R&R reports that Radio One's sale of KRBV has Wall Street's approval. They write:
"Radio One is making positive changes" was the headline on Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker investment note to clients yesterday, a day after Radio One agreed to sell KRBV/Los Angeles for $137.5 million and its board authorized a stock repurchase program. She said she sees "two key positives" from Monday's announcements, saying they "not only improve the company's financial position, but more importantly, they provide management with much needed credibility." Over at JP Morgan, analyst John Blackledge told clients, "The sale of the troubled L.A. station makes sense for Radio One at this point, as reformatting and focused efforts could not turn around the station's fortunes over the past few years."
So as far as Wall Street is concerned, a radio company selling a radio station that it couldn't turn around and announcing a stock buy-back is proof of management's wisdom, credibility and warrants praise.
Following this logic, public radio companies should announce that they are selling off all under-performing stations and returning the money to stockholders.
Most of us already understood that kowtowing to Wall Street has been corrosive and a major contributor to the sad state of the radio industry, but if you weren't sure reflect on the implications of these assessments.
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