Reports: iHeartMedia undergoing layoffs, including at Syracuse, Rochester radio

[ChrisSmolinski]

According to All Access, a memo sent to staff informed them that the revamp will lead to “employee dislocation," including layoffs. It’s unclear how many jobs will be cut, but every iHeartRadio website has removed the personal blogs and bios for its on-air personalities at more than 850 radio stations.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2020/01/reports-iheartmedia-undergoing-layoffs-including-at-syracuse-rochester-radio-stations.html


For other iHeartMedia employees, the first sign of trouble came early Tuesday morning, when the company sent employees an email announcing a “new organizational structure.” The memo, obtained by Rolling Stone, seemed plucked partly from a corporate-culture parody like Office Space. It opened with chest-puffing (“we are the #1 audio company in America”) and then slathered on numbing layers of business jargon (new institutions include “the Integrated Revenue Strategies Group” and “Excellence Centers”).

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/iheartmedia-mass-layoffs-937513/

[redhat]

Rumor on the street is about 1200 people are getting axed.

+-RH

[JimIO]

Race to the bottom in overdrive now...   

~

[ChrisSmolinski]

Having been self employed now for a number of years, I am not up on all the new corporate euphemisms; "employee dislocation" was a new one for me. I do remember excellence centers, however, actually the phrase "center of excellence" was used by a mega-corporation that acquired the company I worked for at the time. When they started to use phrases like "rationalizing redundancies" I decided it was time to get out of Dodge.

[KaySeeks]

the phrase "center of excellence" was used by a mega-corporation that acquired the company I worked for at the time.

COEs have largely fallen out of favour for a few years. Not really replaced with anything though. Interesting that these guys are more-or-less keeping it. Perhaps that means they are behind the times on other things too.

"Dislocation", "cost reduction", "harmonization" and "closer integration" are the new buzzwords for redundancies.

[redhat]

Iheart goes through a restructuring about every decade.  I have a feeling larger changes are on the horizon,  all heresay at this point however.

+-RH

[JimIO]

100% AI, or 'post human' (Alex Jonesy). Yeah, that'll work.   

~

[ThaDood]

Technically, since radio stations are no longer required to have a a physical studio at the location of broadcasting, they can consolidate to a single national location and have everything programmed and linked out to the cities of broadcast and make all of these high powered stations kind of like translators. Actually, NPR has done that for years in various states, (Like here in WV.), and nationally K-Love is doing that now,   http://www.klove.com/    Take this to a commercial level and there you go. The idea of just a handful of people doing programming and sales to a few hundred stations nation-wide is a golden goose that would be just too hard to pass up. As it is, most of those people left can do their tasks from home. I can see commercial and non-profit conglomerates going to that model exclusively this decade.

[Josh]

Surely there will be no rise in monopolies because of these shenanigans.

[BoomboxDX]

Technically, since radio stations are no longer required to have a a physical studio at the location of broadcasting, they can consolidate to a single national location and have everything programmed and linked out to the cities of broadcast and make all of these high powered stations kind of like translators. Actually, NPR has done that for years in various states, (Like here in WV.), and nationally K-Love is doing that now,   http://www.klove.com/    Take this to a commercial level and there you go. The idea of just a handful of people doing programming and sales to a few hundred stations nation-wide is a golden goose that would be just too hard to pass up. As it is, most of those people left can do their tasks from home. I can see commercial and non-profit conglomerates going to that model exclusively this decade.

Just another addition to the consolidation (and accompanying layoffs of people in the radio business) that took place after Telecom 1996. Anyone I knew in the industry is probably looking at the door now, even if they don't work for IHeart. The trend isn't exactly heartening (pun intended).

A lot of guys online talk about radio being live and local, but there are only so many people a small, live and local operation can take on. Many of them are running on thin margins because of a decreasing number of advertisers -- which is another factor in play here. Local mom & pop stores don't advertise as much on radio, and there are tons of other advertising options (online).

[redhat]

Technically, since radio stations are no longer required to have a a physical studio at the location of broadcasting, they can consolidate to a single national location and have everything programmed and linked out to the cities of broadcast and make all of these high powered stations kind of like translators. Actually, NPR has done that for years in various states, (Like here in WV.), and nationally K-Love is doing that now,   http://www.klove.com/    Take this to a commercial level and there you go. The idea of just a handful of people doing programming and sales to a few hundred stations nation-wide is a golden goose that would be just too hard to pass up. As it is, most of those people left can do their tasks from home. I can see commercial and non-profit conglomerates going to that model exclusively this decade.

This isn't too far from the rumors I'm hearing.  Why else did most of the layoffs happen in programming and on-air...

Plus, remote voice-tracking of air shifts has been going on for well over 20 years.  Some jock working from home can be on 6 stations coast to coast, and do it all before lunch.

+-RH

[JimIO]

iheart's biz. model only works if there is a pool of brainwashed listeners, oh wait...   

~

[redhat]

As long as money is coming in the door from advertisers, nothing will change.

+-RH

[Pigmeat]

I fart in their direction.

[BoomboxDX]

Surely there will be no rise in monopolies because of these shenanigans.

Ya think? Lol.

Because of increased fragmentation in the broadcasting / online-broadcasting model, I can't see how the big radio companies debt will go down any time soon. And then you have the issues with advertising dollars. Some stations are making money hand over fist, but the corporations are still in debt. The fragmentation of advertising is also pushing this new model.

From what I've read elsewhere, it's not just radio, but other industries aren't seeing the advertising dollars they used to depend on to keep their business afloat.

In one station in Iowa, the sports hosts were brought back because of 'audience complaints' -- one guy on another forum said he thinks perhaps it was actually the advertisers who complained, as they were seeing results from advertising on that highly rated show.