MORE THAN 22,000 in the past two years. 88 percent more this year than last. According to Rush it's because the people aren't getting what they want from the media. He mentioned that the CNN execs went to the Bahamas for coming in under budget, but nothing for the poor worker bee. He also said "No losses around here". Funny he failed to mention job trimmings at the Parent CC... but CNN and Time Warner are making cuts because the people don't want their product. I
don't mind some positive spin, I could use some myself, but I hate when people only state the facts that suit them, and don't paint the whole picture.

The economy is great...... sure but if you are 30 days from forclosure, or work for Ford, the Economy SUCKS......

Want a livable house for under 10 thousand dollars? Want dozens of them for under 20? Youngstown Ohio is the place to be.

Just for fun, what would a home cost in Portland's WORST neighborhood? How about Seattle?

Yet go to either area and people there will say that the economy sucks too........

It's all perception.

>>>"He mentioned that the CNN execs went to the Bahamas for coming in under budget"

Interesting they got rewarded for coming in under budget. Gone is the atmosphere where people are rewarded for doing an outstanding job of providing exceptional and resourceful news coverage.

Roger, I realize that wasn't the whole of the intent of your post, but I had to point it out. It's part of my endless criticism of the broadcast industry today being run by money people and not broadcasters.

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But the reform act of 96 made me shiver
Turned my career into chopped liver,
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about media's big slide,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died.

This is why I so enjoy voice tracking for an independently owned station. If that station were in Portland all the better, but for now I take great satisfaction that there are still those who put the audience first.

Deane I do miss KCYX. That was something special. Too bad I didn't appreciate it then as much as I do today. Part of being young and egotistical.

Chris, you'll recall we had some great people through there. Many ended up in Portland.

KCYX was special for one reason. It was based solely on talent.

Deane.... No, you are fine. I didn't want to get into a long winded disertation on the topic. Suffice to say that it takes very little to keep employees motivated, yet there is no budget for that. Funny that there is budget for the executive company paid trip, when most of those execs could easily cover the expense on their earnings.

Give me 50 to 100 bucks a month for in house promotions, and it is amazing how appreciative a staff can be? a ten dollar gas card for the best spec spot.... 10 dollar Chilis gift card for the best phone bit..... 25 bucks cash for a usable promotion idea... a bit of incentive, a reward for a job well done a pat on the back and show of appreciation and people will bust their asses for you! A monthly in house contest! a surprise out of the blue.... It doesn't cost much to show that you are a great place to work......

"KCYX was special for one reason. It was based solely on talent."

Thanks Deane. Glad to have KCYX on my resume.

Roger, right on the mark with the perks. Perks Work!

As for the overall theme, yes fewer jobs. But here is the good news: If you have a little talent, a great attitude, are so flexible you can bend over backwards and then forwards again, play well with others, and don't expect to get rich, there are jobs out there for you.

Can we bring back 1976? Nope. But the industry still needs bright, articulate people who are willing to take satisfaction in the fact that they are not "working for a living", but "living for working!". Don't mean to sugar-coat, but just want to let some of you know it isn't all as bleak as many make it out to be.

I have heard there are some station that make "trade" stuff available to talent....at a cost. like 50 cents on the dollar.. Isnt that illeagal ?

I believe there isn't anything illegal about it. As long as they didn't promise to give it away on air. The client gets the traded spots for the product, on paper the station has to treat it like the client bought spots using the stuff as money. Anyway as long as they didn't say we are going to give it away on air........

Perks Gone Wild...

American Airlines last week announced its first profitable year in several. Pilots and other workers took $1.6 billion in salary and benefit cuts to make it happen.

The profit for the year was $231 million. The bonuses due 50 top managers for the profitable year total $218 million!

Needless to say, the unions are annoyed...

And why does the average worker get angry over cuts? See above post.

That's ugly Paul!

I would quit working for that company and start pumping gas if I had to. Embarrasing.

Self employment rules.

Sorry to bang this drum again but if you want freedom from corporate stupidity and greed work for yourself.

Self employment rules.

yes, but sometimes it doesn't pay much and the start up can be a long slow climb...

I'll say.



And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The business model was all broken.
And the three companies I hate the most
Entercom, Clear Channel and the CBS ghost,
They bought the last indies on the coast
The day the music died.

If you conduct your self-employment organized as an S-corp, you can still be subject to corporate stupidity...You just can't blame it on other people!

Roger- When people ask how my wife and I got into being self employed we often tell them it took time.

My advice is if you’re moonlighting begins to take away from your regular full time job see if you can cut your hours back at your full time gig. Keep that full time as long as you can so that when you're ready to cross over into full self-employment you have some solid footing.

We didn't have that comfort since my wife and I both lost jobs within a year and a half of each other, plus another moonlighting gig for me ended at the same time. We had our first baby on the way, a new car, a mortgage payment...talk about pressure. No full time gigs were opening up so we took some part time work in radio, (Z100). We finally figured since no one else is going to hire us full time we'd hire ourselves.

We were forced to be creative with our expenses and made some good choices along the way. Because my wife and I took this as a challenge we were very focused. A couple of times I took our mortgage payment down to the bank at 5pm the day it was due because a check didn't arrive until late in the mail the same day.

Initially I was concerned that I wouldn’t get a paycheck every two weeks. Again we were constantly evaluating our business and costs. We had our bare bones budget and to this day during a lean month we go right back into that budget. Thankfully the lean months are rare these days. Our mortgage is paid off and we are basically debt free. But we were patient, didn’t buy things we didn’t need and kept our goals in sight.

Paul- We are able to pick and choose our clients. We have turned down some lucrative jobs because we didn’t feel comfortable with the client. Sometimes a client looks good and turns out not to be so, in that case we cut our loses and move on.

A few years ago I found myself in a business situation where it was all about money and how fast we could make it. I was never really comfortable with the arrangement and in the end it wasn’t worth the money I was making. I was always looking over my shoulder waiting for the axe to fall. I made an unethical business choice that cost me not only money but a friendship, which was the bigger loss.
The lessons learned during that time have strengthened the businesses my wife and I currently run and we have seen some of our best years.

We are successful because we do good work at a fair price, and no corporate person is looking over my shoulder.

"We are able to pick and choose our clients..."

The best part, by far, of self-employment, IMHO. It's worth whatever financial uncertainty comes with working for yourself.

Recently the pickin's have been good.