clear channel article

[MusicMan11]

from the orlando sentinel, scott maxwell, media columnist/

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."

 

[Anyacat]

Proponents of further consolidation will lecture you ad nauseam about how this is a good thing for radio and it is exactly what listeners want otherwise they would abandon radio for other sources of entertainment. The loss of localism is good for radio as it does not clutter the listening landscape with anything that might detract from furthering advertising revenue.

 

[ct2874]

Thanks for proving my point as to why local radio is being RUINED by the onslaught of advertising that CC has rammed down our throats the past couple of years.

 

[Wazzie]

Clear Channel is not the only company doing this. How many stations are fully staffed any more? "Less is More" didn't work. So now the heads roll and the stations (and listeners) will suffer more. What these companies are missing is what made radio great. Local personalities relating and interacting with their local audience.

These mega-corps should divest and sell off their properties to individual owners. Bring back competition and you'll bring back good radio.

 

[Anyacat]

Nope, Clear Channel is not alone, but as the owner of 1/10 of the radio stations in the US and by far the owner of more radio stations than the distant second, they are the biggest target. Proponents of consolidation believe localism is over rated, news is repetitive and boring and that as long as they are employed, radio has as much personnel as is needed.

 

[radiofriend1]

Clear Channel is not the only company doing this. How many stations are fully staffed any more? "Less is More" didn't work. So now the heads roll and the stations (and listeners) will suffer more. What these companies are missing is what made radio great. Local personalities relating and interacting with their local audience.

These mega-corps should divest and sell off their properties to individual owners. Bring back competition and you'll bring back good radio.

the free market doesn't work that way. sour grapes by ex DJ's doesn't compell radio groups to start selling off

besides U might be wrong that the *less-is-more* doesn't work. seems there was something in r&r or billboard in the past few months that indicated listening was actually up on those stations

 

[Wazzie]

Radiofriend1... I am NOT an ex DJ. I am a 30+ year vet with great concerns for the future. And trust me on this one, if "Less is more" was working, why did CC drop it? My breaks are back up to where they were before LIM.

You are right about the reason(s) radio groups sell off. It's all about the money.

 

[radiofriend1]

Radiofriend1... I am NOT an ex DJ. I am a 30+ year vet with great concerns for the future. And trust me on this one, if "Less is more" was working, why did CC drop it? My breaks are back up to where they were before LIM.

You are right about the reason(s) radio groups sell off. It's all about the money.

then your station is cheating. they never *dropped it*. it was implemented and continues to be in public press releases and industry trade pubs. even their competitors have commented about the merits (or not) very recently

 

[Snafu]

Its as simple as this: Consolidation did exactly what Newt Gingrich said it would. It unleashed "all of the pent up capital lying around in the business." Problem is all of the pent up capital went into the pockets of the owners and shareholders and almost none of it made it way back into the business. These companies are squeezing the last drops of revenue out of these properties before tossing them overboard. The stations that CC has on the block are just the beginning. Economies of scale just don't work in the entertainment biz in this environment any longer.