INK TANK

Let's All Beat Up on Clear Channel

Close to 2000 Clear Channel employees were laid off yesterday and everybody wants to beat up on Clear Channel. Clearly we all have a right to be ticked because no one wants to see jobs lost, no one wants to see these good people out of work. So, let's sling some mud about Clear Channel's decision years ago to pay high multiples. Lets spew some anger over their reduction of localism, lack of personality, voice tracking, creating national network day parts and a need to return to the good old days when radio was king. How about we shout obscenities over the management decisions they've made, which the entire industry followed.

Maybe I should be angry and spewing venom. But, I'm not. I'm in mourning.

This is not the time to be angry at Clear Channel or anyone. Though they (and others) have made their own bed by decisions made over the last 10 years, we can't look back. They did what they thought was the best thing for their business. The problems Clear Channel is experiencing are driven by the economy and the advertising depression. You can blame a lot of things on Clear Channel but in this case I don't see that they had any choice.

I mourn the loss of almost 2,000 jobs and I mourn for the good women and men who had to go home last night and tell their family. I cannot imagine their fear about how they will feed their families, how they will find work and how they will survive. I also mourn for our industry, which is suffering a major setback by this decision because radio needs more feet on the street, not fewer. Or so it would seem.

I also mourn for the executives at Clear Channel. Before you start throwing rocks, my guess is that this was the hardest decision Mark Mayes and John Hogan have ever made in their life. Perhaps you can be critical of them for many reasons, perhaps you can argue that they still have food on the table and money in the bank. No doubt. But I know these guys and I doubt that these decisions were taken lightly. My guess is that they suffered  sleepless nights and tried numerous alternatives before implementing this strategy. Perhaps you think there is an evil group at Lee Capital Partners and Bain and Company who see economy as a chance to reduce expenses unnecessarily and increase margins, but my guess is that even these guys would have chosen any other alternative if they had a choice. These are the times when being a CEO is most difficult. No one wants to lay off 2,000 people. If this was their character they would have done this five years ago all at once.

As an employee of any company you rarely see the agony that company owners go through over decisions like layoffs. I agonize over every single person and I always put it off longer than I should, hoping something will change. But is it worse to put the entire company and all jobs at risk by not making necessary cuts? Doing so would be irresponsible and that would be good reason to be critical or angry.

It's popular to beat on Clear Channel. This isn't the time.

Radio is at a cross road. Like it or not, most of the highly leveraged companies cannot survive without dramatic change in how they do business. Some will make poor decisions, which will result in more layoffs or bankruptcy while others will try something new and radical, which will change our industry forever. Clear Channel is betting that they can restructure the way they sell while reducing the number of needed sellers. I applaud them for trying something, in spite of feeling bad for the people who lost their jobs. Expect others to follow.

During the great depression people survived extreme hardship because others were willing to help. We as an industry owe it to our colleagues to do what we can to help. Help with job leads, help with encouragement, and anything else we can do, we should do.

Meanwhile anger at Clear Channel will buy nothing. Bad mouthing Clear Channel or your former employer to your friends and advertisers does not help radio. We need to build-up radio in the eyes of advertisers during these times when people are willing to try something new. Therefore we need unity as an industry, we need innovation to find new ways to help struggling local clients and our own radio stations, and we need open minds that understand that good things can and will come out of this tragedy.

We the people of radio have tremendous strength. We've weathered many difficult economies and challenges to our business. We've reinvented time and time again. We are resourceful, creative, and because we love what we do, we will strive for keeping this industry great.

So lets move away from our anger and start the process of reinvention. One of those 2,000 men or women laid off from Clear Channel may have an idea, which will change the industry forever and from this difficulty they will emerge better off than before. Meanwhile, lets all do our part to help.

Lessons from Dean

Here is a blog post from broadcaster Bill Grady. It was so good I thought I would share it.

Eric

Lessons from Dean

I’ve just reached my “5 years in business” this week, and I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed going to work every single day since being on my own. It may sound cliché, but I’ve enjoyed it so much that it really hasn’t seemed like work.

As I’m reflecting on these past five years, the things that I’m the most grateful for are the lessons I learned before going out on my own, specifically my days with Dean Sorenson when he owned the Fort Dodge radio stations. Dean led by example, and if you wanted to grow within the company he required you to do the same. While there were many lessons learned, here are 10 that I’d like to share with you:

1. People come first. Your staff needs to “feel” this attitude from you otherwise they’ll see these as empty words that you don’t believe in yourself. Recognize them during their triumphs both big and small, and be supportive as they experience life’s tragedies. They may not remember what you told them, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
2. Hire people who see the opportunity to join your company as a step up in their working life and are willing to give something up to be in your organization. Hire people who have a success story to tell and others say good things about. Hire people who you would be proud to be in business with, and stay away from people you would have to make excuses for.
3. As your business changes stay flexible and surround yourself with people who can adapt to those changes readily too. Beware of the “boat anchors” who are more concerned about their routine than everyone else’s success.
4. People assess your character by the commitments you keep and those you don’t, no matter how big or small they are. Make sure you follow through with the easy and the tough promises and commitments because your word means everything. If you can’t do it, don’t promise it.
5. The community is smarter than all the people at your business. Listen to what your town is telling you. Wherever people gather to drink coffee is a great place to learn what the town is really saying about your business.
6. Aim the gun and pull the trigger. Having a plan is important, but a plan without action is the same as as a hunter who stares at their target in the crosshairs of the gun and then watches the target walk away without a single shot fired. If you can’t execute the plan, be prepared to be laughed at by the bank tellers as you try to deposit your good intentions into your bank account.
7. Develop an enviroment where creativity and getting the job done is rewarded more often and with greater recognition than filling out the right form or sending out the next memo. If there are more memos than productive and meaningful conversations, you’re doing it wrong.
8. Require others within the organization to run the place like a business and inspire them to take ownership of what you’re trying to accomplish. The numbers don’t lie and they point the way to both the problems and the opportunities. Brainstorm with others to solve problems and exploit opportunities. A team of entrepreneurs will always outperform a group of employees.
9. Build your staff’s ability to solve problems on the lowest level possible to increase the customer’s satisfaction, increase the staff’s level of cooperation, and to keep your sanity as a manager.

10. Last and certainly not least, teach someone in your organization something useful everyday that will help him or her perform their job better. Not only will they appreciate it at the time you’re helping them, but also they will remember you as someone who cared about them long after you’re absent from their daily professional life.

Thanks Dean, I was paying attention.

Reviving a Bad Economy

I fell pretty good today. I talked to a couple of people who were previously whining about the economy and they offered up some good news about their business. In my own company one of my key people today said, "Things are already starting to turn around this week." Its funny... almost odd, but those two fragments of good news changed my overall state of mind. As I spoke to others I was less dower, more upbeat and was sharing some of the good news. I was also less negative and actually a little more open to investing in something I was down on the day before.

Two weeks ago I had two bad news calls. One was from a customer who was going out of business, another from one who was trying to sell me his business because things were so bad. It killed my mood. Suddenly I was worrying about my business and my income. It stayed with me for several days. I could not shake it.

Everyone I know has stopped spending. Some have had to, most don't have to. But they stopped because everyone fears that any money spent today won't be available when if need it when things get really bad. Yet in some cases these are some of the wealthiest people in America who can spend... but choose not to. Practical, yes but much of the problem lies in their fear.

The problems our new President face are huge and I cannot fathom the true complexity of the situation nor do I want to over simplify the gravity of this problem. However, I do believe we as an industry can move the needle and do our part to fix the economy.

When on the treadmill at the gym in the morning I can see (but not hear) three TV monitors. The words under the talking heads say things like " Worst Economy in History", "Economic Crisis", etc. It becomes obvious that bad news sells.

When President Obama phones for my advice I plan to tell him to meet individually with the owners of every network and cable news outlet, news-talk radio network, and newspaper to explain that their business will improve faster if the economy improves, and its up to them to change the spin from negative to positive. I'm not suggesting they lie or mislead, but instead of "Crisis" how about the focus be "Economy in Recovery." A little positive feel in the media would make recovery occur faster.

What's radio got to do with it? Your station is one of 12,000+ which reaches 94% of Americans every day. What if your station changes its spin? What if your people simply say twice an hour..."things are getting better" or "things are looking up" How would it impact your market and your local economy? It may not solve the problem but it might go a long way in helping. Radio is the master of mood. Listeners turn to radio for entertainment, escape, and good moods, in the case of some formats. Can we take it a step further? Can your station play a role? We won't know till you try.

Blowing It Up and Starting Over

Today 12.5.08 you're seeing a new look for Radio Ink.com and Radio Ink daily headlines. At press as we speak is a new Radio Ink magazine design as well, which will be in the mail any moment. (You really should subscribe. It's all new, has loads of new features relevant to your needs today, and its a fresh look and even quicker to read! Plus there is a new pricing structure making it more affordable for everyone in these lean times with special pricing for small, medium and large markets. How's that for innovation.

I encourage you to click-around the new site. Lots of new features like:

- Station video and audio: A place to upload station videos, audio clips, work parts, promos and more.

- Classic station airchecks: Listen to stations from the past. Upload your favorite airchecks.

- Podcasts: We will begin offering regular audio content.

- Management forums: A place to speak your mind about the industry

- Blogs: The blogs we like to follow and a new blog from yours truly.

Plus our news is different. Now your daily headlines will receive this Radio Ink Exclusive:

- Our daily radio headlines

- Global radio headlines for our friends around the world.

- Advertising and Retail News so you can keep up on trends important to your clients.

- Press Releases, so you can see the releases, which don't always make the news.

Plus you can download back issues, order back articles, and subscribe to a DIGITAL edition of the magazine.

As with any new product we want your ideas, feedback and what you like and dislike. Our goal is to not reflect the parts of our industry, which are lagging, but to lead the industry into fresh new challenges and opportunities. I'll look forward to hearing from you.