Clear Channel Cuts?

[yugoidar]

It's that time of year...

Clear Channel reportedly turfed some folks in the midwest and some Eastern markets yesterday.

Has anyone in the Rochester cluster been affected by this tasteless annual CC ritual?

 

[SirRoxalot]

CC ain't the only guys with this tradition. Anybody hit the beach at Entercom? Might as well ask about CC-Jr., too.

 

[Element9]

Nothing good can be said of this, although some will attempt to defend the indefensible. In 3... 2... 1...

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Are they actually being nice this year? ???

 

[cee]

Hey, my comment last night on this string was cut/censored by the powers that be. Too off topic or critical of American free enterprise in the 21st century, I suppose.

Let me state that this is unfair what happens every Christmas by large RADIO corporations as they layoff RADIO employees and perhaps this is just a small part of the inequity that pervades our so-called free enterprise system and perhaps we are ruled by oligarchs in RADIO and maybe most other industries as well. RADIO is perhaps a microcosm of a society in quick decline. Does the word "oligarchy" come up in any local RADIO shows in our area?

 

[Paul_Warren]

...Let me state that this is unfair what happens every Christmas by large RADIO corporations as they layoff RADIO employees and perhaps this is just a small part of the inequity that pervades our so-called free enterprise system and perhaps we are ruled by oligarchs...

Cee, with all due respect, you don't get the "free" without the "enterprise." If you're ruled by Clear Channel, you chose your ruler unwisely.

Has CC led the industry change that killed a radio business model we all loved? Yep.

Did the people being laid off opt for the short-term comfort of serfdom over the more difficult, but more self-directed path of ownership? Like most of us have at one time or another, yes, they did.

We're all free to choose how we approach working in this business. For decades, being an employee of a big radio company was the best of the available compromises. The free-market model was great for all those years it provided jocks "four-and-out-the-door," right? That phase of the industry's history reached its peak when big corporations like Westinghouse and Jeff-Pilot had sensible property portfolios, and thought the public perceptions of their media outlets were crucial to the overall image and stock valuations of their companies. Shoot - if you want to bring back The Golden Age, maybe the best regulatory reform would be to mandate that all radio owners have primary business interests in manufacturing, insurance or pharmaceuticals!

Things change. Life's tough. It's also been tough for some of the original stakeholders in CC. They didn't set out to destroy radio. They thought they could make it a more efficient business, but erred in discounting the value of the art. It's probably not surprising, considering that most of the money in these deals comes from folks with sales backgrounds, who are trained to minimize the value of the contribution of content creators, especially at contract negotiation time.

If you've invested years of your life in the content-creation side of radio, and working for other people isn't cutting it anymore, resolve in 2011 to take those skills you now own and do something more personally fulfilling and autonomous with them. (And whining about the evils of the very system that once created the employment you miss doesn't count.)

 

[SRP]

Paul - your advice is so brilliant it deserves its own post:

If you've invested years of your life in the content-creation side of radio, and working for other people isn't cutting it anymore, resolve in 2011 to take those skills you now own and do something more personally fulfilling and autonomous with them. (And whining about the evils of the very system that once created the employment you miss doesn't count.)

If some of the forum denizens actually took that advice - now that would be a REAL Christmas miracle!!!

Standing by for the expected post rebuttals in 3...2...1...

 

[cee]

Cee, with all due respect, you don't get the "free" without the "enterprise." If you're ruled by Clear Channel, you chose your ruler unwisely.

Has CC led the industry change that killed a radio business model we all loved? Yep.

Did the people being laid off opt for the short-term comfort of serfdom over the more difficult, but more self-directed path of ownership? Like most of us have at one time or another, yes, they did.

Paul and SRP - actually I agree with you 100%. While I despise what companies like CC, et al are doing and I strongly feel that this is just a microcosm of a much greater problem - the gradual takeover of America by the wealthiest amongst us - you both are correct --- when they zig, we need to zag.

The only one problem here is not everyone can just quit any job(radio or elsewhere) and start their own business. There are bills to be paid and everyone needs health insurance. However, anyone can start a business on the side with the goal of doing in full time like Paul is doing. While producing podcasts is a great idea, there's other options too. In fact, for many, channeling other interests in life(other than radio) and starting a business around that is also a viable option.

Here's a thought: How about us regulars here make a New Year's resolution - in addition to the regular griping and moaning we do here(which I think, to some extent, has it's merit) we do more posts on various positive things we can do with our talents(as Paul and SRP have previously mentiioned). Just a suggestion. Thoughts?

 

[TheBigA]

The only one problem here is not everyone can just quit any job(radio or elsewhere) and start their own business.

For a lot of these folks, it's not a matter of quitting. They've been fired. What next? I respectfully suggest looking around to all the freinds and contacts you've made during a long and varied career (if there are any) and seeing how one can use those resources for self-employment. Anyone who has been in the business for more than ten years already has the resources to do it. We all know these companies need content. They just don't want to pay for it. So how can you, with your knowledge of content create a better business model, doing the things you feel these big companies should do? If they're so stupid, and they're missing great opportunities, then there's no rule or law that says anyone else can't try them out for themselves. And most people I know who've done this have started while they were still employed. They look around, they write up a business plan, they do a budget, and a lot of things that don't conflict with their employment. Then, when the groundwork is set, and they have a plan ready, they leave.

 

[SirRoxalot]

At least if you get fired you get unemployment, which can provide a meager cushion while you "develop other projects". Whether you try to set it up while you're employed, or when you're unemployed, you face the same issue. You have to cheat, or keep it under the table, in order to make it work. You risk losing either your job or your unemployment if you try to keep it on the up-and-up.

As Paul_Warren said, "...maybe the best regulatory reform would be to mandate that all radio owners have primary business interests in manufacturing, insurance or pharmaceuticals!"

Especially pharmaceuticals. At least we might get a different flavor of Kool-Aid.

 

[heydaybegone]

Especially pharmaceuticals. At least we might get a different flavor of Kool-Aid.

Damn..I was setting up a reply for other posts ...but you got your own!!

I am rolling on the floor with this...thanx Rox for the Xmas kick!!

HDBG

 

[heydaybegone]

Here's a thought: How about us regulars here make a New Year's resolution - in addition to the regular griping and moaning we do here(which I think, to some extent, has it's merit) we do more posts on various positive things we can do with our talents(as Paul and SRP have previously mentiioned).

Cee, nice to meet you here on the board.

This, indirectly, has been addressed for many moons now, on this board! It may have been worded differently, but the concept was similar. I have been waiting for such input..to no avail. So I applaud your post and we'll see if anything develops.
And Merry Christmas...and a Hell of a 2011!!

 

[TheBigA]

You risk losing either your job or your unemployment if you try to keep it on the up-and-up.

You must worry every time you take a wiz on company time.

 

[Paul_Warren]

...Whether you try to set it up while you're employed, or when you're unemployed, you face the same issue. You have to cheat, or keep it under the table, in order to make it work. You risk losing either your job or your unemployment if you try to keep it on the up-and-up...

Rox, if it's not bringing in any money yet, and you're still available for traditional employment, there's no conflict. If you're employed in radio, you're probably free to develop something on the web, too, especially if there's going to be a revenue-free launch. (Unless non-competes have changed a bunch since my last one!)

But it's not likely you will take the leap while you're employed. Unfortunately, it often takes getting kicked outside our comfort zones to make innovation look like the lesser risk. I was a comfy A/C programmer for years before dereg. Then, suddenly, WMMO/Orlando was sold three times in my five years there, and on the last sale, (to Cox,) despite having taken the station from #9 to #1 25-54, I was out. For the first time in my career, I was a little too grey at the temples to be quickly hired. I spent a year consulting the start-up of a Florida radio network formatted for tourists, but they ran out of money. I was being recruited to program a Smooth Jazz station in Portland, OR. I never would have made my first move ever west of the Mississippi, or into a new format, if I wasn't out of work.

KKJZ wound up with the highest 12+ share of any US station in the format, and I got a nice bonus paid in stock options. Less than a year later, the station was sold, and I was out again. (The stock never got to the strike price.) I took my severance check and built a home studio, and voicetracked for small-market stations for a couple years. Again, I never would have tried if I hadn't been a little scared and desperate.

My last (at least so far) four years in radio, 2001-2005, were spent doing mornings at an also-ran AM talk station in the Portland market. In late January 2005, my divorce became final, leaving me in a ~$7K crater, but with no ongoing support payments, and living on $1500/month. I was looking at being debt-free in a matter of months, and really starting life over. Four days later, the little talk station was sold, and I was out again.

This time, I worked with the host of a long-time weekend show on that station, began co-hosting and producing, and got a syndication deal with Genesis. We also figured out how to make it work on the web, and grew to where we were doing remotes a few times a year, some even outside the US. Again...that woulda looked nuts to me while I was on a salary, but we made it happen, and had some great times!

I'm now four years and 3,000 podcasts into the current career chapter, and I'm seeing some opportunities to take it in a new direction. If I hadn't been kicked around a little the last 15 years, I wouldn't be noticing the door I believe is about to open. So it's all served a purpose.

I just read that one of the innovations at CES next month is going to be factory car audio systems that can play internet radio. I don't know exactly what that means, but if the carmakers are taking it seriously, the time may finally be right. But it's going to be a few unemployed audio content providers worried about their next meal who populate that "dial." Nobody else can justify the risk!

I kinda doubt I'll ever be an employee again. From the perspective I have now, it would feel too much like a cage. Fortunately, my new wife has a federal job with great benefits, so at least I haven't had to worry about that part.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Fortunately, my new wife has a federal job with great benefits, so at least I haven't had to worry about that part.

Paul, you - like many of our generation - have been bounced around by an industry that no longer rewards success. There is no security. Most of us knew that going in, but for a long time radio was predictable. That's no longer the case. Moves are made all the time that make no economic sense.

I think that you've hit on the only answer for radio people. Marry well.

 

[TheBigA]

bounced around by an industry that no longer rewards success. There is no security.

Never has been. Ask Ed Armstrong, the inventor of FM, who got screwed by RCA and ultimately jumped to his death.

On the contrary, Paul's experience was the ultimate reward. He learned a craft that he could take and make his own. No longer a serf on someone else's plantation, he now owns a plow and a mule. That's his reward for his years in the field. I suggest that's better than a job. He was more than the horse led to water...he was able to take a drink.

There are no life-long jobs any more, except Supreme Court judge. Even the priesthood has its pitfalls. For years, steel and automobile industries hired people for life. No more. The next area will be government work. There was an interesting piece on 60 Minutes this past week with NJ Governor Chris Christie, saying the days of the pension are done. That's a big deal if it's true. Lots of people are living off great government retirement packages. If they go away, there will be no more sure things for employment.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Gee, BigA, did you stop reading after "There is no security."? I specifically said "Most of us knew that going in..." The difference now is that it's no longer predictable based on performance.

Big Corporate would love the idea of all pensions going away. Pension funds sure have taken a pounding lately thanks to bankruptcies and investment bankers. Governments have been cutting back on pensions and benefits for decades now - unless you're a legislator. They benefit from a fat benefits and retirement package, bolstered by double (or triple) dipping for playing the "incumbent" card well, then leveraging a position on some commission or authority when they finally lose or quit. After all, that leftover campaign money that has to go somewhere. It might as well go to somebody who can do THEM some good.

Working for yourself has its benefits - and it's problems. It's not for everybody, especially in a business-unfriendly state like NY. There are a lot of talented people that simply have no head for the accounting, licensing, taxing, and myriad other "ings" that go with running your own business.

It's simply too bad that radio - like many other industries - no longer looks at the long term good of the enterprise, let alone the welfare of the people that produce their product. The adage "Don't love the corporation, it won't love you back" has never been truer.

 

[TheBigA]

Big Corporate would love the idea of all pensions going away.

I never received a pension when I worked for a mom & pop broadcaster. In fact, I had no retirement plan except for my own IRA when I worked there. I don't know where you come up with the idea that at one time radio was a long-term gig. Look at Dr. Johnny Fever's coffee mug. That was 35 years ago.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I don't know where you come up with the idea that I said that radio was ever a long-term gig. There was a time - recently - when a company that you worked for would contribute to an IRA, and honor contracts that THEY insisted on. Sadly, even that's no longer the case at many companies. In fact, the IRAs that they set up have often fallen on hard times because the money that both the company and the employee contributed was invested largely to benefit the company - in company stock. When management screwed up the company, and the stock took a tumble, IRAs fell along with them.

I guess that there's been one beneficial change over the last few years. Very few radio companies even bother making promises of "growing with the company" or "loyalty to employees" anymore.

 

[TheBigA]

I don't know where you come up with the idea that I said that radio was ever a long-term gig. There was a time - recently - when a company that you worked for would contribute to an IRA,

You're talking about a 401K plan. They were not required retirement plans. They were opt-in. Company matches are not required either. But there was an article in today's Washington Post that says they're making a comeback. However, these 401Ks were stock and/or bond plans because of the economy, not the company. The employee chooses certain stock or bond plans, and his/her retirement is a function of those plans. Not the company. They're managed by outside banks, not the company itself. The company does NOT benefit from the 401K, and is prohibited by law from touching the money. Unlike government pension plans.