From orlando sentinel media columnist scott maxwell
Radio voices keep disappearing
Published November 12, 2006
Life at the Clear Channel radio compound in Maitland has been tense lately, with bodies falling left and right.
In the past month or so, the family of stations has axed 740 The Team's frontman Marc Daniels and his sidekick, Steve Egan; two news staffers from the AM side, BethAnn Shaffer and Reagan Smith; a producing position from Doc and Johnny's morning show on 106.7 FM -- and, last week, 104.1's entire evening show, The Hideout, as well as three people in the cluster's traffic department, including veteran Melissa Foxx.
Said 104.1 patriarch Jim Philips: "It is sad to see good professional broadcasters fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, that is part of this business. I am going to continue to do my thing, and stay below the radar."
The question many on-air personalities have been asking themselves, though, is: How much longer will it last?
It won't -- at least for a while. That's the answer that came from Clear Channel's local director of programming, Chris Kampmeier.
This round of cuts appears to be over. Still, the broadcasting behemoth -- as well as the radio industry in general -- is facing mounting challenges from everything from satellite radio to iPods.
And the corporate response to such challenges is often the same: Fire people.
Industry talk suggests the company is trying to cut costs and make itself more attractive for potential buyers. So cuts similar to ones here in Orlando -- where the Clear Channel lineup includes 100.3, 101.1, 104.1, 106.7 and 107.7 on the FM dial and 540 and 740 on the AM side -- have been happening nationwide at some of the company's nearly 1,200 other stations.
So, even if this round of local cuts is over, veterans such as Philips and 106.7's Doc Holliday know that change is likely to continue.
"I think we're going to see a lot more of this all across the country as the industry changes," said Doc, adding that he knows it's tough even on the local guys doing the firing. "But for the rest of us, while we breathe a sigh of relief, there's also a great sense of survivor's guilt."
Radio voices keep disappearing
Published November 12, 2006
Life at the Clear Channel radio compound in Maitland has been tense lately, with bodies falling left and right.
In the past month or so, the family of stations has axed 740 The Team's frontman Marc Daniels and his sidekick, Steve Egan; two news staffers from the AM side, BethAnn Shaffer and Reagan Smith; a producing position from Doc and Johnny's morning show on 106.7 FM -- and, last week, 104.1's entire evening show, The Hideout, as well as three people in the cluster's traffic department, including veteran Melissa Foxx.
Said 104.1 patriarch Jim Philips: "It is sad to see good professional broadcasters fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, that is part of this business. I am going to continue to do my thing, and stay below the radar."
The question many on-air personalities have been asking themselves, though, is: How much longer will it last?
It won't -- at least for a while. That's the answer that came from Clear Channel's local director of programming, Chris Kampmeier.
This round of cuts appears to be over. Still, the broadcasting behemoth -- as well as the radio industry in general -- is facing mounting challenges from everything from satellite radio to iPods.
And the corporate response to such challenges is often the same: Fire people.
Industry talk suggests the company is trying to cut costs and make itself more attractive for potential buyers. So cuts similar to ones here in Orlando -- where the Clear Channel lineup includes 100.3, 101.1, 104.1, 106.7 and 107.7 on the FM dial and 540 and 740 on the AM side -- have been happening nationwide at some of the company's nearly 1,200 other stations.
So, even if this round of local cuts is over, veterans such as Philips and 106.7's Doc Holliday know that change is likely to continue.
"I think we're going to see a lot more of this all across the country as the industry changes," said Doc, adding that he knows it's tough even on the local guys doing the firing. "But for the rest of us, while we breathe a sigh of relief, there's also a great sense of survivor's guilt."
