On May 12, 5:19=A0am, "KajaGooGoo" <Kajagoogo...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> BY RICHARD PACHTER
> r...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and the Fall of Commercial
> Radio. Alec Foege. Faber and Faber. 320 pages.
>
> The name ''Clear Channel'' became shorthand for everything wrong with
> terrestrial (nonsatellite) radio: Lack of diversity, repetitious music,
> boring programming, too many commercials, censor****p, jingoism, ad
nauseam=
..
>
> In a previous life, I was very familiar with radio, first as a record
> promotion man and later as a marketing executive at a trade publication
fo=
r
> radio managers. Initially, I encountered a variety of stations, mostly
> independently owned or part of small chains. Few companies held more
than =
a
> handful of stations, due mainly to the limitations imposed by federal
law.=
> But that all changed with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which
lifted=
> most limits for cor****ate acquisition of broadcast properties and
allowed
> owner****p of multiple stations in a single market. In the industry, the
> resulting change was called ``consolidation.''
>
> Writer Alec Foege's interest in the subject of radio in general and
Clear
> Channel in particular was piqued when he became aware of the uniformity
of=
> radio stations' programming during a longish family car trip. He wanted
to=
> know why the music was so bland and over-familiar.
>
> He begins with a brief history of Top 40 radio, the company that later
> became Clear Channel, and its founder, Texan Lowry Mays. He knew nothing
> about the broadcasting business, according to Foege, but was a shrewd
and
> op****tunistic businessman who viewed radio as a unique industry with
> unparalleled potential for growth.
>
> As the story continues, Mays builds his business and is poised to take
> advantage of the sweeping pro-business trend toward deregulation.
Acquirin=
g
> numerous stations, he seeks efficiencies by eliminating various
> redundancies. Among them were physical facilities, so Foege writes about
> how, in markets where the company owned several stations (as in South
> Florida), all are based in a single building, sharing a common
management
> team as well as administrative and engineering staff.
>
> But the downside became apparent as the cost cutting continued. Indeed,
th=
e
> company's nickname of ''Cheap Channel'' was earned by their elimination
of=
> in***bent talent and the promotion of lower-paid employees. At the same
> time, through automation and other tools, live local announcers were
> replaced by pre-recorded programming or ''voice tracking,'' with the
on-ai=
r
> content for a multitude of stations originating in a remote studio from
a
> single announcer. The same voice and personality hosts a show in
Orlando,
> for example, yet she's really sitting in a studio in San Antonio or
Omaha.=
>
> And the local news component of most Clear Channel stations had also
been
> reduced or eliminated, with several striking examples of the absence of
> re****ting during local disasters cited in the book.
>
> Foege also writes about other issues, such as the company's cor****ate
> culture, with the controversial practices and behavior of managers,
> including Randy Michaels, who came into the fold as a result of Clear
> Channel's purchase of the Jacor chain (owned by Sam Zell, who bought the
> Tribune Co. last year).
>
> This book covers a lot of ground, including the company's politics,
which
> are more expedient than ideological, according to Foege. But ultimately,
> media consolidation has been a disappointment, as evidenced by AOL Time
> Warner and other failed mega-mergers. Clear Channel is already starting
to=
> dissemble, though as a result of this exercise, the vitality of radio as
a=
> local medium will likely never return. Right of the Dial explains how
this=
> precious cultural and economic institution was exploited and destroyed.
>
> To receive business book reviews by e-mail or join the Business Monday
Boo=
k
> Club, e-mail Richard Pachter at r...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To read more of
> Pachter's musings, go towww.reviewrap.blogspot.comor read his weekly
> personal finance blog atwww.moli.com/p/moliview/3/category.
Thanks for the post. Ever since QueerChannel bought the FM station in
my area, it's been All-Bon-Jovi-All-Of-The-Time. Blecchh!
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