OH MY....I am shocked! So are Metro Source (news) and Metro Traffic both included? (aka Metro Networks?) And not Westwood One itself? Clear Channel has never been a traffic contender, ever, but they've since gone and picked up web and phone providers/browsers etc (like MSN, Yahoo, etc each have a traffic link on their home pages, and a traffic service [Metro, T.com, CC, etc] feeds the info into it or it extracts it from the traffic service's system; same for specific brands of GPS's.) I know CC (aka Total Traffic) has had a 24/7 staff here in town lately, and it's strictly for that purpose (unless Kiss-FM is suddenly taking midnight traffic reports or something.) But they've never had an airborne presence, and according to one of their reporters 6 years ago, they were merely lifting information from Metro's and Traffic.com's websites (I apologize if that's not the case today) and making beat calls and positioning a reporter in a station prize van with a 2-way at some logical traffic hotspot each day.
Anyway, since Clear Channel is the purchaser, I wouldn't be surprised to see some layoffs and consolidation of duties at the expense of Metro. I'd bet Amy Austin gets to stay, while Haake, Pina and Wasserman might be on the skids. As for reporters, well, you still have the same number of stations and contracts and obligations...so I wouldn't expect to see any major changes there, unless someone is being grossly overpaid. (Not likely.)
I've also seen CC recently moving away from the Total Traffic name. Not sure if it's just me, or if they're "reimaging" to make use of their "good" name.
As for who's the best service, I've recently come to the conclusion that it depends on the reporter. Strong ones make the beat calls, keep up with incidents and clear them when they're gone, and make a conscientious effort to do a good job. Metro's Lee Jackson and Eric Grubbs are excellent at their jobs, along with Monty Cook and Michael Scott. Alan Barnes, Doyle King, Bill Jackson and many others at Traffic.com exemplify this; much of that came from being trained by John McCarty. I know Amy at Total Traffic does a great job, but I don't listen to CC's stations and seldom hear their reports.
At least Ben Laurie, God rest his soul, didn't have to endure this. CC used to have a big problem with any potential employee who might be a draw on their health plan.
