Another Round Of Layoffs At Clear Channel

This trend is not limited to radio and CC but seems to be happening many places. It is just too expensive to have employees because of the overhead and it's going to get worse.

A few years ago one of the CC stations here was the market leader with local programming and reliable local news. This is gone now and the station is not listenable according to my son. I wouldn't know since I stopped tuning in when they dropped their local news staff.

Neil

At least you'll have some idea of what's going to happen, Johny.

This is what happens when big money consolidators come to town and buy up the original content producers.

They believe the mall boxed experiences imported from five states away sells just as well in your town as mine, although we are on different coasts, the weather is different and people are slightly oriented differently.

To combat all that, they produce blah, uninspired, neurtal noise and content about vapid emptiness.

They milk the money out of local businesses for ads. The listeners flee, the ad rates and ad uptake drop. They fill the slots with national rubbish. Soon the local talent is shown the studio exit door.

It is time to get these on air personalities together and form community stations and push the ugly corporations financially off the local dial.

Censoredship, you hit the nail on the head and that was proven back in 1963 or there about.

A Cleveland, Ohio TV station had an enormous hit on their hands, Ghoulardi! This show was a Shock Theater format that ran really crummy B movies. But, the host Ghoulardi gave the show better ratings than Johnny Carson could get (for those who remember Johnny) every Friday night.

The Cleveland Police Chief stated that crime statistics showed a dramatic drop every Friday night when Ghoulardi was on.

Ghoulardi's appeal was his irreverent style and the fact that he featured the local audience by filming public appearances and showing them on his show. His great claim to fame was his intimate involvement with his community. His humor was tailored to the ethnic communities that were his audience.

So what was the failure? The TV station had a "sister station" in Toledo or Chicago if I remember the story. They figured the show was such a success it would boost ratings for the "sister station" also. Wrong! There was no community contact. The humor was foreign to these people as it was Cleveland humor. The show didn't last more than a few months there.

So, just like you said "This is what happens when big money consolidators come to town and buy up the original content producers", content doesn't work everywhere.

Ghoulardi only lasted about 3 years as he grew tired of the format. But, as Ernie Anderson, he went on to become the highest paid network announcer (ABC) in history. We've all heard him say "The Love Boat". He did voice-overs for many radio and TV stations and was the voice of Bob Saggetts "Funniest Home Videos" for many years.

The Friday night show format did continue for another 37 years hosted primarily by Chuck Schidowski who teamed up with two other co-hosts over the years. After a short abscence, Big Chuck and Lil' John are back on the air running all the skits done over the last 40 years.

I personally knew, but will not name, certain big wig CEO guys including a radio station top man who would sit in a window overlooking the city and laugh about cruel things they thought to do to employees.

A favorite was to fire people right around Christmas.

Another manager put on a show for a top brass guy who came to town from corporate headquarters. He called his chief engineer into the office, dumped an ashtray of old cigars on the floor and told the engineer to clean it up.

We could think of cruel things to do to our staff. It would end there, because we don't have a staff. The cruelty is on us.

Have you seen the documentary produced regionally about Ghoulardi?

Pretty interesting piece. Since I am not from Cleveland and had never heard of it before.

Caught the documentary on Akron/Canton's PBS station that seems to cover a third of Ohio and leaks way into Pennsylvania.

There is a place for corporations and that place is limited life projects. Think Columbus sailing to the new world and a corporation in case of lawsuits, sunk ships, loss of life, etc. Corporations were never intended to have indefinite lives and free speech. Those are creations of the wealthy, slimy lawyers and activist judges --- the three main stooges that detest free speech and individual thought.

Most vile things "business" folks do wouldn't happen if they didn't have this corporate protection vail. Ditto for the qualified immunity governments hide behind, strip it and they'd be far more down to earth, accessible and may I say friendly.

Radio is one of those things like guns, the printing press, yes the internet and alcohol that government seems to fear the projected ability of. Thus, issuing non competitive, non threatening licenses to fat cats in schmancy suits who print money with the license and funnel that back in via "investments" to pensions, government holdings, etc.

Sinfully "private equity" is behind all these ugly deals. The stock in Clear Channel although market traded is 91% held by inside investors. What isn't owned by them is owned by other private equity companies.

Who knows how many stations Clear Channel owns? Hundreds to over a thousand. It's so bad when travelling say I-80 at night, that I can listen to Coast to Coast on 10 different frequencies. Ditto for Rush and their other network shows. So much for rules at the FCC about hording and sitting on frequencies or broadcasting same stuff on a slew of freqs.

Anyway, I have high hopes for ALPB and Part15 as a small, but active piece of the solution. Especially now that we have no real economy and people are axing every luxury just to afford food. Lots of line cutters out there, no more cable TV, no more internet and especially no more "satellite" radio.

Interest in traditional radio is set to grow.