S_A_Longhorn
01-21-2009, 11:00 AM
Source: http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/Radio_giant_lays_off_9_of_workers.html
San Antonio-based broadcasting company Clear Channel Communications Inc. on Tuesday cut 1,850 jobs, or about 9 percent of its total work force, according to a memo Chief Executive Officer Mark Mays sent to employees.
The company is making a “significant portion” of the cuts in its ad-sales department as it reacts to the current recession, Mays said. However, he added that the pullback spans all departments in its corporate, radio and outdoor advertising divisions.
“As I've mentioned previously, we are facing an unprecedented time of distress in the general economy — and the ripple effects have hit some of our largest customers hard,” Mays said in the memo. “Today, we had the unpleasant task of bringing our Outdoor and Radio business' staffing in line with these challenging economic conditions.”
Company spokeswoman Michele Clark wouldn't elaborate on the restructuring effort or disclose how many San Antonio workers were laid off.
But sources familiar with the situation said Clear Channel laid off at least 12 people at its San Antonio stations, including WOAI sports director Walter Pasacrita. Most of the job cuts were sales positions.
Locally, Clear Channel has its corporate offices and seven radio stations it operates. The stations are KAJA-FM, KQXT-FM, KRPT-FM, KTKR-AM, KXXM-FM, KZEP-FM and WOAI-AM, according to its Web site.
Last week, both the Wall Street Journal and New York Post reported that the company planned to lay off workers as it looked to trim $400 million in expenses. Both papers citied unnamed people familiar with the situation.
Clear Channel's owners Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners spent more than $18 billion to take over the company in July. Like others in the media industry, the company has struggled with diminished ad revenues as the economy flounders.
“There have been a lot of layoffs in the radio and TV industry,” said David Joyce, analyst for Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. “This wouldn't just be specific to Clear Channel. It's really an industrywide event.”
Although Mays' memo makes no mention of it, the Journal reported that Clear Channel plans to replace locally produced content with more syndicated content as part of the restructuring.
The company already beams former “American Idol” Ryan Seacrest's morning show to several of its markets. And on Tuesday, it launched a syndicated Spanish-language morning show hosted by Hispanic radio icon Humberto Luna.
Publication Radio Online reported 16 terminations of Clear Channel radio station managers and on-air personalities around the country. Among them, Gabe Hobbs, a senior vice president of programming for the company's news, talk and sports stations.
Sharing content between Clear Channel stations makes sense for the company as it looks to trim expenses, Miller Tabak's Joyce said. However, he said listeners — and therefore advertisers — could defect if stations lose too much of their individual flavor.
“They obviously have to be careful they don't lose the localism of the media,” Joyce said.
Even before the recession, Clear Channel and other radio groups fought to keep their audiences as music lovers increasingly turned to satellite and Internet radio and devices such as iPods. The company also has taken heat from community groups and music fans for moving away from local programming.
Faced with falling ad revenues, the company may have an easier time using syndicated programs at its music stations than at its talk- and news-oriented properties, said William Christ, a Trinity University media studies professor.
“In Clear Channel's case, most of their stations aren't news, they're music,” Christ said. “Music can be centralized a lot easier than news.”
Sorry to read about anyone losing their job. I've always been a fan of Walter and his sports talk shows. Sad ending to a long career for the New Yorker transplanted to SA.
But that bring up a question......why does Peter Burns & Mike Taylor still have their jobs???
The second part I bolded I found interesting. So CC is going to make radio stations more syndicated. How is that going to improve a product by making it less local and more bland?
San Antonio-based broadcasting company Clear Channel Communications Inc. on Tuesday cut 1,850 jobs, or about 9 percent of its total work force, according to a memo Chief Executive Officer Mark Mays sent to employees.
The company is making a “significant portion” of the cuts in its ad-sales department as it reacts to the current recession, Mays said. However, he added that the pullback spans all departments in its corporate, radio and outdoor advertising divisions.
“As I've mentioned previously, we are facing an unprecedented time of distress in the general economy — and the ripple effects have hit some of our largest customers hard,” Mays said in the memo. “Today, we had the unpleasant task of bringing our Outdoor and Radio business' staffing in line with these challenging economic conditions.”
Company spokeswoman Michele Clark wouldn't elaborate on the restructuring effort or disclose how many San Antonio workers were laid off.
But sources familiar with the situation said Clear Channel laid off at least 12 people at its San Antonio stations, including WOAI sports director Walter Pasacrita. Most of the job cuts were sales positions.
Locally, Clear Channel has its corporate offices and seven radio stations it operates. The stations are KAJA-FM, KQXT-FM, KRPT-FM, KTKR-AM, KXXM-FM, KZEP-FM and WOAI-AM, according to its Web site.
Last week, both the Wall Street Journal and New York Post reported that the company planned to lay off workers as it looked to trim $400 million in expenses. Both papers citied unnamed people familiar with the situation.
Clear Channel's owners Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners spent more than $18 billion to take over the company in July. Like others in the media industry, the company has struggled with diminished ad revenues as the economy flounders.
“There have been a lot of layoffs in the radio and TV industry,” said David Joyce, analyst for Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. “This wouldn't just be specific to Clear Channel. It's really an industrywide event.”
Although Mays' memo makes no mention of it, the Journal reported that Clear Channel plans to replace locally produced content with more syndicated content as part of the restructuring.
The company already beams former “American Idol” Ryan Seacrest's morning show to several of its markets. And on Tuesday, it launched a syndicated Spanish-language morning show hosted by Hispanic radio icon Humberto Luna.
Publication Radio Online reported 16 terminations of Clear Channel radio station managers and on-air personalities around the country. Among them, Gabe Hobbs, a senior vice president of programming for the company's news, talk and sports stations.
Sharing content between Clear Channel stations makes sense for the company as it looks to trim expenses, Miller Tabak's Joyce said. However, he said listeners — and therefore advertisers — could defect if stations lose too much of their individual flavor.
“They obviously have to be careful they don't lose the localism of the media,” Joyce said.
Even before the recession, Clear Channel and other radio groups fought to keep their audiences as music lovers increasingly turned to satellite and Internet radio and devices such as iPods. The company also has taken heat from community groups and music fans for moving away from local programming.
Faced with falling ad revenues, the company may have an easier time using syndicated programs at its music stations than at its talk- and news-oriented properties, said William Christ, a Trinity University media studies professor.
“In Clear Channel's case, most of their stations aren't news, they're music,” Christ said. “Music can be centralized a lot easier than news.”
Sorry to read about anyone losing their job. I've always been a fan of Walter and his sports talk shows. Sad ending to a long career for the New Yorker transplanted to SA.
But that bring up a question......why does Peter Burns & Mike Taylor still have their jobs???
The second part I bolded I found interesting. So CC is going to make radio stations more syndicated. How is that going to improve a product by making it less local and more bland?