The two guys in the photo with me are Marty Allen and Paul Rado, until yesterday producers of the Mike Trivisonno show on WTAM/1100. I say until yesterday because right around 5:00, as the Clear Channel suits were getting ready to go home, the two were called into the office and told that their services were not needed anymore.Job insecurity is pretty much the nature of the beast in media nowadays. You give the company your best for many years and they show you the door. Clear Channel pretty much became the Walmart of radio a number of years ago when they, and other large companies, bought radio stations like they were going out of style. Each company then put all their local properties in one location and started sharing services, such as news, traffic, and weather. They also started voice tracking their music shows, mostly away from morning and afternoon drive. This made many jobs obsolete and many folks who once had dreams of making a name for themselves in this medium were shown the door. And others, who had made a name for themselves, were shown the door. I will say it again, thank God for the small number of locally owned and operated media companies still around
Clear Channel and others have had some very heartless ways of downsizing. They had cut over a thousand jobs on inaguration day when the nation was focusing on the events in Washington. But the unkindest cuts in this, and any industry, came during the holidays when people were told their services were no longer needed. Imagine being escorted out of the building while listening to Burl Ives singing "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas."
It stinks to have friends lose their jobs. But as Petula Clark once sang "Its a sign of the times."
Comments
Best of luck to them in finding new employment.
Good luck in your next endeavor. Life is a wheel, and we always come back around to the top.
Talent and experience are too expensive for radio "management" to deal with now. Sad state of affairs, indeed.
You guys have fought more battles in Cleveland than CC's managers ever knew existed.
Think of it this way: now, you can look in from the outside and shake your head at what the company is doing (or not doing).
If you need any help, let me know.
Johnny Morgan
JOHNNYMORGAN@HOTMAIL.COM
Thank you for your well wishes. (if you well wished us)
I was taught that when someone says something negative about you it'll only hurt you if you let it hurt you.
I'm not reacting to the dismissal as a negative, them saying I'm not good enough to be on radio. I'm going to treat it as an opportunity to go somewhere else and continue entertaining the radio or TV audience in a credible and informative way. But this time from in front.
Ever since elementary school I've been standing in front of my peers and entertaining them. I plan on continuing that. I have no choice. It's what I do.
I also feel that Marty Allen and I are affordable to most stations... as long as we don't work for food.
Sincerely,
Paul Rado
Rado is one of the greatest dudes that you'll meet in this biz, as demonstrated by his humble reply above.
Marty Allen is in the same category as well - I didn't know him as well as Paul, but he was always cool to me.
I hate to see the blog posts, Twitter messages, and Facebook status updates delivering the news that more friends and talented broadcasters have lost their jobs.
Fortunately for Paul and Marty, being cut out of the Clear Channel system is one of the best things that can happen to them.
The constant mental weight of wondering if you're going to lose your gig every time cuts are looming goes away, and hopefully you can end up working at a broadcasting company or related outfit that has more job security and better business practices than Clear Channel.
Good luck guys.
-OMW
Best of luck, Marty & Paul! I am a daily listener to the Triv show which won't be the same without you. I'll still listen, but will also keep my ears open to find out where you two land.
Take care....I know you will do well.
Gary Rodgers
Ex-Mayfield Guy
I wish I could be optimistic that better days lie ahead, but I think we all know better. There sadly is no future in this industry. When de-regulation happened it was the beginning of the end.
Now everything is generic and there is no room for personality. I would love to see both these guys on a station where they could actually be themselves and not have to be constant mouthpieces for Clear Channel agenda.. they are both better then that.
I may have drifted away from listening to Triv a few years back, but have always had held you and Marty in high regard. Both of you were the heart and soul of the show. You were perfect as Art Modell (maybe even TOO perfect :D), and Marty's production smarts have always impressed me.
One of my favorite memories with you and Triv was the "crack patrol" incident, when the two of you went down W 117th Street, ran a red light, and had patrol cars tailing you. I nearly lost it when Kim asked what was happening back in studio, and I hear... "uh... can't talk now!" A perfect example of how radio can be the "theatre of the mind."
I wish you and Big Daddy nothing but the best. The two of you have a lot left in the tank... either on normal radio, or even online.
Nathan Obral
Webmaster/On-Air Personality
LCCCRadio.com - The Duck