tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post6242379122520721433..comments2023-11-02T04:44:59.171-04:00Comments on John Gorman's Media Blog: Radio: Clear Channel v. The Texas StrangersJohn Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15246404080972884401noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-10419448927300127952008-04-13T19:47:00.000-04:002008-04-13T19:47:00.000-04:00"the radio chains should be rooting for the banks ..."the radio chains should be rooting for the banks if they know what is good for them."<BR/><BR/>No one is rooting for the banks.<BR/><BR/>If you buy a house, and the bank and the mortgage company give you the money, and five years later the housing market goes in the toilet, you are still expected to pay back the full purchase price of the house. Not what the house is worth. <BR/><BR/>That's the situation here. A year ago, the banks and the investment companies agreed on a price. Now, as a result of the home loan crisis, the banks are chickening out. Sorry, but you guys agreed on a price. Time to pay up. They would make the same demand of you if you were in debt to them. It's the banks' fault for agreeing in the first place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-18014511931564491932008-04-11T17:12:00.000-04:002008-04-11T17:12:00.000-04:00John, You called it.Court Denies Banks' Motion To ...John, You called it.<BR/><BR/>Court Denies Banks' Motion <BR/>To Dismiss Clear Channel Suit<BR/>By SHIRA OVIDE<BR/>April 11, 2008 12:23 p.m.<BR/><BR/>NEW YORK -- A Texas state court has denied a request by a group of banks to dismiss litigation against them in the disputed sale of Clear Channel Communications Inc. <BR/><BR/>The ruling in Bexar County, Texas, deals an early win to Clear Channel and its proposed buyers, Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC. In a pair of lawsuits filed last month, Clear Channel and the buyout firms accused the banks of illegally reneging on their commitments to provide financing for the $19.5 billion deal.<BR/><BR/>At a hearing Friday, the Texas court said Clear Channel and the buyout firms can pursue charges that the banks -- Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Deutsche Bank AG and Wachovia Corp. -- improperly interfered with the closing of the sale.<BR/><BR/>The court hearing is continuing to hear other deal-related matters, including a request for a temporary injunction against the bank group.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-34090065482678632292008-04-11T13:43:00.000-04:002008-04-11T13:43:00.000-04:00you guys are so funnywhen the smoke clears the may...you guys are so funny<BR/><BR/>when the smoke clears the mays fam are still in the tall grass, still got more in the bank than any of you<BR/><BR/>they get the last laugh<BR/><BR/>you get to read this crappy blogAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-44858455806932493792008-04-11T13:06:00.000-04:002008-04-11T13:06:00.000-04:00I looked up "mandamus" in a legal dictionary and t...I looked up "mandamus" in a legal dictionary and this is what it said. My mother was right. I should have gone to law school. These lawyers can really confuse an issue:<BR/><BR/>MANDAMUS - The name of a writ, the principal word of which when the proceedings were in Latin, was mandamus, we command.<BR/><BR/>It is a command issuing in the name of the sovereign authority from a superior court having jurisdiction, and is directed to some person, corporation, or, inferior court, within the jurisdiction of such superior court, requiring them to do some particular thing therein specified, which appertains to their office and duty, and which the superior court has previously determined, or at least supposes to be consonant to right and justice.<BR/><BR/>Mandamus is not a writ of right, it is not consequently granted of course, but only at the discretion of the court to whom the application for it is made; and this discretion is not exercised in favor of the applicant, unless some just and useful purpose may be answered by the writ.<BR/><BR/>This writ was introduced io prevent disorders from a failure of justice; therefore it ought to be used upon all occasions where the law has established no specific remedy, and where in justice and good government there ought to be one. Mandamus will not lie where the law has given another specific remedy.<BR/><BR/>The 13th section of the act of congress of Sept. 24, 1789, gives the Supreme Court power to issue writs of mandamus in cases warranted by the principles and usages of law, to any courts appointed or persons holding office, under the authority of the United States. The issuing of a mandamus to courts, is the exercise of an appellate jurisdiction, and, therefore constitutionally vested in the supreme court; but a mandamus directed to a public officer, belongs to original jurisdiction, and by the constitution, the exercise of original jurisdiction by the supreme court is restricted to certain specified cases, which do not comprehend a mandamus. The latter clause of the above section, authorizing this writ to be issued by the supreme court to persons holding office under the authority of the United States, is, therefore, not warranted by the constitution and void.<BR/><BR/>The circuit courts of the United States may also issue writs of mandamus, but their power in this particular is confined exclusively to those cases in which it may be necessary to the exercise of their jurisdiction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-51080039149761665572008-04-11T10:46:00.000-04:002008-04-11T10:46:00.000-04:00John...FYI.I thought a Texas Attorney friend of mi...John...<BR/><BR/>FYI.<BR/><BR/>I thought a Texas Attorney friend of mine would enjoy your blog on the Mays style of Texas Justice.<BR/><BR/>She did, and wrote to me:<BR/><BR/>"Funny, but not likely true. <BR/> <BR/>"The Supreme Court belongs to the Banks, and a Mandamus might be in order if they screw around at the District Court level."<BR/><BR/>Whatever the heck a Mandamus is. I thought that was the Russell Crowe slave guy in Gladiator. Maybe not.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Enjoying your Blogs a lot ... even though they don't have any regular Mandami in them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-408617788334181522008-04-11T09:38:00.000-04:002008-04-11T09:38:00.000-04:00from what i read the banks stand to lose between $...from what i read the banks stand to lose between $2.7 and 3 billion dollars if forced to do this deal. <BR/><BR/>i am not sure if the courts can force the banks to complete the deal especially if they can show that clear channel misrepresented their fiscal health.<BR/><BR/>if the texas courts side with clear channel the end result will not be pretty for radio. what bank would ever want to do business with a radio chain again?<BR/><BR/>you are right when you say the outcome does not matter. it is what will happen after that and clear channel could be on its way to effing over its radio bretheren.<BR/><BR/>this wil not sit well for citadel, cumulus and the other public chains.<BR/><BR/>the radio chains should be rooting for the banks if they know what is good for them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-11541411385042190522008-04-11T09:02:00.000-04:002008-04-11T09:02:00.000-04:00I suggest an old fashioned shoot out. Ten paces, ...I suggest an old fashioned shoot out. Ten paces, turn around, fire.<BR/><BR/>That silver-spoon trust funded Randy Mays will be dead before he can get the gun out of his Coach holster.<BR/><BR/>If you are going to have Texas justice you should take it all the way.<BR/><BR/>In the movies, the banks always got back their money from the black hatted thieves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-15070375419858106222008-04-11T07:51:00.000-04:002008-04-11T07:51:00.000-04:00I am not in the financial business. I do have an i...I am not in the financial business. I do have an interest in Clear Channel as an employee not knowing what today or tomorrow will bring.<BR/><BR/>Even in the United State of Texas I think the courts have to look at a larger picture. This country's economy cannot afford to have banks suffer more losses on obvious bad deals. It serves the banks right in the way for jumping into a deal without knowing all the facts about how poorly the radio industry is performing. The other side of the story is the question of whether Clear Channel provided accurate financial statements and projections.<BR/><BR/>If the courts were to supoena financial records from various clusters they would show a lot of time **sold** and not a lot of money collected. <BR/><BR/>This appears to be a deal that was written with pure greed in mind. The timing was wrong. The bottom fell out before it could be concluded.<BR/><BR/>Whatever may be the outcome the apathy here is thick enough to cut. We are dependent on Clear Channel for employement. We are also as loyal to the company as they are to us.<BR/><BR/>The courts should take note of that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-6721285126741504332008-04-11T05:43:00.000-04:002008-04-11T05:43:00.000-04:00Either way CC is on the ropes. I agree that the en...Either way CC is on the ropes. I agree that the end result will be the same. More will lose jobs, quality of programming will continue to decline. CC's downfall will cause other chains, even those few that are attempting to improve product, decling revenue and value. The sooner this wraps the better. The sooner CC parcels out stations at a realistic multiple (try five maximum) it will allow broadcasters back into the fold. Say goodbye to chains beginning with the letter C. Your greed got the best of you. Like that Spoon song: You will not survive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-78270440521681710622008-04-10T22:16:00.000-04:002008-04-10T22:16:00.000-04:00For Jan heres what radio insiders are thinking. "...For Jan heres what radio insiders are thinking. <BR/><BR/>"I predict that half of America’s morning drive jocks will soon be replaced by 10 or 12 syndicated morning shows beamed in from somewhere else. This will happen in other dayparts as well. <BR/>Frankly, I’m in favor of it. <BR/><BR/>Wait! I hear the voices of broadcasters clamoring, “But radio is local. Our listeners want local. Syndication is anti-radio.”<BR/><BR/>I respond, "Listen to the people of your town. Are they saying, 'We don’t want Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, American Idol, and Lost! We want the local TV shows?'”<BR/><BR/>"Are they saying, 'We don’t want Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Lord of the Rings in our theaters! We want the local movies?'” <BR/><BR/>"Are they saying, 'We don’t want Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern, we want a local political pundit and a local shock jock?'”<BR/><BR/>Ten years ago, radio’s consolidators cut costs by cutting the fat. Then, when pressured for more profits, they did the only thing they knew to do; they cut deeper, but this time into muscle. Radio was crippled. Occasionally they cut arteries and radio stations began dying. Wall Street prices dropped cold and hard, icy hail on a barren landscape.<BR/><BR/>There were plenty of heroic efforts in the emergency room. Not all radio group heads were selfish. Not all were shortsighted and stupid. I’ve watched from the sidelines as good men and women did the best they could under impossible circumstances.<BR/><BR/>Now radio is going private again. Deconsolidation has begun. The age of syndication is upon us."<BR/><BR/>Roy Williams The Wizard of Ads.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-1351800353592859762008-04-10T16:37:00.000-04:002008-04-10T16:37:00.000-04:00If CC/Bain/Lee win & the deal goes through more jo...If CC/Bain/Lee win & the deal goes through more jobs will be cut in favor of vt/syndication/network. If CC/Bain/Lee loses & the deal falls apart more jobs will be cut in favor of vt/syndication/network. Either way the employees that have kept their wretched stations on the air will get the shaft. I don't care who wins or who loses. I just want whatever CC ends up to be to sell their stations to people that will know how to run them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-4148779505245471002008-04-10T15:40:00.000-04:002008-04-10T15:40:00.000-04:00Vernon Jordan huh? I did not know. Let me get thi...Vernon Jordan huh? I did not know. Let me get this right. Jordan is an advisor to Bill Clinton at the same time he owns a piece of Chancellor. He had to have made a few bucks on that deal. The radio revisions on the telcomm bill get me. How could those have been added without any public hearings or discussions? Never mind. I answered my own question.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-7804029214058727762008-04-10T15:35:00.000-04:002008-04-10T15:35:00.000-04:00Does the Mays school of Business teach a course ca...Does the Mays school of Business teach a course called "ethics optional?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-30030950168406813742008-04-10T14:04:00.000-04:002008-04-10T14:04:00.000-04:00We should have let Mexico have Texas, way back wh...We should have let Mexico have Texas, way back when. Texas has done more than it's fair share to give the U.S. a bad name. It gave us George W Bush which is reason enough to throw them out of the union.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-52230719731447664112008-04-10T13:31:00.000-04:002008-04-10T13:31:00.000-04:00Jamail has to be in his 80s by now. He has to be d...Jamail has to be in his 80s by now. He has to be doing this strictly for sport.<BR/><BR/>I think CC calling in the favors paid off. <BR/><BR/>It is good news for CC. It will be a disaster for the banks and everyone working for that company.<BR/><BR/>According to Tom Taylor those leaving CC for Tribune gave up their golden parachutes. That is how quickly they want out of there plus Zell and Michaels can make up the difference by firing a few more people on the Tribune staff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-35088960688330097042008-04-10T12:49:00.000-04:002008-04-10T12:49:00.000-04:00"The banks have legitimate concerns. CC is not wor..."The banks have legitimate concerns. CC is not worth even close to those dated and inflated figures."<BR/><BR/>That's not CC's fault. If you buy a house at an inflated price, and a bank backs your mortgage, then that's the deal. The banks can't back out, and neither can you, even if the market changes and the value of your house drops. That's the way it works. The banks screwed themselves by agreeing to this deal in the first place. They should be forced to follow through. If it was any one of us on the receiving end, the banks would force us to pay.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-78032420317971149442008-04-10T12:06:00.000-04:002008-04-10T12:06:00.000-04:00Hey Gorman -- two things. Number one. I don't know...Hey Gorman -- two things. Number one. I don't know how you knew but everyone else wrote off CBS radio's Psychic Network as an April Fools Joke. Even some people inside CBS said it was and that you were dumb enough to fall for it. Now I find out it really is for real. How do you know this stuff? Second. This Clear Channel trial and error is gut wrenching for those working for the company. Screw the big guys. It is the poorly paid no benefits people that feel the screws turning. They deserve better. I am sure that Mark Mays will say let them eat cake.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-76518273589918657202008-04-10T11:49:00.000-04:002008-04-10T11:49:00.000-04:00John, There is a whole world's watching problem. ...John, There is a whole world's watching problem. If the courts side on CC's side it will show them as reckless and obviously on CC's payroll. The banks have legitimate concerns. CC is not worth even close to those dated and inflated figures. If forced these banks could suffer billions of dollars in losses. I cannot see a judge willing to put his neck on the line for that result.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-5277390987924969822008-04-10T11:09:00.000-04:002008-04-10T11:09:00.000-04:00The Mays family wield a lot of power in Texas thou...The Mays family wield a lot of power in Texas though their star has faded slightly since Randall took over from Lowry. Lowry may still be calling the shots. Randall falls short on the follow through. The family is fortune that they got the trial moved here where they have the juice to make the decision go in their favor. The banks went a long with the deal and it will be difficult for them especially in Bexar court to get any sympathy for the court. This one could end in one of those backroom deals Lowry used to love holding court in.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-38255087134499440712008-04-10T10:42:00.000-04:002008-04-10T10:42:00.000-04:00Law will definitely swing Clear Channel's way. On...Law will definitely swing Clear Channel's way. Once again they have stacked the deck. The banks will get royally screwed on this one. Open and shut.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-27888846031673830682008-04-10T09:04:00.000-04:002008-04-10T09:04:00.000-04:00you are handsome man. I liked!franyou are handsome man. I liked!<BR/>franAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639893053950014759.post-12242086900537292352008-04-10T09:00:00.000-04:002008-04-10T09:00:00.000-04:00Yeah, the tea leaves are looking better for CC tod...Yeah, the tea leaves are looking better for CC today. Some of the guys invested in the buyout are threatening to pull business from the banks if they don’t do the deal. Citi is freeing up cash, which would let it proceed. The Wall Street drumbeat can definitely be heard pushing to get this done. Another win in Texas would, of course, pile on even more pressure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com