I'm sure it was a budget move. When Tyler was hired at the River in 1992, the station was owned by Dame Media. Al Dame was fond of fair compensation for air talent. Some might even say overly so. Nonetheless, Mr. Tyler was well paid. So well, there was some fear that he might have been cut when the stations transferred to Clear Channel in 1999. Fortunately, Chris dodged the budget bullet......... until last week.
Here's a thought: Randy Michaels brought up the "asshole factor" at a convention one time. The asshole factor is how secure your job is and how much you can get away with based on:
skill level
ability to accept change
attitude
gets along well with others
experience
client repoire
"market" value
ratings achievement
attachment to revenue
"maintenance" level (high or low)
compensation & benefit level
In short the higher everything is, except compensation and "maintenance", the bigger your asshole factor is and the harder you are to live without. What's your factor?