It ended last November on a conference call that no one really believed would ever happen. David Kennedy, the President of Interep, sadly announced that Interep would no longer exist. An anonymous ex-Interep employee tells RBR-TVBR what has happened since, and brings up a few problems:
“We’ve been through a lot together…the rise of a great private company, growing and acquiring new rep firms, Employee Stock Ownership Plan, promotions, becoming an industry leader, going public, the market-wide events, to the unfathomable….bankruptcy.
One year later, the Interep employees have had NO communication from the Trustee in regards to their claims of a promised severance.
I would imagine that my fellow coworkers have been displaced as such:
* 30% went over to KATZ- CBS rep firm.
* 20% went to the new McGavren Guild/ Local Focus rep firms
* 15% went to local radio sales
* 10% left the radio industry
* 10% retired/ went back to school
* 15% still unemployed
Here are some of the unanswered questions:
How has the industry changed?
Have stations lost their voice in a 95% representation at Clear Channel’s Katz?
Has this been good or bad for the medium?
Why didn’t the FCC get involved… rules against monopolies?
Will there ever be another “Interep”?
And the question of whatever happened to the appointed Trustee? Interep employees never got a dime of their promised severance. Where are they now?
Actually, I was lucky to find a new job, but there are a lot “Interepees” that are still unemployed. Unfortunately, the trustee never delivered on any promises and severance after the fall of the company.”
Got a post-Interep story to tell? Have any answers/comments on this matter? Email us at [email protected]
