[BC] Upstairs/Downstairs, or a tale of two classes

[Reader]

 From Tom Taylor.

         NOTE: All responses will be directed to
         the Alternate Frequency. www.radiolists.net

Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey gets a $500,000 bonus for 2008.

That's the decision of the compensation committee, and it now turns 
out (based on SEC filings) that what I thought were purchases by 
Cumulus top execs of blocks of stock were in fact awards by the 
compensation committee. Yesterday's T-R-I had the news that Lew 
Dickey was getting 320,000 shares, for instance. Turns out those were 
awarded by the board. Though 160,000 are time-vested shares and 
160,000 are performance-based shares, which vest under the terms of 
Lew's latest employment agreement. As for the other cash-bonus 
recipients - EVP and Co-COO John Dickey was given $165,000 (plus 
70,000 time-vested shares). The other EVP and Co-COO, Jon Pinch, got 
$100,000 plus 40,000 time-vested shares. EVP and Chief Financial 
Officer Marty Gausvik got $50,000 plus 15,000 time-vested shares.

Some laid-off Clear Channel staffers still haven't gotten their 
personal stuff back.

One emails T-R-I to say that "some employees laid off on Black 
Tuesday [January 20] are having difficulty getting their personal 
possessions. We are told they will be mailed or messengered to us. 
But Clear Channel will assume no liability if anything is missing or 
damaged." This person says "In my market, we were not allowed to take 
anything out with us" on the day the firings occurred. That phrase 
"in my market" is really important to this story, since I've heard a 
wide range of variations at the local level. In some cases, there 
were horror stories about cold treatment at the termination interview 
and a brisk escort out of the building. But in other places, there 
were reports of hugs and goodbyes, with people allowed to pack up 
their offices on that day, or to come back over the weekend.