Since the 1996 consolidation, Clear Channel has run their organization as one that owns a lot of separate radio companies. With due regard to those who will lose their jobs, now Clear Channel can start being an organization that owns a lot of radio stations. They can, and likely will, consolidate operations ranging from programming to generating commercial logs to fewer locations, probably in non-union markets. When you think about it, if you have 50 country stations, why generate original programming 50 separate times when you can put your best talent on 50 stations?
There are those who say that local makes better radio. Is that really true? Look at the success of Ed - can that be considered a local station? What about Sirius/XM? Those listeners don't care about "local". Of course, if you want to hear centralized programming gone bad, then you have Clear Channel's 104.7 - a ghastly centralized presentation of what has been in the past a successful format.
Those who survive in this time of "change" will be the people who are versatile, and who step up to help their employer be successful in innovative ways. Sales "order takers", those who treat their radio opportunities as a 9 to 5 job, and anyone who does not find a way to DIRECTLY contribute to their stations' bottom line will be looking for other work.
Best of success to the creative and entrepreneurial radio people who realize the unique opportunity our time of change offers, and to the others, the best of success in your new careers outside radio.
