Cumulus just keeps on giving

[atwater kent]

ATLANTA -- April 29, 2009: Cumulus and Cumulus Media Partners are requiring all employees, including management, to take five days of unpaid furlough between May 1 and June 30. The news was given to employees in a companywide conference call this morning.

 

[djj]

Wouldn't it be something if every on-air staffer took that furlough
at the same time, thus disrupting things and sending some
sort of message back to the "powers that be" (quotes intended)?...

Nah, fuhgeddaboudit!!...just a...thought...
;D
--jay

 

[Starbucks]

Not to change the subject , but you brought to my attention....when did Vern Gosdin pass away? This happened today? I remember his hit ....."Just Enough To Keep Me Holdin On". Great song. sang it from the heart.

 

[djj]

Not to change the subject , but you brought to my attention....when did Vern Gosdin pass away? This happened today? I remember his hit ....."Just Enough To Keep Me Holdin On". Great song. sang it from the heart.

Late Tuesday...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090429/ap_on_en_mu/us_obit_gosdin_4

My faves by him: one of his first hits in '76/'77 (and it wasn't until he was in his 40s!),
"Yesterday's Gone," along with his Ernest Tubb tribute, 1988's "Set 'Em Up, Joe"...
--jay

 

[DavidKaye]

Wouldn't it be something if every on-air staffer took that furlough
at the same time, thus disrupting things and sending some
sort of message back to the "powers that be" (quotes intended)?...

And what kind of "message" would that be? In case you're not aware, radio is hurting. Would you rather see more staff laid off? Would you rather that Cumulus just folded? Why do you wish ill will on a company that's at least trying to keep going in a difficult economy?

Your smugness is annoying. Times are tough, in case you weren't aware.

 

[LKellerIII]

We've read so many stories of people in radio being fired due to format changes, management changes, or just down right cruelty and capriciousness by management - that I think we have a knee jerk reaction to all these layoffs. You know - it's because Clear Channel is "heartless and evil," or Cumulus is "stupid and clueless." I'm not defending either company- but it's important to remember that millions of Americans have lost their jobs due to this very deep recession, and radio is just like every other sector.

I work in a public agency - and employees in public agencies generally have much greater job security than people in the private sector. But I have no doubt that we'll be laying off employees in the coming months - there's just no choice. Labor costs (employees) are the single highest cost of any and all companies bigger than very small "mom and pop" businesses.

So the options are: (1) lay off a relatively small number of people so the company can survive; or (2) let everybody keep their jobs and run the business into the ground. In Option #2, everybody loses their jobs.

 

[djj]

In adding to LKeller's comment above:

Wouldn't it be something if every on-air staffer took that furlough
at the same time, thus disrupting things and sending some
sort of message back to the "powers that be" (quotes intended)?...

And what kind of "message" would that be? In case you're not aware, radio is hurting. Would you rather see more staff laid off? Would you rather that Cumulus just folded? Why do you wish ill will on a company that's at least trying to keep going in a difficult economy?

Your smugness is annoying. Times are tough, in case you weren't aware.

You left off the tagline of the above quote, David...the entire quote, thusly goes:

Wouldn't it be something if every on-air staffer took that furlough
at the same time, thus disrupting things and sending some
sort of message back to the "powers that be" (quotes intended)?...

Nah, fuhgeddaboudit!!...just a...thought...
;D
--jay

In context, I am quite aware that radio is hurting, having been laid-off myself from KVYN - but I suppose
my using what I saw as a tongue-in-cheek or cynical approach to grim humor is not acceptable to you,
to that I apologize...

You should be grateful you're not in the same position as some of my friends that are still in radio -
many have felt like a Damacles Sword is hanging over their head, and sometimes macabre or cynical
humor is a necessity. Forgive me if I subscribe to that thought process, David, but again, having been a
radio lay-off victim, myself, just adds to that...
--jay

 

[LKellerIII]

While we're on the subject, here's a link to an article in this morning's NY Times about Clear Channel's "cash flow problems."

Revenue plunged 23% in the first quarter, cash flow down by 47%.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/business/media/30clear.html?ref=media

 

[Geek-O-Rama]

Gerry Del Colliano says a reader suggested that if Lew Dickey, John Dickey and Jonathan Pinch would take 4 weeks unpaid leave, it would save Cumulus more money than the furloughs of everyone else AND it would let the employees get something positive done without those three breathing down everyone's neck.

 

[mort guffman]

BRAVO Geek. You got it. Forget the DJs for now....Let's talk about the support staff - making nothing, paying more and more for less health insurance coverage, losing on their 401Ks (especially with no matching these days)....picking up the additional work of former employees who've been cut (with NO additional compensation)...and now, forced to take a week off with no pay...and that means somebody's gonna have to cover their workload while they're gone...and vice versa and....etcEtcETC.

Meanwhile, what is management doing to motivate? NOTHING. Just the opposite.

Google "Dickey Bonus".

To win you must inspire, and this company has done NOTHING to inspire its employees. Ask anyone who knows....people with radio experience (sorry Kaye) - people who've worked for Cumulus, and other companies too.

 

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