Olivia Fox

[Wazzie]

Nice article in this mornings (12/24/06) St Pete Times.

http://entertainment.tampabay.com

 

[RickSklar77]

From the aforementioned article, CC VP/Market Manager Dan Diloreto says:

"When we have an opportunity to put something on the air that is going to be more popular and more successful," DiLoreto said, "we have a fiduciary obligation to our audience to do that."

Huh???? A fiduciary obligation to the audience??? [EDIT]. A fiduciary responsibility to the company, sure. To the shareholders, yes. NOT to the audience. The only obligation any broadcaster has to the audience is the delivery of entertaining or informative content. That will lead to higher ratings, which will lead to higher ad rates, which will lead to increased revenue, and fulfillment of the fiduciary obligation to the company.

Dear old Dan, [EDIT]


[EDIT-inflammatory]

 

[BackRib]

<<That will lead to higher ratings, which will lead to higher ad rates, which will lead to increased revenue, and fulfillment of the fiduciary obligation to the company.>>

This concept is all but lost in this day and age. And has anyone heard anything else about the potential CBS/Google deal where Google buys most of the avails on all CBS radio stations? Be a switch to see account executives getting pink slips instead of the airstaffs and promotions departments!

 

[Studio20]

So...I don't listen to urban....was she that big of a deal to get a full page spread in the Times? Was she pulling in numbers and billing along the lines of "back in the day vets" like Ron and Ron, Bubba or even current vets like Mason Dixon?

People come and go in this business, but why is she getting so much ink and pub?

 

[ct2874]

So...I don't listen to urban....was she that big of a deal to get a full page spread in the Times? Was she pulling in numbers and billing along the lines of "back in the day vets" like Ron and Ron, Bubba or even current vets like Mason Dixon?

People come and go in this business, but why is she getting so much ink and pub?

Simple. She was starting to carve a niche into this market that hadn't been carved as of yet, and just as she's doing so, the (edited for content)s at CC drop her in favor of something they thought would produce a larger ad revenue windfall quicker. And you wonder why lots of folks who aren't from around here think this area's a joke? There's a prime example.

 

[billalm]

Although I'm not a fan of nor agreed with the creation of 95.7 The Beat, I understood why they did it; and after time realized that Olivia Fox was a big reason for it's success. Here's what I find truly amazing... Clear Channel created the station to actually help the cluster, the bottom line, and tap an underserved audience. Correct me if I'm wrong but they were doing all that quite well. Why spend all the money and effort only to blow out your most visable talent? It seems to me if CC Tampa was looking for ways to cut costs and "increase the numbers and revenue" of a radio station, DiLoreto may want to scan up his radio dial a bit to 100.7. What a mess. Just the plain fact that they cut Fox and half of The Beat's roster before Nancy Alexander is clueless programming in my mind.

 

[radiodork]

People come and go in this business, but why is she getting so much ink and pub?

I think it's because of two reasons.

First, as another poster said, it has to do with her carving a much-needed niche in the community. You would think CC would build around someone who in just three years helped established the personality of a new radio station. That's what makes the firing of Olivia in favor of a rather blah Steve Harvey all the more puzzling.

Second, and I think this is the underlying message of the story, here is someone who awoke to a whole new world outside of traditional radio with her website. She's found a new way to get her message out while keeping her ties to the community and making money for herself instead of some suit in San Antonio.

I've talked with quite a few people recently fired or retired from radio and I'm hearing the same thing: they're tired of busting their humps for a company (and it's not just CC) that clearly cares ONLY for the bottom line and not for the true quality of programming or community ties. What's alarming to me, and should be to the radio industry (but it won't any time soon unfortunately), is these fed up people aren't radio "dogs" who are getting squeezed out of the business after 30 years. These are people who have been in it for 10-15 years, through the ups and downs of the industry since the 1996 telecommunications act, who are still young and looking for something better.

There will always be younger and cheaper for the industry to bring in and run down before turning to the next younger and cheaper crowd, but the quality of radio (which is already bad) will only get worse. To the people like Olivia Fox who needed a "blessing in disguise" like her dismissal to open a window of opportunity like her website, I commend them. We were born, raised, and bred on radio, but don't have to cling to it for survival if your mind is open to new opportunities.