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DIRECTOR OF AM PROGRAMMING FOR AMERICAN GENERAL MEDIA CUT

R

radiomanners62

Word on the street is that Brett Reckamp (had to look the dude up) was cut from the AGM staff last week. Who is next and who will take his place?
 
Posted a "Help Wanted" on Allaccess for his replacement. Company seems to be doing well in the market, except KERN gets beat by another talk with Glen Beck on in the Morning (and RUSH).
 
Hey. What do you expect from a radio company that is owned and operated by an insurance company. Just like WSM and WLAC. All gone to hell. AGM is American General -- an Insurance Company. Money talks - and radio takes a walk.
 
MisterGort said:
Hey. What do you expect from a radio company that is owned and operated by an insurance company. Just like WSM and WLAC. All gone to hell. AGM is American General -- an Insurance Company. Money talks - and radio takes a walk.
Click to expand...

None of this is true. American General Media is a privately held, family-owned (Brandon family) corporation. It is not owned and operated by an insurance company. WSM is owned by Gaylord Entertainment Company, which is not an insurance company. WLAC is owned by Clear Channel.
 
Additionally, WLAC and WSM were owned by insurance companies for decades.

those companies considered radio a major part of their business, as did Traveler's Insurance Company with WTIC in Hartford.
By the way,I don't think WSM has been owned by Gaylord for quite a while. I think it's a Cumulus property these days. I'd probably be more confident in its future if it were owned by an insurance company.
 
The departure of Brett Reckamp was imminent. He was hired to fix what corporate management screwed-up. American General Media moguls made too many changes in a short amount of time:
1. They lost Rush Limbaugh & Glenn Beck (a cost saving move)
2. They switched frequency positions (1410AM to 1180AM) raising the power to 50,000 watts.
3. An all news format between 5AM to 8AM Monday to Friday.
4. AGM has a sexual harassment complaint against them. AGM fired the female plaintiff and
retained the male perpetrator. The fact that the female’s husband was terminally ill at the
time did not help. The complaint was also made public and posted in the local newspaper
and the Internet describing in detail what he did and said. It was GROSS!

All this happened BEFORE Reckamp came on board. The ratings drop began when AGM dropped Rush Limbaugh in lieu of more money in Rogers Brandon’s pocket. This was too much to expect an outsider to fix in a short amount of time. AllAcess and Craigslist candidates are not going to solve AGM’s dilemma. To do so they need Rush Limbaugh back for beginers.
 
multiplex said:
Additionally, WLAC and WSM were owned by insurance companies for decades.

those companies considered radio a major part of their business, as did Traveler's Insurance Company with WTIC in Hartford.
By the way,I don't think WSM has been owned by Gaylord for quite a while. I think it's a Cumulus property these days. I'd probably be more confident in its future if it were owned by an insurance company.
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WSM (AM) is most definitely still owned by Gaylord. WSM-FM is owned by Cumulus. The confusion is understandable, as the FCC decided a while back to allow stations in separate bands with separate owners to share call letters, if the owners agree.

On the subject of KERN and Rush Limbaugh, it was my understanding (and I was working in the market at the time) that Clear Channel, parent company of Rush's syndicator Premiere, yanked him off KERN to put him on their 970 AM, which eventually failed anyway. It was then that Rush ended up on KNZR, and whether KERN tried to get him back at that point is something about which I have no knowledge.
 
I would love to walk into KERN and fix it.

I might be a Spanish radio guy, but I have a strong passion for Talk Radio. Do you think I should apply?

Be honest guys... I respect your thoughts.

Santos
 
Flakunkel, it's my understaending that Clear Channel/Premiere has a 90-day termination clause if they want to move a program to a Clear Channel station, which, as you say, they didwith 970. Similarly, in Santa Barbara, the 1250 suddenly lost its 9-to-5 lineup that way.
So KERN aired and promoted Rush for more than a decade,then 970 grabbed it;(their property after all,right?)
Seems like an unfair deal,but I guess ya know what you're signing when you agree to it.
 
multiplex said:
Flakunkel, it's my understaending that Clear Channel/Premiere has a 90-day termination clause if they want to move a program to a Clear Channel station, which, as you say, they didwith 970. Similarly, in Santa Barbara, the 1250 suddenly lost its 9-to-5 lineup that way.
So KERN aired and promoted Rush for more than a decade,then 970 grabbed it;(their property after all,right?)
Seems like an unfair deal,but I guess ya know what you're signing when you agree to it.
Click to expand...

Yes, according to what I was told at the time, that is exactly what happened.
 
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