From the inestimable Jerry Del Colliano: a former employee of Cumulus Media is pursuing a class-action lawsuit against the company (common share stock price as of today: $2.55) alleging several violations of employment law. The suit is in the very preliminary stages now, but if any of Jerry’s other informants inside Cumulus (and other large radio conglomerates) can back up their “believe it or not” horror-stories, the company – and perhaps the entire industry – is in for some serious trouble.
A quick history recap: after the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the radio industry went on a station-buying binge. This led to massively inflated prices for stations across the nation. Flush with cash from investment banks, radio companies bought other radio companies, leading to a situation where less ten major broadcast conglomerates controlled some two-thirds of the industry’s total revenue. Continue reading “Striking Back At The Empire?”
Tag: jerry del colliano
Del Colliano Chroncles the Cratering of Radio
I know I’ve mentioned Inside Music Media before but its proprietor, Jerry Del Colliano, has been on quite a roll over the last couple of months. Some examples:
IMM predicted mass-cutbacks at Clear Channel weeks before they were announced – and then gave the most accurate figures publicly available on the real size and scope of the layoffs. Continue reading “Del Colliano Chroncles the Cratering of Radio”
Radio Dying? Depends On Your Perspective
Believe it or not, I am not the most pessimistic person out there when it comes to the future of radio. If you haven’t been reading Inside Music Media, I recommend you begin post-haste.
The blog’s author, Jerry Del Colliano, is a consummate radio professional. I remember reading his Inside Radio newsletter back when I worked in the business. That publication infuriated Clear Channel so much – in large part because Jerry was so good at decoding the company’s predatory consolidation plans – that Clear Channel actually began a slander publication to drag Jerry’s good name through the mud. He didn’t take that lightly, filing a $100+ million suit against the radio titan. Continue reading “Radio Dying? Depends On Your Perspective”
HD Radio and Industry Schizophrenia
Interesting samples abound about what the U.S. radio industry thinks about its digital future. When you thread them all together, you find a spot of chaos.
Late August, 2008: Stop IBOC Now!, a coalition of broadcast engineering professionals and listeners, publishes a 10-page list of comments from people within and outside the industry. This list is apparently a sampling of more than 200 received by the coalition to-date. All but one are negative on HD Radio. Continue reading “HD Radio and Industry Schizophrenia”