Some of the Biggest Behind-the-Scenes Players Who Made Radio Godawful Are Heading to Tribune Network

[NashVegas]

1. Lee Abrams, who brought FM radio high ratings while killing diversity with the "Superstars" format, then built up more boutique formats/networks to fragment radio stations and more importantly - their listeners, setting music fans against each other. Everything Lee Atwater did with politics in 1988, Burkhart-Abrams did with radio, first.

2. Randy Michaels, the man most responsible for Clear Channel, went to Tribune back in the winter.

3. Over the weekend, there was a minor flood of Clear Channel higher-ups making the jump:

They include Jerry Kersting, finance chief of Clear Channel's radio division and engineer of many of the acquisitions that helped turn the radio division into the powerhouse it is today; senior vice president of programming Marc Chase; vice president of technology Steve Gable; and vice president of programming Sean Compton.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120752422903193549-gD4q5xemIEFmzyZUTehoNKD_8Eg_20080506.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

Just a little something for your media scorecards.

[NewJeffCT]

1. Didn't Conrad Black run the Tribune Companies before?

another notorious radical right-winger?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. Black was with Hollinger.

Hollinger owned the Chicago Sun-Times rather than the Trib, so that may be causing the confusion.

[NashVegas]

3. Trib

Trib got sold AND the FCC has given them everything they've wanted by way of relaxing ownership rules.

An important vote comes up later this month. Here's the latest on that:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aPMz.9kfk.do&refer=news