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This has been a remarkable week of 180s: RFK Jr. ate a McDonald’s burger, Biden and Trump were all smiles hanging out for a couple of hours, MSNBC’s morning team went to Mar-a-Lago, and Tyson held his own with Jake Paul.
Here’s something that remains remarkably stable and salient, however: the deafening silence of radio’s rank and file after what might well be the darkest few weeks in our industry’s storied history, as iHeart, Beasley, Cumulus, and Cox all enacted sweeping, painful, and shocking personnel cuts.
Last week, I wrote what I believe to be a fairly bold and pointed article regarding particularly iHeart and particularly Bob Pittman, and the very first email I got was from a former colleague of mine at the executive level who said, “Hope you’ve saved money and hope you realize you’ve tanked your career because no one will hire you after that.”
I had another say, “Pittman may do his best to ice you out even at other companies,” and my favorite, “Man, you are a crazy asshole.” Actually, the most telling notes I got were from more than one iHeart employee who shared they were read the riot act about not talking to me any longer and warning they better not turn out to be a source for me (neither were, I’m not a journalist, I talk to people and network as they do with me).
It was good to hear from many friends and some new ones too, both privately and on social media, who appreciated what I shared, calling out the draconian pink slip spree as short-sighted and damaging to all of broadcast radio.
Further, I’ve been debating that the big companies ought to sell. They’ve clearly shown they don’t want to be operators, but their problem is they expect to get the same inflated prices they paid for many signals with interest adjusted. That’s not going to happen, so they’d rather burn the business down it seems.
What I didn’t hear from one single person was an interest in what I closed last week’s column with. I said if significant interest existed to form a talent advocacy group akin to AFTRA to attempt to stand up for talent’s rights I’d start a change.org. Not a single word.
Maybe it’s not the right idea. But do we do nothing? Are we going to just put our heads down and accept radio being slowly choked to extinction?
Some friends took their own columns with Perry Michael Simon and Dan Mason essentially warning talent that it may well be game over for terrestrial radio. Fred Jacobs and Mike McVay predicted a turbulent year ahead full of change, some of it uncomfortable.
As all this swirls around, Forbes ran a piece this week on the value proposition of radio and its resilient consistency in holding the largest share of the ear. Imagine if radio content was better than it has ever been rather than the canned muck being turned out so often across American dials.
Maybe I am nuts, but here’s what I replied. Regarding my speaking out too vocally to my friend who saw me committing career suicide: I wouldn’t work for an iHeart without a pile of cash, a pay-and-play deal, and freedom to do what I need to do to win for an agreed upon window.
Why else work for them knowing they’ll nail you no matter what? I guess what irritates me most is Bob Pittman is a skilled, blue-blooded radio guy who just doesn’t worry about the business; he cares about himself and his entourage being paid. That’s the C-Suite, right he’s in, and I’m not.
Well, you stand for something, or you stand for nothing. If it eventually ends my career opportunities, I’d rather it be my way than blindsided by a pink slip so a big conglomerate can try to make another quarter by slashing its own.
Wondering if I put my money where my mouth is? You bet I do!
Robby Bridges works for Press Communications where he serves as the VP of Programming for 99.7 and 107.1 The Boss. He also hosts the morning show ‘Robby and Rochelle’ alongside his wife, Rochelle. He’s been with the company/stations since September, 2021.
Prior to arriving in New Jersey, Robby spent decades working across the country in many top markets for many highly successful brands. Among them include Z100, WPLJ and Q102. He has also worked in Detroit, Boston, Providence, Portsmouth, NH, and served as an exclusive guest host for Scott Shannon on the True Oldies Channel.
To get in touch, reach Robby by email at RobbyBridges@hotmail.com.
