What's good for NPR could be good for Clear Channel- nationalization in the air

(NY Post): "The new owners of radio giant Clear Channel Communications will next week begin implementing a massive restructuring plan that seeks to cut $400 million in costs at the company, The Post has learned.

• According to three sources with knowledge of the plan, the restructuring will include layoffs across the company's radio, outdoor advertising and international divisions as well as cuts to programming budgets and consolidation of back-office operations.

A precise headcount for the layoffs could not be obtained. Clear Channel has about 30,000 employees worldwide.

• The company is also likely to move toward a "national programming" model that would require less local-level staffing, despite being criticized in the past for a similar action using
• centralized disc jockeys that made it appear as though they were broadcasting from local stations.

Sources said an initial round of layoffs is expected to commence next Tuesday - not coincidentally the same day President-elect Barack Obama is to be sworn into office. Clear Channel managers are hoping they can slip in the layoffs while the press is preoccupied with Inauguration Day festivities, sources said."...via Free Republic

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