RIP Clear Channel Radio (I really don't mean PEACE)

I maintain a file on certain companies that never fail to disappoint.

Wal-Mart
Ameritech, then SBC now AT&T
And
Clear Channel Radio

There are others on Gene’s Wall of Shame but these three are among the most egregious. What does it take to make Gene’s Wall of Shame you ask?

You must be a large company, which has as it’s operating philosophy, we want to own the whole world and run it like we want without any care for our employees or customers and screw our suppliers into the ground.

I have written about Wal-Mart on this blog the most. You can use the search tool on top and look at all those entries. I still stand by them.

I have written a few times about the idiots at the name change bazaar SBC now AT&T.

But today’s award for infamously stupid and incompetent behavior on a kingdom wannabe goes to: (Drum Roll Please) CLEAR CHANNEL.

Let’s see. First in full disclosure, I have friends that have and DO work for Clear Channel. It would be well if they stayed anonymous on this tirade.

Clear Channel, How do I hate you, Let me count the ways:

• You pay your suits way out of proportion to your working people
• You run your vanilla radio stations such that driving across country you can hear the boredom without any effort. You can spot a programmed clear channel station at a mile.
• You continue to participate in sleazy practices like Pay for Play (Payola). That’s so 50’s
• You treat your employees like a number
• You have no soul.

But, the good news is, the market is beginning to notice. Incompetence is it’s own reward. You qualify Clear Channel. I note that when you were asked to comment on your inability to run a radio station for actual profit you declined the interview. What a shock.

A couple exerpts from the analysis:

Clear Channel grant excessive severance, Clear Channel overpays its executives,

Representatives of Clear Channel and OfficeMax declined immediate comment.

For you kids out there, this is the message, big is not better, it’s just bigger and hubris (like in the case of Clear Channel) is always death.

I hope some real radio operators will pick up the scraps and make real radio stations out of them when Clear Channel has to divest because of poor performance. Disney did.

You’re NEXT!