Posted on 02/29/2008 12:08:17 PM PST by SilvieWaldorfMD
Citadel Cuts MAL's Core & More - 2/29 - DCRTV gets confirmation: Longtime DC radio talker Chris Core has been let go from Citadel talker WMAL, which has promptly erased him from its 630wmal.com website, including its program schedule (right). We're told that it was "not personal," just "part of a massive cutback country-wide by Citadel." Core has worked at WMAL more than two decades, doing the Bill "Trumbull And Core" afternoon show in the 1980s. And there are rumblings of more cuts at Citadel's three DC stations - WMAL, WRQX, and WJZW - including the latter's entire airstaff (see newsblurb below). Also, DCRTV is also hearing that Citade
I don't see why unless you know something we don't. When Michael Graham had the slot before Core he was pretty much just National News focused.
This just goes to show you how ruthless the entertainment business is. Radio hosts get the NFL version of “go meet with the coach, and bring your playbook”.
That would be great if Chris gets the 9 am. I could listen more often.
Hey Silvie!
Sorry to hear this. I hope these cuts don’t affect Chris Plante.
And yes, I am in EEE - TAL - LEE!!!!!
Did Core get on the wrong side of the Clintons when he interviewed Bill?
That reminds me. When we drove through Philly last weekend we listened to a Rock Station that was excellent.
Do you know which I’m thinking of? Maybe around 1200 on the dial?
I’m stuned !
Damn for once I am speechless.
Chris Core didn’t interview Bill Clinton — Chris Plante did.
Some illegal alien without a driver’s license or current insurance hit Clint in the Safeway parking lot. Had to show him his passport for ID...
Well, yes, I just hope that Plante can cover some national and international news too — that’s what he’s good at — and not be too focused on local matters.
However, if we get Imus The Cadaver before him in the a.m., then Chrissy will have no choice but to cover local stories because WMAL will not become all-national news all of the time.
That’s the ‘down side’...
Paul Duckworth??? He helped ruin conservative talk radio in Seattle, of all places. You’re lucky he’s gone. At least now, someone can come in and pick up the broken pieces.
Oh, no!
Now what happens? I guess he’s off the hook. That would make me furious, too.
Hey Rum! Glad you made it to Italy!
The update is that Plante is taking over the Core slot, and that Grandy & Andy might be kaput...
Believe it or not, Duckworth did an great job at WMAL and a lot of us here in the DC area miss him.
Clint Jr was driving through the parking lot and the jerk backed out. He knocked the other guy’s bumper off completely and his is just scratched. I’m just pissed the guy is probably here illegally. If he wasn’t here his car would be fine.
Black Friday for Citadel.
From the http://www.SaveWRKO.com blog by Brian Maloney:
Entercom isn’t escaping the carnage, either, with shares now down 50 cents to $11.30.
http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2008/02/citadels-financial-troubles-threaten.html
AND:
Citadel’s Collapse Stuns Radio Industry
Talk radio station owner Citadel, which took over ABC Radio last year and owns WPRO/Providence, is seeing its stock price collapse after releasing a doomsday earnings report this morning.
Shares plunged to near the $1 mark before being halted by the New York Stock Exchange.
WRKO/ WEEI owner Entercom is also down today, off 30 cents to $11.50.
Well, the less talk radio.. the better!
from Radio Equalizer (same guy; link is above)
*** Developing: WABC Layoffs Begin, All WJZW-FM Staffers Dismissed ***
*** Large-Scale Atlanta Layoffs ***
*** Redundancies Hit DC - All Access: WMAL Cuts, Chris Core Fired***
*** Staffers: Send Tips To Radioequalizer (at) aol.com ***
*** John Gambling Fired At WABC ***
(God! The Rambling Gambling man...part of a legacy
family @ WABC and WOR)
*** Sackings Hit West Coast ***
In what must be an unnerving development for a number of the nation’s top talk show hosts, station owner Citadel reported devastatingly bad earnings this morning.
Confirming the worst fears (and then some) of broadcast industry insiders, CDL reported a stunning fourth- quarter loss of $3.24 a share, against Wall Street’s expectation of a 7 cent profit, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, expenses grew and sales came in below expectations, according to the wire service:
Operating expenses grew to $1.29 billion from $103.1 million as asset impairment and disposal charges surged to $1.1 billion from $24.3 million in the year-ago period. The company said the asset impairment charges are related to a continued deterioration in the radio marketplace and a decline in the company’s share price.
Sales for the period ended Dec. 31 more than doubled to $245.5 million from $114 million mostly due to the June acquisition of ABC Radio Holdings Inc. from Walt Disney Co. for nearly $2 billion in cash and stock.
Analysts expected sales of $246.5 million.
Because Citadel now owns ABC Radio, this places the nation’s biggest news-talk outlets in a precarious position, even while ratings are as strong as ever and even poised to break records during this white- hot election year.
The Las Vegas- based company owns WABC/ New York, KABC/ Los Angeles, WLS/ Chicago, KGO-KSFO/ San Francisco, WBAP/ Dallas, WJR/ Detroit and many other mega- talkers nationwide. But the longtime operator of small and medium- market outlets seems to have bit off more than it could chew with the ABC acquisition.
In addition, it hasn’t brought needed programming expertise to ABC’s stations. Instead, Citadel CEO Farid Suleman pushed for an expensive deal with aging talker Don Imus, but a planned push to place Imus on its stations nationwide mysteriously didn’t come to pass.
So far, Citadel has avoided slashing its workforce, but cuts seem inevitable, even if they aren’t likely to do much to slow the firm’s continuing collapse.
Today, CDL shares are down 10 cents to $1.26 per share, after a 20-cent drop yesterday. About an hour ago, Citadel hit an all- time low on Wall Street. In 2003, it was trading over $22 a share.
We have previously covered Citadel’s troubles here and here.
UPDATE: CDL shares now trading at $1.22, down 14 cents and hitting a new all- time low.
UPDATE: sell-off continues, now down 17 cents to $1.19.
UPDATE: it’s getting worse, now down 26 cents to $1.10. How soon will it close below $1?
UPDATE: at 11:47, now collapsing further, down 31 cents to $1.05.
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