This isn't a Buffalo story, but in a sense it affects everyone

[Debaser]

I think I'm posting it just so The Big A can go on his soapbox to defend what is happening in Boston and around the country as good radio---responsible to the marketplace and local music---is being systematically dismantled in the name of greed.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-05-16/business/31718403_1_radio-station-fm-scott-fybush

 

[TheBigA]

OK, I'll take your bait.

In the name of greed? Why is this owner selling the station? He's the one who is greedy. If you read the Boston board, you'll find out that he received offers from other companies, including Entercom. He took the highest bidder. Who's the greedy one? He could have sold to a local community group, but he wouldn't have made as much money. I think that same point applies to all the owners who sold out in the last big wave.

Defend it? It's a fact of life. There are no lifetime jobs, and when you have single station owners like this, sooner or later he sells. How many people were laid off when he bought the station 25 years ago? If you work in a factory or an office, and the company gets sold, it's likely the work force gets fired. Happens every day. Radio stations are privately owned businesses that can be bought and sold like any business.

Is it good radio? Who knows. They haven't launched the new format yet. But I imagine it will get better numbers than the current format.

 

[Debaser]

I

He took the highest bidder. Who's the greedy one? He could have sold to a local community group, but he wouldn't have made as much money.]

If that's the case, I hope he realizes his newspaper (The Phoenix) will likely lose a majority of readers and probably a good number of advertisers as well. Time will tell.

 

[TheBigA]

The people at the Boston board speculate he'll be selling the paper too. He's cashing out.

 

[jas2525]

Hard to believe Indy bands will be left lost without WFNX.

Seems maybe they should make more of an effort to market their stuff to an even larger potential audience.....online.

Of course they might need to fake people out with a mentos-in-the-pepsi style meme to get attention at first.

 

[SirRoxalot]

"Cashing out"? The guy's been at it for over 30 years. How about "return on his investment"? According to the article, Mindich wasn't shopping the station. Clear Channel approached him. He asked for - and got - other offers once Clear Channel started the process.

Clear Channel desperately wanted another FM in Boston, and they threw a serious wad of money at the guy in outbidding the other players. Obviously, he's deeply involved in "old media", and there's a lot of upheaval in that marketplace. It looks like he's getting out of broadcasting altogether. Let's see what he does with his weeklies in multiple markets, and what he does with his on-line presence before we accuse him of "cashing out".

We'll also see what Clear Channel paid, and what they program. We'll see how well they serve the Boston market. My guess is that The Phoenix will do a better job of servicing the Boston audience than Clear Channel in the long run. The influx of cash from the sale to Clear Channel will likely make that possible.

And, if he does "cash out", how about thanking him for a 30-year run? I'm pretty sure I'd rather see what he does with that money than what the Mays boys and Baine Capital would do to fritter it away.

 

[TheBigA]

According to the article, Mindich wasn't shopping the station. Clear Channel approached him. He asked for - and got - other offers once Clear Channel started the process.

That wasn't "according to the article," but rather according to the internal email sent to former employees. The owner didn't respond to requests for interviews. So there are a lot of unanswered questions about exactly what happened.

But sure, let's thank him for employing people for 25 years, and abruptly firing them the minute he gets a good offer. If it was anyone else doing the firing, you'd be howling.

 

[SirRoxalot]

There's a big difference between what a single owner can do, and what a major corporation with hundreds of stations can do. We also don't know what his total financial situation is, but I'll bet he's not as flush as Bain Capital.

I don't know the terms of separation for those employees, do you? If he just cut them lose with no severance, then shame on him. I'll bet that he didn't have guards walk them out, then box up their stuff and send it to them later.

 

[chas108]

It's tough in this current day to compete when the big boys are offering cluster packages to advertisers that offer a better cost-per-point than a single-station operator. I think the only way to be profitable is to take a smaller-market approach: by building relationships with enough mom-and-pop advertisers to haul the freight. If you get an agency buy then great but that's not your bread and butter.

Thing is, I'd imagine 'FNX - in ultra-liberal Boston - would have had that routine down pat.

I don't know the terms of separation for those employees, do you? If he just cut them lose with no severance, then shame on him.

I'd like to think he had some severance agreement, even if it was only to save face. Unless as speculated he's selling the paper too.

I did read that he's getting clear out of broadcasting, selling 92.1 in Peterborough, NH (which I don't believe is far from Lunenberg, MA, Sandy Beach fans!) and a number of other properties in NH and Maine. FWIW, I've driven thru Peterborough, most of the flame-throwin' Boston signals like Kiss 108 are easily heard there so hyper-local or some specialty format is the only way to fly there.

This, to me, is one of those instances where no one is cheering and the "bad guy" may well be Mindich himself, cashing out after years of "standing up to the man". Whether CC does any better at serving the local audience is respectfully irrelevant. If enough PPMs pick up the station it's a success, whether we see it as such or not. A station like 'FNX is ultimately the romanticized version of what we all want radio to be. Remarkable that it got to be reality for as long as it did.

 

[BJC]

Your thinking is correct Chas BUT the problem with the small markets is there are no mon & pops left. Look at any main street in a small town. Most small business driven out by Walymart. The big boys didn't kill radio in small markets, WALYMART DID.

 

[chas108]

Your thinking is correct Chas BUT the problem with the small markets is there are no mon & pops left. Look at any main street in a small town. Most small business driven out by Walymart. The big boys didn't kill radio in small markets, WALYMART DID.

There are two schools of thought...the other is small towns adapting by opening specialty shops and other businesses, offering products and services Wally can't or won't.

I've seen examples of both schools. Brattleboro VT/Hinsdale NH is an example of the latter. There it helps that for everyone who shops at Walmart there's someone else who won't set foot in one and they spend their $$ in local alternatives.

One thing Walmart did that hurt small-town radio...besides the obvious extinction of small businesses...is the fact that for many years, their radio advertising dollars went to national/network exclusively.

But my contention is that even if Wally and the other big-box stores never existed, the simple fact remains that the FCC handed out licenses like PEZ candies from a dispenser and the increased competition lowered ad rates - in real dollars - over a period of decades. A :60 spot today isn't worth what it was 40 years ago.

 

[TheBigA]

There are two schools of thought...the other is small towns adapting by opening specialty shops and other businesses, offering products and services Wally can't or won't.

Then you have to ask if those specialty shops can afford to pay for radio spots, or if specialty shops are interested in reaching a mass audience.

 

[chas108]

There are two schools of thought...the other is small towns adapting by opening specialty shops and other businesses, offering products and services Wally can't or won't.

Then you have to ask if those specialty shops can afford to pay for radio spots, or if specialty shops are interested in reaching a mass audience.

And therein lies another issue, A... No hard-and-fast answer...it's all case-by-case. AE's had better be really good with their qualitative data or they're gonna do a whole lotta overselling and underdelivering. Which a lot of them do anyway (insert rimshot here)