Quote of The Week

[Debaser]

(this just about says it all for the U.S. as well)

"The corporations who have taken over Canadian broadcasting, destroy these assets because they aren’t broadcasters and have no idea what to do with them. The only thing that matters in a corporation is return for shareholders. The only skill required is cost cutting. In my opinion the people running these corporations are angry because they're stuck running these insignificant broadcasting entities and not on Wall Street making the millions they deserve."

(former TV producer Howard Bernstein)

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

(this just about says it all for the U.S. as well)

"The corporations who have taken over Canadian broadcasting, destroy these assets because they aren’t broadcasters and have no idea what to do with them. The only thing that matters in a corporation is return for shareholders. The only skill required is cost cutting. In my opinion the people running these corporations are angry because they're stuck running these insignificant broadcasting entities and not on Wall Street making the millions they deserve."

(former TV producer Howard Bernstein)

In West Virginia, it's called strip mining.

I can't help think "We have met the enemy and he is us," (-Pogo) when I read comments like those of Mr. Berstein, (former TV producer.) All too many "formers" running about these days, it seems.

 

[SirRoxalot]

You reduce the quality of the product, then wonder why revenue drops because people go elsewhere - to other broadcast outlets or other media - for entertainment. Then you blame "technology"...

 

[BJC]

Walmart killed small market radio by reducing the jobs in broadcasting and the talent pool. I worked at stations in towns with many small businesses that sustained the station. When they closed the stations were in big trouble (you can't sell if you have no one to sell to)and went from 9 or 10 people working to 1. When you drive down the main drag in these burgs and see all the closed store fronts it hits home. They use to say be a big fish in a little pond............Walmart dried it up. Any of the old guys (like ME) will tell you some of the best times and most of the learning happened at these stations.

 

[Element9]

And now we have Wal-Mart Radio, complete with lousy health care plans, inconsistent talent, voice tracking... and best of all, everyday low prices!

 

[Bob1370]

You know, it occurs to me that nothing's been learned yet, on either side of the border, from Citadel's collapse (and possible imminent takeover by Cumulus) or Clear Channel's near death experience. They watched their revenue base erods because listeners fled the signals that were being more and more cheaply programmed. Nobody drew the obvious lesson--that listeners will avoid boring radio and find their information and entertainment somewhere else if it's better done, or at least done without endless commercial stopsets. And it looks like the same misitakes are being made north of the border that were made in the US, with only the CRTC's stricter mandates on public service standing in the way of many of these stations becoming automated, commercial-filled jukeboxes.

Well, nobody learned except CBS, which pared down the size of its national station portfolio to a group it could manage and program well, and promptly proceeded to do very well indeed with those stations it kept. If everyone else in the North American radio business had the business smarts of Les Moonves and Dan Mason, the radio business would be a lot better off today.