Open Letter To Clear Channel Communications, Twin Cities

To:  Program Director, Clear Channel Twin Cities.

From: Mitch Berg

Re:  Your open position :  “Job Title: Morning Show Host – 100.3 FM”

Dear Madam or Sir:

I’m Mitch Berg.  Perhaps you’ve heard of me; I’m one of the guys who completely dominates the all-important weekend political talk market in this town.

I’ve noticed that you are advertising for a new morning guy.

Let’s go through the position, piece by piece:

Employer: Clear Channel Radio – Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

Ooof.  Not a good start.  Clear Channel is known to be mercurial and just a little executive-driven.  But we can work that out.

Onward:

Job Title: Morning Show Host – 100.3FM News/Talk 100.3 FM (Minneapolis/St Paul) is looking for its next great morning host.

And I’m going to help see to it that you find him or her!

If you think you’ve got what it takes to propel a morning show into instant relevance in a highly competitive market, if you’ve got compelling and unique takes on the news of the day, if you love digging into and ‘owning’ local stories

Wow.  That reads just like yours truly!

if you truly ‘get’ social networking, unique online content, and the value it adds to your show

As in “writing one of the region’s better-read political blogs, having a decent regional twitter following, and helping put the “social” in the  Twin Cities alternative social media?

Wow.  It’s almost like an engraved invitation!

plus a strong sense of humor to boot

You think titles like this come from just anyone?

– please email cover letter, resume and any other information to: [redacted]@clearchannel.com Subject line should read: 100.3FM Morning Show Host No calls please. Clear Channel is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Well, as much as it reads like kan engraved invitation, I gotta confess that it’ll take a lot to drag me away from Salem (owner of AM1280 The Patriot, where I do the Northern Alliance).  Because while I would love to get pelted with dead presidents for doing talk radio, in a way Salem pays me something that’s worth even more; the ability to do a great show without any pencil-necked execu-dweebs trying to tell me what to do.  I’ve got something that hardly anyone in the broadcast industry has; the freedom to kick ass; any ass I want, any way I want.

At Salem, Ed and I report only to God.

Well, no, I got a little carried away.  We do have some terrestrial accountability.  But in almost seven years on the air, we’ve not had a single Bill Lumbergh-like executive mince into the studio and go “aaah, riiight, why don’t you try to sound a little more…orange?”

And that is worth more than gold.

So thanks, Clear Channel.  But no thanks.  Nice try, though.

(And shut up and hire Bob Davis permanently.  Jeez).

11 thoughts on “Open Letter To Clear Channel Communications, Twin Cities

  1. As you or a commentor hear said recently, Salem/AM12801’s people have more intellegent discussions, analysis, guests, etc. The Clear Channel crowd is more the ranters. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I want to be informed, not just hear condemnation of the other side.

  2. “….the ability to do a great show without any pencil-necked execu-dweebs trying to tell me what to do”

    Rumor has it Keith Olbermann said just about the same thing, just before he got the pink slip.

    Another vote here for Davis.

  3. Uhhh Mitch? You’d get dental. But I digress.
    Here’s another vote for Bob Davis. If only because I can’t imagine what that guy does for a living between his fill-in work at K-Talk every three to four months. Sell cars?

  4. I believe Bob has been filling in at other stations too… he may have even had a gig with a Seattle station.

    He used to do some consulting, he might have been doing more of that since his stint at KSTP ended.

    (Another vote for Bob, obviously.)

  5. I’ve no experience or connections with the radio business, but it strikes me that its general managers are a bit quick to fashion shows to their liking, not the public’s. Especially morning radio.

    They seem consigned to chasing people listening in 10 minutes dressing, 20 minutes driving. Maybe more continuity or predictability would change the listener’s habits instead. As an example, when Obama & Biden trot out high speed rail, that’s a beautiful springboard for a solid hour of content, not 5 minutes of guffaws and move on.

    As such, KTLK is not for you, Mitch.

  6. I like Bob and all, but he seemed to get a little short and cranky the longer he was at KSTP.

  7. Alas, the DC area is a wasteland for talk radio. National journal on C-SPAN can be good, but usually I’m just amazed that the guest figured out what the heck the caller was rambling about. And it’s just depressing to listen to the Senate or the House because, more often than not, our elected representatives sound like a high school debate club. For whatever reason, they put their best feature, famous Supreme Court debates, on late at night.

    About the only other political talk is NPR, and I’d need a caffeine IV to stay awake enough to drive and listen to that. I have no problem cursing the radio, but the way they talk is like a faintly patronizing lullaby, like momma telling you to be a good boy and have sweet dreams while she’s tucking you into bed.

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