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WRMM's Dee Alexander Gets The Boot
- Thread starter Mark Giardina
- Start date
S
scooterodell
Guest
Is the "Stephens Media Group" the same Tulsa outfit that bought those stations in Watertown? I can't find much about them on the interweb.
I was informed that this is a family operation and they own stations in, or near Albany.scooterodell said:Is the "Stephens Media Group" the same Tulsa outfit that bought those stations in Watertown? I can't find much about them on the interweb.
S
scooterodell
Guest
I just got confirmation from an employee at the Watertown cluster that was purchased from Regent last year that it is indeed the same outfit. Most sources reported the company at that time as "KXOJ." Very, very interesting.
WHAM TV is also reporting that newsman Bob Kirk was let go from 93.3. However I believe that Kirk works for Entercom so he still has a job at WBEE.
Big News
Entercom's sale of the Rochester "trust group" is indeed big news. That precludes any DOJ swap of WRRM for WCMF, which means that Entercom will have to compete with Wease once his non-compete is up.
If Entercom fired Dee at the new owner's behest, you might wonder if they contemplate bringing her on board one of their own stations - at a reduced salary, of course. Might she fit on Buzz, maybe in mid-days, and move Pete Kennedy to PM Drive?
Entercom's sale of the Rochester "trust group" is indeed big news. That precludes any DOJ swap of WRRM for WCMF, which means that Entercom will have to compete with Wease once his non-compete is up.
If Entercom fired Dee at the new owner's behest, you might wonder if they contemplate bringing her on board one of their own stations - at a reduced salary, of course. Might she fit on Buzz, maybe in mid-days, and move Pete Kennedy to PM Drive?
B
Bob1370
Guest
Let's see...the first thing the new owner does when he hits town is screw up the chemistry of one of the most successful morning shows in the market, showing a complete lack of knowledge of said market as he looks only at the cost side of the ledger and not the revenue producing side.
Brilliant.
Disturb the delicate balance of a smoothly running and popular morning show and you run the risk of audience erosion, with revenue erosion (far beyond whatever costs you saved) following close behind.
I don't see either Tony or Dee winding up at one of the stations remaining in Entercom's portfolio since it's hard to see where either one would fit at BEE, CMF, Buzz or PXY (unless they plan instead to move them as a team to Star 102 in Buffalo, where their act would probably work well in either morning or afternoon drive). But how long do you think it'll take for Clear Channel to find a place for Dee Alexander in their local cluster with the idea of disrupting the competitive balance, like they found for Wease? And how long does Tony Infantino's contract run before he can be hired away and the team re-united?
Some broadcasters eventually learn (the hard way) from their mistakes, swallow their pride and undo them. CBS blew up WCBS-FM in NYC but then, after the inevitable bad results, rebuilt it all over again, with the inevitable good results, two years later. Took a little longer for WOR to realize its error in blowing up a successful morning show (seven years) but this week they rehired John Gambling for his old shift. Growth will certainly follow.
Anyone want to take bets on how soon this move at 101.3 in Rochester will be undone, if not by Warm then by a competitor?
Brilliant.
Disturb the delicate balance of a smoothly running and popular morning show and you run the risk of audience erosion, with revenue erosion (far beyond whatever costs you saved) following close behind.
I don't see either Tony or Dee winding up at one of the stations remaining in Entercom's portfolio since it's hard to see where either one would fit at BEE, CMF, Buzz or PXY (unless they plan instead to move them as a team to Star 102 in Buffalo, where their act would probably work well in either morning or afternoon drive). But how long do you think it'll take for Clear Channel to find a place for Dee Alexander in their local cluster with the idea of disrupting the competitive balance, like they found for Wease? And how long does Tony Infantino's contract run before he can be hired away and the team re-united?
Some broadcasters eventually learn (the hard way) from their mistakes, swallow their pride and undo them. CBS blew up WCBS-FM in NYC but then, after the inevitable bad results, rebuilt it all over again, with the inevitable good results, two years later. Took a little longer for WOR to realize its error in blowing up a successful morning show (seven years) but this week they rehired John Gambling for his old shift. Growth will certainly follow.
Anyone want to take bets on how soon this move at 101.3 in Rochester will be undone, if not by Warm then by a competitor?
I heard the news about Dee Alexander while driving back to Rochester from a business meeting in Buffalo. What first crossed my mind is that executives at Clear Channel and Entercom must be at a local watering hole, chugging down a few, and having a jolly good time knowing that the new owners of WRMM just broke up the team that was responsible for making the station money, plus providing decent ratings over the past few years.
Personally I think the smart move would be for the owners of Legends 102 to hire Dee as part of their morning team. She would bring to the station name recognition and certainly increase the ratings and revenue. The only problem is that Crawford won't come close to offering what Dee was making at WRMM. I'm willing to bet that Dee's salary alone is more than what Legends pays its entire staff. Anyways it was just an idea.
While I’m sure there will be a flood of posts on here concerning this latest “bloodletting” in Rochester radio, the fact is that in today’s media it’s not how long a person has been on the air, or how much money they’ve made for a station, it all boils down to the bottom line. The new owners at WRMM came in; saw how much Tony & Dee were paid, and decided they couldn’t, or wouldn’t afford both of them. I mean where else could they cut? Certainly not at the other two FM stations which garner little ratings and are mostly automated. Getting rid of Bob Kirk was no loss because he’s still working for Entercom and was on Fickle just as a news reader. Will Dee Alexander resurface on another Rochester radio station? Hard to say! Will she and Tony team up again? Another question that can’t be answered. But this latest layoff proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the days of radio announcers pulling down six-figure salaries is at an end; at least here in Rochester. At this rate commercial radio talent will be making the same amount of money as their counterparts in public radio, if not less.
Personally I think the smart move would be for the owners of Legends 102 to hire Dee as part of their morning team. She would bring to the station name recognition and certainly increase the ratings and revenue. The only problem is that Crawford won't come close to offering what Dee was making at WRMM. I'm willing to bet that Dee's salary alone is more than what Legends pays its entire staff. Anyways it was just an idea.
While I’m sure there will be a flood of posts on here concerning this latest “bloodletting” in Rochester radio, the fact is that in today’s media it’s not how long a person has been on the air, or how much money they’ve made for a station, it all boils down to the bottom line. The new owners at WRMM came in; saw how much Tony & Dee were paid, and decided they couldn’t, or wouldn’t afford both of them. I mean where else could they cut? Certainly not at the other two FM stations which garner little ratings and are mostly automated. Getting rid of Bob Kirk was no loss because he’s still working for Entercom and was on Fickle just as a news reader. Will Dee Alexander resurface on another Rochester radio station? Hard to say! Will she and Tony team up again? Another question that can’t be answered. But this latest layoff proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the days of radio announcers pulling down six-figure salaries is at an end; at least here in Rochester. At this rate commercial radio talent will be making the same amount of money as their counterparts in public radio, if not less.
Bob1370 said:I don't see either Tony or Dee winding up at one of the stations remaining in Entercom's portfolio since it's hard to see where either one would fit at BEE, CMF, Buzz or PXY (unless they plan instead to move them as a team to Star 102 in Buffalo, where their act would probably work well in either morning or afternoon drive).
No need for this. Star is doing quite nicely as is. Quite nicely. Sounds like a money move, pure and simple. They're betting on Tony. A hedged bet, and perhaps stupid, but a gamble nonetheless. Hard question: Where's she gonna go and make the money she made? Nowhere. Just look at what E'com did with Kan-o and Kennedy. It's a cold business. Or is that just "bad?"
J
JournalGuy
Guest
I will tell you that they are small market broadcasters at best. KXOJ is licensed to a suburb of Tulsa. It ran as a Sapulpa radio station for many years. They got lucky when their main competitor went away several years ago. Salem's Love 98.5.
It is a family owned company, but they treat their employees poorly. Very high turnover at KXOJ in the last two years. Only one original person is still on the airstaff. Please don't insult the Tulsa market by associating Stephens with the other broadcasters here. ha!
They run Christian Radio stations but they don't act like Christians. Not sure how welcome they will be in the NE.
It is a family owned company, but they treat their employees poorly. Very high turnover at KXOJ in the last two years. Only one original person is still on the airstaff. Please don't insult the Tulsa market by associating Stephens with the other broadcasters here. ha!
They run Christian Radio stations but they don't act like Christians. Not sure how welcome they will be in the NE.
Personally I'm all for some new blood in the market no matter what the cost. I've been bored with T&D for a while. These Stephens guys must have done something right to be able to spend $13mil and I've never known a station to "luck" their competition into leaving the market.
Kevin
Kevin
$13-Million?
$13-million? Where did the $13-million come from? Was that the selling price for the mini-cluster? If so, it's a steal.
$13-million? Where did the $13-million come from? Was that the selling price for the mini-cluster? If so, it's a steal.
Rox, Tom Taylor reports the deal was for somewhere around 15 million, about half of what Entercom was hoping to get originally.
Brilliant move by the new owners to blow up the morning show on the most successful station (read:money maker) in the deal. Sometimes, you just have to wonder...
Brilliant move by the new owners to blow up the morning show on the most successful station (read:money maker) in the deal. Sometimes, you just have to wonder...
Re-Booting
$15M is still a steal - at least according to the valuations that brought radio to its knees in the recent past.
That makes the cost-cutting move on Dee Alexander even a little more puzzling, unless her paycheck was completely out of line.
I expect that Stephens will also boot the active rock format on The Zone. Sports talk might be an interesting idea for Rochester, although a Christian format on FM might pay better. I'm sure we'll also hear proposals for ethnic programming, lib-talk on FM, and others. There are a host of options for them to choose from. You have a niche signal, and a niche format would fit it perfectly.
$15M is still a steal - at least according to the valuations that brought radio to its knees in the recent past.
That makes the cost-cutting move on Dee Alexander even a little more puzzling, unless her paycheck was completely out of line.
I expect that Stephens will also boot the active rock format on The Zone. Sports talk might be an interesting idea for Rochester, although a Christian format on FM might pay better. I'm sure we'll also hear proposals for ethnic programming, lib-talk on FM, and others. There are a host of options for them to choose from. You have a niche signal, and a niche format would fit it perfectly.
R
Radio55
Guest
You mean to tell me there is actually a radio station called Fickle 93.3? How appropriate. But seriously, some of the names these blockheads come up with for radio stations makes me roll my eyes. I don't know much about the Stephens operation other than they have been around forever in the Tulsa market, they have stuck with a format they know and they've made it work. You gotta hand it to them for that. Some owners feel they have to come in and immediately change things before they really get their hands around a station operation. I've always questioned this--always seems to backfire.
Local tv all reporting 13.25mil purchase price, naming some broker as source, so I think that is accurate.
B
BehindTheLines
Guest
Stephens' little 6 thousand watt KXOJ regularly exceeds the performance of Cox's 50 thousand watt Tulsa CCM in ratings and revenue. Let's give them credit where credit is due.
R
Radio55
Guest
I remember listening to Mike Stephens doing Sapulpa football on AM 1550 decades ago (back to the 70's). I think the KXOJ call letters have been around for 30-plus years.
I admire them for the heritage they have in their station--and for using CALL LETTERS.... Yep, I'm old fashioned.
I admire them for the heritage they have in their station--and for using CALL LETTERS.... Yep, I'm old fashioned.
G
G Thompson
Guest
Hey, Journalguy.
I worked for Stephens in Tulsa two different times totaling 6 years. They gave me a good shot at doing some good radio, payed me well and treated me well. The turnover there in the last two years has been people moving up in their careers for the most part. The reasons they have moved on is because Stephens gave them a platform to improve themselves and go on the bigger things. Ask anyone who worked there recently and they'll tell you it was a good experience.
Three of us guys who have left within the last two years have gone on to become PD's in the format of our choice. The other two guys who left did so only because their Tulsa rock station flipped formats.
Those who have worked there who came into the Stephens company with good attitudes have good things to say about working for the Stephens.
The only people who complain are the ones who were insubordinate and who came into the company with their OWN agendas from the start. No company's management style is perfect. I've worked for the big corporate boys and I've worked for the small, family owned companies like Stephens.
The Stephens aren't into coddling people and playing ego games, I'll give you that. Many a jock (myself included) has had their ego bruised while working there because they didn't get patted on the head as much as they would like to. But that's about the only complaint I had at the time. Looking back, it's not even a complaint anymore. They helped me become who I am today. They won't baby your ego. In the end, I came to appreciate their honesty in dealing with me while I worked there. It made me a better broadcaster and helped me grow up a little bit. They shoot straight with their people and you know exactly where you stand with them. Plus, frankly they pay better than their secular competitors in Tulsa.
I worked for Stephens in Tulsa two different times totaling 6 years. They gave me a good shot at doing some good radio, payed me well and treated me well. The turnover there in the last two years has been people moving up in their careers for the most part. The reasons they have moved on is because Stephens gave them a platform to improve themselves and go on the bigger things. Ask anyone who worked there recently and they'll tell you it was a good experience.
Three of us guys who have left within the last two years have gone on to become PD's in the format of our choice. The other two guys who left did so only because their Tulsa rock station flipped formats.
Those who have worked there who came into the Stephens company with good attitudes have good things to say about working for the Stephens.
The only people who complain are the ones who were insubordinate and who came into the company with their OWN agendas from the start. No company's management style is perfect. I've worked for the big corporate boys and I've worked for the small, family owned companies like Stephens.
The Stephens aren't into coddling people and playing ego games, I'll give you that. Many a jock (myself included) has had their ego bruised while working there because they didn't get patted on the head as much as they would like to. But that's about the only complaint I had at the time. Looking back, it's not even a complaint anymore. They helped me become who I am today. They won't baby your ego. In the end, I came to appreciate their honesty in dealing with me while I worked there. It made me a better broadcaster and helped me grow up a little bit. They shoot straight with their people and you know exactly where you stand with them. Plus, frankly they pay better than their secular competitors in Tulsa.
B
BehindTheLines
Guest
Are there any airchecks of Dee on the web anywhere?
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