WBEN/TOM BAUERLE NEGOTIATIONS

[Bob1370]

"In today's broadcasting environment it doesn't matter how good someone is. A number of companies have placed a limit on salaries and benefits. Many of these same companies have also replaced people with others who will work for less.

It all comes to the bottom line folks"

If lesser quality, low cost programming is supposedly best for the bottom line, why is Citadel dead, why did Clear Channel have to drastically downsize its station portfolio to keep its financial head above water, why did Regency have to sell to Townsquare at a cut price--and conversely, why is CBS, which is still spending serious money on programming, swimming in money?

Just askin'...

 

[TheBigA]

In the case of CBS, there are some limitations on how much they'll spend, as evidenced by the fact that they're no longer in Buffalo.

In terms of quality, if Bauerle is so good that Entercom can't let him go, but they also can't afford him, the usual solution is to spread his salary over several stations through syndication. That's what happens in market after market. The question is: Does that kill the golden goose? That's a decision he has to make, if the offer is made.

 

[Element9]

...if Bauerle is so good that Entercom can't let him go, but they also can't afford him, the usual solution is to spread his salary over several stations through syndication. That's what happens in market after market. The question is: Does that kill the golden goose? That's a decision he has to make, if the offer is made.

Let's see, in how many Entercom markets would Bauerle's act work? Rochester? Already there on 107.7 FM. The two markets aren't simpatico, even though they could be, given Rochester's economy as of late. Greenville? Scranton-Wiles Barre? Boston? Nope. To Bauerle's credit, he talks about Buffalo stuff. There's enough to go around and he pushes the right buttons. Because of this, his act wouldn't fly in any other Entercom market. He wouldn't be playing to his strength.

And then there's Buffalo "flat 'a'." Yeah, that would go over great in Boston, Pennsylvania and southern markets. Car = Care. Not cah. Not core. [/sarcasm]

 

[TheBigA]

To Bauerle's credit, he talks about Buffalo stuff. There's enough to go around and he pushes the right buttons. Because of this, his act wouldn't fly in any other Entercom market. He wouldn't be playing to his strength.

That's why I ask, would it kill the golden goose. So then he needs to learn to live within the economies of market #57. Simple.

 

[jas2525]

To Bauerle's credit, he talks about Buffalo stuff. There's enough to go around and he pushes the right buttons. Because of this, his act wouldn't fly in any other Entercom market. He wouldn't be playing to his strength.

That's why I ask, would it kill the golden goose. So then he needs to learn to live within the economies of market #57. Simple.

If I was the GM, I would try to get that exact message across. You cannot expect to keep extracting payraises in a market that is shrinking in size and revenue. It really is simple economics.

Let's be honest: When was the last time Bauerle was actually in the job market? The early 90's? It's a very different radio world now. Don't pull a Jackie Martling.

 

[TheBigA]

If I was the GM, I would try to get that exact message across. You cannot expect to keep extracting payraises in a market that is shrinking in size and revenue. It really is simple economics.

If you like what you do, and you're in a market you like, and your family is comfortable, then it becomes more of a lifestyle decision than a career decision. If it's a career decision, then it's time to look for a bigger market, with the risk that the act may not translate. From what I can see, a lot of Buffalonians have faced this exact crossroads.

 

[Mark Giardina]

If lesser quality, low cost programming is supposedly best for the bottom line, why is Citadel dead, why did Clear Channel have to drastically downsize its station portfolio to keep its financial head above water, why did Regency have to sell to Townsquare at a cut price--and conversely, why is CBS, which is still spending serious money on programming, swimming in money?

Just askin'...

Because idiots run those companies. ;D

 

[makeradiowaves]

@Element- Howard Stern has a New York accent and it does not seemed to have hurt him.

 

[rdcuffpa1]

@Element- Howard Stern has a New York accent and it does not seemed to have hurt him.

Stern's NYC accent is not at all strong...in comparison to, say, that of the average incoming UB freshman.

The flat "A" is a funny thing.

Slightly OT TV story - the first time I heard KYW-TV3's new (at the time) meteorologist, Kathy Orr, I heard that unmistakeable Lower Lakes tone...I sent her an e-mail and she confirmed she was a Syracuse native, who went to Oswego, and who had family in WNY.

Is the WNY flat "A" objectionable? To some who watch for such things, perhaps...to many others, it isn't something they can hear...their ears aren't attuned to it.

Paraphrasing Bill Clinton, "It's the Content, Stupid!" -- the rest of the country doesn't care about the specific ills of Market #57, so Mr. Bauerle would have to change his tune.

Richard in Allentown, PA (ex-East Aurora, NY)

 

[Paul Lafferty]

Bauerle's

If bauerle's salary is in line with his ego he must be doing well. As much as I don't like like his show he is a master at just being outrageous enough to court controversy then he dials it back and does a show about buffalo or starts praising cops. Man if New York safe got repealed he would have to go down to a couple of days a week because that seems to be his only topic of late