Really disappointing, these latest disclosures from Rochester. Thirty two dollars a week is too much to cover a Saturday night guy's labor of love? A commercial production guy who helps sales people sell the product, an integral part of the revenue-generating process, given his walking papers?
Somethin' ain't right.
Perhaps the sales people at Crawford now will produce their own commercials. Why not? At least one Buffalo sales guy voices many of his clients' commercials, so it might work. Doesn't just about everybody have Adobe Audition, SAW or Audacity on their lap top or desk PC? Of course, Crawford's sales professionals might have to juggle their schedules and sales calls if they're required to cover the reception desk for a few hours a day, answering phones and greeting visitors. Perhaps Legends' clients will produce their own commercials, because as everybody knows, if Billy Huge can belch his way through commercials superbly articulating "deez, dems, doze and duz," any client can do it.
Yes, we know. The economy sucks. Berkshire Hathaway had a rough Q1, down $1.2 billion. Just about every broadcasting company is reporting Q1 losses between 20 and 30 per cent. It's ugly. It's the economy. It's stupid. It is what it is. Everybody's making cuts. It sucks for managers almost as much as it sucks for those getting a free pass to the unemployment line.
Which leads to "the rant." Afterall, what purpose does this board serve but to inform, entertain, opine, promulgate rumor and rant.
Terrible decisions were made by very wealthy people whose goal it was not to become better broadcasters and stewards of the public airwaves, but to become wealthy at any expense. So what if the shareholders got bamboozled and employees got screwed. How would you like to be the chump who bought Citadel at $10 or Entercom at $38 per share? Welcome to Enron, The Radio Game.
Employees were the shmucks caught in the middle of a power play. Just a few days ago, I read an business analysis. Joe and David Field, knowing of Farid Suleman's huge ego and Ted Fortsmann's money lust, calculatedly pushed Suleman and Forstmann to cut an atrocious deal to buy the ABC Network and radio stations from Disney. Everybody knows how that turned out. Not that Joe and David Field walked away unscathed.
The CEO's who not that long ago were heard preaching "economies of scale" and "practical efficiencies" today are faced with losses they can't comprehend or handle. They're quoted as saying, "We never saw this coming." Hard to see the highway when you're money drunk and blinded by greed. Their "buy now and sell to a bigger fool" Wall Street scheme blew up in their faces, leaving shareholders and employees paying for and holding a 25 pound bundle of shitsticks.
Meanwhile, thousands of productive air personalities who did what they did very well, like the guy who produced commercials and another who made $32 a week doing a Saturday night labor of love at Legends, are out on their assets.
Somethin' ain't right.
_________________________________________________
It has no direct bearing whatsoever on the situation at Legends, but there's an interesting dichotomy to consider when Clear Channel is shoveling a reported $500 thousand a year for Brother Wease and his posse, while a few guys across town at Legends are given their walking papers. Repeat. I know there's no direct connection. Just something to ponder.
