Free Republic

To Our Loyal Listeners... We regret that Rush Limbaugh is no longer a part of the Curtis Media Family, effective, December 31st, 2009. However, please know the following true facts: 1) The decision to move Rush from WSJS was NOT ours. 2) Rather, that call was made by the programs’ syndication company, Premiere Radio Networks. We were afforded no opportunity to discuss the matter, let alone renegotiate a new deal. Instead, we were given a 90-day notice of cancellation back in September. 3) Premiere Radio Networks are controlled by Clear Channel Communications, the same company that owns five of our...

Please excuse the vanity but searched and could not find answers about this elsewhere. My local AM Radio Station which has brought to the listeners in much of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, both Rush Limbaugh's and Sean Hannity's Radio programs for many years - has announced (but I only found out for sure yesterday) that it will no longer carry Rush's or Sean's Radio programs - as of 12/31/09.

A radio station's turkey-frying stunt turned into a recipe for disaster this morning when an attempt to cook the frozen bird in a van resulted in the vehicle catching fire. During a stunt for "The MJ Morning Show" on WFLZ, 93.3 FM, a grease fryer was placed inside the van, which had furniture in it that caught fire, Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Bill Wade said. WFLZ employees were supposed to lower the turkey into the van using a crane but never got a chance before flames engulfed the vehicle. Firefighter Ken Licata injured his back during the incident at...

Soon to be up on their site. A radio station tower in Whitehall, PA toppled after cables were cut. Tower owned by clear channel and it was suggested it was an attempt to knock off the air a conservative talk station.

A FINAL FAREWELL LETTER FROM THE GUNNY TO HIS AUDIENCE Gang: Yes, this is the end of an era. But it also the beginning of a new one. It is hard to know where to start, but I figure I had first better thank you for making the Gunny Bob Show the top-rated evening news-talk program in the Denver Metro region. Without you, my show's ratings would never have been strong enough over all these years to always be the #1 show in that slot, even handily beating the fat cat syndicated hosts with ease. I owe all that to...

Sarah Palin is pursuing the idea of a talk radio show, reports say, but that’s not going to happen on Clear Channel, the country’s largest radio broadcaster. Inside Radio reported earlier this week that Palin’s representatives were approaching radio broadcasters to see if the ex-Alaska governor could host a nationally-syndicated show. Her lawyer Robert Barnett told the publication, “Many individuals and entities have expressed strong interest in Governor Palin. To date, she has not spoken with any of them, negotiated with any of them or made deals with any of them.” But after the Inside Radio report, Paige Albiniak wrote...

Clear Channel Radio has agreed to donate stations and equipment to the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council as part of a move to increase diversity in media ownership. Clear Channel Radio will donate a number of AM station to the council through the MMTC-Clear Channel Ownership Diversity Initiative. Initially, Clear Channel Radio plans to donate AM radio stations KYHN in Fort Smith, Ark.; WTFX in Winchester, Va.; KMFX in Rochester, Minn.; and WHJA in Laurel, Miss. The council will work with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Education Foundation’s Broadcast Leadership Training Program to use these radio stations for training...

Officials with Clear Channel Outdoor, which calls itself the world's largest outdoor advertising company, have joined two other large billboard providers in rejecting four simple words asking the question, "Where's The Birth Certificate?" Media buyers for WND have confirmed the company refused to accept a request to purchase billboard space for a campaign that is the brainchild of Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND, who believes it is essential to force Obama to produce hard evidence that he is, indeed, a "natural born citizen" as the Constitution requires. He has called upon Americans to donate money to...

Some of the largest lenders to the private equity groups that led the $23.8bn buy-out of Clear Channel Communications intend to turn down a proposed debt exchange, hoping to drive the radio and outdoor advertising company towards default. The company, taken private in a leveraged deal that came to symbolise the excesses of the buy-out boom, has proposed a swap of some parent company debt for debt in Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, its listed billboard division, regarded as a crown jewel despite the current steep advertising downturn. However, some of its largest senior creditors say they would rather wait, in...

Radio personalities let go Some on-air talent get the axe MAITLAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ) - Clear Channel Communications on Tuesday laid off hundreds of employees across the company, including properties in Orlando. CC Media Holdings Inc., the parent company of the radio-and-billboard giant, said it was laying off about 590 people in its radio division and suspending its 401(k) company match. The layoffs target such areas as programming, engineering and customer service. They come on top of 1,850 layoffs in January, which mostly affected sales. In addition, Clear Channel said it would suspend its matching contributions to employees'...

When big media companies lose big money, the public gets unnerved. Some people wondered, for example, whether the New York Times would fold after it racked up $400 million in debt and was forced to borrow against its own office building to stay solvent a few months ago. The paper is still publishing. Now it is the moment of truth for CC Media Holdings - parent company to Clear Channel Communications, the nation's largest radio conglomerate. The company announced that it lost $5 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, following a layoff of 1,800 employees in January. Among its...

Conservatives ask: Is Durbin going after Limbaugh? By Alexander Bolton Posted: 02/26/09 04:58 PM [ET] Conservatives fear that Democrats are pursuing a “back door” approach to cracking down on Clear Channel Communications, the media conglomerate that airs "The Rush Limbaugh Show," a favorite among conservatives. The Senate voted along party lines Thursday to adopt an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, that directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest.” The measure passed 57-41 without...

The new owners of radio giant Clear Channel Communications will next week begin implementing a massive restructuring plan that seeks to cut $400 million in costs at the company, The Post has learned. According to three sources with knowledge of the plan, the restructuring will include layoffs across the company's radio, outdoor advertising and international divisions as well as cuts to programming budgets and consolidation of back-office operations. A precise headcount for the layoffs could not be obtained. Clear Channel has about 30,000 employees worldwide. The company is also likely to move toward a "national programming" model that would require...

Yep - January 20 sounds like the date Clear Channel's planning to "do it." Yes, that is also Inauguration Day, and I'm again saying that it appears to be the day Clear Channel managers are instructed to take whatever personnel actions they're going to. That's what they were told at last week's managers meetings in Dallas. Now - could that change, with an audible from San Antonio? Sure. But I'm increasingly confident that those personalized jump drives the market managers were handed contain the road map for what they're supposed to do on January 20. That presumably would mean the...

Yesterday the fourth law suit, challenging Obama's citizenship and Natural Born status reached the Supreme Court: 1. Philip J Berg, PA An answer from Barack Obama is due by Dec.1 2. Leo C. Donofrio, NJ The case is scheduled for conference by all 9 judges on Dec 5 3.Chris Strunck, NY filed with SCOTUS last week 4. Cort Wrotnowski, CT (second case)filed yesterday. many more to come... As explained earlier, Hawaii allows one to obtain a Certification of Hawaiian Live Birth based on a statement of one relative only. It means,that while Obama was born in Kenya, his grandma or...

The Air America network, which provides much of the programming on KKZN-AM (760) ended its relationship last week with hostess Randi Rhodes. Rhodes had recently been suspended from Air America for her humor presentation at a San Francisco nightclub, in which she called Hillary Clinton a "big f---ing whore" and Geraldine Ferraro "David Duke in drag" and "a f---ing whore." Such wit! But no sooner had Air America dumped her than Clear Channel hired her. So Rhodes is now back on 760, in the 1-4 p.m. weekday slot. Clear Channel's decision is not entirely consistent with the theory that Clear...

Excerpt - The two proposed buyers of Clear Channel Communications filed two lawsuits on Wednesday against six banks that agreed to finance the company’s $19.5 billion buyout. Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, two private equity firms, sued the bank consortium in New York state court for breach of contract, accusing them of refusing to honor their commitment to finance the deal. Additionally, the two firms and Clear Channel itself sued the banks in Bexar County, Texas, where the broadcaster is based, accusing the banks of interfering with the closing of the takeover. ~ snip ~

SAN ANTONIO - Shares of Clear Channel Communications Inc. plummeted in late trading Tuesday, following a report that the media company's private buyout is on the brink of collapse. Shares fell $1.89, or 5.5 percent, to end regular trading at $32.56, then fell 21 percent in after-hours trading to $25.82 — far below the $39.20 per share the buyout firms promised shareholders. The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Tuesday that the private equity firms leading the $19.5 billion buyout were having difficulty reaching terms with the banks committed to financing the deal. The report cited unnamed people...

Good riddance to Stern Posted: February 27, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Howard Stern is a filthy, profane, vulgar, obscene disgusting pig. He shouldn't be on the radio. He should be in the zoo. Three cheers for Clear Channel Communication's decision to pull his show off the air temporarily. It's late, after all these years of smut-peddling on the radio, but the decision should be applauded. It's a smart move. It's the right thing to do. It's a good business decision. Anyone who believes in right and wrong ought to know that a slimebucket like Stern has no place on the...

SAN ANTONIO – September 28, 2006 -- Clear Channel Radio today announced that it has renewed radio talk show host Sean Hannity’s contract for another three years on 80 of its stations. Some of the major markets in which “The Sean Hannity Show” can be heard include Pittsburgh, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Cincinnati and Minneapolis. Hannity commented, “Clear Channel program directors were early believers in my show five years ago, and I'm thrilled our partnership continues into 2010." Known for his passionate opinion on politics and the American agenda, Hannity boasts the second-largest radio audience in the country. “The Sean Hannity...