July 1, 2011by Ed Ryan
Randy Michaels has never been one to stage a complicated ruse or wage a campaign of disinformation has he? Somehow, without even saying a word, Michaels has everyone convinced he's going to flip one, maybe two stations, to some sort of FM news or talk. Of course, all indications, according to media journalists and radio reporters believe some sort of format flip will happen in either Chicago or New York. Maybe both. The Sabo hire helps that theory along. But what if Michaels is just playing everyone to see if he can get Dan Mason to make the first move. Mason's CBS owns WBBM-AM, the news leader in Chicago and powerhouse New York stations WINS-AM and, of course CBS-AM. One Chicago insider told Radio Ink, "Randy is very good at yanking people's chains."Speculation inside the industry is rampant and the radio boards in New York and Chicago just can't get enough Randy. Radio trade publications, including this one, write and dig and try to pull information from sources to get an
edge on what will happen but most of the stories are just guesswork. And when you think about it, it's only 3 stations. If anyone else had three stations would it be consuming so much ink on the page? Probably not. Just last night a radio group head e-mailed us, "having Randy back in radio makes it more fun for everyone. We?ve got something to talk about." Yup.
Michaels and Walt Sabo are not saying a word. And, why should they? Everyone else is doing the Merlin Media marketing for them. Michaels has artfully dripped out one staff hire per day which leads to more speculation and more free promotion for Merlin. That can't be bad for his salespeople when they hit the streets. Everyone will have heard of Merlin by then, no matter what the formats are. In Chicago, respected media writer Robert Feder seems to have the inside track on sources and he's been giving Merlin tons of publicity. Not all of the Feder coverage is flattering but you know what they say about publicity. Every day we've asked, or harassed, Michaels and Sabo to go on-the-record for an interview on what the deal is going to be in Chicago and New York. Nothing.
Putting an all news station or all talk station on the air is not cheap. News is the most expensive, labor intensive format. It's not something you can flip a switch on overnight and become successful at right away. You need time to build it and promotional dollars to market. However as WTOP in Washington has proven, at least with an all news station, it can work and it can be lucrative. But the element of surprise is now gone. And we know Michaels likes to win and in a war surprise is pretty darn important. Merlin and the media have certainly been notifying the competition that change is coming, allowing them to tighten up the ship. Unless this is a head fake of course. CBS is no small-time operator. Mason did not just fall off the turnip truck. However, a Dan Mason/Randy Michaels battle royal in Chicago and New York would certainly give us all something more to talk about. A main eventer for sure.
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
(7/1/2011 1:18:15 PM)
To answer your question Phil.....everybody cares, that's why Ed is writing about it. You can go back and put your head in the sand now since you don't.
Regarding your article Ed, interesting, but let me make this point to you. If you follow Randy Michaels career, he's always done what he said he'd do, but just differently than anyone has before. The legendary Power Pig was announced months before ran announcements "warning" the competition. Don't view this in the same box. Think different
Let us not lose sight of the fact that we don't want to be cannibalizing ourselves at the expense of promoting our medium..... We have proven over decades that innovation and informative and entertaining content will find it's own audience.
(7/1/2011 6:55:00 AM)
That's all I keep hearing about. Randy Michaels this and Randy Michaels that. Enough! Who cares!
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