Major broadcaster to end live/local night shifts?

[Ace Purple]

From AllAccess.com -- this is troubling:

ALL ACCESS has obtained an internal memo from a major broadcaster that seems to foretell the demise of live and local night shows.

It reads, "Nights on all stations to be tracked by full or part-time staff -- or syndicated."

With all the layoffs we're seeing, is another round of 7-midnight cuts about to happen?

[fearpeddler]

unless theres a company actually mentioned i wouldnt sweat it... just a ploy to generate fear amongst the flocks.

[Ace Purple]

I dunno -- there have been cuts all over the place as of late...

[Big Media]

Capstar tried this shit back when I worked for the conglomerate. They voice tracked the overnights but demanded that at least one person remain in the building at all times. The first weekend they tried this, the overnight guy decided to quit mid-shift, locked up and left the building. Two remotes were missed the next morning because no one had a key but the GM, CE, and OM---none of which were reachable at 7 am Saturday morning.

[genlock]

With financial crisis, cuts must be made.
Somewhere.

[Arp2]

I'll never forget the first time I was driving at night (the evening, actually...about this time of year and very dark) and realized that every single thing I tuned in was tracked, syndicated, or a jukebox....

I'd never felt more alone in my life.

Even compared to the time the undertow of the Atlantic almost killed me 'cause I'd found a truly isolated and unguarded beach and was stupid enough to go right in and head way out anyway. Even compared to a place in the Rockies where the "scan" button would stop only once (on a block-programmed, almost-all-volunteer, noncomm FM...it was awful, but it was real).

I've gotten a little used to it....just a little. When "nights" hit, I start wearing out my ear and friends' ears with cell phone calls. I got XM at its debut, but it's hard to find anything real and live on it. I got an MP3 player....sure, I've put music on it, but what I really use it for is various forms of the spoken word...radio shows, podcasts, speeches and talks, books on tape, even old airchecks from when jocks were friends and had talent and fun and vibe and all that stuff....

And I completely understand the truckers going nuts over the firing of one of their Sirius/XM favorites. Is it my imagination, or has the number of CB models available in truckstops been going up?

I completely understand it when industries get beat and die....the effects of time, tide, and technology..."to every thing, there is a season; turn, turn, turn." I cannot, however, at the heart level, understand this industry being so hell-bent on commiting suicide.

[Bob Campbell]

Look for it to be CBS.

[Ace Purple]

Look for it to be CBS.

That wouldn't surprise me, sadly. Sumner Redstone has an $800 million loan to pay down, and that money has to come from somewhere.

[Big Media]

I wonder... what if we broke up the monopolies. Suppose the FCC allowed a broadcasting company to own only 2 FMs and 2 AMs in any given market and were not permitted to own any more than 20 radio stations overall.

I wonder if this would bring back live, local radio or if the new owners would just buy their shifts from out of town?