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The Question Is

Rusty Bridges

Rusty Bridges

Who fills morning drive once Shredd & Ragan cross the hall later this summer and take over morning drive on 96.9?
It appears 103.3 will remain Active Rock.
Is that Val Townsend pulling into the James Casey parking lot?

Just speculatin'.
 
Is the S&R move to 97 Rock also speculatin'?

If they do move it wouldn't be a surprise if CMLS puts a syndicated show in place.
 
The answer is that you will more likely see Val pull up to 97 Rock and team with Jickster. S&R are to engrained into peoples heads as the morning show on 103.3 and it’s also probably the best thing 103.3 has to sell ads for the station. So why would they mess with success? 97 Rock is still doing fine without the former morning show so it would make more sense to put together something different with a familiar station Jock and a former jock that a lot of rock radio listeners will remember.
 
Let me dump a LOT of cold water on this thread RIGHT NOW.

Since Val Townsend's name has been mentioned on here, someone asked her on Instagram if she'd be back on local radio. Val replied that her contract had a non-compete clause in it...and she can't take another job on local radio for another 11 months.

She shared that story to her Twitter feed...and she spilled a LOT of tea on behind the scenes matters at WYRK.
 
Non-competes are not legal in NY. She may have a contract that pays her for another 11 months but will stop paying her if she takes another radio job. That's legal. If not, she can work anywhere in NY state.
 
SirRoxalot said:
Non-competes are not legal in NY. She may have a contract that pays her for another 11 months but will stop paying her if she takes another radio job. That's legal. If not, she can work anywhere in NY state.
Click to expand...

Duly noted; that said, she didn't give any further details on this(which I understand). Also, 1 year is kinda harsh, no?

Someone else in that thread said re NCC's "They are(legal). They are limited but they are legal and enforceable. There are nuances." and said person gave the name of a local attorney who might be able to provide assistance.
 
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While I can understand Val's need to air her dirty laundry, posting excerpts of communications with HR on social media isn't a great career move. Any competent manager doesn't want to hire anyone - no matter how good they are - if they know in advance how things will turn out if the employee leaves.
 
SirRoxalot said:
Non-competes are not legal in NY. She may have a contract that pays her for another 11 months but will stop paying her if she takes another radio job. That's legal. If not, she can work anywhere in NY state.
Click to expand...
That seems reasonable IF they are paying her regular salary for the duration. That is very unlikely. The show was called "Clay & Company". She was a side player. She probably got some severance and can get unemployment. She is free to take another local Radio job, but trashing her former employer on Social Media is juvenile. Radio contracts are written in sand and always favour the company...
 
I am not an attorney. This post does not constitute, or presume to offer, legal advice.

That having been duly noted, radio and television non-compete contracts in NY state are not enforceable, "On August 6, 2008, Governor Patterson signed into law the “Broadcast Employees Freedom to Work Act,” (N.Y. Lab. Law § 202-k), prohibiting broadcast employers from enforcing non-compete provisions against former employees."

However, there are exceptions to the law as it applies to a contract which remains in effect, as well as exceptions relating to management personnel. Additionally, if a non-management employee is compensated (after his/her termination) while the contract is in effect, the company that compensates the terminated employee retains certain rights to prohibit the employee from working for another radio/television station as stipulated by the contract.

Here's a good reading of the statute: Radio & television: non-compete contracts in NY state

As to Val, to the best of our knowledge, she wasn't management. In all likelihood, she did not possess proprietary information regarding the operation of the radio station at which she was employed. So, unless she's being compensated, it would appear that she's free to take another radio gig.

As to her possibly turning up at Cumulus, please recall that my original post was clearly marked "Just speculatin'." There may be reasons she will, and reasons she won't. As it was once said, "there are known knowns and known unknowns." As to spilling "a lot of tea" on social media... unless you're a Howard Stern-level player," probably not a prudent move, especially if a person wants to work in the same market again.
 
SirRoxalot said:
Non-competes are not legal in NY. She may have a contract that pays her for another 11 months but will stop paying her if she takes another radio job. That's legal. If not, she can work anywhere in NY state.
Click to expand...
Those non-compete's were always worth more as a bargaining chip in negotiating a severance payout than they were an actual threat in the ever-shrinking employment options in any given market.
 
ckg279 said:
As to her possibly turning up at Cumulus, please recall that my original post was clearly marked "Just speculatin'." There may be reasons she will, and reasons she won't.
Click to expand...

She could also turn up at 107.7 too, if you're just speculatin.'
 
TheBigA said:
She could also turn up at 107.7 too, if you're just speculatin.'
Click to expand...
Anything is possible, I s'pose. She's talented and has a good delivery... could be doing imaging if she wanted. She's as good or better than many of the female voices doing national imaging for AC, Country, Alt rock and TV.

Then again, with the new 97 PD having a background in Jack-type formats, maybe the Edge swings in the direction of Jack, Bob, Mike or Chuck while retaining the "Edge" moniker. Simply drop "the" from the moniker, call it "Edge 103-3," refine the music, think of a different-but-similar "playing what we want" type slogan and put it on auto... or call Sparknet and do an actual deal for Jack-FM.

Just speculatin'
 
Rusty Bridges said:
Then again, with the new 97 PD having a background in Jack-type formats, maybe the Edge swings in the direction of Jack, Bob, Mike or Chuck while retaining the "Edge" moniker.
Click to expand...

Or maybe it all just stays the same. A body at rest tends to stay at rest.

Just because they have a new PD doesn't mean he's going to blow everything up. I took him at his word when he said he respected the brands these stations have. My take is he was brought in to bring a sense of stability to a workplace that was shocked and stunned by what happened a few months ago. You don't fix that situation by changing formats. Just speculatin.'
 
Didn't say it was gonna happen, sage... check the posts, you'll find one from me that posited the new PD would proceed with caution and not try to re-invent the wheel. "If it ain't fixed, don't break it." So we're not in total disagreement. (Mine was followed by a lengthy Dave Eduardo post of similar thought regarding three types of PDs.) These are very strange days in this market with WBUF foundering, WYRK slipping, 107.7 flipping, and 97 tripping on toast. Now Cumulus is attempting to set things straight.

Would it be a surprise to hear Shredd and Ragan on both 103 to 97 for a few weeks later this summer to kind of test the water before making a move from 103 to 97? Just to see gauge the feedback.

But that's...

just speculatin'.
 
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