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Wanted to share this with you from LARadio.com today. It was in response to an item written about a station where I used to work (KRTH-FM in Los Angeles) where Robert W. Morgan AND the Real Don Steele were both paid full salaries as they fought their losing battles with cancer, and could no longer be on the air. They both died within months of each other, at only about age 60. The then-general manager had written an item about it, and wondered if anybody else in management/owner position would be so compassionate today. I'm often given to reaming the corporate mentality and the greedy pirates who embrace it. So it's a pleasure to give praise when/where praise is deserved:
Well we're still waiting for an answer on that one. But another fellow, Bob Fox, a past chairman of the So Cal Broadcasters Assn and radio chairman of the NAB offered a story of his own (from awhile back, not now):
"In 1991 there was a big recession in the U.S. The revenues in the Oxnard/Ventura market were down 15% and our revenues were down by the same amount. In the 26 years at the time I had owned KVEN and KHAY, we had one flat year and all the other years were up years. From 1980 to 1990 our revenues almost doubled, which meant we were averaging increases of about 10% or more per year. But getting back to 1991, business was really bad. So, I called a meeting with Dave Loe, my corporate partner. We were both taking out the same amount of money, as that was the deal I had made with him. I told him that our employees were frightened that they would lose their jobs and I told Dave that as the two owners we should each take a 25% cut in our pay and by so doing we would be able to preserve the jobs of our employees .
"I called a meeting of all of the employees and told them what Dave and I were doing and that none of them would lose their jobs and as owners it was our responsibility to preserve our company and the employees who worked for the company - and the company would continue to pay their health insurance. Employees were covered 100% and their family members were covered at about 90% and the employee made up the difference, which was a few bucks per month. I also told the employees that the only sacrifice they would have to make would be that there would be no increase in salaries until the economy turned around but their jobs were safe.
"The employees were grateful beyond belief and I wish I still had some of the appreciative notes that I received .
"When I think of the tens of millions that the Mays family was taking out of Clear Channel in 2008, 2009, etc. and the layoffs they approved of hundreds of employees, it boggles my mind. The Mays family could have refused their multi-million dollar bonuses and saved all of those jobs. Apparently, they didn’t care about anyone other than themselves. At CBS, Les Moonves, the chairman/ceo of CBS, Inc. has been making $40 to 60 million per year with his options. Where the hell does a board of directors come off approving that kind of pay? If he made 10 million a year, in my opinion he still would be overpaid, but the tens of millions in savings would have saved a lot of the cutbacks. And yet, a couple of small time operators such as Dave and I were willing to cut our salaries in order to save the jobs of our employees."
They should ALL take a page from this management/corporate type. ESPECIALLY the last paragraph on that page. This is from LARadio.com. It's subscriber-only. But if you're into So Cal Radio and the people in/on it, it's highly recommended!
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