Lew Dickey is screaming at you – telling you what he is going to do with Cumulus after the first round of firings are completed at his Citadel stations.

Some of what he is going to do is so outrageous, you may not believe it.

But today, I’m going to lay it out for you.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The psychology behind how Dickey degrades Citadel, the company he acquired and what it portends for the future of Cumulus.  Dickey was interviewed by Dave Ramsey at a recent talk radio conference in Dallas.  You won’t believe the bizarre things he said in public.

2.  Dickey says the Citadel firings have been limited to 5% of the workforce or 200 people.  You can believe that or take a look at this number.

3.  The chip on his shoulder about the former ABC Radio Networks acquired in the Citadel purchase.  Cumulus has different plans for a radio network.

4.  There’s no way lenders in this stagnant economy are going to give Dickey more money to substantially grow Cumulus again, right?

5.  You’ve heard of AM formats migrating to FM – don’t be surprised at this potential Cumulus tactic that takes it one step further.

6.  Would Cumulus ever sell you or someone you know with capital a few of his stations?  Good question. 

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come learn with me at my next conference at The Phoenician in Scottsdale February 9^th  -- The 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

My new book will pick you up and get you motivated for the challenges and opportunities ahead.  “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” is now available in paperback or e-reader for under $10 here.

Sunlight cleanses the dirty deals from radio consolidators – my confidential NewsTip Hotline.

Talk to me personally here.

Cox – considered one of radio’s best groups – is currently under mandate from corporate to tighten up.

That is sending chills through an industry currently being ravaged by Clear Channel and Cumulus firings.  And those firings continue as we speak.

Today, I’ve got a look at Cox’s cutbacks for you.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  Cox is making some big moves in talent – new formats and letting go a 20-year popular show in San Antonio.  How bad is it going to be?

2.  Will Cox markets continue to be run by local general managers or has corporate decided to take a page from John Hogan’s regional set up?

3.  The Cox severance package – you can now compare it with the ones in place at Clear Channel and Cumulus.

4.  The places Cox is most likely to trim.  Is sales safe?  Doubling up on jobs?

5.  The prospect of more voice tracking at Cox.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come learn with me at my next conference at The Phoenician in Scottsdale February 9^th  -- The 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

My new book will pick you up and get you motivated for the challenges and opportunities ahead.  “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” is now available in paperback or e-reader for under $10 here.

Sunlight cleanses the dirty deals from radio consolidators – my confidential NewsTip Hotline.

Talk to me personally here.

Last week’s firings have caused lots of disruption to the lives of fired employees, to Cumulus and Clear Channel radio stations and to the audience.

As the dust settles, you can now piece together not only the human impact that is often overlooked, but also the potential indications of what is to come:

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The line you’ll likely hear in future firings from an 11-year radio vet with a 21 share who was fired last week by Clear Channel.  This one line tells you where they are coming from and where they are headed.

2.  The one virtually safe Clear Channel job – safe from the major market firings due very soon.  If you’re in this situation, you’re probably okay for now.

3.  What will become of the former ABC Radio Networks now under the ownership of Cumulus.  It has a new mission.

4.  Unconfirmed but continuing reports that one of the two major consolidators has become a slow pay or no pay operator even as cutbacks are taking place.  Find out which one is being accused of dragging out accounts payable.

5.  In the wake of Clear Channel’s Metro Traffic firings last week, guess how many markets and stations a traffic reporter has to handle every morning in, say, Columbus.  You’ll never guess.

6.  The one consolidator in the midst of a firing spree, according to a report, that is allegedly making his salespeople sell “Putting America Back To Work” campaign.

7.  The fate of the legendary KLOS-FM in Los Angeles under the control of Cumulus.  One scary scenario is so goofy that I wouldn’t bet against it.

8.  An inside account of how Clear Channel New Orleans is directing radio sales people to sell iHeartRadio spots – you knew that was going to happen – in what this former employee says is deceiving to advertisers.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Prepare for a career beyond cutbacks and repeater radio.  This is the year to come to my annual teaching conference to get updated and motivated.  If you tell a friend about it, you can save $300 off your registration – act now because the tuition increases the closer we get to the event – 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

In the very first chapter of my new book, I quote holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl as saying, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves”.  This also applies to the insanity going on right now in the broadcast industry.  I’ve devoted an entire book to “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available in paperback and e-reader for under $10 here.

My NewsTip Hotline.

Contact me personally here.

After last week’s massive firings, you’re probably wondering two things.

Are there more massive firings ahead?

And how in the world are companies like Clear Channel and Cumulus going to do even an imitation of local radio without people.  They can’t just use voice tracking.

Wait until you see the new computer system that allows San Antonio (or in this case Cincinnati) to hijack 850 radio stations.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  First, the firings.  Are there more?  When?  How massive?  I called all of this last week to the specific day.  Here’s what I’m predicting now.

2.  First details on the new computer system that allows Clear Channel regional people to program everything from afar.  And when they will start being installed at local stations.

3.  How the new system will work – and how it prevents a local program director from doing very much to music and formatic elements – that is, if you can find a local program director.

4.  The first information on the new system that is a nightmare for local markets.  What people close to the building of the new computer system privately think will happen once it goes live.

5.  This new control freak’s dream couldn’t wind up on Cumulus stations, could it?  You won’t believe who owns the rights.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Prepare for a career beyond cutbacks and repeater radio.  This is the year to come to my annual teaching conference to get updated and motivated.  If you tell a friend about it, you can save $300 off your registration – act now because the tuition increases the closer we get to the event – 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

In the very first chapter of my new book, I quote holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl as saying, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves”.  This also applies to the insanity going on right now in the broadcast industry.  I’ve devoted an entire book to “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available in paperback and e-reader for under $10 here.

My NewsTip Hotline.

Contact me personally here.

Yesterday, a day after firing over 200 people in one day (not to mention the thousands previously), Clear Channel President John Hogan made a big announcement that four people will replace them.

Say what?

Four people to replace hundreds?

Look beyond the spin to see the real intentions of Clear Channel as they await yet another bloodbath.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The real purpose of Clear Channel’s new National Programming Platform.  It’s not what they want you to think.

2.  What’s up with Guy Zapoleon pulling a Mike McVay and joining the executioners of local radio?

3.  How dangerous apologists for Clear Channel and Cumulus are and how they are helping the radio industry lose jobs. 

4.  The Clear Channel strategy to run local markets from far away and call it regional and local.  How it will sit with advertisers.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

The best way to build on a radio career is to check out the many new opportunities I will be identifying in the digital future at my 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

There is a chapter in my new book on luck – how, believe it or not, good luck often turns into bad and bad into good.  “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available in paperback or e-reader for under $10 here.

Earning your trust every day on my NewsTip Hotline.

Talk to me personally here.

Wait until you see the firings that both Clear Channel and Cumulus have planned for the rest of this year.

I’ve got the playbook for you for what these two companies plan to do – and when. 

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

CLEAR CHANNEL ...

1.  All about the computer upgrade that is coming to Clear Channel stations that will give corporate unprecedented control of local station content in real time.

2.  How extensive the use of Premium Choice (canned programming) will be.  25% of all Clear Channel markets?  You wish.

3.  Clear Channel has 12,000 employees right now.  Guess how many will be left in two years.  Here’s my best estimate.

4.  Why the major market firings that are coming will be even bigger than what we’ve seen in medium and small markets this week.  A bonanza for bean counters.  And a heads up on when the major market firings will start.

5.  Why you won’t be seeing Clear Channel migrating big AM brands to FM so much.  There is a reason and here it is.

CUMULUS …

1.  The unanticipated consequences of the massive Citadel firings going on right now.  Who has to worry next when the Dickeys finish with Citadel.

2.  Lew Dickey is hell bent upon doing something big in 2012 – and he’s not about to let the lives of fired employees get in his way.  Here’s what Dickey is after.

3.  The hidden problem in the Citadel-Cumulus acquisition that threatens the entire merger.  No one talks about this, but it could fatally damage the merger.

4.  Who the two most dangerous people in Cumulus really are – and, no – they don’t even have Dickey in their names.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

The best way to build on a radio career is to check out the many new opportunities I will be identifying in the digital future at my 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

There is a chapter in my new book on luck – how, believe it or not, good luck often turns into bad and bad into good.  “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available in paperback or e-reader for under $10 here.

Earning your trust every day on my NewsTip Hotline.

Talk to me personally here.

Okay, we know that Clear Channel is only in day two of its massive firings with more coming in the days and weeks ahead.

And that Cumulus is literally gutting its Citadel stations one at a time until every one is reduced to a tower and transmitter.

So what cutbacks are next?

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The next potential job category to be drastically downsized may surprise you.  They thought they had job security, but Clear Channel came up with this new plan.

2.  What one tipster says Cumulus is doing before they fire programming people. A hint:  it’s online and not in person.

3.  Clear Channel is not through blowing up Metro Traffic.  Here’s how.

4.  The big bang didn’t happen yet at Clear Channel in spite of the many firings yesterday.  Here’s when it will and what kind of blow it will be.

5.  Which company is more blood thirsty to keep the firing up – Clear Channel or Cumulus?

6.  If you work in sales at Clear Channel you may be safe if you have this one kind of job and may be the next victim if you have the other.  I’ll explain.

7.  The rest of the radio groups will sit out this massive replacement of local talent with national syndication, right?

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Don’t let consolidators force you out of radio – come to my conference and get positive and new opportunities – The 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

How to rebound from a bad break – my book “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available now in paper and e-reader for under $10 here.

Sunshine kills germs – my confidential Newstip Hotline.

Talk to me privately here.

A heartbreaking first day of Clear Channel firings took place yesterday with an estimated 200 people let go.

Meanwhile Cumulus took a wrecking ball to KLOS, Los Angeles claiming almost 20 jobs. 

But the bad news is that the firing is not over.  In fact, it is just starting.

Today, I want to give you a feel for the cruelty with which the firings were implemented and look ahead to what’s next.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  Clear Channel mandates a Benefits Enrollment Supervisor to sit down with fired employees although the benefits are lean.  How lean?

2.  What one job category got slammed in almost every market where it exists – giving a clue to Clear Channel’s eventual end game.

3.  Why there were only sporadic firings in large markets like New York yesterday and when that is likely to end.

4.  How badly Metro Traffic was slammed and why nothing stopped good people from being thrown under the bus.  The prospect of more Metro firings.

5.  The follow-up plan to firing big name popular talent in medium markets.  Why Clear Channel is so anxious to waste popular talent.

6.  How it felt to get fired in the exact words of a Clear Channel employee who made the long walk to the conference room.  It’s chilling.

7.  One coward of a manager left town and let a minion do the firing.  I’ve got the sorry story.

8.  Severance packages that reward fired employees who worked far less time than others.  The inequity of botched severance pay as an added insult.

9.  And what happened in John Laton’s Iowa cluster now that he walked out on John Hogan.  You’ll never believe what Clear Channel did.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Don’t let consolidators force you out of radio – come to my conference and get positive and new opportunities – The 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

How to rebound from a bad break – my book “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available now in paper and e-reader for under $10 here.

Sunshine kills germs – my confidential Newstip Hotline.

Talk to me privately here.

Do you ever get the feeling the executives at Cumulus and Clear Channel actually like making people worry about their jobs? 

It sure seems that way since reducing work force is done all the time in other industries without all the drama and needless worry.

This morning the clock is ticking with regard to the expected next round of Clear Channel massive cutbacks thought to coincide with President John “Flash Drive” Hogan’s major market managers meeting underway today in Chicago.

It’s hard to know exactly when the detonation will occur, but there are some things about the timeline that are very predictable that I will share with you today.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  What must happen first before cutbacks can begin in any given Clear Channel cluster.  In other words, if this hasn’t happened, you’ve probably got a few more weeks.

2.  The elapsed time between when Hogan hands off his flash drives to regional managers and actual firings.  A pretty good estimate – right here.

3.  My best assessment of which job position has a three times greater chance of being eliminated in this round of firings than any other job.  It’s my estimate based on sources who are on the ground at Clear Channel.

4.  When are the majority of the firings to be completed? And do they start up again?

5.  What is the safest position in at a Clear Channel station right now as the firings commence – and why that position is in jeopardy next year.

6.  Where is designer CEO Bob Pittman and what is he working on while Hogan drops the axe.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come to my conference and see the future – 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

It is situations like this – where Cumulus and Clear Channel devalue human talent – that made me write “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available in paperback or e-reader for under $10 here.

Sunlight exposes evil – my confidential Newstip Hotline.

Talk to me privately here.

John Hogan will be passing out those infamous flash drives to major market managers starting today in Chicago when he meets with them.

But the cost cuts Hogan mandated a little over a week ago to smaller market managers should kick in.

There is a pattern to how this executioner does it and I am going to share that with you today.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  Where the most cutbacks will come from.

2.  The Clear Channel plan that brings double savings!  That’s right – double.

3.  When the first firings should commence.

4.  There will likely be some survivors – this is my best thinking as to who the lucky ones may be and why they won’t be lucky for long.

5.  An idea of how pressured some regional managers are feeling to fire people, some do not want to terminate.  Hogan is holding them to the fire with this one comparable statistic – and they had better show Hogan a way to reduce it.

6.  Voice tracking is safe, right?

7.  One programming arm is going to look like a war zone when their cutbacks are implemented.  I’ll tell you which one is about to get annihilated.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come to my conference and see the future – 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

It is situations like this – where Cumulus and Clear Channel devalue human talent – that made me write “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available in paperback or e-reader for under $10 here.

Sunlight exposes evil – my confidential Newstip Hotline.

Talk to me privately here.

Cumulus is methodically traveling from market to market firing significant numbers of Citadel employees and any day now, Clear Channel is expected to initiate massive firings.

That we know.

What isn’t known is how dirty, petty, insulting and often illegal their tactics tend to be.

Today, I am going to share with you what I am hearing from the field and it’s not for the faint of heart.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The most cockamamie severance option I’ve ever heard from one of the biggest consolidators.  If it weren’t so serious, you’d die laughing at this ploy.

2.  One consolidator has a perfect way to get you to take a huge pay cut.  I know what you’re thinking – I’ll take the cut, at least I didn’t get fired.  Well, turns out they’re thinking the same thing, but their approach is both creative and evil.  I’ll give you all the details.

3.  What’s the last thing you say to an eight-month pregnant employee?  Okay, that’s YOU, but wait until you see what this employer said. 

4.  An unreported and unnoticed twist in the Clear Channel Regional Market Manager’s line of command.  Whoever thought of this is the one who should be fired because it’s going to backfire.

5.  How many managers does it take to manage a Clear Channel cluster?  Are you sure?  I’ll tell you the number that I’m thinking and I’ll back it up with evidence.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

The best use of your time and resources is to invest a day in yourself and get prepared for new opportunities.  Check your schedule and register for my 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

No one – not even Steve Jobs – achieved success without experiencing temporary setbacks.  My new book is “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available for under $10 in paperback or e-readers here.

Newstips in 100% confidence on my Newstip Hotline.

Talk to me privately here.

We now have a clear example of how Cumulus is invading the Citadel stations it took over a month ago and making wholesale changes whether they need to be made or not.

Employees are on edge and frustrated by some of the most confounding new policies you’ve ever heard.

I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned from Citadel markets where the Dickeys have come into town with guns blazing.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  What the first thing Cumulus did to the existing managers when they took over the station.  Even the managers who were outperforming their markets are forced to do this.

2.  The new normal in sales at Cumulus.  If it ain’t broke, here’s how Cumulus is fixing it anyway.

3.  Evidence that contrary to popular opinion, Cumulus is hiring.  Wait until you hear what positions they are filling.  And, don’t worry, they are still firing more folks than they hire.  It’s just taking longer.

4.  What would you do if you wanted to attract the best and the brightest – well, forget that because here’s all you need to know about the Cumulus “Open House” system for hiring inexperienced and inexpensive future employees.  

5.  What happens every other Thursday at the new Citadel stations?  No, it’s not a Skype sales meeting from Atlanta.  Think again – it’s even worse.  I’ll explain.

6.  Why unnecessary changes are being made at perfectly successful Citadel stations that have already been paired back to the fewest number of employees possible.  This gives you an idea of what the Dickeys have in store for their stations in the future.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

The best use of your time and resources is to invest a day in yourself and get prepared for new opportunities.  Check your schedule and register for my 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

No one – not even Steve Jobs – achieved success without experiencing temporary setbacks.  My new book is “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” available for under $10 in paperback or e-readers here.

Newstips in 100% confidence on my Newstip Hotline.

Talk to me privately here.

The new “No Local Staff” model of a Clear Channel cluster is up and running in some markets and I’ve got a sobering look at one of them and what you can expect to spread across the platform.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  Dramatic evidence that Clear Channel intends to run four or more stations with virtually no people.  But how?  Here it is.

2.  Walk through the mind of John Hogan or Bob Pittman – we’ll do the new math for you.  The Clear Channel station of the future is operating now and being readied in other markets and the savings are dazzling. 

3.  Which cities are immune from the Clear Channel  “No Local Staff” concept. 

4.  What Clear Channel is willing to forego that a traditional radio station would never do without.  Is anything still sacred?  Read on.

5.  How important is the morning personality now under Clear Channel’s new No Morning Show Left Behind concept.  Take this example and see.

6.  How Clear Channel is likely to roll out these new “No Local Staff” stations going forward.  And real soon.

7.  Come to understand why iHeartRadio is so important to Clear Channel – not for its programming, but for this. 

8.  You’ll now understand Clear Channel’s end game because we can now see it in operation.

The answers begin here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Don’t miss my conference this year – it’s a learning session that informs and motivates.  No panels, no sponsors, no hype – it’s for you – The 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

There is a great chapter in my new book on “Career Chaos” that can motivate you to new heights.  “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” in paperback or all popular e-readers for under $10 here.

The truth is our defense against those who are hell bent on ruining radio – my NewsTip Hotline.  100% anonymous.

Talk to me privately here.

Week two of the Cumulus bloodbath continues and the expected start of Clear Channel’s massive force reduction begins this week.

Already, a troubling pattern is emerging.

Here’s what people on the ground at both companies are saying about the next week of major force reductions at radio’s two biggest companies.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  Westwood One – look out.  

2.  Metro Traffic – my sources close to the action say big changes are coming and I’ve got them for you here.

3.  Where Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey is traveling this week on the day his competitor is ready to detonate their major reductions in work force – and it’s scaring the hell of out one Cumulus cluster.  

4.  The template for Cumulus firings at Citadel going forward.  Yes, there is a trend here and it gives you an idea of what to expect when the Grim Reaper of Cumulus shows up at the door.

5.  What to expect in the week ahead if you work at Cumulus or Clear Channel.

6.  For Cumulus – will the firings escalate, who is immune from the axe at the cluster level, a new twist in severance benefits.

7.  For Clear Channel victims:  When this week’s massive firings are expected to get underway, which job categories are protected, how long will this wave of firings persist.  

The answers begin here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Move on to the new radio.  My conference is all about the many opportunities ahead for radio people in the digital space at the 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

I’ve got some chapters in my new book that will make you rise up and turn adversity such as we are seeing now into success – “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” – paperback or Kindle, under $10 here.

The smartest, safest newstip network – 100% anonymity guaranteed – NewsTip Hotline.

If you read my piece yesterday, you know the huge scale of the firings that Clear Channel will begin to implement next week.

But I’ve since learned that these are not just regular personnel cuts.  CEO Bob Pittman has a crazy plan to operate the largest radio group with the smallest staff humanly possible and he’s going to do it under the cover of his special brainchild.

Today, I’ll tell you all the details.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The best picture yet of Bob Pittman’s Blueprint for the Future – the details as gathered by observers on the ground and elsewhere.  And the slight of hand trick he plans to pull so advertisers don’t notice that he is going to kill off local radio.

2.  What will Clear Channel’s local stations look like now.  One major change means there can be no going back.  I’ll tell you all about that change and what to watch as a gauge for the future.

3.  What’s to become of the local cluster concept.  Hardly anyone talks about that, but you’ll soon see that the Pittman Master Plan threatens to alter the radio group concept like never before. 

4.  How can a group as large as Clear Channel eliminate so many programming jobs – as they are about ready to do.  It can’t just be syndicated programming to the rescue.  Here’s what we’re missing.  You’ll see it is much more.

5.  When will the Pittman plan be fully deployed.  It can’t happen overnight, right?

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come learn with me at my February conference.  It’s $495 for early birds.  Real price is $795.  Bob Pittman is not speaking.  There are no panels.  It’s about you.  You’ll love this event – 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

Never give anyone permission to ruin your life and career.  Many broadcasters have told me my new book “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” was just what they needed.  Under $10 for the paperback and popular e-readers here.

Don’t let them get away with it – JD’s Newstip Hotline.  

Cumulus now has its very own John Laton – a former Citadel manager who graciously but firmly quit Lew yesterday.

And John Laton’s reward for not suffering fools lightly at the Flash Hogan Clear Channel management meetings last week, well – read on.

Radio employees are beginning to wise up before Dickey does them in and I’ll tell you why and where they are going.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  More solid evidence that great employees need not wait for the axe to fall to advance their statue – and career. 

2.  If Citadel employees made it this far, are their jobs now safe at Cumulus?  The latest on what’s going on at Cumulus where, sadly, the firing is just beginning.

3.  The best place to look for a new solid radio job if you happen to be targeted by Cumulus – or Clear Channel for that matter.

4.  The window of opportunity for getting one of the remaining few great local radio jobs.  Make sure you know this because it is vital.

5.  One destination that is no longer guaranteed to be safe from big market cutbacks.  I think you may be surprised.

6.  While Cumulus and Clear Channel grab all the headlines, guess what other companies are going to trim (hint:  it’s not the Christmas tree). 

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Join me at my 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

There is hope for a new tomorrow – check out my new inspirational book “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” now in paperback and e-reader for under $10 here.

Always 100% confidential – my Newstip Hotline.

Up to 50% of the workforce in one major market I will tell you about and an ugly picture of firings group wide and in at least one non-station entity.

Here is the latest I am hearing from the ground.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The cut list is done for this Clear Channel-owned division.  I’ll fill you in.

2.  One daypart systemwide will virtually be non-local everywhere.  This is that daypart.

3.  25% of this daypart will likely lose local programming after next week.  And another daypart I’ll tell you about will be without local talent across the board in most markets.

4.  The Clear Channel plan for how to handle program directors.  It ties directly into the master-firing plan you’ll soon be hearing about.

5.  This big and painful firing will be Clear Channel’s last, right?

6.  Plus, the big question – When?

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Join me at my 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

There is hope for a new tomorrow – check out my new inspirational book “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” now in paperback and e-reader for under $10 here.

Always 100% confidential – my Newstip Hotline.

When Clear Channel Market Manager John Laton walked out on John Hogan’s Flash Drive meetings in Atlanta recently, he may not have realized how he inspired others to stand up and be counted.

Radio could – and should – have its own Occupy Wall Street except it should be called Occupy Radio – and do what has been missing for a decade.

Pressure the investment banks into either selling or feeling the pressure and backing off.

I have your plan right here.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  Blockade the talent because if these bean counters actually had to run a radio station without radio people, well, you know what would happen.  Here’s where to start.

2.  How to blockade the advertisers who blindly support these Wall Street creeps and put a real hurt on investment banks that hurt people.  Yes, this is a plan for hitting radio’s investment bank owners right in the pocketbook.

3.  How to stop letting local stations owned by far away consolidators get away with not serving the community.  This part is doable from day one.  If a disaster happens and a big consolidator misses it because they were voice tracking, you no longer have to watch them get away with it while the disaster is being cleaned up.

4.  A precedent setting boycott of Bubba the Love Sponge that was so powerful it brought the Florida station to its knees.  Here’s how they did it.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Don’t be left out of my next conference – the 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

Want to read a book that helps you bring out your greatness, “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” is now available in paperback or e-reader for under $10 here.

Sunshine exposes bad radio operators – my Newstip Hotline.

Cumulus is chipping away at the $50 million in efficiencies it promised lenders who funded their Citadel acquisition, but now it has become evident that the savings don’t stop with firings.

And firings definitely won’t stop.

Here’s the first report of what it is like at Citadel stations taken over by Cumulus after one month.  It isn’t pretty.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The most unbelievable expense reimbursement system you’ve ever heard.  We report, you will cringe.

2.  An employee benefits plan that no one will talk about – maybe Cumulus is hoping it will go away.

3.  How directions are being communicated to the troops.  Here I rely on an employee on the ground and you’ll get it straight from this employee's words.

4.  How Lew is managing the payables.  Read this and you’ll see where they are coming up with $50 million in savings.

5.  Ever wonder who at Cumulus must pre-approve an expenditure?  I’ll tell you what the new Citadel people have to go through to get a $50, $50 to 500 and over $500 expense approved – and, remarkably, each one is different.

6.  Finish this line:  If a Citadel station needs something that they must have, I must first do (blank).  No, not get approval.  No, not shop for the cheapest price.  You will not believe what Lew Dickey is making his employees do when they need essential things.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come learn with me at my 2012 Media Solutions Lab

“Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” is my book on a new path to success.  Paperback or e-reader edition for under $10, here.

30% of all my stories come from you – my Newstip Hotline.

Randy Michaels couldn’t hurt a flea right now.

The reason his Merlin news stations are doing so poorly with so many talented people is not because they are all dumb but because Randy Michaels keeps making a big mistake he never made at Jacor or Clear Channel.

He’s making his competitors stronger.

Here’s what’s going to happen with Merlin News, with Michaels and with anyone who uses strategic planning that shoots themselves in the foot.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  Three mistakes Randy Michaels made that he would have never made at Jacor and Clear Channel.  Never.

2.  His Merlin News can be reinvented every month for the next year and it’s too late to beat or even take a piece out of CBS all-newsers in Chicago and New York.  The missing piece of the puzzle no one is talking about.

3.  The new rules for making a targeted competitor make all the mistakes so that you can take advantage of them.

4.  You can predict how the Merlin News experiment will turn out by watching these telling signs.  If not, I’ll tell you what I think is going to happen.

5.  I rarely talk about when Randy Michaels sued me for $100 million when he was at Clear Channel and how I beat him.  Looks like CBS was paying attention.  They are doing the same thing. I share it all.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come to my 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

My book will motivate you to succeed “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages”.  For you, under $10 paperback or e-reader.

Tell me anonymously – my Newstip Hotline.

Flash Hogan is ready to strike.

The upcoming firings at Clear Channel will be significant but will be handled very differently than the ones going on at Cumulus.

I’ve got the latest intelligence on what’s really going down next at Clear Channel.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The reason lenders insist on massive employee cutbacks even though they add up to a miniscule savings.  If you’ve ever wondered, here’s the answer.

2.  The size of the coming Clear Channel cuts.

3.  When.

4.  Who.  Clear Channel has done a pretty brutal job of cleaning out their business offices.  That leaves sales or programming.  As Dirty Harry would say, “how lucky do you feel?”

5.  The big not so obvious clue as to how Clear Channel will operate so many stations with radically smaller staffs.

6.  The Clear Channel method for mass firings.  Cumulus has its way, but wait until you see how Pittman and Hogan are going to try and fire under the radar.  Pittman has already tried his smoke screen out and it worked.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Don’t miss my conference this year – a good time to retrain yourself for the future at the 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

The first step in gearing up for a career change is my new book on self-empowerment – “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages”.  Order paperback or e-reader for under $10 here.

Sunshine exposes a lot of bad radio operators – my Newstip Hotline.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what it is like to have Cumulus sweep into town and fire people, I’ve got it for you here from eyewitness accounts.

It was ugly at KGO and KSFO last week.  In fact grotesque. 

The details from the scene of what it was like and how it may be at other Cumulus stations as the company races to cut the $50 million it promised to lenders by the end of the year.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  What it is like at a Cumulus station the day of a mass firing – sad but true.

2.  Why some describe firing day as a scene from the George Clooney movie “Up In the Air”.  

3.  What order do they start executing from top to bottom or bottom up? It appears to be a well rehearsed routine.

4.  The technique Cumulus uses to call a person to the firing room.

5.  The post-firing walk – you won’t believe what they make each employee do.

6.  The lies that were told just week’s earlier and how previous assurances proved to be untrue.

7.  Employees were promised a chance to vie for jobs – what John Dickey called a “jump ball” but instead they got this.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come to my conference and learn how valuable your skills can be in the year ahead – 2012 Media Solutions Lab.

My book “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” could really come in handy now.  Under $10 here.

You can’t stop them but you can shed light on them – my Newstip Hotline.

If you haven’t heard about this hero, you must.

Finally, a manager – a high up, well-respected executive – who confronted one of radio’s biggest fools with a message he didn’t like.

And he walked away.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  All the details – how it happened.  And believe me, you’ll be inspired.

2.  A four point plan for getting your act together if you want to stand up for what you believe in and walk away from a radio company that doesn’t appreciate you.  Worth it – you’ll see.

3.  The best way to look for a new job when you’re still employed and, as you’ll see almost nobody does it this way.  But this way always works.

4.  The best advice I give my young college students – and I hold nothing back here – but it changes their lives and hopefully will help you change yours.

5.  The gut check to see if you have what it takes to stop working for fools and start enjoying the fun of doing what you love to do again.

The answers start now.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Come to my next Media Solutions Lab.

My new book is called “Out of Bad Comes Good – The Advantages of Disadvantages” about unlocking your human potential.  Costs under $10 here.

Newstips?  No one has your back better than I do.  Newstip Hotline.

The Clear Channel managers meeting in Atlanta is over.

Now we know the future of Clear Channel.

It’s not what they are saying in press releases. It is the next phase of contraction that will sound great but further gut the company of talent.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The real reason behind naming high performing smaller and medium market managers to Regional Market Managers.

2.  Why 21 Regional Programming Managers have not been appointed to program local radio.  Their one mission is to do this.

3.  Why you should keep an eye on iHeartRadio.  After all, it is just an app, but I believe it is also a Trojan Horse and I’ll tell you what is hiding in it.

4.  Kiss-Ass Management has arrived at Clear Channel.  Managers with integrity are getting out because of what Clear Channel is going to make them do.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Randy Michaels has had enough.

His two all-news stations that were supposed to compete with CBS in New York and Chicago are barely showing up in the ratings and he’s vowing to change all of that.

I’ve got the apparent changes Randy is going to make plus the ones he needs to make if Merlin Media wants to compete with CBS.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  Do Lightning News – news at the speed of light.  I’ll tell you what it is and how it should be done.  And nobody will confuse this for WBBM or 1010 WINS.

2.  How to deal with news anchors.  Not dual anchors, not a trio of anchors – Randy needs to use four or five anchors every hour.  No, not what you think – no small talk, happy talk or extraneous talk, but this short attention span winner.

3.  A sure way to take advantage of big breaking news stories that cannot currently be done in the present Merlin News format. 

4.  How to handle staples like traffic and weather that so far make Merlin sound like CBS.  Right now Merlin news stations are doing identical traffic and weather breaks as its competitors.  Here’s a great way to handle traffic in a non-CBS way and an even more effective way to do weather.  

5.  Why Randy’s news stations should not have a program director.  But they should have this job – and I guarantee you no radio station you know has one of these people running the format.  But they should.

6.  What the newsroom should look like if Merlin is serious about showing listeners that CBS is old news.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

How to build amazing radio stations that appeal to younger listeners, at my conference.

Want the skills to adapt to a changing world?  Check out my book

30% of all our story ideas come from readers, here’s the newstip hotline.

Here’s a great new way to keep your morning show without paying the talent any salary.

I am going to share with you an ingenious new plan developed by an innovative owner where the station pays the talent no salary and doesn’t just save money but increases revenue every month.

What follows is a real life case study successfully working now.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  What the talent gets in return for doing the morning show for free and what the station gets by keeping him employed and not opting for voice tracking or syndication.  The entire plan is right here point by point.

2.  How this station is actually substantially increasing its billing every month while the morning personality has never been happier.

3.  A new way of selling for this show that goes way beyond selling spots and can be a motivation to stations elsewhere so they can steal these new buying opportunities in the show.

4.  Six new ad revenue streams that are reaping additional profits at this innovative radio station.  If you try just one of them, you’re bound to add more revenue.

5.  The one thing that sponsors are lapping up when this radio station makes this guarantee.  No prospect has turned it down yet.

6.  How this new stream of revenue is in addition to, not part of traditional sales techniques by account execs so the cash flow potential is endless.

Get ready to be inspired.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Attend the 2012 Media Solutions Lab

Buy Jerry’s new book

Send a newstip

First Wall Street took over and bean counters ran roughshod on radio and the music industry.

Now, there is a change afoot that is directly related to the subject of the popular book and movie “Moneyball” that portends the coming of analytics.

But there is a better way.

If you are planning to continue a career in the media business, you’ll want to know what it is so you can plan for it.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The more you cut, the more you save or is it the more you spend, the more you make?  Which way is it? 

2.  Why the reign of terror at Cumulus, Clear Channel and lesser radio dictatorships is going to come to an end – not because the CEOs will stop it, but because “Moneyball” analytics will. 

3.  Your best career move could be not thinking like an investment banker or an analyst.  I’ve got a better solution for you that almost always works.

4.  Soon you may have to choose doing things by the numbers or by instinct.  Here are some likely outcomes.

5.  The repercussions for radio and records if investment bank owners start thinking like the person who inspired “Moneyball” – Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Quick. 

Name a radio station that you think has the potential for being the radio station of the future.

I have found one and I want to share with you what this station is doing that cannot be compromised by iPad, iPhone or streaming music service competitors.

That’s right, the bulletproof radio station of the future.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  What is the most important thing to do with your brand to create the radio station of the future.

2.  Two great ways to endear yourself to listeners and join them the way they want to listen to you.  

3.  Take this litmus test -- one critical question that will tell you whether listeners are likely to stay with a station or continue to migrate to new media.  One question.  Plus, the solution (if you fail this test).

4.  Forget Twitter.  Forget Facebook.  Okay, don’t forget them but grow beyond them to this better type of social media connection that can be easily done.  And an added benefit over Twitter and Facebook – monetizing it!

5.  The most promising way to attract new listeners to radio yet most operators don’t do it. 

The radio station of the future, starts here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (1,400 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Actually, as many of you remember, this site was available free for four years prior to switching to our present paid model.

That’s a long tryout!

I am sincerely grateful to all of you who have joined our group and subscribed.

A little context on our first anniversary.

I was teaching at USC, consulting, writing a book and trying to write a post a day for Inside Music Media.  I named the site Inside Music Media because I believed – and still do – that music, media and the mobile Internet cannot all go together in the digital age.

And as a professor of music industry at USC, I devoted my time to writing courses and teaching generational media to amazing young people of the next generation – that’s why generational media is an integral part of this publication.

I used to get 300 emails a day on average from readers of the free model about the stories I wrote and tried to answer every one of them – as you probably know if you contacted me then.  I still love the back and forth with readers today.

So it came down to this – either, stop writing it and get on with business or making Inside Music Media a bigger part of what I do.

Many doubted that this pay model would work but in the first year our group has grown consistently month after month.  I hardly ever take a day off from writing it – actually, I love to write about these topics.  I have the most understanding wife in the world, Cheryl, who knows practically all of you because she handles your subscription questions and conference registrations.  

After all, I met her when she worked at Inside Radio and I wouldn’t let Clear Channel have her when they bought the company!  I married her and took her with me.  What a deal.

Half of all subscribers sign up for a one-year subscription from day one.

There is a 95% renewal rate on the monthly subscriptions.  We lost a monthly subscriber because he had to save up for an engagement ring but he came back this week and wrote me a nice note to tell me. 

We caught a big radio CEO stealing a subscription by using another person’s password.  No, it isn’t you-know-who or that other guy.  This CEO used to steal Inside Radio when I published it as well.  You’ve just gotta laugh.  People who make ends meet, pay and millionaires steal. 

I have found that operating a pay site is more difficult than I thought but I have this wonderful developer named Brock Ferguson from a company called Caribou who is responsible for most of the good things the site does every day.  Brock and I are working on plans for the year ahead to connect the group further and enrich the experience.

We had one server problem in the first year and Brock stayed up all night, fixed it and then changed servers so that we could be even more reliable. 

I am often asked where I get my story ideas from. 

Well, about 30% come from you.  In fact, I get lots of great links, stories and emails that are usually very reliable.  Of course, we do our best to check them out before deciding whether to run with a suggested story.

Some things are confidential.  Some are not.  I never exposed a source – not even when Clear Channel was trying to sue me ten years ago.  I’m proud of that.

I don’t sell email addresses.

Don’t overly commercialize my seminars.

Never let a vendor take the microphone to pitch you their wares.

No, I don’t hate Lew Dickey. 

If you know me, you know that is true.

Bob Pittman is a nice guy and I say it over and over in print.

I dislike the deed and not the person – that’s what we taught in Dale Carnegie and it’s good advice.  I was a Dale Carnegie instructor for many years.

I am friends with some media people but when we disagree they don’t seem to get mad – maybe that’s why we are still friends. 

And overall, everyone in our media group is so nice.  It helps because in radio today the mood is gloomy.  People are treating other people in ways no one could imagine even ten years ago. 

My readers are a diverse group – young, mid-career, accomplished media types who, believe it or not, are still keeping up with the many changes that affect the media industry.

I have great love of musicians and young music industry entrepreneurs.  They remind me of my students – bright, engaged and passionate. 

You’ve no doubt noticed that I like to write about mobile content as much as I like writing about radio and music.

My readers have great interest in what’s new, what’s next and what skills they will need to be part of it.

The iPad is a game changer and it will be entrepreneurs like many of you who will innovate in content and marketing.  I’m going to try to call the trends in advance for you.

One of my good friends – a fellow publisher – told me “JD, this will never work.  People will not pay $99 to read you”.

I said, that if that’s the case, then they will be doing me a big favor by reminding me to go do something else.

Fortunately, my friend’s prediction has not come true and you subscribed.

And I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who reside in our group for inspiring and enabling this effort.

I will keep the stories coming if you will keep reading them.

And hope to see old friends and new in person at my next Media Solutions Lab.

The giant supermarket and radio advertiser Kroger is madder than hell and isn’t going to take it anymore.

Kroger doesn’t want to advertise on radio stations that run “commercial free” days or dayparts.

The fact that an advertiser is speaking up now says radio needs to nip this one right in the bud.

I’m preparing a segment on more effective, less offensive “commercial free” strategies that work better ahead at my upcoming 2012 Media Solutions Lab.  But, this can’t wait so I want to share a few now.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  The answer to the question why do all-news stations run so many spots, make so much money and have so much audience.  They have the answer and here it is.

2.  The one workaround to “commercial free” that you will want to avoid like the plague because it’s less offensive but doesn’t work any better.  Take note.

3.  The next thing advertisers are getting itchy about.  You will want to be prepared for their next complaint.

4.  How much longer will listeners put up with commercials in a digital world of banner ads and interactive pre-roll videos?  But, here’s a way around the problem.

5.  The shrewdest strategic move that far outperforms “commercial free” days or dayparts.  The best plan – bar none – for radio stations wishing to get credit for playing lots of music without pissing off their advertisers.  Try it in off hours and you’ll adopt it.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (almost 1,300 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Radio groups are committed to cutting costs but what they’re planning now is really off the Richter Scale.

Here’s what I am hearing about radio groups, further cutbacks and other amazing moves that may come to a station near you soon.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Just click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  One radio group is rumored to be thinking about tracking their salespeople by GPS.  We’ll name names.

2.  The chance of more cutbacks before the holidays.  Most of the big consolidators are going to let additional people go, but one company may be ready to make the most cuts.  We’ll tell you who and why.

3.  There has been a change in the way radio groups are getting more national programming by local managers who oppose it.  It’s pretty slick, actually.  Here are two revealing case studies.

4.  Sit down for this.  I’m hearing some healthy FM stations are in jeopardy even though they are making money and attracting sizeable audiences.  Here’s what local market sources are telling me.  Simulcasting out of control – Phase 2.

5.  The legal and financial problems radio stations may run into if they continue to pursue daily deals instead of selling on-air advertising.  A large national newspaper confirmed the many problems of couponing that stations are ignoring.

6.  Defending sexual discrimination lawsuits instead of spending what is tantamount to wasted legal fees on sensitivity training.  It is 2011 and here is what one radio company is doing instead of innovating.

The answers start here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (almost 1,300 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Now what.

Bob “Pitchman” Pittman became the new CEO of Clear Channel over the weekend and today consolidates his power over a company he joined only 10 months ago.

There will be big, significant changes ahead and I’m going to lay them out for you here.

If you are a subscriber, thank you for joining our group.  Click through and unlock the content.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing and would like to access this story, let me tell you what you will get.

1.  What is likely to happen to John Hogan now in spite of all that flowery praise that is gushing from Pittman.

2.  The key changes Pittman will make to the radio group. 

3.  How Pittman will deal with the $18 billion in debt that Clear Channel owes and cannot repay.

4.  Pittman was also named CEO and board member for Clear Channel Outdoor.  It’s very revealing to the overall future of the radio division.  Here’s why.

5.  How much longer does Pittman have to decide whether to sell some Clear Channel stations. 

6.  With the Pittman appointment, Clear Channel now becomes dominant in the digital space, right?

7.  The one radio executive who Pittman is most likely to imitate as CEO of Clear Channel.  Know who this person is and you’ll see the future clearly.

8.  The outlook for Clear Channel managers, salespeople and talent.  Sit it out or get out.  And why Pittman’s past track record will tell you when to act this time.

The answers begin here.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (almost 1,300 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices.