Will they wait til the book's over? Does it even matter to them?
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So....when does Cumulus start making changes?
- Thread starter Underminer
- Start date
They are free to look and make plans, but there is little they can do until the merger happens. I would be surprised to see anything immediately.
When is the merger expected to take place?
Look for it to be completed in late summer/early fall .. that's about the time the bloodbath here will begin.
Not looking forward to reading the news that day...
It is like a fine race horse that is injured, sometimes they just have to be put down. 
I know most are thinking the worst will happen but, I'm sure Herb and his crew will do just fine when Cumulus takes over. Tim and his team at JBQ and HOM will be OK too. My thought is Cumulus will not be concentrating on the Portland market they will have much bigger fish to fry.
WeekendWarrior said:
I hope so-- I wasn't only referring to Portland, I was referring to all the Citadel clusters nationwide. Layoffs are inevitable and it's sad.
This will probably be similar to the Clear Channel blood bath of 2009. Clear Channel was taken over by new owners (investment banks) on 8/1/08. For a while nothing happened...but by late November 08, rumors were all over the internet and everywhere else that the "mother of all lay offs" was coming. It did...in two phases...in January 09...and than again in April 09....and the lay offs were massive!!!! Since that time...the lay offs have continued...but on a much smaller scale...
WeekendWarrior said:
I disagree, the quality of the employees has nothing to do with it. They are fine individuals and great talents, however Cumulus is a business with an agenda and a business model that involves employing as few people as possible. Even sales and management are not safe. Cumulus has their own people to transition in, when its over there will be no live studios, as programming will come from a jock in other states. Basic business, cut all overhead and make all the profit. Want to know when? Just stay tuned.
Me Venture Capital said:
I've been reading about this transition and have kept quiet, but this sentence, while I have no concrete proof, is total BS. The only thing I have to back this up is the Cumulus cluster in even tinier Bangor. While there has been a lot of cutbacks in both local programming and employees, Cumulus does keep a lot of local live and voicetracked programming.
WDEA AM 1370 definitely has the smallest amount of local programming, but Rick Foster (broadcasting forever at WDEA) is there every weekday morning from an Ellsworth studio. Plus there are many local basketball games from Ellsworth and MDI high school every winter. The rest is from the satellite. Oh yeah, plus WDEA holds a record with the Boston Red Sox. They have been broadcasting the Sox continuously on the same station longer than any other in New England.
WEZQ 92.9 Soft AC follows close behind. Only middays are local and live. Bob and Sheri in the morning and Delilah in the evening have been on WEZQ since before Cumulus bought the station.
WWMJ 95.7 Classic Hits is local 24 hours but only has local talent from 6a to 6p. Chuck Foster (who has been there since Cumulus bought the station) is live in the morning at least until 9 (think he's voice tracked after that.) And PD Fred Miller is on from noon to 6p. Fred came with the station when Cumulus bought it. ;D
WBZN 107.3 CHR While not my cup of tea, I know they are local from 6a to 10p. The Kid who does mornings has been there since before Cumulus bought the station (NOTICE A TREND HERE?) I'm not sure how much the rest of the day is voice tracked but I'm pretty sure at least the evening is 'cause Chuck Foster is on then.
WQCB 106.5 Country Again live in the morning, and at least some during midday and afternoon drive. Maybe someone closer (True Grit?) can give the specifics. After 7p there is some syndicated show. Now I'm pretty sure middays Cindy Campbell has been there since before Cumulus bought the station. And I'm not sure about the morning dude.
Now am I defending the way Cumulus runs the stations? Not totally. But I think I can safely say that they DO put their trust in the employees they have, and that it can't be a totally bad place to work since they have a lot of long time employees. In fact, I can't even tell you when Cumulus bought this cluster, but I'm sure it's been over 10 years. Someone correct me please if I'm wrong.
The real meaning for writing this post is to point out to Me Venture Capital is that your post about WMTW-FM and 102.9 was full of false information and after reading your rants on this subject, I would tend to be skeptical about ANYTHING you now post.
To the moderator: If the last paragraph is too inflammatory, please delete it.
Maine-i-ac---WQCB 106.5 Country Again live in the morning, and at least some during midday and afternoon drive. Maybe someone closer (True Grit?) can give the specifics. After 7p there is some syndicated show. Now I'm pretty sure middays Cindy Campbell has been there since before Cumulus bought the station.
Cindy has been there forEVER. Since day 1, 1986, or pretty damn close. ;D As for afternoons, I'm not sure when Nelson is live or VT'ed. Also not sure if he still helps out on 'EZQ.
That is pretty cool about 'DEA being the longest continuous Red Sox affiliate in New England. I did not know that. Proud to have been a part of it back in the day.
Cindy has been there forEVER. Since day 1, 1986, or pretty damn close. ;D As for afternoons, I'm not sure when Nelson is live or VT'ed. Also not sure if he still helps out on 'EZQ.
That is pretty cool about 'DEA being the longest continuous Red Sox affiliate in New England. I did not know that. Proud to have been a part of it back in the day.
While Maine-i-ac is correct there are two important things to keep in mind:
1. When a company expands (acquires), it's debt structure changes completely. It becomes a different company. You really can't compare the previous operating structure or style of Cumulus today with what it will or need to be to meet it's new financial obligations.
2. In addition to stations, Cumulus is also acquiring the Citadel Radio Network (formerly ABC). This is a content providing network. This is something the current Cumulus doesn't have. When you acquire it, you look to take advantage of it internally first as it is pure cost savings.
I know a bunch of people who worked for Clear Channel in the mid 90's who really liked the company. As they began to acquire and acquire and acquire....well, you know.
1. When a company expands (acquires), it's debt structure changes completely. It becomes a different company. You really can't compare the previous operating structure or style of Cumulus today with what it will or need to be to meet it's new financial obligations.
2. In addition to stations, Cumulus is also acquiring the Citadel Radio Network (formerly ABC). This is a content providing network. This is something the current Cumulus doesn't have. When you acquire it, you look to take advantage of it internally first as it is pure cost savings.
I know a bunch of people who worked for Clear Channel in the mid 90's who really liked the company. As they began to acquire and acquire and acquire....well, you know.
Someone made the comment that the veterans at Cumulus must like it there because they're "still there". You'd be surprised to know that many of the vets are unhappy - but since they don't want to leave the area they have called home for such a long time, they're willing to put up with Cumulus.
Speaking of changes in Bangor, there are more to come. Now that Cumulus has access to full programming and syndication, I would expect to see more syndication. With the exception of middays, WEZQ is all syndicated. Expect the same for Z107.3, I95, and even Q106.5. They're numb enough to believe that since Q106.5 has been number one for so long, it will be number one forever - regardless of any changes they make. Lew Dickey has already said that he's working on new syndication for ALL music formats and platforms. You darn well be that more syndication will be happening in Bangor.
Several ex-Cumulus employees who used to work at the corporate level in Atlanta are working for other successful radio companies...and have all said they got very tired of the Dickey regime. The philosophies that Cumulus believes in will only hurt the future of this sorry excuse for a radio company.
Speaking of changes in Bangor, there are more to come. Now that Cumulus has access to full programming and syndication, I would expect to see more syndication. With the exception of middays, WEZQ is all syndicated. Expect the same for Z107.3, I95, and even Q106.5. They're numb enough to believe that since Q106.5 has been number one for so long, it will be number one forever - regardless of any changes they make. Lew Dickey has already said that he's working on new syndication for ALL music formats and platforms. You darn well be that more syndication will be happening in Bangor.
Several ex-Cumulus employees who used to work at the corporate level in Atlanta are working for other successful radio companies...and have all said they got very tired of the Dickey regime. The philosophies that Cumulus believes in will only hurt the future of this sorry excuse for a radio company.
It's very common to broadcasting for people to live with poor situations just for the sake of being in broadcasting. Sales folks are much less prone to this, and i think that partly explains why so many have moved on to other industries.
Same thing for engineers. The wiser ones have moved on, and younger techies never get caught up in it at all. the magic is mostly gone, and you can triple potential income just by staying out of radio.
Same thing for engineers. The wiser ones have moved on, and younger techies never get caught up in it at all. the magic is mostly gone, and you can triple potential income just by staying out of radio.
special ed said:
From the "been there/done that, it's very much like a dysfuntional marriage. You love it so much you willing to put up with just about anything, all the while hoping the situation will change. You fool yourself into believing there's nothing better out there and once in awhile they'll throw you a bone.
It's not until you leave it behind and move on do you realize how much better life is and can be.
From the "been there/done that, it's very much like a dysfuntional marriage. You love it so much you willing to put up with just about anything, all the while hoping the situation will change. You fool yourself into believing there's nothing better out there and once in awhile they'll throw you a bone.
It's not until you leave it behind and move on do you realize how much better life is and can be.
[/quote]
12 In a Row, your comments sparked some interesting thoughts in my old brain. Back in the day, some of us were young radio turks who used to bemoan the fact that radio stations were owned by doctors and dentists (or whomever) who weren't really passionate about the radio business.
And now, those in radio (or recently out of it) bemoan the fact that most radio stations are owned by the Wall Street companies... who aren't really passionate about the radio business.
I guess history has repeated itself, albeit with a different set of characters.
But somewhere in the middle, especially in the 80's, for some reason there were many passionate radio people who ended up in ownership, and really cared about what the listeners were hearing. Maybe even more so than they cared about the bottom line financials.
I think first of Bob Fuller and J.J. Jeffrey. There was George Silverman right up there. And on a smaller scale up north, we could mention Jim Leven and Mark Osborne.
I think I've kind of said this before in other posts here: The day will come -- sooner rather than later -- when the Big Kahuna companies give up on trying to own the smaller markets. Their business map just ain't gonna ever lead them to the promised land in Portland and smaller. And when that day comes, the Big Kahunas will spin off the Presque Isles and Augustas and Bangors, etc., to truly local owners. And then we can hope that radio will once again become the same thing we all fell in love with when we were a bit younger.
Let's just pray that the doctors and the dentists stay out of it this next time around.
Ray
It's not until you leave it behind and move on do you realize how much better life is and can be.
[/quote]
12 In a Row, your comments sparked some interesting thoughts in my old brain. Back in the day, some of us were young radio turks who used to bemoan the fact that radio stations were owned by doctors and dentists (or whomever) who weren't really passionate about the radio business.
And now, those in radio (or recently out of it) bemoan the fact that most radio stations are owned by the Wall Street companies... who aren't really passionate about the radio business.
I guess history has repeated itself, albeit with a different set of characters.
But somewhere in the middle, especially in the 80's, for some reason there were many passionate radio people who ended up in ownership, and really cared about what the listeners were hearing. Maybe even more so than they cared about the bottom line financials.
I think first of Bob Fuller and J.J. Jeffrey. There was George Silverman right up there. And on a smaller scale up north, we could mention Jim Leven and Mark Osborne.
I think I've kind of said this before in other posts here: The day will come -- sooner rather than later -- when the Big Kahuna companies give up on trying to own the smaller markets. Their business map just ain't gonna ever lead them to the promised land in Portland and smaller. And when that day comes, the Big Kahunas will spin off the Presque Isles and Augustas and Bangors, etc., to truly local owners. And then we can hope that radio will once again become the same thing we all fell in love with when we were a bit younger.
Let's just pray that the doctors and the dentists stay out of it this next time around.
Ray
Isn't blueberry a local owner ? Not sure about others, but I think there stations as a whole are among the worst sounding in the state. Local ownership does not always mean interesting or even good sounding radio.
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