the legislature keeps those who benefit from their spending happy while the rest of us pay higher taxes and fees until we get fed up and move out of state. Call me grumpy.
The employee who left was Paul Mauer who was there for 25 years. He is supposedly going to Entercom to sell there.
Farid probably didn't like that he was spending time working on a project that would benefit the public, and build relationships with movers and shakers in the community. Heaven knows that doesn't have an immediate effect on the bottom line, and Farid doesn't appear to be interested in the long term for anybody but himself. After all, it's all about numbers. Nobody does "relationship selling" in Buffalo, right?
Two things posters and readers should know about Paul Maurer, (1) He's one of the most decent people you'll have the pleasure to meet, (2) he's one of the highest billing and highly ethical sales guys in the market and over the years mentored dozens if not hundreds of sales people. Oh, and (3) his handwriting is, well... he coulda been a doctor. ;D As to the other stuff in this thread... discretion is the better part of valor. I'll be Switzerland.
Well, I guess we'll just have to see how revenues at Citadel compare with revenues at Entercom over the next few years. Sales people are at the mercy of "the list", and there doesn't seem to be a lot of respect for sales talent at Citadel's corporate headquarters. After all, Farid & Judy were the ones who said that all radio needs are "order takers". This is also the same company that shed 2/3 of their debt, yet won't restore vacation time, pay, or benefits to people who took deep cuts in the run-up to the bankruptcy. And, this is the same company who's sales in Buffalo have gone from #1 to #3 in the last decade. Then again, maybe that's all Maurer's fault...
SirRoxalot said:
What's to defend? I don't work there. I personally can't understand why thousands still do.
Here's the deal: They've been given a pile of stock that has basically no value. UNLESS someone rushes out and buys it. Now WHO in their right mind would buy stock from a company that just emerged from bankruptcy that isn't in a growth industry? Certainly not me. So it's really very simple: As long as no one buys its stock, these execs got a lot of worthless paper. But if they were going to issue stock, a big chunk of that stock needed to be in someone's possession, otherwise it's just unsold inventory. So Farid and everyone else who got stock did so in order to get the process started. It's like taking a ball and throwing it. Unless someone is at the other end to catch it, the ball just drops to the ground.
I predict that unless someone actually buys this stock, in very short time it will begin to lose value, and quickly go in the same direction it went the first time it was available.
There are a lot of outsiders who are making a judgement about some people and a company as though it means anything. Pointing at them and saying "tisk" isn't very productive. If you don't like this company's policies, don't do business with them. Don't work there, don't carry their shows, don't advertise on their stations, and most importantly don't buy their stock. That's really all you have to know.
Element9 said:
It doesn't have to be this way. All it takes is someone with balls. Does anyone have any anymore? The willingness to take initiative. The willingness to quit sucking on the teat and take some personal risk. Are you smart? Do you know how to be a quality broadcaster? Create good content? Then why not start a content company? Sure you may have to actually work hard, and maybe not make money for a while until the crops are ready to harvest. But if it succeeds, YOU will be the fat cat, and you get to keep the money.
We used to be a country where people started businesses, invested in themselves, created products that people wanted, and took risks. Then people got lazy, and decided it was easier to work for a big company that provided cheap medical benefits and a weekly check regardless of productivity. Now it's popular to rant about the big company, but everyone's afraid to walk away from the cheap medical benefits and the weekly check. My suggestion to you is simple: Grow a pair. There are lots of options to working for the big corporation. You just have to deal with the consequences, if you have courage. But most people don't. It's easier to blame someone else. It's THEIR fault, not mine. That is a circular road to nowhere.
Wake up one day and do a personal assessment. What are you worth? Then go out and start selling. If the radio world is as weak as everyone here thinks it is, it should be easier than shootin' fish in a barrel. You don't need money. You need knowledge and courage. Got them and you can do what thousands have done.
The issue isn't "growing a pair," the issue is people like Suleman and Ellis and other operators consistently making the wrong decisions, which adversely affect the lives (and health) of good employees, to say nothing of duping investors, compounded by rewarding themselves richly for their ineptitude.
According to responsible estimates, banks and corporations are sitting on approximately $1.4 trillion ($1,400,000,000,000) that could be used to hire personnel or make loans.
Mildly amusing that the poster who tenders the argument of "go out and get some cash and start your own," is the same writer has often expressed on this and other boards, the argument that "sellers aren't selling because lenders aren't lending."
First time buyers or start-ups that attempt to "go out and get some cash" are frequently charged usury interest rates, with a minimum of 25% equity. Banks and lending institutions look at radio with a jaundiced eye, more likely to lend money to a restaurant start-up, traditionally an investment which carries high risk, than to a company that wants to buy a radio station.
As to the question, "who's going to buy Citadel stock?" Very likely mutual funds and the same companies that packaged funds for unwary or all-too-trusting investors. Citadel will be bundled in a Communications or Telecommunications Fund, much like the sub-prime, zero down toxic mortgages that created the housing debacle were packaged in a Real Estate Fund or REIT.
According to responsible estimates, banks and corporations are sitting on approximately $1.4 trillion ($1,400,000,000,000) that could be used to hire personnel or make loans.
Mildly amusing that the poster who tenders the argument of "go out and get some cash and start your own," is the same writer has often expressed on this and other boards, the argument that "sellers aren't selling because lenders aren't lending."
First time buyers or start-ups that attempt to "go out and get some cash" are frequently charged usury interest rates, with a minimum of 25% equity. Banks and lending institutions look at radio with a jaundiced eye, more likely to lend money to a restaurant start-up, traditionally an investment which carries high risk, than to a company that wants to buy a radio station.
As to the question, "who's going to buy Citadel stock?" Very likely mutual funds and the same companies that packaged funds for unwary or all-too-trusting investors. Citadel will be bundled in a Communications or Telecommunications Fund, much like the sub-prime, zero down toxic mortgages that created the housing debacle were packaged in a Real Estate Fund or REIT.
Element9 said:
No, the issue is what can YOU do about it?
The answer, for the most part, is nothing. Nothing but rant about other people. We all want to be able to sit in judgement of others and say "You are a bad person and we sentence you to life in hell." But we can't do that. So what's the alternative. I'm offering a solution.
Corporations aren't in business to give money away. They're not obligated in any way to help you or anyone else. As we can see, they're not even obligated to help their shareholders. So what do you learn from that experience? Do you keep banging your head against the corporate slavedriver, or do you solve your own problems? I'm told the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Yet people still buy Citadel stock and apply for jobs there. You're not going to change the system. You're not going to get some judge or Attorney General to go in and force Citadel to give millions away to former stockholders or employees. It's simply not going to happen. So what's the point? Why rant? Get off your butt and make a difference.
Yes I know banks aren't lending. Yes I know it's not going to be easy. But nothing worth doing ever is.
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