Did Fred Grandy really resign from WMAL? President/GM Jeff Borden’s statement clearly states he did http://www.wmal.com/Article.asp?id=2124417 if this is true then why the controversy?
Listen closely and you can hear the hum of the PR spin machine revving up for a cleanup on aisle 63! The only persons who know the real truth are Grandy and Boden. Has Fred released or made any new statements that contradict his original statements that he was forced out?
What Is true is that WMAL has been trending down and is now ranked 14th in persons 12+ in the latest PPM. I’m not sure how Fred Grandy’s individual #’s are but a few days ago I heard a rumor that is being passed around some radio circles and if true would shine a whole new light on the Grandy matter.
The rumor alleges that a unwritten gentlemen’s agreement exist between Citadel and Cumulus that is calling for Citadel to handle any dirty work that needs to be taken care of prior to a Cumulus takeover.
The rumor also alleges that Citadel is to address any underperforming or higher paid and replaceable employees either by reduction or making them go buh bye before the takeover. Any talent that could cause controversy at the FCC should knock it off and keep a low profile according to an unnamed source. Any other budget messes that are hanging around are to be taken care of.
It sounds like the usual business stuff prior to a sale except for the fact we are talking about federal licensed broadcast stations. I caution the 2nd hand nature of this story but if true this would be a text book case of premature control by Cumulus.
I don’t expect Hannity or Limbaugh to speak out in defense of Fred Grandy since they are also aired on WMAL and many other stations involved in this deal such as 77/WABC NYC.
If a lot of the Citadel’s local staffs and personalities suddenly disappear or are reassigned prior to this sale then you’ve got to wonder… Is this plan in motion?
What other reason would Citadel have to get rid of these people and make significant changes when they’re leaving the building? You would think Citadel would want a smooth trip to the cloud!
The only other logical answer I can come up with is that Farid Sulleman is trying to save money in order to make a bigger bonus check for his wallet when the parachute opens over the Hamptons.
Citadel’s failure is a perfect example of what happens when the Wall Street banksters get a hold of a company. It’s a damn shame and the real losers are all of the quality people who lost their jobs over the years because the Wall Street appetite could not be satisfied. The more profit that they tried to squeeze the more muscle they cut until all they had left was a soon to be corpse bleeding to death.
Of course the other loser in this fiasco is the listening public who very rarely get quality local programming. The public is served from a menu full of satellites, voice tracks and an occasional live drive time shift. This is especially true in markets 50+ where the local station plays a much bigger role in the community. Wall Street types are not Broadcasters who actual live and care about the communities they serve where these stations are located. This bunch ruined a once great business long before they robbed and almost destroyed America and the rest of the world economy. In the public interest absentee Wall Street owners should be banned from ownership.
Listen closely and you can hear the hum of the PR spin machine revving up for a cleanup on aisle 63! The only persons who know the real truth are Grandy and Boden. Has Fred released or made any new statements that contradict his original statements that he was forced out?
What Is true is that WMAL has been trending down and is now ranked 14th in persons 12+ in the latest PPM. I’m not sure how Fred Grandy’s individual #’s are but a few days ago I heard a rumor that is being passed around some radio circles and if true would shine a whole new light on the Grandy matter.
The rumor alleges that a unwritten gentlemen’s agreement exist between Citadel and Cumulus that is calling for Citadel to handle any dirty work that needs to be taken care of prior to a Cumulus takeover.
The rumor also alleges that Citadel is to address any underperforming or higher paid and replaceable employees either by reduction or making them go buh bye before the takeover. Any talent that could cause controversy at the FCC should knock it off and keep a low profile according to an unnamed source. Any other budget messes that are hanging around are to be taken care of.
It sounds like the usual business stuff prior to a sale except for the fact we are talking about federal licensed broadcast stations. I caution the 2nd hand nature of this story but if true this would be a text book case of premature control by Cumulus.
I don’t expect Hannity or Limbaugh to speak out in defense of Fred Grandy since they are also aired on WMAL and many other stations involved in this deal such as 77/WABC NYC.
If a lot of the Citadel’s local staffs and personalities suddenly disappear or are reassigned prior to this sale then you’ve got to wonder… Is this plan in motion?
What other reason would Citadel have to get rid of these people and make significant changes when they’re leaving the building? You would think Citadel would want a smooth trip to the cloud!
The only other logical answer I can come up with is that Farid Sulleman is trying to save money in order to make a bigger bonus check for his wallet when the parachute opens over the Hamptons.
Citadel’s failure is a perfect example of what happens when the Wall Street banksters get a hold of a company. It’s a damn shame and the real losers are all of the quality people who lost their jobs over the years because the Wall Street appetite could not be satisfied. The more profit that they tried to squeeze the more muscle they cut until all they had left was a soon to be corpse bleeding to death.
Of course the other loser in this fiasco is the listening public who very rarely get quality local programming. The public is served from a menu full of satellites, voice tracks and an occasional live drive time shift. This is especially true in markets 50+ where the local station plays a much bigger role in the community. Wall Street types are not Broadcasters who actual live and care about the communities they serve where these stations are located. This bunch ruined a once great business long before they robbed and almost destroyed America and the rest of the world economy. In the public interest absentee Wall Street owners should be banned from ownership.