Corey Deitz opines on About.com: "This is no cyclical round of behavior. What's going on here is a major shift in how AM and FM will compete in the future. Like our armed forces, the traditional Radio industry is becoming a leaner, fighting machine. This will make the marketplace more competitive and as a result will make programming better for listeners."
I wish I agreed with him. Unfortunately, I think the New York Times got it right (Investment Banks to Reap Big Fees from Clear Channel Sale). This is about the rich getting richer on the backs of the poor over-taxed workers for the company.
Sadly, the often-repeated pattern for Privity Equity transactions is for the venture capital firm to encumber itself with debt in the name of the entity they acquire, use the money (that's why they call them private!) for their personal gain and then take the company into bankruptcy. Then, sometimes, these companies go back public and try to do the same thing again!
Quite a coincidence that it all happened on the same day Milton Friedman died. He, no doubt, would have said that there's no point in judging it, since it's all just a part of freedom and liberty, the marketplace at work. Still, I mourn not only for Friedman but also for a lot of current and former Clear Channel employees who are getting tax losses for Christmas this year in return for their hard work and dedication.
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