In a lengthy article by Philadelphia Magazine writer Don Steinberg, he admits comments from unidentified former Entercom managers may not only be honest but flavored by sour grapes. CEO David Field does respond to the criticism in the article.
Steinberg says he started working on the article in 2017 but Entercom decided not to participate, after initially agreeing.
Here’s what one former manager told Steinberg: “Entercom was the fish that swallowed the whale. They’re a medium-market operator, and they thought that they could keep doing things the same way. It became immediately apparent to everybody inside that they were not equipped for that.”
Steinberg writes that man managers who left Entercom feel the same way. Here’s another unidentified quote: “They ran Entercom like a much smaller company, like a family business. You can do that when you’re in markets like Buffalo and Rochester, but not in New York, Chicago. I think they didn’t anticipate what they didn’t know.”
Steinberg interviewed CEO David Field at Entercom’s headquarters for his article. He doesn’t agree with what the critics are saying. “I mean, we have been in San Francisco. We’ve been in Boston, we’ve been in Los Angeles. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. But all of our program decisions are made locally. Whether it’s selecting music, coaching their personalities, that’s all done locally. Sales decisions are all done locally. Which, of course, doesn’t mean that there aren’t sort of strategic initiatives from corporate. But I’d say it’s a very collaborative organization, very entrepreneurial at the local level.”
Read the entire piece HERE, which also touches on ending The Wing Bowl, Radio.com and Entercom’s new headquarters.
