Herald: Howie case status review on Oct 15

[raccoonradio]

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1033894

"WRKO wants him back on its airwaves. The station continues to advertise Carr’s show in the newspaper and still touts him on the air and on its Web site. Todd Feinburg has taken over Carr’s old afternoon-drive show for this week. “Howie will not be on WRKO. We do expect him to be on WTKK in the near future,” Carr spokeswoman Nancy Sterling said yesterday...Now, legal experts say Carr’s options include appealing the judge’s order, sitting it out, going back to WRKO or having all three parties sit down and talk. The court has set a status review of the case for Oct. 15."

 

[MarcB]

I think the whole thing is a bunch of BS. If CARR said he had no desire to work out a new contact with WRKO, that is his business and he shouldn't have to try to work out a new contract with WRKO if he doesn't want to. If he wants to be on WTKK, let him. End of discussion.

I think it's the same thing if a player for the Redsox contract is up and he no longer wants to play for the team and he got a contract from another team. He shouldn't be forced to work out a new contract with the Redsox.

 

[raccoonradio]

True but the right to match is what the judge felt was valid (see the headline on radio-info's main page:
"A judge ruled that his non-compete's not valid, once the contract is up - but that Entercom has a valid "right to match" that's keeping him from jumping.") So we could see an appeal or who knows what. I had thought that
maybe there's a six month period or so (starting last week) where Howie could sit it out and then go to WTKK
but Entercom feels since they "matched" GM's offer, he's theirs until Sep of 2012. And as we've said before,
does the offer including working conditions like time slot, not being pre-empted by sports, etc.? How about
all the bonus incentives--does Entercom's counter-offer match that?

Poss. could be settled out of court somehow, but a) Entercom realizes if they let Howie go to WTKK,
GM gets a ratings spike and they get a downturn...and b) GM benefits even without Howie because he's
no longer on the afternoons on WRKO (during this "benching himself") because they have less effective
hosts filling in on WRKO and thus Severin won't be impacted by them all that much.

Free The Howie Carr 1!

 

[raccoonradio]

Lots of people are turning off WRKO with Howie gone

http://www.savewrko.com/archives/2007/09/have_you_given.php#comments

One comment said "We didn't leave WRKO, WRKO left us"
(echo of a famed Reagan comment)

 

[Casablanca]

The "Right To Match" clause is just another phrase for a "non compete" clause and if let to stand by this court or an appeals court it truly is a form of indentured servitude.

I do not think you will ever hear Carr behind a Entercom WRKO mic again.

The "Right to Match" clause throws the scales of justice way out of balance. It gives the power of the purse of a large national or international corporation to overwhelm the finances of an individual. No matter how much Howie Carr earns he is no match to the multi million dollar corporation Entercom.

There is no level playing field here and one hopes that the courts will come to their collective senses and invalidate "Right To Match" clauses.
clauses.

Funny, when judges wanted a pay raise they used every trick in the book to manipulate and by-pass the will of the voters to get what they wanted. An individual like Howie Carr has no resources like a corrupt legislature in its back pocket to do its bidding and has to rely on the court system to bring equity to its rulings. At this moment there is no equity here on either side. WRKO will of course suffer a loss and should receive due recompence but that does not mean that Howie Carr should be forced to continue to work there.

 

[BRNout]

Wow, lots of good points are being made on that SaveWRKO blog!

The most dangerous of all for WRKO's revenues are the ideas that the Red Sox season will be over soon (though hopefully not until well into October!) and the change to standard time and the early darkness that it brings. Of course, WRKO loses about 1/2 of the market in the dark. Combine those things with the Felon in the Morning, Todd Feinburg all day and only one successful show all day (Rush) and WRKO truly is in deep trouble.

They really have nothing left, and its hard to believe that the supposed #1 talker in a top 10 market could have pissed away so much talent in the past few years. It is truly awe-inspiring to see how much damage can be done when incompetent buffoons run a company's local cluster. Twenty years of work undone in 18 months. It's just amazing. Equally amazing is the idea that two or three certain individuals in that company haven't been fired yet.

As for the legal proceedings, I (again) agree 100% with Casablanca! ;D

 

[Dark Knight]

BRNout, the other blog is led by an agenda driven former Entercom employee who disguises supposition as facts. While some of the commentary has merit, you need to take a lot of it with a grain of salt.

Casa, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, but many people, including the court, sees it differently.

Howie voluntarily agreed to a conditional right to match in his last negotiation. Many talent deals include them, and in fact, the inclusion of them is usually bargained for as a way to get the talent more money. Clearly someone like Howie is worth more money to Entercom if he is willing to give assurances that he will not build a bond between his personal brand and that of the station and then decide to bolt without giving his current employer the "last call". Howie agreed to just this sort of clause, then he violated it.

The judge himself said that Howie could have avoided all this by simply sitting out the waiting period and letting the right to match lapse. At a minimum, that is what Entercom bargained for in their last negotiation when they agreed to pay Howie so handsomely.

Indentured servitude, my a**.

Someone else brought up a sports analogy. While the presence of players unions makes the comparison somewhat flawed, the correct way to look at it would be to look at Howie's contract the same way a player looks at his collective bargaining agreement. Under certain conditions, players can become free agents. Under other contractual conditions they become Restricted Free Agents. Based on Howie's contract, he was the latter at the time of his Greater Media deal. If you want an analogy, how about if the Red Sox matched the contract of of one of their restricted free agents and he said, "Theo, I'm going to bleep you before you bleep me, so I'm going to play for the Yankees."

 

[Infidel]

VB in the afternoons? Bring back The Pit! ;D

 

[Casablanca]

I have to disagee with you totally here. The scales are still unbalanced and favor the employer over the employee. That is intrinsically unfair to the individual and overly generous to the employer. Moreover, it is grossly unfair for WRKO/Entercom to claim that the talent they hired only developed that talent because he sat behind the WRKO microphone as if that individual did not go into that arrangement with the same degree of talent at the beginning of the contract as he had at the end of the contract. Again, like Howie Carr or not, WRKO hired him not on his "potential talent" but on his "existing talent". WRKO should not now be able to claim the rights to that pre-existing talent and now hold it hostage. Sorry, you don't like the term "indentured servitude" but that is exactly what it is. Just ask old Ben Franklin who had to flee to Philadelphia to escape the clutches of his brother who claimed that Ben's inherent talent belonged to him exclusively and that Ben could not leave his employ under penalties of law.

There will have to be a half way point for both parties and money will pass from both parties in one form or another but you will never see Howie Carr at Entercom's WRKO again nor should you if he does not want to work there.

The Julie Kahn's of this world had no compunction to fire on the spot the great talent of Rod Fritz as its News Director because it did not fit its bottom line and Rod could not force them to keep him [you can now hear Rod of Fox Radio News out of New York]. Staying at WRKO does not fit Howie Carr's bottom line and WRKO/Entercom should have no right to force him to continue his employment there.

These cases are always interesting and may not be resolved quickly or cheaply. Still, it is time for WRKO to move on. The ad revenue will fall like a rock in the fourth quarter with the second stringers they now have and if they wish to stay competitive they should find a strong replacement. Someone posted above that the ad revenues will drive this and they are right. If WRKO/Entercom stays bogged down in this fight their next format as someone also mentioned below will be "The Music of Your Life" because they certainly are unprepared for the inevitable - life at WRKO without Howie Carr !

Wow, lots of good points are being made on that SaveWRKO blog!

The most dangerous of all for WRKO's revenues are the ideas that the Red Sox season will be over soon (though hopefully not until well into October!) and the change to standard time and the early darkness that it brings. Of course, WRKO loses about 1/2 of the market in the dark. Combine those things with the Felon in the Morning, Todd Feinburg all day and only one successful show all day (Rush) and WRKO truly is in deep trouble.

They really have nothing left, and its hard to believe that the supposed #1 talker in a top 10 market could have pissed away so much talent in the past few years. It is truly awe-inspiring to see how much damage can be done when incompetent buffoons run a company's local cluster. Twenty years of work undone in 18 months. It's just amazing. Equally amazing is the idea that two or three certain individuals in that company haven't been fired yet.

As for the legal proceedings, I (again) agree 100% with Casablanca! ;D

 

[jane grant]

Good points, Casablanca. Rod Fritz is certainly Exhibit A.

Why isn't Court TV taping these hearings?

 

[Dark Knight]

I have to disagee with you totally here. The scales are still unbalanced and favor the employer over the employee. That is intrinsically unfair to the individual and overly generous to the employer. Moreover, it is grossly unfair for WRKO/Entercom to claim that the talent they hired only developed that talent because he sat behind the WRKO microphone as if that individual did not go into that arrangement with the same degree of talent at the beginning of the contract as he had at the end of the contract. Again, like Howie Carr or not, WRKO hired him not on his "potential talent" but on his "existing talent".

A) How is this relevent when Howie agreed to the provision? I would not be surprised if his Greater Media deal has a similar provision.
B) I don't believe Entercom is claiming anything other than Howie violated a fairly clear cut provision of a contract he agreed to.
C) How are the scales so unbalanced when all he had to do was sit out for three months and then he was free? Would Ben Franklin have stuck around instead if all he had to do was sit on the beach and reflect for a while and then he could do what he wants? I don't know about Ben, but I am pretty sure Howie isn't living paycheck to paycheck.

I agree that some sort of settlement will probably have to happen sooner or later, but I believe that my logic on this has been spot on from the beginning, and I am telling you that absent that settlement, he will be legally barred from joining WTKK for five years. Additionally, Greater Media may end up needing to settle as well. It's an ugly mess, that's for sure.

Rod Fritz...very different, unrelated issue. Nice obfuscation though.

 

[Casablanca]

The provision in and of itself is unbalanced. The act of first refusal gives too much power to the employer over the employee and tips the scales. It is a non-compete clause in a different dress that is all it is.

I have to disagee with you totally here. The scales are still unbalanced and favor the employer over the employee. That is intrinsically unfair to the individual and overly generous to the employer. Moreover, it is grossly unfair for WRKO/Entercom to claim that the talent they hired only developed that talent because he sat behind the WRKO microphone as if that individual did not go into that arrangement with the same degree of talent at the beginning of the contract as he had at the end of the contract. Again, like Howie Carr or not, WRKO hired him not on his "potential talent" but on his "existing talent".

A) How is this relevent when Howie agreed to the provision? I would not be surprised if his Greater Media deal has a similar provision.
B) I don't believe Entercom is claiming anything other than Howie violated a fairly clear cut provision of a contract he agreed to.
C) How are the scales so unbalanced when all he had to do was sit out for three months and then he was free? Would Ben Franklin have stuck around instead if all he had to do was sit on the beach and reflect for a while and then he could do what he wants? I don't know about Ben, but I am pretty sure Howie isn't living paycheck to paycheck.

I agree that some sort of settlement will probably have to happen sooner or later, but I believe that my logic on this has been spot on from the beginning, and I am telling you that absent that settlement, he will be legally barred from joining WTKK for five years. Additionally, Greater Media may end up needing to settle as well. It's an ugly mess, that's for sure.

Rod Fritz...very different, unrelated issue. Nice obfuscation though.