...but you'd never know it, unless Secret Squirrel exposed it!
After being an afterthought in the wake of the JC / Katy Kruze "layoffs", Carl the Intern Middleman resurfaces on KFTK's "Allman in the Morning".
With a supposed 35% pay cut how is his return announced to Emmis St. Louis?
Not by a press release or television coverage like when he was dismissed a month ago. But by an e-mail sent by him when something was stolen from his new desk!
Good luck, Intern, third time's a charm.
Showing posts with label Emmis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emmis. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
An Open Letter from JC Corcoran
November 1, 2009
I want to extend a sincere thanks to the many listeners and advertisers that supported our radio show on K-HITS96 for the past eight years. Thanks, also, to the many charities, businesses, restaurants, sports teams, community leaders and organizations that came to us for help in publicizing their events.
Last May many of you joined in the celebration of my twenty-fifth year doing morning radio in St. Louis. The reason I’ve been around that long is because I’ve had a huge audience, satisfied advertisers and big ratings. In May we were in third place in our target demo of 25 to 54 year-olds, and in second place in the secondary target of 35 to 64 year-olds. These kinds of numbers were typical during my eight-year stint at the station, and reflective of the success we achieved dating back to my arrival here in 1984. Additionally, our website hit a record-high number of page-views in May, due largely to the traffic generated by the activities on the morning show. Radio station management was so delighted they congratulated me with a weeklong trip to Chicago in a luxury hotel and arranged for a special mayoral proclamation. In late August our corporate president of programming came to St. Louis and re-stated his desire that I continue with the company for the remainder of my career.
But as many of you know, three months ago the broadcast industry implemented its first new ratings measurement system in fifty years. It wasn’t until just a few weeks ago that we began to hear rumblings that something didn’t seem right. Then, last Monday (10-26), station management stunned everyone with the news they were canceling our show and replacing it with an all-music presentation. The question I’ve been asked repeatedly since then is why three months of inexplicably peculiar ratings generated by a new (and many believe highly questionable) system would trump the previous eight years of outstanding ratings success? This is a question I don’t have an answer to.
On one hand the news of this development has produced an avalanche of e-mail, a zillion calls, and is lighting up local, and even national message boards and websites like a Christmas tree. The story has appeared on the front page of the St. Louis Business Journal, the Post Dispatch, and was the number-two story on KSDK’s ten o’clock news. Our story was a runaway #1 on the Fox2 website and comment page even on a day when Tony LaRussa and Mark McGwire were announcing their return to the Cardinals. Just the magnitude in which this story is being covered should tell you something about the impact our show has had on the community.
The people responsible for the new “PPM” rating system want you to believe very few people were listening to our show, and that all of the cars, concert tickets, books, vacations, lasik procedures, heating and air conditioning units, restaurant meals, furniture, beer, soft drinks, theatre tickets and mortgage re-finances we helped sell all just happened by coincidence. They want you to believe all of the advertisers that saw dramatic increases in sales and foot traffic after being on our show, all of the jammed phone lines during on-air giveaways, and all of the huge crowds of people we looked out over at various events we staged were all just an illusion.
Instead of following the principles of mass communication, and instead of providing solid entertainment in a compelling fashion, the people responsible for the new rating system are telling broadcasters to focus all their attention on individuals that have been chosen to wear a new electronic device called a “PPM.” If you’re listening to the station but you don’t have one…you don’t count. It would be like NBC telling the writers and producers of “The Office” to write jokes and develop storylines about Topeka, Kansas because the network found out a guy there had a “PPM” device and they hoped it would make him watch the show. Can you imagine a stand-up comedian being told his job was to make only four, unidentified people laugh in a crowd of three hundred?? Unbelievably, radio station companies are buying into this nonsense.
The truth is that I’ve been doing the best work of my career for the past eight years, and even the insinuation the new, untested rating system has produced an accurate depiction of our show’s audience size is ludicrous. I’m certain we could have devised a way to operate successfully under the new rating system had we been given the opportunity. But I also know that when you’re doing a good job and you still get whacked, it only means you’re in the wrong place. Many have insisted this was just a good, old-fashioned “salary dump.” Again, I have no idea. But what’s done is done. I’ll be paid in full through February of 2011 unless I choose to accept a job at another station before then.
Thanks to Emmis Broadcasting, Jeff Smulyan, Rick Cummings and John Beck for giving me a chance eight years ago following a long, sixteen-year estrangement. Also, I enjoyed, not only a great working relationship with Operations Manager Rick Balis, but a valuable friendship as well. The part that stings most, though, is losing the opportunity to share a studio and spend time everyday with my dear friends John Ulett, Laurie Mac and Carl Middleman. That’s the part that is just awful.
In the meantime, could someone please help Diane Toroian Keaggy of the Post Disptach get her head out of her ass? Her columns, normally riddled with mischaracterizations and inaccuracies, have been particularly laughable pertaining to this story. I know that I have a guaranteed paycheck coming for the next fifteen months. I wonder if she could make the same claim.
I’ve re-launched my website. Visit jcontheline.com. It’s a work in-progress so give me some time, OK? But this will give us the opportunity to keep connected until I have some idea what might be next. As always, thank you for your support and well wishes. I have to change the baby’s diaper now.
Last May many of you joined in the celebration of my twenty-fifth year doing morning radio in St. Louis. The reason I’ve been around that long is because I’ve had a huge audience, satisfied advertisers and big ratings. In May we were in third place in our target demo of 25 to 54 year-olds, and in second place in the secondary target of 35 to 64 year-olds. These kinds of numbers were typical during my eight-year stint at the station, and reflective of the success we achieved dating back to my arrival here in 1984. Additionally, our website hit a record-high number of page-views in May, due largely to the traffic generated by the activities on the morning show. Radio station management was so delighted they congratulated me with a weeklong trip to Chicago in a luxury hotel and arranged for a special mayoral proclamation. In late August our corporate president of programming came to St. Louis and re-stated his desire that I continue with the company for the remainder of my career.
But as many of you know, three months ago the broadcast industry implemented its first new ratings measurement system in fifty years. It wasn’t until just a few weeks ago that we began to hear rumblings that something didn’t seem right. Then, last Monday (10-26), station management stunned everyone with the news they were canceling our show and replacing it with an all-music presentation. The question I’ve been asked repeatedly since then is why three months of inexplicably peculiar ratings generated by a new (and many believe highly questionable) system would trump the previous eight years of outstanding ratings success? This is a question I don’t have an answer to.
On one hand the news of this development has produced an avalanche of e-mail, a zillion calls, and is lighting up local, and even national message boards and websites like a Christmas tree. The story has appeared on the front page of the St. Louis Business Journal, the Post Dispatch, and was the number-two story on KSDK’s ten o’clock news. Our story was a runaway #1 on the Fox2 website and comment page even on a day when Tony LaRussa and Mark McGwire were announcing their return to the Cardinals. Just the magnitude in which this story is being covered should tell you something about the impact our show has had on the community.
The people responsible for the new “PPM” rating system want you to believe very few people were listening to our show, and that all of the cars, concert tickets, books, vacations, lasik procedures, heating and air conditioning units, restaurant meals, furniture, beer, soft drinks, theatre tickets and mortgage re-finances we helped sell all just happened by coincidence. They want you to believe all of the advertisers that saw dramatic increases in sales and foot traffic after being on our show, all of the jammed phone lines during on-air giveaways, and all of the huge crowds of people we looked out over at various events we staged were all just an illusion.
Instead of following the principles of mass communication, and instead of providing solid entertainment in a compelling fashion, the people responsible for the new rating system are telling broadcasters to focus all their attention on individuals that have been chosen to wear a new electronic device called a “PPM.” If you’re listening to the station but you don’t have one…you don’t count. It would be like NBC telling the writers and producers of “The Office” to write jokes and develop storylines about Topeka, Kansas because the network found out a guy there had a “PPM” device and they hoped it would make him watch the show. Can you imagine a stand-up comedian being told his job was to make only four, unidentified people laugh in a crowd of three hundred?? Unbelievably, radio station companies are buying into this nonsense.
The truth is that I’ve been doing the best work of my career for the past eight years, and even the insinuation the new, untested rating system has produced an accurate depiction of our show’s audience size is ludicrous. I’m certain we could have devised a way to operate successfully under the new rating system had we been given the opportunity. But I also know that when you’re doing a good job and you still get whacked, it only means you’re in the wrong place. Many have insisted this was just a good, old-fashioned “salary dump.” Again, I have no idea. But what’s done is done. I’ll be paid in full through February of 2011 unless I choose to accept a job at another station before then.
Thanks to Emmis Broadcasting, Jeff Smulyan, Rick Cummings and John Beck for giving me a chance eight years ago following a long, sixteen-year estrangement. Also, I enjoyed, not only a great working relationship with Operations Manager Rick Balis, but a valuable friendship as well. The part that stings most, though, is losing the opportunity to share a studio and spend time everyday with my dear friends John Ulett, Laurie Mac and Carl Middleman. That’s the part that is just awful.
In the meantime, could someone please help Diane Toroian Keaggy of the Post Disptach get her head out of her ass? Her columns, normally riddled with mischaracterizations and inaccuracies, have been particularly laughable pertaining to this story. I know that I have a guaranteed paycheck coming for the next fifteen months. I wonder if she could make the same claim.
I’ve re-launched my website. Visit jcontheline.com. It’s a work in-progress so give me some time, OK? But this will give us the opportunity to keep connected until I have some idea what might be next. As always, thank you for your support and well wishes. I have to change the baby’s diaper now.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Emmis' Hungarian crisis ...
From Tom Taylor:
I was the first guy to use CD's on the station and I had to use a remote control device to play them. After billing the fact all morning that WIL would become the first truly digital FM country station in the market, I hit PLAY and the Merle Haggard CD went into some weird infinite loop repeating every third sample.
I went back to carts immediately and Paul Fiddick walked out of the room without a word. Hope he has better luck in Hungary. Fiddick is an idiot.
Radio Slager has until recently been a very profitable venture for Emmis, and once before it had to fight to keep the license. But now it’s facing an ultimatum from the National Radio and Television Board to quit broadcasting by November 18. It’s the nightmare of every American company doing business outside the U.S. borders – lack of certainty about the business conditions. In this case the authorities want the 16-station Radio Slager to go to a group of Hungarian investors. Emmis first won the license there in 1997 and got on the air in 1998. Its international division is overseen by Paul Fiddick.This makes me laugh. Not at Emmis' misfortune, but at the fact that Paul Fiddick is involved. Fiddick was the CEO of Heritage, the company that bought WIL AM&FM from LIN back in the early 1980's. He was supposed to be some kind of technical wizard and he stood beside me in the WIL studio as we moved from tape carts to CD players. Fiddick was VERY excited.
I was the first guy to use CD's on the station and I had to use a remote control device to play them. After billing the fact all morning that WIL would become the first truly digital FM country station in the market, I hit PLAY and the Merle Haggard CD went into some weird infinite loop repeating every third sample.
I went back to carts immediately and Paul Fiddick walked out of the room without a word. Hope he has better luck in Hungary. Fiddick is an idiot.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Lemme see if I understand this ...
Secret Squirrel digs up this from a Powerhouse Insider:
Discuss on the STL Media Message Board. (Registration required)
The hits just keep on coming for KHITS 96. Last Monday it was the cancellation of JC Corcoran's morning show and a farewell to PM drive host, Katy Kruze. Now the station loses its studio, banished to the much smaller space once occupied by Emmis' ill-fated "martini music" project known as "Red." KFTK expands to take over the KHITS studio in addition to maintaining its current suite of studios. KHITS, by the way, no longer has any live hosts weekdays from 2 p.m. all the way to 6 a.m.In a situation at Emmis where management believes that more music trumps talk in the PPM ratings, Emmis management punishes the newly-talkless KHITS by moving them to a smaller studio and rewards the all-talk KFTK by providing additional studio space, built out to their needs at what must be a considerable cost of time, effort and ever-desireable cash.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The JC "Mothballing" -- Commentary
Since I got the word of the latest Emmis "error in judgement" (just after 10:30 on Monday) things have been poppin' at STLMedia.
As you might imagine, the phones here have been ringing almost constantly (just now slowing down) and traffic at the STLMedia MB has been unbelievable. New subscribers are coming aboard by the bucketload to see if they can make some sense of this thing.
From sources at The Powerhouse, I hear that this move has motivated an awful lot of listeners to touch base with the Mothership, as well it might. Summarily dusting off a 25-year veteran of the market's top rated radio stations was bound to generate some calls. Word from inside sources is that the calls are about 85% in Corcoran's favor and the volume of calls is, to say the very least, high.
JC will be paid at some rate through 2010, so, presuming he tightens his belt, he'll be okay until the Next Big Thing comes along. Carl and Katy? Well, no word on their "outplacement deal," but Carl has family money to fall back on. It seems that Katy, a single Mom, is the only one who really is relying on the Severance Fairy. Good luck to her.
UPDATE: Katy's been hired at John Scheper's Westplex 100.7, to partner in mornings with Beau Vighn. This will probably last three months. Good luck to Katy.
When I first heard, well, my reaction was likely the same as many of you: JC, the market's leading lightning rod for controversey, said/did/ate/farted something that displeased the bosses and they tossed him off the bus.
But the more I thought about it, and the more conversations I had with folks in the business, the more likely it seemed to be that this was just another (and oh so typical) knee-jerk reaction to the first PPM numbers. This very same scenario has happened in market after market, where initial PPM renderings seem to be saying that all music=good, some music with talk=not so good.
Radio managers, pay attention: this is the first round of PPM here. Before you make any more rash decisions, you might want to let the methodology settle down. I would presume that, if this trend keeps up (we get monthly reports now, rather than every quarter), there will be more big-money makers tossed out.
John Ulett. Radio Rich. Guy Phillips. In fact, anyone who sleeps more than four hours a night and is not double-, triple- or quadruple-tasking is at peril. This is, of course, good news for the voice trackers who live in the tombs and catacombs, surviving on the bits and pieces of airwork they're tossed and for the newbies who are so enchanted with BEING ON THE RADIO!!!1+++1!!! that they'll do anything for ten bucks an hour, paid bi-monthly, with free Burger King sammies tossed in.
Two guys, both of whom I respect, and both of whom say it like it is, have had something to say about this.
Tom Taylor:
The PPM comes to St. Louis, and J.C. Corcoran plus two others are out at “K-Hits.”
Emmis says even though morning man Corcoran’s under contract through December 2010, “ours is a business driven by ratings, and those ratings indicate that we need to change in order to compete successfully in this environment.” Market manager John Beck says “J.C. has worked very hard to make this work.” But Beck says a classic hits station like KIHT (96.3) needs to feature music in the mornings.
Arbitron just dropped the first-ever People Meter numbers on St. Louis on October 8. Three weeks later, J.C. Corcoran’s Showgram is canceled. It's replaced by a music-intensive morning effort fronted by current Showgrammers John Ulett and Laurie Mac, plus market veteran Rick Sanborn. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the mothballing of Corcoran (who continues to be paid for another 14 months).
Also the axing of KIHT jocks Katy Kruze and Carl “The Intern” Middleman. K-Hits may be become the latest poster child for the “PPM-loves-music/hates-talk” school of thought – even though it’s just one particular station in one particular market. And one thing we’ve learned about the People Meter is that the effects can vary greatly from market to market.
Jerry Del Colliano:
It happened again yesterday.
Emmis pulled another fan favorite off the air at KIHT, St. Louis to become more music intensive or, in non-coded language, to pander to Arbitron’s People Meter.
If the radio industry only knew ten years ago that the People Meter would be a front for being able to save salaries while creating the fantasy of better ratings, maybe radio CEOs wouldn’t have given Arbitron such a hard time.
Heck, even paying the increased Arbitron bill makes sense for cost-conscious consolidators under the scenario that is rapidly developing.
In all fairness to Emmis, they are keeping J.C. Corcoran on the KIHT payroll until the end of next year (Don’t try this at Cumulus). The Corcoran decision may also be a strategic programming move. They are allowed.
But KIHT also fired long-time personality Katy Kruze and Carl “The Intern” Middleman as part of their imitation of “Follow what CBS is doing”.
It's okay for owners to responsibly save money, but I don’t think they are allowed to pawn this off as a programming improvement.
Read it all here.
I'm waiting for John "Rumbling Grumbling Man" Gorman to chime in and that'll be the Trifecta.
You know, I've not always been on the side of the air talent when something like this happens. In my career I've seen plenty of radio people who truly deserved to get the pipe and in many cases I've cheered on management for taking care of business.
This time it's all about the immature PPM and that's a really stupid reason to shuffle the cards so thoroughly.
As you might imagine, the phones here have been ringing almost constantly (just now slowing down) and traffic at the STLMedia MB has been unbelievable. New subscribers are coming aboard by the bucketload to see if they can make some sense of this thing.
From sources at The Powerhouse, I hear that this move has motivated an awful lot of listeners to touch base with the Mothership, as well it might. Summarily dusting off a 25-year veteran of the market's top rated radio stations was bound to generate some calls. Word from inside sources is that the calls are about 85% in Corcoran's favor and the volume of calls is, to say the very least, high.
JC will be paid at some rate through 2010, so, presuming he tightens his belt, he'll be okay until the Next Big Thing comes along. Carl and Katy? Well, no word on their "outplacement deal," but Carl has family money to fall back on. It seems that Katy, a single Mom, is the only one who really is relying on the Severance Fairy. Good luck to her.
UPDATE: Katy's been hired at John Scheper's Westplex 100.7, to partner in mornings with Beau Vighn. This will probably last three months. Good luck to Katy.
When I first heard, well, my reaction was likely the same as many of you: JC, the market's leading lightning rod for controversey, said/did/ate/farted something that displeased the bosses and they tossed him off the bus.
But the more I thought about it, and the more conversations I had with folks in the business, the more likely it seemed to be that this was just another (and oh so typical) knee-jerk reaction to the first PPM numbers. This very same scenario has happened in market after market, where initial PPM renderings seem to be saying that all music=good, some music with talk=not so good.
Radio managers, pay attention: this is the first round of PPM here. Before you make any more rash decisions, you might want to let the methodology settle down. I would presume that, if this trend keeps up (we get monthly reports now, rather than every quarter), there will be more big-money makers tossed out.
John Ulett. Radio Rich. Guy Phillips. In fact, anyone who sleeps more than four hours a night and is not double-, triple- or quadruple-tasking is at peril. This is, of course, good news for the voice trackers who live in the tombs and catacombs, surviving on the bits and pieces of airwork they're tossed and for the newbies who are so enchanted with BEING ON THE RADIO!!!1+++1!!! that they'll do anything for ten bucks an hour, paid bi-monthly, with free Burger King sammies tossed in.
Two guys, both of whom I respect, and both of whom say it like it is, have had something to say about this.
Tom Taylor:
The PPM comes to St. Louis, and J.C. Corcoran plus two others are out at “K-Hits.”
Emmis says even though morning man Corcoran’s under contract through December 2010, “ours is a business driven by ratings, and those ratings indicate that we need to change in order to compete successfully in this environment.” Market manager John Beck says “J.C. has worked very hard to make this work.” But Beck says a classic hits station like KIHT (96.3) needs to feature music in the mornings.
Arbitron just dropped the first-ever People Meter numbers on St. Louis on October 8. Three weeks later, J.C. Corcoran’s Showgram is canceled. It's replaced by a music-intensive morning effort fronted by current Showgrammers John Ulett and Laurie Mac, plus market veteran Rick Sanborn. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the mothballing of Corcoran (who continues to be paid for another 14 months).
Also the axing of KIHT jocks Katy Kruze and Carl “The Intern” Middleman. K-Hits may be become the latest poster child for the “PPM-loves-music/hates-talk” school of thought – even though it’s just one particular station in one particular market. And one thing we’ve learned about the People Meter is that the effects can vary greatly from market to market.
Jerry Del Colliano:
It happened again yesterday.
Emmis pulled another fan favorite off the air at KIHT, St. Louis to become more music intensive or, in non-coded language, to pander to Arbitron’s People Meter.
If the radio industry only knew ten years ago that the People Meter would be a front for being able to save salaries while creating the fantasy of better ratings, maybe radio CEOs wouldn’t have given Arbitron such a hard time.
Heck, even paying the increased Arbitron bill makes sense for cost-conscious consolidators under the scenario that is rapidly developing.
In all fairness to Emmis, they are keeping J.C. Corcoran on the KIHT payroll until the end of next year (Don’t try this at Cumulus). The Corcoran decision may also be a strategic programming move. They are allowed.
But KIHT also fired long-time personality Katy Kruze and Carl “The Intern” Middleman as part of their imitation of “Follow what CBS is doing”.
It's okay for owners to responsibly save money, but I don’t think they are allowed to pawn this off as a programming improvement.
Read it all here.
I'm waiting for John "Rumbling Grumbling Man" Gorman to chime in and that'll be the Trifecta.
You know, I've not always been on the side of the air talent when something like this happens. In my career I've seen plenty of radio people who truly deserved to get the pipe and in many cases I've cheered on management for taking care of business.
This time it's all about the immature PPM and that's a really stupid reason to shuffle the cards so thoroughly.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Corcoran out at K-Hits ...
FOR RELEASE ON: October 26, 2009
Contacts:
John Beck, 314-621-4106
Joan Lee Berkman, 314-726-3484 or cell: 314-799-1204
K-HITS 96 RESTRUCTURES PROGRAMMING TO OFFER MORE MUSIC
Station Releases Corcoran, Kruze and Others to Pare Costs, Boost Ratings
St. Louis, October 26, 2009...... K-HITS 96, St. Louis' only radio station playing exclusively classic rock hits from four decades, today announced a major shake-up in its daily programming. Effective immediately, The Showgram, K-HITS morning talk show, will be discontinued and replaced with an all-music format hosted by St. Louis radio veteran Rick Sanborn. Changes are also being made to the station’s late afternoon show. Long-time station personalities Katy Kruze and Carl “the Intern” Middleman have been let go. While J. C. Corcoran will not be on the air he remains under contract with Emmis Radio until December 2010. Showgram personalities John Ulett and Laurie Mac will remain in mornings on K-Hits with Rick Sanborn.
“These changes are designed to give our listeners what they want, namely more classic rock, all day, every day,” said John Beck, Emmis senior vice president and General Manager. “At a time when our industry is suffering due to the economic recession, it is critical that we find ways to boost our ratings. Playing more music in the morning than any other station in the market is one way we feel we can differentiate ourselves and attract even more listeners.”
“I have nothing but good things to say about J.C., Katy and Carl,” said Beck. JC in particular is a storied & historic personality in St. Louis radio who has done groundbreaking work for years. We will miss him on the air. JC has worked very hard to make this work. Unfortunately, ours is a business driven by ratings, and those ratings indicate that we need to change in order to compete successfully in this environment.”
Beck added he does not anticipate any further personnel changes in the foreseeable future. “We wish J.C., Katy and Carl all the best and wish them much success wherever their careers may take them next,” he said.
K-HITS 96 is owned and operated by Emmis Communications, a diversified media company with radio broadcasting and magazine publishing operations. Emmis owns radio stations in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Austin. In addition to K-HITS 96, its St. Louis stations include KFTK-FM (97.1 FM), KSHE-95 and 105.7 The Point.
###
To put it in perspective succinctly, this blows.
UPDATE: KSHE Sales Manager Tom Hoyt was also let go this morning.
Contacts:
John Beck, 314-621-4106
Joan Lee Berkman, 314-726-3484 or cell: 314-799-1204
K-HITS 96 RESTRUCTURES PROGRAMMING TO OFFER MORE MUSIC
Station Releases Corcoran, Kruze and Others to Pare Costs, Boost Ratings
St. Louis, October 26, 2009...... K-HITS 96, St. Louis' only radio station playing exclusively classic rock hits from four decades, today announced a major shake-up in its daily programming. Effective immediately, The Showgram, K-HITS morning talk show, will be discontinued and replaced with an all-music format hosted by St. Louis radio veteran Rick Sanborn. Changes are also being made to the station’s late afternoon show. Long-time station personalities Katy Kruze and Carl “the Intern” Middleman have been let go. While J. C. Corcoran will not be on the air he remains under contract with Emmis Radio until December 2010. Showgram personalities John Ulett and Laurie Mac will remain in mornings on K-Hits with Rick Sanborn.
“These changes are designed to give our listeners what they want, namely more classic rock, all day, every day,” said John Beck, Emmis senior vice president and General Manager. “At a time when our industry is suffering due to the economic recession, it is critical that we find ways to boost our ratings. Playing more music in the morning than any other station in the market is one way we feel we can differentiate ourselves and attract even more listeners.”
“I have nothing but good things to say about J.C., Katy and Carl,” said Beck. JC in particular is a storied & historic personality in St. Louis radio who has done groundbreaking work for years. We will miss him on the air. JC has worked very hard to make this work. Unfortunately, ours is a business driven by ratings, and those ratings indicate that we need to change in order to compete successfully in this environment.”
Beck added he does not anticipate any further personnel changes in the foreseeable future. “We wish J.C., Katy and Carl all the best and wish them much success wherever their careers may take them next,” he said.
K-HITS 96 is owned and operated by Emmis Communications, a diversified media company with radio broadcasting and magazine publishing operations. Emmis owns radio stations in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Austin. In addition to K-HITS 96, its St. Louis stations include KFTK-FM (97.1 FM), KSHE-95 and 105.7 The Point.
###
To put it in perspective succinctly, this blows.
UPDATE: KSHE Sales Manager Tom Hoyt was also let go this morning.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Lady Dana joins Breitbart's new blog ...
Breitbart was instrumental in the development of both the original Drudge Report and The Huffington Post; earlier this year he launched Big Hollywood following on the success of his original news site.
Along with her talk show duties, Dana is the spokeswoman for the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition. Dana also works with KFTK morning host Jamie Allman, who has achieved national prominence as the regular fill-in for Conservative talker Laura Ingraham.
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