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Shake up at KLUV

I never like to see a jock displaced, and good luck to Sandi, but..
Tom Kent is a very energetic, highly entertaining Oldies/Classic Hits
PERSONALITY. He is a difference maker in any time slot he is on.
KLUV/Oldies fans will like him. Tom is what Oldies stations SHOULD sound like.
I don't know him, but I enjoy his SHOW. Who cares, at night,
whether he's local or not. I don't believe THE SIMPSONS or AMERICAN IDOL
are local shows either.
 
I can't speak for CBS, but I do know that some (maybe all) of the large companies are basing their goals and projections on 6a-7p M-F. That's all the big wigs seem to care about. Not much concern for nights and weekends.
 
The bottom line is it's a business, not a non-profit organization, and the climate is not good right now. Companies have to do some unkind things to good people sometimes. Welcome to the real world.
 
I agree with what you are saying, but why don't they cut the big big money down by getting rid of Russ Martin at KLLI, a station which I amsure is draining CBS? They are cutting in the wrong direction. They could start with Gavin who has screwed up both KLLI and KRLD.
 
The bottom line is it's a business, not a non-profit organization, and the climate is not good right now. Companies have to do some unkind things to good people sometimes. Welcome to the real world.
Click to expand...

I've got something more "real" for you. It's the entertainment business. And CBS isn't very good at it.

Don't try to pitch the idea that this has something to do with the broader economic climate. CBS has been cutting costs through layoffs for 10 years now. Someone in upper management just qualified for his bonus by letting Sandi Sharp go.

The way to grow a business is to find ways to better serve your customers. CBS (and radio in general) hasn't been doing that in quite some time. They've been serving their stock holders, albeit poorly. The long term result of this strategy is that neither listeners nor stock holders are served.
 
Ben is associated with KVIL(CBS for those just tuning in) so naturally he will defend the company and score points, Ebola is right ,CBS has lost its way to entertaining and listening to listeners. Its the suits that count, the lousy investors who are goofing the economy,and otherwise people who got a bidness degree in the 80's using a "Gordon Gekco) mentality. (see "wall street- the movie) That what CBS has become. Sandi could and has made money hands over fist for that station and this is their way of saying thank you? The entire staff of KLLI is far more expendable as well as KVIL, KLLI's afternoon pompous puppy is way over rated , way over payed. Cut his figure in two and give it to a talent like Sandi Sharp. Simple math,but logic is lost on the suits.
 
The fact that Sandi is working the Tom Kent board this week says something about the economy that we live in today. Need to stay on everyone's good side. Time was, if you were dumped on Friday and asked to work the board for your old shift the next week - a jock would have told them where they could stick it. Hang in there Sandi!
 
DFWPT said:
Steve Eberhart said:
Just being on live/local doesn't necessarily make you better. Do you think the typical listener (not you and I) has any idea Tom Kent is not standing in the KLUV control room?
Click to expand...

YES!! I DO think the "typical listener" knows Tom Kent is not standing in the KLUV control room! 1) Sandi had a ton of loyal listeners who called in every night - who are now asking, "what happened??" 2) Tom gives an 800 number to call

Tom is just as impersonal and non-local as Delilah! Who, by the way, along with Mary Rose, is not standing in the KVIL control room.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Steve on this one. The only local thing people care about is news, weather, and traffic. Other than that, it doesn't make any difference if a DJ is hosting the show from Dallas or Antarctica. I work as a nationally syndicated DJ for Radio Disney, and I have many parents who call the toll free number, and they still think that I'm in the city they're calling from. They'll call me to get information about a concert spot they heard on their local affiliate, and I'll have to tell them I'm 1,000 miles away and have no idea. "You mean you're not in ________?" is the common response when I tell them I'm in Dallas.

Honestly, I believe syndication is going to become the norm, especially as the economy continues to go down the toilet. Besides, the "average" listener is probably not very loyal to any particular talent doing a music-based show. The "average" listener doesn't ever call a radio station.
 
I doubt CBS (or any radio owner) is making money hand over fist, having wild parties, paying $25k for spa treatments, tossing midgets, etc. like Enron and AIG did.
 
aaronk said:
I have to agree with Steve on this one. The only local thing people care about is news, weather, and traffic. Other than that, it doesn't make any difference if a DJ is hosting the show from Dallas or Antarctica.
Click to expand...

You're in the minority, Aaron, but exactly right. People I come in contact with are always surprised to find out Delilah is not local. I have worked at a station before that the programming was supplied by a satellite company, and there are little things you can do to help make it sound local. We do that with Delilah and it obviously works. You won't get the disgruntled former radio employees who troll this board to admit it though.
 
I doubt CBS (or any radio owner) is making money hand over fist
Click to expand...

You are the perfect CBS employee. Entirely unaware of what is going on above you. And happy to remain so.
 
AARON you're caught up in syndication as Steve is in ownership, you've lost your listenership skill. The only ones who can't figure out he difference between local and syndication is probably a holder of a GED or just down right blonde. Non radio listeners I met and spoke to DO NOTICE the difference. The difference shows in hte lowering of numbers year after year,but the CONsultant spinners will break them down and show improvement. Sounds like WallStreet.
 
I got an email from the Tom Kent show this week - proudly proclaiming they had added 6 new major markets in the last week. There was a quote from each PD at each added station, including Peter Z at KLUV.

What struck me so interesting about the email, was the fact that ALL 6 added stations were CBS owned.

That means 2 sad things happened in the Dallas radio business this last week:

1) Sandi was cut loose
2) Peter Z was shown to not have decision making authority in his job

#2 really saddens me, because I like Peter, and think he's an excellent PD

what I do not like so much, is BIG CORPORATE RADIO. They saved some money, but got this one wrong. Making programming decisions from a centralized corporate location, across the entire cluster, is not good programming philosophy.
 
I doubt CBS (or any radio owner) is making money hand over fist
Click to expand...

The company is bleeding out. But that's not the point. The corporate leadership and market managers are "running out the clock" on the company. Their only goal right now is to delay the collapse (or sell-off) of the company for as long as possible. The longer they delay it, the more paychecks and bonus checks they'll receive.

So, no, CBS isn't making money hand over fist. But the people who run it are. And they'll sacrifice individual employees with cost cutting moves as often as they need to to keep the money flowing into their greedy pockets.
 
At first I questioned whether the title of this thread was appropriate, since letting one person go in favor of a syndicated show could hardly be called a "shake up." It's sad that Sandi was replaced, although I admit that I like Tom Kent. He still runs a hell of a show, just like he did when he was pumpin' out the hits on AM Top 40 as "Truckin' Tom/Cookin' Kent."

But my disdain for CBS has crossed over into sheer bitterness toward the weasels that are running that sinking ship. Sandi will be joined by many others, because it can (and will) get much worse, everywhere. As Exhibit 1, check out what's happening in L.A...

www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,111176.0.html
 
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