Roger Christian

[four4rock]

Nope. That's why I didn't say or even imply that.

The point was that when you have more stations in fewer hands, it is far more likely that there will be decisions made that sweep more broadly than if there were more operators in the overall marketplace.

If ONE operator with 100 stations decides to syndicate or VT middays and nights, that's 200 positions lost.

If those same 100 stations are owned by 5 operators, while some may syndicate or VT or both, there's a chance some won't. Maybe then you only lose 50-100 jobs instead of 200 on those same 100 stations.

On the other hand, the "more owner" scenario may result in the loss of critical mass, economies of scale, and higher individual costs leading to none/few of them being able to survive... and, then, all positions lost completely.

 

[TheBigA]

On the other hand, the "more owner" scenario may result in the loss of critical mass, economies of scale, and higher individual costs leading to none/few of them being able to survive... and, then, all positions lost completely.

That's exactly the situation we had in the early 90s. At that time, stations were looking to cut back on engineering costs, so it led to the rise of outside engineering services and firing of in house engineers. But it was also when Rush Limbaugh had his biggest growth, taking over mid-days from hundreds of local stations that had previously been all local. This was several years before the 96 Act. Never underestimate the desire of owners to save money and cut staff. It will happen regardless of the circumstances. You can't regulate companies to lose money.

And you really have to look outside radio to all the retail business that has been destroyed by online shopping. How many clerks and stock positions have been eliminated? Look at manufacturing, which was at one time a big thing in upstate NY. It's almost all gone.

 

[Kent]

Odd you would use KC as an example, considering Bob Zuroweste was market manager at ETM/Kansas City from '97'-04.

OK, fine, I said the last 20 years and should've said the last 15. You got me there!

The three people who came after Zuroweste didn't last much more than two years. When Zuroweste started there, Entercom had a 2 AM/2 FM cluster. It grew to the largest cluster by revenue in the market during his tenure. He only lasted about three years himself after that process was complete.

My bigger point, however, was that Entercom has always been a top-down company. It's also not just Entercom. When Cumulus took over the local operator where I was, it promoted one of the sales managers to market manager. He only held that position about two years. It hired someone from South Bend to replace him, and I don't think he even made it a year. It replaced him with another sales manager who occasionally anchored weekend sports on the news/talk stations when he was just sales staff. Within two years, he was back in sales. The person who replaced him retired after a couple of years and moved to Illinois, where his son lived. That cluster had four GM's in 7 years.

 

[Element9]

Hmmm, that's not how it works. If he retires, there is no severance. If he gets let go for no good cause, there is severance.

Subtlety and nuance are lost on some people. The OP about showmanship, respect and presentation. In fact, a number of on-air and support people in Buffalo have "retired," taken their severance and collected unemployment (in NY state, severance is not grounds for denial of unemployment benefits, nor is "retiring" as described in the OP.) Some of those "retired" people have returned to work as full and part time employees in radio and other businesses.

 

[TheBigA]

Some of those "retired" people have returned to work as full and part time employees in radio and other businesses.

And I'm sure that option exists for RC, since he didn't burn any bridges on the way out. I know of many people who have been fired by iHeart, only to be rehired the next quarter, or hired by co-owned stations in other markets. It happens all the time. Cumulus rehired a several DJs Dickey fired after Berner came in. My advice is never hold a grudge. Do what's best for yourself and your audience.

 

[Rob Piotrowski]

Looks like Roger's former shift is being covered locally. From the Buffalo Broadcasters Association:

"Lexi Ziccardi has taken over the midday duties at Star 102.5. Ziccardi is also a Fredonia graduate and has been working at Entercom in a number of capacities. She has also been heard on Kiss 98.5 (WKSE-FM) and Alt Buffalo (WLKK-FM)."

 

[John Gallagher]

I'm sure she's making significantly less in salary. She may be local but is the shift voice tracked?