How much smaller can staffing get at Local stations

[ka3kza]

Clear Channel lead this over the past several years, but it's been happening at a number of operators. Great Scott just let go Mike Bradley who had been program Director of B101.7 as well as satellite Country 107.7 was let go, for budget reasons. In addition the company sold it's first little am outside of Philly after taking it dark. The have now taken 106.1 in Pocomoke City dark (this station has previously been on 106.5 and had been dark for just under a year). Companies play games with the 25 mile rule to have management work from a studio with in 25 minutes of the city of license, and the FCC seems to not be interested in these actions? More and more AM's get STA's to operate well below their licensed power, and do this for year after year after year (WKHZ Ocean City, WAMS Dover, WNWK Newark, etc). So what do you think? Should these AM's be shutdown, show the operators that don't follow through on their responsibilities loss their stations?

 

[MikefromDelaware]

I believe , I remember reading that in the case of 1260 WNWK Newark, formerly WNRK, the lower power allowed them to not do a pattern which actually helped them cover more audience than with more power and the three tower pattern they originally had. Why shut it down? I seem to remember the former owner, did get FCC approval to do what they did, so what's the problem? My guess is, 1600 WAMS Dover, who is owned by that same former owner, also got FCC permission for what he did. City of License?? Are you kidding me?

Obviously the FCC doesn't care about that at all, given the WHYY channel 12 and the WGTI channel 61 issue of not serving their city of license, Wilmington, not Philly.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

What is the old fable some of us learned in grade school... the one where the king offered one of his loyal subjects a plot of land for his life of service. The offer was all the land you can walk around in ONE DAY. So the man took off, got greedy, over estimated his stamina and cirlce too far and wide. As the sun was setting he ran harder and harder and harder to return to the starting point before the sun set. And he died trying.

Mike from Delawafre may have expressed a thought that has been foreign to the business of radio. Some stations should back off, realize what is a reasonable and practical "estate" rather than die (go bankrupt) trying to do too much for too many people.

Some time in life most of us normal, average human beings have to make sure our goals match our abilities.

Maybe it is a good thing when some radio licensees do the same thing. Shed the expense of power that does not serve the (new) goal.

 

[DaveWilliams]

How small can a staff get at a 'local' station? Can you say NONE or ZERO? An example, WSER Elkton, MD, local station with the studios 15 miles away, nothing at all local coming out of that signal.

 

[MattParker]

What is the old fable some of us learned in grade school... the one where the king offered one of his loyal subjects a plot of land for his life of service. The offer was all the land you can walk around in ONE DAY. So the man took off, got greedy, over estimated his stamina and cirlce too far and wide. As the sun was setting he ran harder and harder and harder to return to the starting point before the sun set. And he died trying.

Mike from Delawafre may have expressed a thought that has been foreign to the business of radio. Some stations should back off, realize what is a reasonable and practical "estate" rather than die (go bankrupt) trying to do too much for too many people.

Some time in life most of us normal, average human beings have to make sure our goals match our abilities.

Maybe it is a good thing when some radio licensees do the same thing. Shed the expense of power that does not serve the (new) goal.

The fable applies even more strongly to Clear Channel (among others) having run up massive debt to acquire stations (often paying way too much for them in their eagerness to expand). The electric bill is chump change compared to Clear Channel's debt service.