Post by bossradio93 on Oct 24, 2003 22:14:52 GMT -5
Rush is a Big Pussy (Part 3)
3) Clear Channel is an evil empire. Or at the very least a greedy and inconsiderate empire.
Following Limbaugh's keynote speech, the NAB hosted a "super-session" with the heads of two of the biggest radio chains in the business--John Hogan, president and COO of Clear Channel, and Joel Hollander, president and COO of Infinity Broadcasting--along with bigwigs from a few smaller radio groups.
The "super session" was hosted by none other than Sean Hannity, whose radio show supposedly reaches 10 million listeners. The convention's program guide billed this as a "must-attend" event. And so I did.
The dialogue was largely self-congratulatory, with the consensus among the executives being that monopolization is a good thing and listeners have more variety on the airwaves than ever. The only criticism the executives had for each other was that they have not done a good enough job explaining to the public all the good and charitable things they do.
After an hour of patting each other on the back--and Hannity's unctuous mugging and shameless ass-kissing--they took audience questions. There were several hundred in attendance--mostly anyone who's anyone in radio management. The litany of complaints about Clear Channel's monopolistic practices is no doubt well-known to anyone who has bothered to read this far.
Clear Channel haters aren't just the listeners and musicians who blame the radio group for the fact that radio sucks. There's also a lot of anger within the industry, from competitors bushwhacked by what they consider unfair trade practices, from people who lost their jobs as a result of the recent flurry of mergers and acquisitions, and from the many who chafe under the media giant's oppressive corporate yoke. But nobody in the room would dare stand up and say as much. Certainly not anyone banking on a future in radio.
Nobody, that is, except one man who had nothing left to lose, who was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, who had the courage to stand up and say the emperor has no clothes. His name is Pat Clawson, a 30-year broadcast veteran who worked for NBC and CNN, and spent seven years as Washington bureau chief for the industry bible, Radio and Records. In short, he knows the business.
Despite Hannity's repeated attempts to silence him, Clawson dressed down Clear Channel's Hogan something fierce for shirking radio's obligation to serve the public interest, concluding with, "I'm going to tell you straight to your face, sir: You people are utterly shameless."
Hogan refused to address Clawson's remarks in front of the audience, saying he'd be happy to discuss it in person, which he did, sort of. After the "super session," Hogan came out with couple of his PR flacks, and he and Clawson went off and had a brief private conversation. I tried to eavesdrop, but all I could hear was one of the Clear Channel flacks say to the other: "We should be on standby in case he wants to pass this off. John's attention span is 40 seconds."
After a few minutes of what looked like a heated exchange, Hogan started to walk away. Clawson tried to shake his hand. Hogan refused.
Asked if Hogan addressed his grievances, Clawson said, "No. He just told me I shouldn't have challenged him in front of all these people." He shrugged. "Look, I've been in broadcasting for 30 years, and I know bulls--- when I smell it, and all I was hearing here and smelling was bulls--- coming off the stage."
Having covered the economics of radio for three decades, Clawson said he has a pretty good understanding of how things got to this point. When Congress passed the Telecommunications Act in 1996, for all practical purposes it lifted the limits on the number of stations that a single company could own. Clear Channel was quick to take advantage.
"They had the capital, and frankly they did what any smart businessman would do--aggressively expand," Clawson said. "There's nothing wrong with that--it's the American way. But it's disingenuous for Clear Channel or Infinity to say that there are still 3,000 owners in the radio market. In the top 50 markets, which is what national advertisers look at, it's been consolidated down to two or three major players. What Clear Channel has done--and this is not any evil plan--is buy up oceanfront property in the top 50 markets, giving them a hammerlock position for revenue."
Clawson said the consequences for the public have been dramatic because of the drastic reduction in locally originated broadcasting coming out of these communities. It caused news departments to shut down and local talk radio to disappear, replaced by a syndicated product that has little to do with local issues.
"Clear Channel has been at the forefront of that," Clawson said. "That doesn't make Clear Channel an evil company. They're simply taking advantage of the regulatory opportunities afforded them. But I believe broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. The airwaves belong to the people. [Clear Channel and Infinity] simply rent them for a period of time."
Clawson then mentioned a meeting he attended the day before for three hours--one filled with the major radio group owners, the major bankers and the major investors. "All I heard," he says, "was discussion about cash flow, station-trading multiples [the price of a station divided by its annual cash flow] and financing terms. Never once in three hours was the phrase 'public interest' mentioned."[/i]
End of Part 3
Source: Los Angeles Radio People
3) Clear Channel is an evil empire. Or at the very least a greedy and inconsiderate empire.
Following Limbaugh's keynote speech, the NAB hosted a "super-session" with the heads of two of the biggest radio chains in the business--John Hogan, president and COO of Clear Channel, and Joel Hollander, president and COO of Infinity Broadcasting--along with bigwigs from a few smaller radio groups.
The "super session" was hosted by none other than Sean Hannity, whose radio show supposedly reaches 10 million listeners. The convention's program guide billed this as a "must-attend" event. And so I did.
The dialogue was largely self-congratulatory, with the consensus among the executives being that monopolization is a good thing and listeners have more variety on the airwaves than ever. The only criticism the executives had for each other was that they have not done a good enough job explaining to the public all the good and charitable things they do.
After an hour of patting each other on the back--and Hannity's unctuous mugging and shameless ass-kissing--they took audience questions. There were several hundred in attendance--mostly anyone who's anyone in radio management. The litany of complaints about Clear Channel's monopolistic practices is no doubt well-known to anyone who has bothered to read this far.
Clear Channel haters aren't just the listeners and musicians who blame the radio group for the fact that radio sucks. There's also a lot of anger within the industry, from competitors bushwhacked by what they consider unfair trade practices, from people who lost their jobs as a result of the recent flurry of mergers and acquisitions, and from the many who chafe under the media giant's oppressive corporate yoke. But nobody in the room would dare stand up and say as much. Certainly not anyone banking on a future in radio.
Nobody, that is, except one man who had nothing left to lose, who was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, who had the courage to stand up and say the emperor has no clothes. His name is Pat Clawson, a 30-year broadcast veteran who worked for NBC and CNN, and spent seven years as Washington bureau chief for the industry bible, Radio and Records. In short, he knows the business.
Despite Hannity's repeated attempts to silence him, Clawson dressed down Clear Channel's Hogan something fierce for shirking radio's obligation to serve the public interest, concluding with, "I'm going to tell you straight to your face, sir: You people are utterly shameless."
Hogan refused to address Clawson's remarks in front of the audience, saying he'd be happy to discuss it in person, which he did, sort of. After the "super session," Hogan came out with couple of his PR flacks, and he and Clawson went off and had a brief private conversation. I tried to eavesdrop, but all I could hear was one of the Clear Channel flacks say to the other: "We should be on standby in case he wants to pass this off. John's attention span is 40 seconds."
After a few minutes of what looked like a heated exchange, Hogan started to walk away. Clawson tried to shake his hand. Hogan refused.
Asked if Hogan addressed his grievances, Clawson said, "No. He just told me I shouldn't have challenged him in front of all these people." He shrugged. "Look, I've been in broadcasting for 30 years, and I know bulls--- when I smell it, and all I was hearing here and smelling was bulls--- coming off the stage."
Having covered the economics of radio for three decades, Clawson said he has a pretty good understanding of how things got to this point. When Congress passed the Telecommunications Act in 1996, for all practical purposes it lifted the limits on the number of stations that a single company could own. Clear Channel was quick to take advantage.
"They had the capital, and frankly they did what any smart businessman would do--aggressively expand," Clawson said. "There's nothing wrong with that--it's the American way. But it's disingenuous for Clear Channel or Infinity to say that there are still 3,000 owners in the radio market. In the top 50 markets, which is what national advertisers look at, it's been consolidated down to two or three major players. What Clear Channel has done--and this is not any evil plan--is buy up oceanfront property in the top 50 markets, giving them a hammerlock position for revenue."
Clawson said the consequences for the public have been dramatic because of the drastic reduction in locally originated broadcasting coming out of these communities. It caused news departments to shut down and local talk radio to disappear, replaced by a syndicated product that has little to do with local issues.
"Clear Channel has been at the forefront of that," Clawson said. "That doesn't make Clear Channel an evil company. They're simply taking advantage of the regulatory opportunities afforded them. But I believe broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest. The airwaves belong to the people. [Clear Channel and Infinity] simply rent them for a period of time."
Clawson then mentioned a meeting he attended the day before for three hours--one filled with the major radio group owners, the major bankers and the major investors. "All I heard," he says, "was discussion about cash flow, station-trading multiples [the price of a station divided by its annual cash flow] and financing terms. Never once in three hours was the phrase 'public interest' mentioned."[/i]
End of Part 3
Source: Los Angeles Radio People