OK, as much as we tried to put it off, we have to dig in and share the fallout from the massive Clear Channel restructuring - and how it affects Ohio, as news of yesterday's 9% layoff at the radio giant continues to trickle down.Or, as the trade website AllAccess headline says: "Now, 1850 People Have To Restructure Their Lives"...YOUNGSTOWN: We have some word of the cuts made Tuesday at Clear Channel's South Avenue compound in suburban Youngstown.OMW hears two on-air names let go were actually … [Read more...]
The Clear Channel Cuts Item
Posted on January 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment
This item will no longer be updated tonight.Due to circumstances beyond our control, Wednesday's first update may be a little later in the day than usual, perhaps later in the afternoon. We'll revisit "what we know" about this big day of bad employment news, add any updates, and return to our usual cycle of other news (there is some of it!) as well.But it'll won't be "first thing in the morning".=========We'll continue to update this item through the day, bringing it to the top of this blog as … [Read more...]
That Big Day Is Here
Posted on January 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment
We feel kind of short handed on this day, with major news breaking out all over, and just one person to keep track of it - your Primary Editorial Voice(tm).But we'll do our best...and please, if you hear anything, let us know...AS SCHEDULED: It's been rumored for weeks, and reported in major newspapers the past few days...and yes, it does appear radio giant Clear Channel has brought out the layoff axe.Trade websites are starting to line up the job cuts, which are expected to affect roughly 7 … [Read more...]
The Week Ahead
Posted on January 19, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Our Monday morning update is more about what's ahead, as opposed to what's behind. But the view ahead is kind of scary...MORE ON EXPECTED CC CUTS: There are now some numbers and details being attached to the reported first round of Clear Channel-related job cuts, thanks to the national media.Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal's Sarah McBride reported that the San Antonio-based radio giant is planning on "about 1,500 layoffs" on Tuesday, resulting in a loss of about 7 percent of the … [Read more...]
Closing Friday
Posted on January 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Many of the items below have to do with the upcoming transition to digital TV, which is currently scheduled for February 17th, 2009.But first, we've got an elephant in the middle of the room that we can't ignore...CLEAR CHANNEL RUMORS: We've touched on it before, briefly...the rumors that massive job cuts are in the works at Clear Channel clusters around the country, after an important managers' meeting in Dallas a while back.Since then, the radio rumor mill has pumped out January 20th - next … [Read more...]
Assorted Thursday
Posted on January 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Welcome to our Thursday random scattering of items...we'll try to make sure none of the scatter hits our readers directly!We don't want to injure anyone...GANNETT FURLOUGH: Media giant Gannett is forcing workers to take an unpaid week off, a move the company says is meant to reduce layoffs in this troubled economic world for the media.We first saw the item in a wire story posted on Frank Macek's "Director's Cut" blog for his employer, Gannett's NBC affiliate in Cleveland, WKYC/3.But the … [Read more...]
Rolling Into 2009
Posted on January 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment
And here it is...with the exception of our special "Breaking News" over the weekend - more on that later - our first regular update for 2009.Since we've been mostly gone since just before Christmas, it'll be a long one...SUNDAY NEWS: With TV groups looking to save money, the latest focus is on Sunday mornings.As we hinted earlier, Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 in Cleveland has indeed scrapped its Sunday morning edition of "FOX 8 News", which had been airing from 8 to 9 AM.We hear from our … [Read more...]
CBS Radio Starts Smaller Market Exit
Posted on December 15, 2008 · Leave a Comment
CBS Radio has made its first major move in the effort to vacate its clusters in sub-top-10 markets...by swapping.The company has started what apparently will be a slow exit from non-major markets by entering a multi-market swap with Clear Channel.In a deal made public today, Clear Channel picks up five CBS Radio outlets in four markets: Baltimore, Seattle, Portland (two stations) and Sacramento. In exchange, CBS gets two popular stations in top 10 market Houston. All of the outlets involved … [Read more...]
Toledo Media Job Dump
Posted on December 11, 2008 · Leave a Comment
In our earlier item about 13 jobs being cut at Raycom Media Cleveland CBS/MyNet affiliates WOIO/19-WUAB/43, we found that the cuts were nationwide for the Montgomery, Alabama-based TV chain.And we wondered about cuts at the other Raycom operations here in Ohio.We mentioned the company's FOX affiliate in Cincinnati, WXIX/19....where we still haven't heard anything about job losses. For that matter, neither has Jeremy Moses down at Tri-State Media Watch, who's still dealing with health … [Read more...]
Layoffs Hit Another Station
Posted on December 10, 2008 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 12/10/08 8:50 AM: Plain Dealer media columnist Julie Washington - who apparently escaped her own employer's recent layoff axe - confirms a number of the details in this PD story.Washington says "as many as 13" WOIO/WUAB employees were shown through the We Can't Afford You Anymore door, including "19 Action News" morning co-anchor Jeff Eliasoph, in what appears to be a nationwide cut of about 10 percent of station owner Raycom Media's staff.Eliasoph tells Washington that he didn't have … [Read more...]
