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Saw this little note over on fellow gossip maven site STLMedia:

Even though they are both owned by Bonneville, on-air folks at WIL make much more money than those at #1 WARH.

Maybe AFTRA affiliation is good for something, but you can bet there’s some chafing at WARH.

So maybe this is surprising to some people, it wasn’t here.  Yes, its true our fair editor has a connection to radio parent company Bonneville as he was previously an employee, but that doesn’t matter.  It doesn’t take much thought to figure out that 92.3 WIL is a personality driven station, just look at the marketing.  106.5 the Arch however is just the opposite.  Sure they have great talent on there, but its not the focus, the music is.  The Arch didn’t get to #1 by pimping Van and Rick or Michelle Steele, they did it by creating a station you turn on when you get to your office and leave it on all day.  It’s background music.

So…of course WIL jocks get more money.  Its as simple to figure out as the old TV commercials or the billboards.

Is it right?  Yeah, probably.

Are the Arch jocks pissed about it?  Maybe, but we haven’t heard anything to that effect. (Let me know if I’m wrong though)

Does anyone out there really care either way?  Eh, probably not.

Sorry.

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In a press release from Bonneville Radio (who locally owns 101 ESPN, WIL 92.3 and 106.5 The Arch), emphasis mine:

In response to sustained, slow economic indices and market conditions that are producing below-projected revenues industry-wide, Bonneville International today announced to its employees a series of cost-reducing measures designed to trim operating expenses while at the same time continuing to produce high-quality products for its audiences and clients.  Among those measures implemented are salary reductions for its higher-paid employees, adjustments to vacation accruals and carryovers, elimination of company-participation health club memberships, and a reduction of holiday remembrances for employees.

“Our corporate management team and market managers,” said Bruce Reese, Bonneville president and CEO, “have looked at this very carefully and thoughtfully. We believe these adjustments are reasonable and necessary to maintain the health of our company and its valued employees. “While we’re privately held,” he continued, “we’re not immune from today’s economic realities. Our ownership is not short-term in its approach to our business. I know that Bonneville continues to be a leader in this industry, especially in terms of the quality of the people who work here and the products they produce”

Radio is coughing up blood all over and this includes the privately held (Read: Mormon controlled) Bonneville.  There’s no doubt that inside Bonneville is touting one thing and one thing only for spin on this suck-fest:

“Hey, at least we aren’t ClearChannel.”

We completely agree that Bonneville is probably the best of the radio companies in terms of stability and continued benefits, but they would be smart to stop comparing themselves to other radio companies and start comparing themselves to companies in general.  No one wants to hear your the most stable radio company, they want to hear that you are stable…flat out, with no qualifications.  If you aren’t (and let’s be honest, if you are cutting people’s pay, you aren’t) then say you aren’t and follow it up with plans to get there, don’t just feed your people a load of crap about how your dying grass is still a little greener than the dump of a house next door.

To turn and often-used internet phrase, “Being the best radio company is like coming in first in the special olympics…you’re still retarded.”

Source: Radio News Daily via STLMedia