J
JamzUSA
Guest
What changes, if any, do you think they would make to any of the DFW stations? Thoughts?
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M
morescrapple
Guest
> What changes, if any, do you think they would make to any of
> the DFW stations? Thoughts?
>
have a small market mindset in many cases, do a lot of firing and seem clueless about news-talk programming. Susq's got major leaguers, don't think Cumulus understands the sophistication level needed to manage them.
Not sure it will be a straight Cumulus ownership though, read the stories, it looks like investors involved.
> the DFW stations? Thoughts?
>
have a small market mindset in many cases, do a lot of firing and seem clueless about news-talk programming. Susq's got major leaguers, don't think Cumulus understands the sophistication level needed to manage them.
Not sure it will be a straight Cumulus ownership though, read the stories, it looks like investors involved.
> > What changes, if any, do you think they would make to any
> of
> > the DFW stations? Thoughts?
If Cumulus buys Susquehanna, say good-bye to any decent radio in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Scott Strong is a god compared to the pd's Cumulus spits out. Cumulus wants to be Clear Channel and, thus, hires Clear Channel's rejects. Cumulus comprises market research shmucks who rely on surveys to determine how a station should function. The boys at the top of Cumulus relied on Daddy's money to get their start and have no clue how to program or hire real programmers for their radio stations. Why? Because they don't care. They care how much money each market brings in so that they can get their bonuses at the end of the year. Oh, and if by some chance they might not make their bonuses, they'll have lay-offs right before Christmas. They're all heart!
> of
> > the DFW stations? Thoughts?
If Cumulus buys Susquehanna, say good-bye to any decent radio in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Scott Strong is a god compared to the pd's Cumulus spits out. Cumulus wants to be Clear Channel and, thus, hires Clear Channel's rejects. Cumulus comprises market research shmucks who rely on surveys to determine how a station should function. The boys at the top of Cumulus relied on Daddy's money to get their start and have no clue how to program or hire real programmers for their radio stations. Why? Because they don't care. They care how much money each market brings in so that they can get their bonuses at the end of the year. Oh, and if by some chance they might not make their bonuses, they'll have lay-offs right before Christmas. They're all heart!
> > What changes, if any, do you think they would make to any
> of
> > the DFW stations? Thoughts?
> >
>
> have a small market mindset in many cases, do a lot of
> firing and seem clueless about news-talk programming. Susq's
> got major leaguers, don't think Cumulus understands the
> sophistication level needed to manage them.
>
> Not sure it will be a straight Cumulus ownership though,
> read the stories, it looks like investors involved.
Agree. Perhaps one of the investors owns a sausage company, wants to play radio, and will wind up making decisions as to what happens with the stations.
>
> of
> > the DFW stations? Thoughts?
> >
>
> have a small market mindset in many cases, do a lot of
> firing and seem clueless about news-talk programming. Susq's
> got major leaguers, don't think Cumulus understands the
> sophistication level needed to manage them.
>
> Not sure it will be a straight Cumulus ownership though,
> read the stories, it looks like investors involved.
Agree. Perhaps one of the investors owns a sausage company, wants to play radio, and will wind up making decisions as to what happens with the stations.
>
T
TironeShoes
Guest
Everything you thought Clear Channel was Cumulus is! Check it...
Unlike CC, Cumulus is heavily programmed out of Atlanta...I mean down to what friggin weekend contest you do! Music ad's, hiring, and firing down to the part time airstaff. It's gonna be a bloodbath in a lot of places if Cumulus truly takes over. Idiots like Jan Jefferies have their hands in everything!
I've known countless PD's who left for the simple fact that they weren't allowed to program their station! Then the numbers tumbled and who gets canned, the guy in Atlanta who told the guy at the heritage rhythmic station to play green day???? Nope, the PD!
Clear Channel is a paradise when you've worked for those idiots named after a damn cloud!
> If Cumulus buys Susquehanna, say good-bye to any decent
> radio in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Scott Strong is a god compared to
> the pd's Cumulus spits out. Cumulus wants to be Clear
> Channel and, thus, hires Clear Channel's rejects. Cumulus
> comprises market research shmucks who rely on surveys to
> determine how a station should function. The boys at the top
> of Cumulus relied on Daddy's money to get their start and
> have no clue how to program or hire real programmers for
> their radio stations. Why? Because they don't care. They
> care how much money each market brings in so that they can
> get their bonuses at the end of the year. Oh, and if by some
> chance they might not make their bonuses, they'll have
> lay-offs right before Christmas. They're all heart!
>
<P ID="signature">______________
WG</P>
Unlike CC, Cumulus is heavily programmed out of Atlanta...I mean down to what friggin weekend contest you do! Music ad's, hiring, and firing down to the part time airstaff. It's gonna be a bloodbath in a lot of places if Cumulus truly takes over. Idiots like Jan Jefferies have their hands in everything!
I've known countless PD's who left for the simple fact that they weren't allowed to program their station! Then the numbers tumbled and who gets canned, the guy in Atlanta who told the guy at the heritage rhythmic station to play green day???? Nope, the PD!
Clear Channel is a paradise when you've worked for those idiots named after a damn cloud!
> If Cumulus buys Susquehanna, say good-bye to any decent
> radio in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Scott Strong is a god compared to
> the pd's Cumulus spits out. Cumulus wants to be Clear
> Channel and, thus, hires Clear Channel's rejects. Cumulus
> comprises market research shmucks who rely on surveys to
> determine how a station should function. The boys at the top
> of Cumulus relied on Daddy's money to get their start and
> have no clue how to program or hire real programmers for
> their radio stations. Why? Because they don't care. They
> care how much money each market brings in so that they can
> get their bonuses at the end of the year. Oh, and if by some
> chance they might not make their bonuses, they'll have
> lay-offs right before Christmas. They're all heart!
>
<P ID="signature">______________
WG</P>
Re: Everything you thought Clear Channel was Cumulus is! Check it...
> Unlike CC, Cumulus is heavily programmed out of Atlanta...I
> mean down to what friggin weekend contest you do! Music
> ad's, hiring, and firing down to the part time airstaff.
> It's gonna be a bloodbath in a lot of places if Cumulus
> truly takes over. Idiots like Jan Jefferies have their hands
> in everything!
> I've known countless PD's who left for the simple fact that
> they weren't allowed to program their station! Then the
> numbers tumbled and who gets canned, the guy in Atlanta who
> told the guy at the heritage rhythmic station to play green
> day???? Nope, the PD!
> Clear Channel is a paradise when you've worked for those
> idiots named after a damn cloud!
This was close to my experience with Cumulus, too, though I worked as a jock rather than a PD. The PD's, though, were my friends, and I know Cumulus irritated them thoroughly. Not surprisingly, after less than a year under Cumulus, every PD in the cluster had either walked or been demoted (though none were fired).
However, my experience with Cumulus was not all negative. Cumulus has better benefits than most companies, does not normally practice blanket firings (though it makes no guarantees about that one), and is more open about what goes on at corporate than most companies.
My experience at Cumulus was pretty close to pure hell, but corporate had very little to do with it. My operations manager was my problem. I actually found dealing with corporate to be tolerable, though the change in benefits was a bureaucratic mess. However, I might have thought differently if I had worked as a PD. Certainly, many of my friends did.
> Unlike CC, Cumulus is heavily programmed out of Atlanta...I
> mean down to what friggin weekend contest you do! Music
> ad's, hiring, and firing down to the part time airstaff.
> It's gonna be a bloodbath in a lot of places if Cumulus
> truly takes over. Idiots like Jan Jefferies have their hands
> in everything!
> I've known countless PD's who left for the simple fact that
> they weren't allowed to program their station! Then the
> numbers tumbled and who gets canned, the guy in Atlanta who
> told the guy at the heritage rhythmic station to play green
> day???? Nope, the PD!
> Clear Channel is a paradise when you've worked for those
> idiots named after a damn cloud!
This was close to my experience with Cumulus, too, though I worked as a jock rather than a PD. The PD's, though, were my friends, and I know Cumulus irritated them thoroughly. Not surprisingly, after less than a year under Cumulus, every PD in the cluster had either walked or been demoted (though none were fired).
However, my experience with Cumulus was not all negative. Cumulus has better benefits than most companies, does not normally practice blanket firings (though it makes no guarantees about that one), and is more open about what goes on at corporate than most companies.
My experience at Cumulus was pretty close to pure hell, but corporate had very little to do with it. My operations manager was my problem. I actually found dealing with corporate to be tolerable, though the change in benefits was a bureaucratic mess. However, I might have thought differently if I had worked as a PD. Certainly, many of my friends did.
M
Musicradio
Guest
I hope I never work for Cumulus.
I've had friends work for them -- all reports are bad.
I've had friends work for them -- all reports are bad.
Re: It's not Cumulus... it's Lew.
> What changes, if any, do you think they would make to any of
> the DFW stations? Thoughts?
>
Cumulus has not made a bid. A company headed by Lew Dickey, plus some investment bankers, has made a bid. It is separate from Cumulus.
> What changes, if any, do you think they would make to any of
> the DFW stations? Thoughts?
>
Cumulus has not made a bid. A company headed by Lew Dickey, plus some investment bankers, has made a bid. It is separate from Cumulus.
P
Phantom
Guest
But will Lew emulate Cumulus?
> > What changes, if any, do you think they would make to any
> of
> > the DFW stations? Thoughts?
> >
>
> Cumulus has not made a bid. A company headed by Lew Dickey,
> plus some investment bankers, has made a bid. It is separate
> from Cumulus.
But some might at least suspect that Dickey's company may have a business philosophy and culture similar to Cumulus.
> > What changes, if any, do you think they would make to any
> of
> > the DFW stations? Thoughts?
> >
>
> Cumulus has not made a bid. A company headed by Lew Dickey,
> plus some investment bankers, has made a bid. It is separate
> from Cumulus.
But some might at least suspect that Dickey's company may have a business philosophy and culture similar to Cumulus.
Re: But will Lew emulate Cumulus?
> > > What changes, if any, do you think they would make to
> any
> > of
> > > the DFW stations? Thoughts?
> > >
> >
> > Cumulus has not made a bid. A company headed by Lew
> Dickey,
> > plus some investment bankers, has made a bid. It is
> separate
> > from Cumulus.
>
>
> But some might at least suspect that Dickey's company may
> have a business philosophy and culture similar to Cumulus.
>
I would suspect taht they wish to preserve the strong cash flow of the Susq. stations and will not mess with it too much.
> > > What changes, if any, do you think they would make to
> any
> > of
> > > the DFW stations? Thoughts?
> > >
> >
> > Cumulus has not made a bid. A company headed by Lew
> Dickey,
> > plus some investment bankers, has made a bid. It is
> separate
> > from Cumulus.
>
>
> But some might at least suspect that Dickey's company may
> have a business philosophy and culture similar to Cumulus.
>
I would suspect taht they wish to preserve the strong cash flow of the Susq. stations and will not mess with it too much.
> > I hope I never work for Cumulus.
> > I've had friends work for them -- all reports are bad.
> >
> And they're ALL TRUE! Cumulus makes Clear Channel look like
> an employee's heaven!
>
I spent the six most miserable months of my life with Cumulus. Now I AM at CC and it ain't anywhere close to perfect, but like the man said, by comparison...
At least my boss here doesn't make fun of me in meetings or talk about me behind my back and my sole reason for existence is NOT to make the Sales Manager's house payment for her.
I could go on for days.
> > I've had friends work for them -- all reports are bad.
> >
> And they're ALL TRUE! Cumulus makes Clear Channel look like
> an employee's heaven!
>
I spent the six most miserable months of my life with Cumulus. Now I AM at CC and it ain't anywhere close to perfect, but like the man said, by comparison...
At least my boss here doesn't make fun of me in meetings or talk about me behind my back and my sole reason for existence is NOT to make the Sales Manager's house payment for her.
I could go on for days.
Re: But will Lew emulate Cumulus?
> I would suspect taht they wish to preserve the strong cash
> flow of the Susq. stations and will not mess with it too
> much.
When Cumulus bought some of the stations I worked for last year, they said their strategy was to buy bottom feeders and turn them around. That's part of why they rely so heavily on their brand managers, and it's also why they achieve 75% to 100% growth in some markets. I, too, think a different company, even with the same principals would probably behave differently, though I can understand others' skepticism. The cluster I was at was not a bottom feeder. It had four of the top five stations, both in ratings and billing. Cumulus still wasted no time putting its own stamp on things despite saying they had enough bottom feeders that they weren't a company to mess with something that wasn't broken.
> I would suspect taht they wish to preserve the strong cash
> flow of the Susq. stations and will not mess with it too
> much.
When Cumulus bought some of the stations I worked for last year, they said their strategy was to buy bottom feeders and turn them around. That's part of why they rely so heavily on their brand managers, and it's also why they achieve 75% to 100% growth in some markets. I, too, think a different company, even with the same principals would probably behave differently, though I can understand others' skepticism. The cluster I was at was not a bottom feeder. It had four of the top five stations, both in ratings and billing. Cumulus still wasted no time putting its own stamp on things despite saying they had enough bottom feeders that they weren't a company to mess with something that wasn't broken.
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