Clear Channel Clearing House '07!

[billalm]

And it continues....
On the first day back from the Thanksgiving weekend, the entire Orlando staff in the traffic reporting department gets axed. They were handling reports for Orlando, Jacksonville, and the Brevard County group. I've heard the duties will be shifting to the Tampa Bay office.

And as for Brenda Matthews.... I totally agree with what everyone has said. I worked with her 10 years ago when she first came to She 100. Great person, talent, and always seemed to be someone who didn't work in radio to get rich, but because it WAS fun. Oh well, so much for that.... Magic 107.7 is losing a great person. Good luck Brenda!

 

[MusicMan11]

how is dan sileo surviving all these cuts??

i work in the tampa market, they only have girl i ever hear doing traffic, now she's gonna to have to do orlando/et all too???

clear channel bites!

 

[skrape980]

And it continues....
On the first day back from the Thanksgiving weekend, the entire Orlando staff in the traffic reporting department gets axed. They were handling reports for Orlando, Jacksonville, and the Brevard County group. I've heard the duties will be shifting to the Tampa Bay office.

And as for Brenda Matthews.... I totally agree with what everyone has said. I worked with her 10 years ago when she first came to She 100. Great person, talent, and always seemed to be someone who didn't work in radio to get rich, but because it WAS fun. Oh well, so much for that.... Magic 107.7 is losing a great person. Good luck Brenda!

On Wednesday afternoon, an email was sent out to all TTN employees for a meeting that was required to be attended at 10AM Monday morning. Shortly after 10AM, 5 full time staff memebers were told they were being let go in order to transfer the Orlando traffic department to Clear Channel Tampa. Kevin Baldinger is the only person (minus any part-times, if they are even used) that will remain in TTN Orlando.

5 people gone Monday morning. And the week is far from over...

 

[Stuart]

Any more changes expected at WTKS 104.1 ??? I already know about Steadman.

Thanks for the update (if any)

 

[BMVoicetracking]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's posted here, and contacted me personally with their kind comments. I really appreciate the things you've said. They've been taken to heart, and I thank you from mine. I've had so many people that I know, and barely know, and strangers that I've never had contact with before, and even other radio people from 'across the street' who've given me positive reinforcement and encouragement in the last few weeks.

It's the oddest feeling to be bumped to 'part-time' status when you're at the top of your game, and making the company and the station bags of money..but we've all heard those 'strange but true' stories. There's a body count that had to apparently be answered too, and the bodies just keep stacking up. Everyone's afraid of their own demise, and some of us have gotten caught in the fray.

I will say this, though. It amazes me who is 'chosen' to stay.

Enough said,

Brenda

 

[tawka]

Brenda...
We met breifly several times when i worked for CC..
I too, was axed from CC....like you, had a good book, gave more than expected as I loved what i did and didn't mind and got along well with everyone. And i agree with you...it amazes me who they put on air and keep there.....

i know that you will come out of this with out a problem being the talented professional that you are. I wish you the best, and if you need a sidekick, let me know!!

God Bless.....

 

[radioatlantis]

Seems like everyone would learn from the people that were fired before them. Everyone is expendable at Clear Channel (and Cox and Cumulus and Entercom....). No one is special, however good, however hard working, and regardless of the results they got for the company store.

How can you love a business tat doesn't love you back? Today, if you want to make low wages and be unappreciated and disrepsected, you can get any number of government jobs. Even FEDEX drivers and WASTE MANAGEMENT DRIVERS make a better wage and have more security.

Big biz has driven all the unions out and that is what radio (any many other sectors) need is employee support and representation.

Look at the employment agreements radio people sign. There should be a law that states that if you do not agree to the terms but you qualify for the job, you will be employed IF YOU DON'T SIGN.

THEY can let you go at any time, without notice, and for no reason and find a reason not to pay you severance but YOU have to abide by terms of notice and, usually in writing, if you want to make sure they honor the contract. Then, there is the matter of the non-compete.

They fire YOU but don't want you to work within so many miles of the TSA for so many months.
If they fired you, then why do they care???

And the real shame is that our government isn't looking out for us because it's in their best interest to have big business on their side

Any entrepreneurs that would like to bank roll a pirate in the gulf???

MAMA DON'T LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE DEE-JAYS.

 

[thematt999]

radioatlantis must be a union person that likes throwing a good chunk of his/her money away every month. Unions definitely are NOT the way to go. Look how great unions are for the car and airline industries! There could be more radio unions, and then there would be stations going out of business because they can't raise the revenue to match expenses. Then even less people have jobs! Yeehaw!

While we all might agree that radio companies undervalue employees, the solution is to simply evaluate the pros and cons of the job. Some people (those of us still working in radio) may acknowledge the low pay and tenuous job security, but love the work, so we accept the former and keep going to work. But if it gets to a point where the pay/security overshadow the job satisfaction, then quit. Go a company that treats you better or change your field of work.

I really believe that radio is going to face a severe talent drought in 10 years, and that will force higher salaries and better conditions of employment. But as it is, the demand for workers is FAR outweighed by the supply of labor, and that means lower wages.

Capitalism is a beautiful thing.

 

[Wazzie]

Unions definitely are NOT the way to go. Look how great unions are for the car and airline industries! There could be more radio unions, and then there would be stations going out of business.

I really believe that radio is going to face a severe talent drought in 10 years, and that will force higher salaries and better conditions of employment. But as it is, the demand for workers is FAR outweighed by the supply of labor, and that means lower wages.

Capitalism is a beautiful thing.

Unions: Been there--done that and wouldn't do it again. After handing those low lifes a third of my check every month, they bailed on me when I needed them the most.

Severe talent drought? HA! They'll just turn on another computer. Or hire english speaking people from India to cut the voice tracks, read the "news" or schedule music.

Corporate radio will get what they deserve. And once again, Americans will pay when these giants go belly up. Remember, it's NOT radio anymore. It's a "product" that can be bought and sold like a roll of toilet paper. It has nothing to do with entertaining or enlightening people. It's all about the dollar baby, and you can either slave away for "the man" or move onto something that IS fun and interesting.

and Merry Freakin' Christmas to you and yours....

 

[redneckriviera]

radioatlantis must be a union person that likes throwing a good chunk of his/her money away every month. Unions definitely are NOT the way to go. Look how great unions are for the car and airline industries! There could be more radio unions, and then there would be stations going out of business because they can't raise the revenue to match expenses. Then even less people have jobs! Yeehaw!

While we all might agree that radio companies undervalue employees, the solution is to simply evaluate the pros and cons of the job. Some people (those of us still working in radio) may acknowledge the low pay and tenuous job security, but love the work, so we accept the former and keep going to work. But if it gets to a point where the pay/security overshadow the job satisfaction, then quit. Go a company that treats you better or change your field of work.

I really believe that radio is going to face a severe talent drought in 10 years, and that will force higher salaries and better conditions of employment. But as it is, the demand for workers is FAR outweighed by the supply of labor, and that means lower wages.

Capitalism is a beautiful thing.

Matt, I'm not sure if this is sarcasm or if you're serious.

Agreed--100 percent--that radio will face a severe talent shortage in perhaps less than 10 years, having chased so many talents away already--and that the supply/demand dynamic may indeed (finally) tip toward air talents. The few surviving "pros" could find themselves being paid pretty damn well.

Capitalism is a beautiful thing--if it isn't allowed to rage completely out of control and trample the little guy, as it has for the past decade or so. Radio is one "Poster Child" for re-regulation, along with banks & financial services, airlines, phone & cable... and the energy (oil) industry... et cetera. We're (the little guy) getting battered by the monopolists from every direction. If we're not getting fired from our radio jobs, we're having our homes repossessed by the lending sharks or getting gouged at the gas pump.

But, I digress. Back to radio. Brenda, you are an outstanding example of what is happening all across the country. Radio stations/clusters are converting AT jobs from fulltime employment to part-time employment. Radio executives believe that the audience cannot tell the difference--that is, whether you are doing your show from the corporate studio or a home studio, and that the audience really doesn't care. Your ratings will stay right up there.

So... if they can get just as much value from your work, but can pay you a fraction of what your fulltime salary was... and remove you from their health insurance plan... it's better than having a Brinks Truck open up and dump money on the porch!

And it's up to you to find a couple more outfits to pay you the same... and it's up to you to find insurance for yourself--or marry it. Not the Market Manager's problem.

What I'm saying is that it's happening everywhere. Welcome to the Next Phase of being a radio star.

 

[amfmxm]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's posted here, and contacted me personally with their kind comments. I really appreciate the things you've said. They've been taken to heart, and I thank you from mine. I've had so many people that I know, and barely know, and strangers that I've never had contact with before, and even other radio people from 'across the street' who've given me positive reinforcement and encouragement in the last few weeks.

It's the oddest feeling to be bumped to 'part-time' status when you're at the top of your game, and making the company and the station bags of money..but we've all heard those 'strange but true' stories. There's a body count that had to apparently be answered too, and the bodies just keep stacking up. Everyone's afraid of their own demise, and some of us have gotten caught in the fray.

I will say this, though. It amazes me who is 'chosen' to stay.

Enough said,

Brenda

The ones "chosen" to stay are often the ones not being paid much, the ones who do what they're told and don't ask questions, the ones willing to take a boatload of crap and keep showing up. Not necessarily the most talented. Not necessarily "The Brightest & The Best."

If the goal is to make the cluster into a low-maintenance, well-oiled machine, you don't necessarily want people who think. You need people who will gladly play the role of a machine part.

 

[Snafu]

Radio is already facing a massive talent shortage despite all of the cuts and its only getting worse. The big boys have sucked the life out of the industry and are starting to back away now that all of the blood is gone. The vultures are beginning to circle the carcass below.........

 

[radioatlantis]

Sorry to be a pessimist but radio won't get better. Not unless there is ownership reform and that isn't going to happen with the current trend and push by the government to consolidate everything and create monopolies.

Short of an economic crash in this country, radio is on more of the same track to do more of what it does. Hire for less, put out a substandard product and guard the bottom line.

Frankly, at this point, who cares if it gets better or not. THEY certainly aren't concerned about the product - just the advertising.

Technology will take care of this. It always has. Satellites, personal devices, and broadband will all surpass everything that radio is not and doesn't want to be, within ten years....and terrestrial radio will become obsolete, like the old 45 rpm portable record player some of us got for Christmas back in the 60s...or the old Japanese transister radio.

The people who own and run most of the business have turned it into an antique in a time when technological advances keep coming and radio stands still.

As for my comment about unions. Though not the answer, they did offer bargaining power for large numbers of people. Ever have to sit in front of a GM and weasel up for a raise or a contract? How good are most people at this?

But in today's climate, it is true, the union is pretty limp.

Me, I think that if you can't beat them -leave em or join em. If you join them, be ready to sell your soul and become a whore with the word on your forehead.

My new invention, the jock-o-lot software...delivers over a thousand distinct personality voices, all very witty and with intelligent content and programmed to speak with exacting brevity only twice an hour.

Sorry...but now there isn't even any need to voice track so soon all of you will be fired. MAX HEADROOM is back!

 

[Snafu]

Don't apologize for telling the truth. The product has fallen so badly in so many markets that I drive around with a Sirius radio in the car. Orlando isn't that much different from Tampa, Louisville, Cincinnati, etc., etc. Same people making the same bad decisions in board rooms all across the country and they can't understand why advertisers are walking away from them in record numbers this year.

Will radio as we know it die off completely? Probably not, but in the under 25 crowd its already not much of a factor. We're not evolving and are thus paying the price.