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Volume 24, Issue 110, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Wednesday Morning June 6th, 2007
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Radio News ®
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 Still a few markets to go
It has been a while since Clear Channel announced a sale from its divestiture of 448 radio stations in 88 markets, but we hear some more should be coming soon. All of the really big deals are done - particularly the sale of 175 stations to Dean Goodman's GoodRadio.TV for 452 million and 52 stations to George Laughlin's GAP Broadcasting for 139 million - so it is down to dealing with the last 86 stations in 16 markets for the brokers at Kalil & Co. To date, Clear Channel has announced and filed deals to sell 362 radio stations in 72 markets for a total of 820 million. So, if the rumor circulating that someone made a preemptive offer to buy the entire package for 800 million is true, Clear Channel came out ahead by shopping for the best offer on each property, especially if that covered 90 markets, including the two swapped to Cumulus and removed from the auction list. To update you, here is the market by market list with all of the buyers announced so far.
| View the List |
Update on Citadel-ABC wedding plans
Citadel Broadcasting remains mum on any public announcement of its top leadership structure following next week's acquisition of ABC Radio, but we have gotten some details from announcements made to ABC Radio staffers. Veteran ABC Radio President John Hare is indeed retiring after nearly four decades in radio and serving in his current position since 1999. ABC O&O stations boss Mitch Dolan will continue to oversee the big market stations that Citadel is acquiring in the ABC deal. We understand that he will report directly to CEO Farid Suleman, while COO Judy Ellis continues to oversee the current Citadel portfolio. ABC Radio Networks President Jim Robinson will stay put as the network operation moves from Disney to Citadel.
RBR observation: As we noted before, don't look for a lot of changes. Suleman didn't buy these beachfront properties as fixer-uppers. He may have some ideas about how to tweak operations to boost cash flow, but these are definitely not stations in need of overhauling.
 Martin strikes back
at Second Circuit
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin expressed his astonishment that the FCC decision to hold broadcasters accountable for fleeting expletives uttered over the airwaves was struck down by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and remanded for further consideration. He said that it was the court, not the FCC, that is "divorced from reality." One key player, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI), suggested that a visit to a higher court was in order. Martin reacted strongly, saying, "I completely disagree with the Court's ruling and am disappointed for American families. I find it hard to believe that the New York court would tell American families that 's**t" and 'f**k' are fine to say on broadcast television during the hours when children are most likely to be in the audience. The court even says the Commission is 'divorced from reality.' It is the New York court, not the Commission, that is divorced from reality in concluding that the word 'f**k' does not invoke a sexual connotation." Inouye said, "It is disappointing that a divided Second Circuit panel chose to invalidate the FCC's efforts to combat the gratuitous use of offensive language on broadcast television. I hope and expect that the Commission will move swiftly in appealing this case to the Supreme Court."
RBR observation: Martin and Inouye make it appear that the airwaves have just been converted in to conduits for raw verbal sewage. That simply is not the case. On-air slip-ups have traditionally been treated as: on-air slip-ups, not worthy of a major punitive action. If a broadcaster airs this kind of material with the intent to pander or titillate, then they still are fair game for the FCC. One of the problems, as we understand the ruling, is that the FCC went ahead and impulsively changed the rules without providing any opportunity for public input. Perhaps a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will result in a new fleeting expletive rule that will survive court challenge. Or, maybe other indecency rules will be struck down due to the vagueness of the definition, the apparent randomness of enforcement, and now, the harshness of the possible penalty. Or maybe the FCC will move on to the Supreme Court. Stay tuned.
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Watchdog calls for preemption of violence rules
Jonathan Rintels, Executive Director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media, was pleased with the Second Circuit ruling on fleeting expletives, and thinks that it has an obvious lesson for those contemplating legislation which would attempt to place limitations on violent broadcast programming. He first applauded the court action, and noted that his organization was an intervening party. Rintels said, "These overly broad and arbitrary Commission decisions put creative, challenging, controversial, non-homogenized broadcast television programming at risk. In many cases, the very kinds of television programs that parents want their children to watch - high quality documentaries, histories, and dramas - were affected. Thus, the chilling effect of these now-overturned Commission decisions harmed not only media artists, but the American public." He didn't mention Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) by name, but Rockefeller was clearly in his thoughts when he urged Congress to steer clear of the FCC's recent request for authority to regulate violent program content. Rintels commented, "Last April, the FCC told Congress that it could give the Commission new powers to regulate so-called "violent" broadcast television content, however that might ultimately be defined. In light of today's clear Court of Appeals ruling that the FCC has abused its discretion to regulate television content, and acted "arbitrarily and capriciously," it would be extremely unwise - even irresponsible - for Congress to now grant these exponentially expanded new powers to the Commission."
 Burkle enters Dow Jones bidding
Having lost Tribune Co. to Sam Zell, supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle is now entering the bidding for Dow Jones & Co. Burkle has joined forces with the union representing many Wall Street Journal employees, which is desperately seeking an alternative to the company being acquired by Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation. "Desperately" may even be an understatement. The Independent Association of Publisher' Employees, which represents about 2,000 Dow Jones workers, or about 26% of the workforce, is dead set against having to deal with Murdoch. It has not only sought out Burkle as a partner, but has also made a public appeal for Warren Buffet to come to its aid. The union has enlisted Ownership Associates as its financial consultant. That's the firm that worked with the unions who sought to buy Knight Ridder when it was up for sale. They were not successful. Burkle's move to join the union bid came shortly after Murdoch met with various members of the Bancroft family, which has controlled Dow Jones for the past 100 years. "The parties had a constructive dialogue and have gone back to consider our positions," said a family spokesman, pretty much echoing the Murdoch statement that the meeting was "constructive." The four-hour meeting apparently focused less on money - Murdoch is already offering an impressive five billion bucks - than on safeguards to ensure the journalistic independence of the Wall Street Journal.
RBR observation: Here is what Warren Buffet had to say about the newspaper business two months ago in his annual Chairman's Letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders: "Not all of our businesses are destined to increase profits. When an industry's underlying economics are crumbling, talented management may slow the rate of decline. Eventually, though, eroding fundamentals will overwhelm managerial brilliance. (As a wise friend told me long ago, 'If you want to get a reputation as a good businessman, be sure to get into a good business.') And fundamentals are definitely eroding in the newspaper industry, a trend that has caused the profits of our Buffalo News to decline. The skid will almost certainly continue." Does that sound like a guy who is going to rush forward to help top a bid that's already an astounding 17 times EBITDA?
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School's Out In.
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Advertisement
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 Free webinars start June 19.
The first two of six FREE webinars are separate workshops for engineers andmanagers with relevant info on where HD Radio is today and where it's going. Space is limited. Learn more.
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| Wall Street Media Business Report TM |
Chandlers take all of their chips off the table
Three Chandler family representatives resigned from the Tribune Company board after the Chandler Trusts sold all of the Tribune stock that they could in phase one of the Zell/ESOP buyout (6/5/07 RBR #109). But that still left the Chandler Trusts with nearly 20.4 million shares. According to an SEC filing yesterday by Tribune, those 20.4 million shares were registered for sale by Goldman Sachs on Monday - and it looks like the Chandlers have now cut all ties with Tribune. The LA Weekly website reports that Goldman Sachs late Monday sold that block for 31.50 per share, with the Chandlers passing up the extra three bucks per share they'd get by waiting for phase two of the buyout, which is dependent on FCC waiver grants.
 Disney prepares for ABC Radio merger with Citadel
In preparation for next week's closing of the merger of ABC Radio into Citadel, Disney and Citadel announced some of the financial computations. For the 10-day measurement period that ended June 4th, the average closing stock price for Citadel was 8.47. Using this average closing price and based on the current number of Citadel shares of common stock deemed to be outstanding, the parties currently anticipate that (1) Disney (or one of its affiliates) will retain approximately 1.35 billion of cash, representing all of the proceeds of the debt that ABC Radio Holdings will assume prior to the spin-off and (2) the per share amount of the special cash distribution that Citadel will pay to its pre-merger stockholders will be approximately 2.46 per share. Those numbers are still subject to adjustment, but Disney and Citadel say they think they will stick. As previously disclosed, the record date for Disney stockholders to receive ABC Radio Holdings common stock is Wednesday, June 6, 2007 and the record date for Citadel stockholders to receive the special cash distribution will be the second trading day prior to closing of the merger. Payment of the special cash distribution is conditioned on the completion of the merger and will be made immediately prior to the effective time of the merger. The parties still expect the merger to close on Tuesday, June 12th.
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Ad Business Report TM
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TNS: U.S. ad spend decreased 0.3% in Q1
Total ad expenditures in the opening quarter of 2007 decreased by 0.3% to 34.93 billion as compared to the same period in 2006, according to data released by TNS Media Intelligence. "After a sluggish January, the pace of advertising expenditures picked up slightly at the end of the quarter," said Steven Fredericks, TNS CEO. "We also must recognize that 2007 first quarter results are adversely affected by comparisons against last year's Winter Olympics. However, after factoring out the incremental contribution of special events, it is apparent that core growth rates have slowed further from last year's lackluster levels." Only six of the 19 measured media registered year-over-year gains in the first quarter. Internet display advertising posted a 16.7% increase to 2.70 billion, as marketers continued to expand their online programs. Consumer magazines advanced 7.1% to 5.17 billion on the strength of higher rate card pricing and a modest uptick in page counts. Cable Network expenditures were up 6.3% to 3.82 billion, with niche interest channels pacing ahead. Broadcast TV comps were adversely affected by the absence of the Olympics. Network TV ad spending tumbled 7.2% to 6.05 billion while Spot TV expenditures slipped 4.1% to 3.74 billion. Newspaper and Radio media continued to significantly lag the overall market. Spend for Local Newspapers fell 4.6% to 5.39 billion on persistently weak demand from the auto, telecom and real estate categories. Radio spending declined 2.1% to 2.29 billion.
| Read More... | See Charts Here |
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| Executive Comment |
 US immigration law changes and
their effect on Hispanic media
By Julio Rumbaut
No matter what the final form of the changes in US immigration law currently being debated, these changes will have a profound effect on US Hispanic media vehicles as a result of a lifting of legal, social and economic barriers which will markedly expand the consumer base of US Hispanics. Therefore, rather than recounting specific details of the potential resulting legislation which are now being negotiated in the Congress, it may be best to analyze, first, the larger context of the rapid demographic expansion of this population, estimated at 44 million as of 2006; and then the major net effect of any of these bills on US Hispanic media. Hispanic population trends have been and continue to be clear. Hispanics accounted for half of total U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2006, although they comprise 14% of the total population (expected to expand to 20% of the population by 2030 and to 25% by 2050). Further, because of the youthfulness of the Hispanic population, combined with higher rates of fertility (even in the event of moderate or reduced rates of immigration), it will supply much of U.S. population growth in the decades to come, making Hispanics a real growth industry.
| Read More... |
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| Media Business Report TM |
It was another scattered news week
Apparently Iraq would have had to have been carrying a communicable disease to maintain its stranglehold on the newshole during the week of 5/27/07-6/1/07, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism. The saga of the traveler with tuberculosis, riding various airplanes and a lot of cable coverage, was the only story to break into double digits on the overall media chart with 12%. The 2008 campaign also beat out any of the numerous Mideast categories. And even there, the usual Iraq front runner, the policy debate, took a back seat to events in the country and on the homefront. Add those three together and Iraq was back on top overall with 15% of the newshole, while Iran and Afghanistan stories took the Mideast to 20% (4% and 1%, respectively). The outbreak of violence in Lebanon, claiming 6% of media attention the week before, was the biggest story to drop off the chart completely. Other than a 2% focus on global warming, there were no major meteorological stories of note. Immigration was a fairly hot topic on radio, but was of mild or no interest elsewhere.
| Top ten lists here |
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| Media Markets & Money TM |
Moving, if not spreading, the Gospel
Archway Broadcasting Group's WLGT-FM Washington NC is being sold. The Gospel station is headed for Ronald Benfield's Media East LLC. According to Snowden Associates broker Zoph Potts, the price clocks in at 500K. Washington is in the sprawling Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville market, once known as Coastal Carolina. Washington is a few miles east of Greenville, the market's north-central anchor. The station is a Class A on 98.3 MHz.
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| Washington Media Business Report TM |
Howard debate features minority panel
The eight Democrats campaigning for President are booked for the 6/28/07 debate being broadcast from Howard University in Washington DC. What they're touting as unusual is the panel that will be asking the questions. It will be 100% comprised of journalists from minority segments of the population. The "All-American Presidential Forum" will be moderated by Tavis Smiley, with NPR's Michael Martin, syndicated columnist Ruben Navarette, and USA Today/Gannett News Service's DeWayne Wickham on hand to handle the grilling of the candidates. Republican candidates will get a similar opportunity at Morgan State University in Baltimore MD on 9/27/07.
RBR observation: Participation in this minority-oriented debate, along with another scheduled for January 2008 on CNN, gives the Democratic candidates cover to skip the Congressional Black Caucus/Fox News Channel debate. Last we heard only Joe Biden and Dennis Kucinich were planning to attend that event, with just about everyone else including the three putative front runners opting out.
 Wyoming Senate situation explained
Capitol Hill is mourning the passing of Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) from leukemia 6/4/07. But Senate Republicans will not have to mourn the loss of seat, a comforting thought given the razor-thin margin between the two parties at the moment, despite the fact that Wyoming's governor, David Freudenthal, will get to name an immediate successor. Under Wyoming law, the state's Republican Party organization will give Freudenthal a short list of three candidates from which to make his selection. This person will serve until a new Congress is seated in early 2009, unless able to extend the stay by winning an election to finish Thomas's full term. Thomas was re-elected in November 2006, so the term doesn't expire until 2013. The other state Senator, Mike Enzi (R-WY) is also up for election in 2008, giving voters there the highly unusual task of electing two senators at the same time. The Democratic majority is based on the recovery of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), who has been absent since suffering a brain hemorrhage last December, and the presence in the Democratic caucus of two independents, Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT). Johnson is said to be making good progress toward a return, but every so often, it seems we hear of Lieberman mentioning the possibility of moving across the aisle, although he promised to remain with the Democrats during the 2006 election.
RBR observation: If the Republicans had to pick a state in which to defend two seats at once, you'd have to think that Wyoming would be high on the list, even with the Democratic governor. However, the Democrats made gains in other western states last time, and if 2008 atmospheric conditions remain troublesome for Republicans, the prospect of grabbing two seats at once may be too much to resist. We're not predicting that Wyoming will be upgraded to battleground status, but we wouldn't be surprised to see more national interest - and cash - in the state than usual.
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| Internet Media Business Report TM |
Mobile media ads to command
20% of internet ad spend by 2011
Advertisers will spend 1.4 billion on mobile media this year, rising to 14.4 billion by 2011, according to the new Strategy Analytics report, "Global Mobile Advertising Update: Outlook Bright as Inventory Expands." Strategy Analytics predicts that mobile media advertising will account for a fifth of global spend on Internet advertising by 2011. Phil Taylor, Director, Global Wireless Practice, notes, "The outlook for mobile advertising spend has significantly advanced in the past 12 months. The supply of advertising inventory is rapidly increasing as mobile publishers look to develop advertising as a revenue stream. Major mobile network operators like SprintNextel, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone have all accelerated plans to sell advertising within their mobile media channels and advertisers appear to be responding positively."
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| Ratings & Research |
 TiVo: 86% of Americans give
Father's Day the cold shoulder
A new survey commissioned by TiVo points to what many fathers have been saying for years: Dads do, in fact, get slighted on Father's Day. The study reports that 86% of Americans shell out more money on Mother's Day than they do on Father's Day. It's a finding bolstered by research that indicates only 51% of those surveyed plan on celebrating the 'holiday' at all. In an effort to help reluctant gift-givers zero in on what would really make Dads' day--and begin to reverse the troubling trend--the survey also explores what his favorite activity is. As it turns out, watching TV is the most popular pastime for pops, topping outdoor activities, home improvement and even reading.
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| Transactions |
22M WEAC-AM/WAGI-FM Greenville-Spartanburg SC (Gaffney SC). 100% of Gaffney Broadcasting Inc. from Richard G. Kinard & Frank Kinard, personal representatives of the Estate of Bright G. Parker (2%) and E. Raymond Parker (98%) to Davidson Media Group LLC (Peter Davidson). 2M escrow, balance in cash at closing. Superduopoly with WOLI AM & FM, WOLT-FM. [File date 5/7/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Ben speaks, stocks drop
Comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke were taken as giving little hope of a rate cut anytime soon, so stock prices fell. The Dow Industrials were down 81 points, or 0.6%, to 13,595.
Radio stocks were lower as well. The Radio Index declined 1.018, or 0.6%, to 161.680. Emmis fell 2.3%, despite announcing the closing of its Honolulu TV sale. Radio One was down 1.9%.
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| Radio Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Tuesday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Arbitron
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ARB
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52.48
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-0.22
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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26.82
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+0.30
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Beasley
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BBGI
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8.86
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+0.13
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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13.95
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-0.03
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
 |
33.53
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-0.13
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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72.31
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-0.69
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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33.53
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-0.12
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Radio One, Cl. A
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ROIA
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7.48
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-0.14
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| Citadel |
CDL |
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8.36 |
+0.05 |
Radio One, Cl. D
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ROIAK
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7.48
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-0.15
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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38.49
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-0.07
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Regent
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RGCI
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3.45
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unch
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Cox Radio
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CXR
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14.69
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-0.06
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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9.65
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-0.02
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Cumulus
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CMLS
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9.30
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-0.05
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Salem Comm.
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SALM
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12.00
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-0.20
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Disney
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DIS
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35.27
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-0.43
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Sirius Sat. Radio
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SIRI
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2.84
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-0.05
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Emmis
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EMMS
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10.00
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-0.23
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Spanish Bcg.
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SBSA
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4.52
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-0.24
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| Entercom |
ETM
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26.49
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-0.36
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SWMX
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SMWX
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0.25
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unch
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Entravision
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EVC
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10.26
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-0.12
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Westwood One
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WON
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7.92
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-0.02
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Fisher
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FSCI
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50.18
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-0.13
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XM Sat. Radio
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XMSR
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11.21
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+0.02
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Google
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GOOG
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518.84
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+11.77
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to radionews@rbr.com
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Below the Fold
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Media Business Report
Another scattered news week
Apparently Iraq would have had to have been carrying a disease to...
Ad Business Report
TNS: U.S. ad spend decreased
0.3% in Q1 compared to the same period in 2006, Only 6 of the 19 registered year-over-year gains...
Media Markets & Money
Moving, if not spreading,
The Gospel, WLGT-FM being sold...
Washington Media Business Report
Wyoming Senate situation explained
If the Republicans had to pick a state in which to defend two seats at once...
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Stations for Sale
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 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
jbarnes@rbr.com
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Radio Media Moves
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Renewal time
Greater Media Boston announced that morning personalities Loren Owens and Wally Brine have renewed their contract for another long term agreement at WROR-FM. The "Loren & Wally" show has aired on the station for the past 26 years. They are pictured with Greater Media Boston Vice President & Market Manager Phil Redo (the guy with the tie).
Britt to Countdown
ABC Radio Networks announced that radio and multi-media veteran Donna Britt is joining "American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks" as Writer & Producer. She will be responsible for writing the show's script each week as well as the overall production.
WAMU's Caryn Mathes getting Women of Distinction Award
Caryn Mathes, GM of American University's WAMU-FM DC, will receive a Women of Distinction Award from the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders at a ceremony and reception 6/7, on the AU campus. Since Mathes joined WAMU in 2005, the station has seen big growth and progress. The station recently ranked third among the nation's public radio stations in total listeners, and individual and corporate sponsorship has increased by nearly 20% under her leadership. Mathes has continued to encourage the next generation of journalists by strengthening and stabilizing the station's youth journalism training project, Youth Voices. She has also upheld WAMU's responsibility to youth mentorship and to the students at AU by putting 34 students to work in 2007 as either interns or paid part-time employees.
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More News Headlines
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Museum gets
a name facelift
Does the name Museum of Television and Radio seem a bit dated in today's multimedia world? The museum's board of directors yesterday renamed it The Paley Center for Media to honor founder William Paley, the late Chairman of CBS, and to reflect its "evolution to a center that convenes media leaders and enthusiasts for programs that explore and illuminate the immense and growing impact of all media on our lives, culture, and society," according to the announcement issued by Chairman Frank Bennack Jr. and President and CEO Pat Mitchell. The Paley Center for Media, with locations in both NYC and LA, says it will continue to collect, preserve, and make available to the public a top-quality collection of radio and television programs. But it will also "strengthen its work as a center where media executives, cultural thought leaders, and the public convene to discuss the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly evolving landscape of media technologies and businesses." Going forward, the board says Paley Center will offer more of these discussions to the public through their redesigned website and through content partnerships with Internet portals and broadband companies, including Yahoo! and Comcast, who will offer the content on their websites as well. Users will be able to access Paley Center events, such as cast discussions with stars from popular shows, including 24, CSI, The Daily Show, Desperate Housewives, Entourage, Family Guy, Grey's Anatomy, House, Law & Order, Lost, Sex and the City, South Park, and Weeds.
Detroit loses
two veterans
Two long-time Detroit radio personalities have died in recent days. Paul Christy (Christides) died of complications from Parkinson's disease at age 69. His resume included numerous Detroit call letters - and most recently WYUR-AM - and also WCFL-AM Chicago. WMUZ-FM morning co-host Rhonda Hart, who was only 46, died suddenly in her sleep a few hours after working her regular air shift on Monday.
EBay in deal
with Bid4Spots
The world says radio is a dying medium, but it seems everyone wants to get into selling radio spots. Go figure. The Wall Street Journal reported late yesterday that EBay has a deal to broker radio spots online, beginning today, working with Bid4Spots. The move is seen as a step-up in the rivalry between EBay and Google.
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RBR Radar 2007
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Radio News you won't read any where else. RBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Niche players rise, others fall
A couple of Wall Street analysts who have been looking at Arbitron's Winter book agree that niche radio - ethnic/religious - is the place to be. "Over the past eight ratings books, only niche radio operators (Radio One, Entravision, SBS and Univision) have managed to grow their audience share. Recommend that investors Sell general market operators Citadel, Cox Radio, and Entercom.
RBR observation: Being big with little vision and only bottom line focused has caught up to some of the so called Big and traditional companies. Today's biz environment Niche Programming and building a strong Loyalty factor with creditability is important. Building an established Unique Brand takes time, marketing, and involvement. Not Voice Tracking. What will happen? Broadcasters that have the 'Front Line Battlefield' experience will win. (more what WallStreet says on this topic in RBR)
06/05/07 RBR #109
FCC fleeting expletive
fines shot down
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York has branded the FCC's claim that it can fine broadcast licensees for "fleeting expletives" with the dreaded "arbitrary and capricious" label, giving a victory to Fox Television Stations in particular and to broadcasters and the First Amendment in general. The FCC's finding against Fox is vacated and the rule is remanded to the Commission for a do-over.
RBR observation: We're surprised that there was any dissent on this case. The FCC can change the rules if it wants, after going through the usual comment and petition procedures, giving all interested parties a chance to weigh in, and giving those affected by the ruling an adequate explanation of the change. We expected this ruling after watching court arguments last December. So fleeting expletives join the ever-growing list of FCC actions sent back for further consideration. Now we'll watch to see if, how and when the FCC revisits the fleeting expletive issue. (Note: Extensive details in this issue of RBR)
06/05/07 RBR #109
The iPhone cometh
If you were watching television at all over the weekend, you no doubt saw an add from Apple and AT&T Wireless announcing that the Apple iPhone will make its debut on June 29th.
TVBR observation: We are reminded of what Bob Pittman said in his speech at NAB2007 in Las Vegas in April - that consumer acceptance of a new technology or device isn't about being the best, but rather about being the most convenient. If the iPhone is able to deliver on its promise of being an easy, painless way to deal with email, texting, music downloads and mobile video, it may well be embraced by the public. The average consumer doesn't want to have to break open a manual to figure out how to use their latest wireless device.
06/05/07 TVBR #109
Analyst negative
on Emmis privatization
Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller says the timing is not right for CEO Jeff Smulyan to try again to take Emmis Communications private. Therefore, Miller has downgraded the stock to "underperform." The analyst spelled out his arguments against a buyout in a detailed research note, but summed it all up on the front page: "We think Emmis has eight 'going private' hurdles that are not likely to be overcome;
06/04/07 RBR #108
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