[BC] Staffing levels

[Rich Wood]

------ At 11:58 PM 1/20/2008, WBRadiolists at aol.com wrote: -------

>This is what mystifies me so... has revenue to Radio dropped *that* much
>since then? HOW did stations do it in those days? Full staffs like 
>this aren't
>cheap, in *any* economy or Dollar value! So, HOW did they do it back 
>then, and
>why can't they do it now?

There are two reasons I can see. One is the reliability of 
contemporary equipment. It no longer requires a gaggle of engineers 
to keep a transmitter running. The second is the worship of Wall 
Street. Wall Street loves to see the firing of people. It makes the 
next quarter's earnings look much better. There's no long term for 
them. Ultimately, companies will suffer and Wall Street will abandon 
them after the top dudes cash in. Look at the current stock prices of 
some of the majors. Citadel, in particular, is taking a bath.

The Clear Channel attempt to go private seems to be stalled because 
the current price is below what the deal calls for. Rumors are 
swirling that Sam Zell and Randy Michaels may end up owning the 
company. Sweet revenge for Randy.

Consolidated radio today seems to be about getting the most money for 
the very few at the top as they attempt to go private. Once there's a 
bigger mortgage on the company we'll see even more firings, more 
voicetracking, smaller newsrooms and more stations added to each 
engineer's responsibility.

All this results in less interesting and less relevant radio. It also 
results in fewer listeners and lower revenue and makes us sitting 
ducks for new technologies. When was the last time you listened to 
mainstream radio and found yourself captivated by it? It's no longer showbiz.

Rich