Posted on 01/15/2008 3:29:39 PM PST by Blue Collar Republican
http://www.chrisbrunner.com/2007/12/13/mitt-romney-to-buy-clear-channel-communications/
Mitt Romney's VC Firm to Buy Clear Channel TOP del.icio.us digg
What would it cost to buy the support of just about every nationally-syndicated neocon talk show host in America? About $19.5 Billion, which is what Mitt Romney's private equity firm, Bain Capital, and Thomas H. Lee Partners have agreed to pay in a leveraged buyout agreement with Clear Channel Communications, the largest radio station owner in the country. This is part of a negotiation that has been pending for over a year.
Clear Channel owns over 1,100 full-power AM, FM, and shortwave radio stations, twelve radio channels on XM Satellite Radio, and more than 30 television stations in the United States. Premiere Radio Networks, which is the largest syndication company in the United States, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clear Channel and is home to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and many others. Sean Hannity recently signed a large multi-market contract with Clear Channel, as well.
This is a little too “vast right-wing conspiracy” for most Republicans isn’t it?
Luckily Myth will be a distant memory by the time the sale goes through.
Yeah, but if Mitt fires Rush, how much is his property worth then? More likely Mitt will remind Rush how much money Rush is making for him.
old news, nothing to see here, move along.
seriously, Romney has nothing to do with Bain Capital anymore and hasn’t for a long time.
From 2001:
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2001/08/20/daily27.html
W. Mitt Romney is quitting Boston-based Bain Capital, the $13 billion investment firm he started with $35 million in 1984. The son of a former governor and himself a presidential candidate is going into politics in either Massachusetts or Utah after he completes work helping organize next year’s Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
Romney, 54, is giving up his 100 percent control of Bain Capital to 26 managing directors. The firm has made 170 venture and buyout investments in companies like pizza delivery chain Domino’s Pizza Inc., brokerage Datek Online Holdings Corp. and retailers Staples Inc. and the Sports Authority Inc.,
This is a dishonest, deceptive smear. Romney is no longer associated with Bain Capital; he would have nothing to do with this deal. The author is either an idiot or a liar.
Like I noted to the poster, Romney has not been associated with Bain for a long time. He has no relationship to this transaction; the story is a lie.
Romney is no longer associated with Bain. He left the firm in 2001.
Yes, thanks for the definitive post. It is simply outrageous that people are saying otherwise.
Good catch;thank you.
If we blamed Mitt for this, there would be no candidate left.
All of them are successful in private life. As long as his association ended in 2001, that is good enough for me.
I would be more worried about a person that has lived off the taxpayers for a number of years.
I certainly hope that when Bain buys Clear Channel, they change a lot of their policies to make radio more heterogeneous around the country.
For example, bring back DJs for local markets, not just a “morning crew” that works 4 or 5 metro areas and try to appear to be local. Then give station managers the authority to come up with their own play lists, instead of a generic one created by the corporate marketing department.
Local programming can be good, too. Community involvement with radio stations adds a lot of color and character. And stations should be free to purchase indy programming that would help them to stand out in the market.
Syndicated shows such as Dr. Demento and the Hour of Slack, and other FM favorites can boost off-prime ratings far better than just a music-commercial-music format. And AM could be revitalized with a wide array of syndicated shows.
Now you're just descending into conspiratorial moonbattery.
No wonder Rush has been kind to Romney!
Since you support Huck, I can understand why you hate Rush.
I am not an avid Romney person, but, he looks a lot better than Huck.
Uh huh.
You give the sheeple what they want if you want to survive. That’s why we get reality shows and formula dramas on the Networks and or taxes pay for little watched “culture” shows and left leaning news on PBS and NPR.
You want local, yet you want syndicated shows like Dr. Demento? Make up your mind..
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