2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumGuess who owns Clear Channel Communications, giant media purveyor of Rush Limbaugh,
Sean Hannity, and the rest of the far right wrecking crew?
Bain Capital LLC, with Thomas H. Lee Partners, LP.
Gulp.
And, thank you, Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_Channel_Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American mass media company headquartered in Uptown San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008. Clear Channel specializes in radio broadcasting, concert promotion and hosting, and fixed advertising in the United States through its subsidiaries.
Clear Channel is the largest owner of full-power AM, FM, and shortwave radio stations and twelve radio channels on XM Satellite Radio, and is also the largest pure-play radio station owner and operator.
SNIP
News talk stations
News talk stations owned by Clear Channel usually have a standard slate of hosts. The morning show is usually local, with other timeslots filled by local and syndicated hosts. Programs that appear on many Clear Channel talk stations include the Glenn Beck Program -- getting his talk show start at Clear Channel owned WFLA (AM) in Tampa, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Sean Hannity Show, America Now with Andy Dean and Coast to Coast AMwith George Noory, all of which are affiliated with Premiere Radio Networks in some fashion. The Savage Nation (which was until September 2009 flagshipped at Clear Channel's KNEW-910), The Mark Levin Show and The Dave Ramsey Show are non-Premiere shows who air on many (if not most) Clear Channel stations. Limbaugh is almost universally carried on Clear Channel stations in markets where the company has a news talk station (there were some exceptions, although the last was eliminated in late 2011). New Clear Channel talk radio stations have typically been using the branding "Rush Radio," while most older ones use a more generic "News Radio" or "News Talk."
While most of Clear Channel's news/talk stations carry some combination of Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage and Noory (of Coast to Coast AM), this is not always the case. Many stations (particularly in the larger markets) like KFI, KFYI, KOA, WZZR and WLW broadcast a lineup with significant local programming.
Clear Channel does not operate any all-news radio stations. For a brief time in the late 2000s, KFXR in Dallas ran a direct feed of HLN under the on-air name CNN 1190, but KFXR dropped that format in 2009. Almost all of Clear Channel's primary talk stations are affiliated with Fox News Radio for national news, part of a multi-year deal between Clear Channel and Fox.
Liberal talk radio is heard on a few of Clear Channel's stations, primarily secondary to its main news talk stations, and usually feature at least one local host with Dial Global programming; Air America Radio also aired on these stations. Clear Channel has shown a tendency to drop liberal talk affiliations whenever possible and replace it with satellite Fox Sports talk (see, for instance, WCKY, WARF, KLSD, WXKS [which currently runs the Clear Channel conservative talk format instead], and WINZ); this has, in a few rare circumstances, caused protests, such as those involved when Clear Channel wanted to make the same move with WXXM in Madison, Wisconsin (WXXM was eventually allowed to keep its liberal format).
pnwmom
(109,020 posts)KharmaTrain
(31,706 posts)I've been posting about this on DU since the deal went down in '08...no one's interested...c'est la vie.
Cheers...
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)even after Obama wins
KharmaTrain
(31,706 posts)Bain bought into Cheap Channel the year before Mittens first run...and while there are many on the unhinged right who didn't like him, you didn't hear Rushbo or Hannity say a bad thing. They may have favored others but didn't join the Rmoney bashing that went on the blogs and on religious radio.
The curious post election story is the large debt...over $14 billion Cheap Channel has and will need to reschedule next year. Bain's been doing it's "magic" on this company...taking the big fees and downscaling the company. Over 10% of the company's employees were let go on the day President Obama was inaugurated...there've been other purges with more ahead. If Mittens doesn't win and his political future is over then lets see how quickly Bain dismantles Cheap Channel as it no longer serves their purpose...
pnwmom
(109,020 posts)He's after power, however he can get it.
KharmaTrain
(31,706 posts)I agree...right now he's after power, but I think Mittens loves his money more. He will lose this election to protect that money and never to fully disclose the truth about how much he has, where he made it and how its invested. If he fails to win in November, his lust for power comes to an end and I see the money being his "solace"...gorging in the billions he's made off the corpse of the middle class.
The network really doesn't serve any financial purpose for him. Radio revenues have been depressed for years and the property values of the stations decrease as technology is replacing the 20th century technology and listeners who CC grew around. As is Bain's practice...I see them selling off parts of the company in the next couple years to recoup whatever value it has left and collect more brokerage fees in the break-up.
I have friends who work for the company and they area always looking over their shoulders and walking on egg shells...
Frustratedlady
(16,254 posts)and Hannity was put on. I think our station is owned by FOX but not sure. How do I find out? Would there be a connection between Clear Channel and FOX? THAT would be interesting.
pnwmom
(109,020 posts)with Fox Sports Talk. From that same Wikipedia article:
"Liberal talk radio is heard on a few of Clear Channel's stations, primarily secondary to its main news talk stations, and usually feature at least one local host with Dial Global programming; Air America Radio also aired on these stations. Clear Channel has shown a tendency to drop liberal talk affiliations whenever possible and replace it with satellite Fox Sports talk (see, for instance, WCKY, WARF, KLSD, WXKS , and WINZ); this has, in a few rare circumstances, caused protests, such as those involved when Clear Channel wanted to make the same move with WXXM in Madison, Wisconsin (WXXM was eventually allowed to keep its liberal format). "
KharmaTrain
(31,706 posts)They have a network that does news and another that features sports talk but they haven't gotten into the hate radio biz. That's probably cause its covered by Cheap Channel along with Cumulus and Salem...the big three in hate radio. It's not hard to find out who owns your local station...sounds like Cheap Channel to me.
judesedit
(4,443 posts)Faygo Kid
(21,478 posts)Ties together nicely, doesn't it?
pnwmom
(109,020 posts)The Wielding Truth
(11,415 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)Another layer of the onion peeled back. This gets better every hour.
Ilsa
(61,709 posts)I didn't know, or if I heard news of it, I didn't link Bain to politician RMoney.
So, Mittens indirectly controls airwaves, either himself or through old buddies at Bain. Slimy.
I don't think our democracy can survive this way, not with politicians controlling the airwaves, lack of fairness in media, and ownership of media by companies that need the favor of Congresscritters to get their other business rammed through.
No wonder The Newsroom on HBO scares me.
Rosa Luxemburg
(28,627 posts)it always becomes clear
thesquanderer
(11,998 posts)Anything bad, I'm sure they're connected somehow...
pnwmom
(109,020 posts)didn't find it though.
I'm not sure if we should push this or not. People on the right may see this as a plus.
chollybocker
(3,687 posts)One of the tenets of Mormonism is the overthrow of the Federal government, as revenge for the killing of John Smith in 1840-something. The more you know....
siligut
(12,272 posts)Have you ever noticed that Mormon churches have radio antennae on their roofs?
chollybocker
(3,687 posts)And no, I don't get out much.
thesquanderer
(11,998 posts)rocktivity
(44,583 posts)was pulled off the air in Boston!
rocktivity
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)We were incorporated in May 2007 by private equity funds sponsored by Bain Capital Partners, LLC (Bain Capital) and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (THL, and together, the Sponsors) for the purpose of acquiring the business of Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a Texas corporation (Clear Channel). The acquisition was completed on July 30, 2008 pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated November 16, 2006, as amended on April 18, 2007, May 17, 2007 and May 13, 2008 (the Merger Agreement). As a result of the merger, each issued and outstanding share of Clear Channel, other than shares held by certain of our principals that were rolled over and exchanged for shares of our Class A common stock, was either exchanged for (i) $36.00 in cash consideration or (ii) one share of our Class A common stock. Prior to the consummation of our acquisition of Clear Channel, we had not conducted any activities, other than activities incident to our formation and in connection with the acquisition, and did not have any assets or liabilities, other than those related to the acquisition.
You can find more information about us at our Internet website located at www.ccmediaholdings.com. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports are available free of charge through our Internet website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish such material to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The contents of our website are not deemed to be part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any of our other filings with the SEC.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1400891/000119312512069208/d272839d10k.htm
(note the link may not work....it's a link w/in a link, from a list of SEC filing docs)
And this:
Significant equity investors control us and may have conflicts of interest with us in the future
Private equity funds sponsored by or co-investors with Bain Capital and THL currently indirectly control us through their ownership of all of our outstanding shares of Class B common stock and Class C common stock, which collectively represent approximately 72% of the voting power of all of our outstanding capital stock. As a result, Bain Capital and THL have the power to elect all but two of our directors (and, in addition, the Company has agreed that each of Mark P. Mays and Randall T. Mays shall serve as directors of the Company pursuant to the terms of their respective amended and restated employment agreements), appoint new management and approve any action requiring the approval of the holders of our capital stock, including adopting any amendments to our third amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and approving mergers or sales of substantially all of our capital stock or assets. The directors elected by Bain Capital and THL will have significant authority to make decisions affecting us, including the issuance of additional capital stock, change in control transactions, the incurrence of additional indebtedness, the implementation of stock repurchase programs and the decision of whether or not to declare dividends.
It's interesting. But it's after Romney left Bain, I guess.
snot
(10,540 posts)Solomon
(12,319 posts)Too bad Vain didn't bust this one up, fire everbody and outsource.
What a crock of shit they have turned the system into.
(I was about to edit the typo but on second thought, I'm leaving it as is.)
pnwmom
(109,020 posts)Solomon
(12,319 posts)a thread about a new Romney campaign song called "You' re so Bain.".
pnwmom
(109,020 posts)malaise
(269,239 posts)pnwmom
(109,020 posts)Atman
(31,464 posts)ellenfl
(8,660 posts)i bet he's pissed that this investment hasn't given him a huge lead in the polls . . . hell, that they're not writing the polls.
ellen fl