Josh Gracin and Buddy Jewel Prove Decorating Christmas Trees Can Be Hazardous

Nashville Kat: "First it was Buddy Jewel falling off a ladder hanging Christmas lights and breaking his wrist and now Christmas’s latest causality is another reality TV star - Josh Gracin.

Tuesday he was hanging Christmas lights when his daughter noticed a light out. He couldn’t get the bulb out with his fingers so Josh did what the dentist said not to - he used his teeth & his veneer busted off. When I said ‘you're lucky you didn’t get electrocuted he said ‘that was the least of my worries, I’ve been electrocuted plenty of times in the Marine Corps.’

The veneer that popped off was the one he had fixed 3 years ago playing backyard football & good thing he’s a Marine cuz has to have it fixed with no Novocain – he told me it doesn’t work on him. He also debated putting in a green or red tooth for the holidays but decided not to.

Edison's Tom Webster: "30 Under 30"

Wow, what a great idea. Well worth plaigerizing Edison's blog here to be sure you know about it.

After many years of trying to get some traction, the radio industry finally seems to be serious about efforts to attract and maintain the 12-24 generation. Fred Jacobs has been agitating on this topic for years, and recently has called for a task force to address the issue. One of the biggest challenges in attracting younger people is that, frankly, radio no longer has many younger people in positions of power. Edison Media Research is proud to announce our talent search: "30 Under 30". We are in search of the 30 best young talents in radio. Do you know someone under 30 years old, working in radio in any capacity, who should be featured? If so, tell us about him or her by clicking here.

Les Moonves Plugs CBS Radio's '07 On CNBC

Highlights (click to watch CNBC News Desk Editor David Faber sit down with CBS President & CEO Les Moonves to discuss the future of radio):

* Next year CBS will have easier comps
* Just getting through this first post-Howard Stern year is crucial
* After the cash-generating selloff of ten radio markets, there's no interest at CBS in selling off the entire division.
* "Jackfm" is working in most markets
* Opie & Anthony are starting to work

Support The Troops, Wear Camouflage

..Like KMPS, Seattle's Ichabod Caine and Stephanie Lynn do!

CCMA - '07 = Regina and '08 = Winnipeg

What a great move! Thanks to the Canadian Country Music Association board for taking the annual "Country Music Week" spotlight out to the heartland and the prairies.

WINNIPEG IS HOST CITY TO CCMA EVENTS SEPTEMBER 5-8, 2008

The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) today announced Winnipeg as host city for the 2008 Canadian Country Music Week and Awards, to be held September 5-8, 2008. This marks the third time Winnipeg will host Canada’s largest country music event.

The Chair of the CCMA, Heather Ostertag, officially announced the awarding of Country Music Week 2008 to the City of Winnipeg, acknowledging that more than two decades had passed since the event was last held in that city (1986). Ostertag added, “The CCMA is very pleased to return to Winnipeg and the Board of Directors invites both the community and our industry to join in and help make this a wonderful celebration and a wonderful opportunity for Canada's talent.”

Music is integrated into the fabric of Winnipeg and Manitoba, and shapes the heartland of Canada’s musical tradition. Artists such as Neil Young, Doc Walker, The Guess Who, and countless others launched their careers here. “Manitoba has always been a great place for music and artists,” said Premier Gary Doer. “We were proud to host the JUNO Awards last year and just this year we hosted the Western Canadian Music Awards and the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. With this announcement, we will show the country yet again that Winnipeg is a music town.”

Canadian Country Music Week and Awards is one of the largest music events in Canada. “The Canadian Country Music Awards will be another tremendous opportunity to showcase our city to a national audience,” said Mayor Sam Katz. “Winnipeg is certainly excited to play host to the hottest talent in Canadian country music and I know our city will once again step up to the plate and deliver a world class event.”

Winnipeg presented a strong bid to the CCMA and was awarded the event based on a combination of solid commitments from the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg, excellent host facilities, a solid track record in hosting major events, and a long established reputation as a city that embraces Canadian music and culture. Destination Winnipeg put the successful bid together for the 2008 Canadian Country Music Week and Awards in partnership with the Bid Committee, whose members included:

· Co-chair, Kevin Walters, Manitoba Film & Sound
· Co-chair, Ray Martin, Manitoba Country Music Association
· Ginette Lavack, Destination Winnipeg
· Kevin Donnelly, True North Sports & Entertainment Ltd., MTS Centre
· Sam Baardman, Manitoba Audio Recording Industry Association
· Sara Stasiuk, Manitoba Audio Recording Industry Association
· Gilles Paquin, Paquin Entertainment

Kevin Walters, Co-Chair of the Winnipeg Bid Committee with Ray Martin said, “We are thrilled to welcome Canadian Country Music Week to Winnipeg in September 2008. Our committee looks forward to working with the Canadian Country Music Association over the next two years to plan a weeklong celebration of country music in true Winnipeg style. More than 1,000 members of the country music industry will descend on our city to enjoy workshops, parties and the Country Music Awards. The people of Manitoba are in for a great event!”

“True North Sports & Entertainment Ltd. and the MTS Centre are proud to once again play a role in bringing another major event to our province. We are confident that the MTS Centre will help showcase the best in Canadian country music and give Manitobans the chance to be a part of this fantastic event,” commented Kevin Donnelly, Senior Vice President & General Manager, MTS Centre.

Several venues in the Winnipeg area, in addition to the MTS Centre who will be playing host to the 2008 Canadian Country Music Awards, will be showcasing special entertainment events that customarily accompany the annual Canadian Country Music Week. Location and programming details will be announced at a later date. “Canadian Country Music Week in Winnipeg 2008 will, like the 2005 JUNO Awards, showcase excellence in Canadian music and provide significant economic benefits and national exposure for our city,” said Stuart Duncan, President of Destination Winnipeg Inc.

About the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA)
The CCMA is the only national voice in Canada solely dedicated to the growth and development of the evolving genre of Canadian country music. For more than three decades as one of Canada’s main advocates for country, the CCMA has become a trusted partner of the industry, a platform for artists, and Canada’s most active trade organization aggressively working to keep country music front and centre. The CCMA is a non profit trade association working to ensure the preservation of this wide ranging music genre unique to Canada, to the enactment of laws favourable to the industry, and to exploring new avenues for its continued growth. For 30 years the CCMA has marked each September with Country Music Week, a four day conference and celebration culminating in the internationally broadcast CCMA Awards (established 1983). Country Music Week is one of the largest music events in Canada each year with a combination of activities for both community and industry attendees including showcase opportunities for newcomers, educational seminars and an all day FanFest that delivers Canada’s stars to the community.

For more information contact:
Janice Tober
Manager, Media Relations & Communications
Destination Winnipeg Inc.
(204) 954-1985
janice@destinationwinnipeg.ca

Brandi Mills
Communications & Marketing
Canadian Country Music Association
(416) 947-1331 ext.211
bmills@ccma.org

Kevin Walters
Co-chair, Canadian Country Music Week Bid Committee
Manitoba Film & Sound
(204) 947-2040
kevin@mbfilmsound.mb.ca

Carrie Underwood Dominates Billboard Country Awards

In the country music categories of the annual Billboard Magazine Music awards in Las Vegas last night, Carrie Underwood won almost everything she was up for (FOUR awards!).

Excitement reigned backstage after Carrie was voted New Country Artist, Female Country Artist, CountryAlbum for Some Hearts, ALSO voted Overall Album of the year). Kenny Chesney did very well too (or is that TWO?), as he picked up the Male Country Artist, and Country Songs Artist awards.

"We-POD" .. Gosh, I Wish I Had Said That

Nettwerk Music Group CEO Terry McBride coined the phrase as he explains his new approach to marketing music, but today's radio with its "Rush Rooms" and "Loyal Listener Clubs" has every opportunity to be "WE-Pod" driven too.

Are you creating an affility group, a community based on shared values, and making your listeners feel like your brand .. on multiple platforms .. is their community center? If so, I have news for you: YOU are a "WE-pod."

Or, at least you could be, if you do what listeners need and want before you do anything else.

In spite of the first song played on MTV, video did not kill the radio star 15 years ago. I'll be surprised if the internet does either.. as long as we are smart and nimble, right now.

Country Music And A Military Band At The White House Tree Lighting This Week

On December 7, 2006, the Tree Lighting Ceremony for the Christmas Pageant of Peace will take place on the Ellipse south of the White House grounds.

The tree lighting ceremony begins each year’s 3-week Pageant. Country music's JOHN CONLEE along with a military band adds to the celebratory evening in which the President brings a message of peace to the nation and the world. The culmination of the evening is the illumination of the National Christmas Tree.President George W. Bush will continue the tradition this year, pushing the switch for the sixth time in his Presidency. And every President who follows him will be reminded of the great heritage surrounding this event by the switch box they hold, a box handcrafted in the mid 1930s and dated “1923” to mark the year President Coolidge first lit the tree on behalf of “all Americans.” For 83 years, the American tradition of lighting a national Christmas Tree has continued, interrupted only briefly in its history during moments of great national travail.

In December 1923, the first National Christmas Tree was placed on the Ellipse south of the White House. The tree was a 48-foot Balsam fir from Vermont. At 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve, President Calvin Coolidge walked from the White House to the Ellipse to light the tree from his native state. The tree was decorated with 2500 electric bulbs in red, white and green. Music for this first lighting ceremony was provided by a local choir and the U.S. Marine Band.

John Conlee Media Contact: Kirt Webster, 615-777-6995 x30

How Edgy Can A Country Morning Show Get?

For guidance on the techniques of creating buzz, but staying true to the core values, this report from Alison Bonaguro makes me think that it would be smart to really study CMT and GAC:

Does sweet little Carrie Underwood have it in her to become a vengeful vandal? Yes and no. Yes, because country videos are getting edgier every day. But no, because no matter how hard country tries to imitate its big brothers rock, rap and pop, country "Videos branch out but rarely cross the line."

In her newest video, "Before He Cheats," Underwood sings about carving her name into the leather seats of her ex's pretty little souped-up ride, taking a Louisville Slugger to both headlights and slashing all four tires. You see it all unfold, violently and in slow motion. But you never actually see Underwood doing the damage. According to Evan Kroft, music director for Country Music Television, that's the No. 1 streaming video on CMT.com and is No. 15 on launch.com. "Country is kind of PG-13," Kroft says. "Our audience doesn't want to be bored. They want an edge, but not too much."

PS: Have you ever wondered how much country videos cost? $75,000-$300,000, depending on how bankable the artist is. This, compared to about $800,000 for pop videos. Who is paying for these bigger and better budgets? The record label pays upfront, but then about 50 percent is recoupable. That means if the label spends $200,000 on video production for a single, they will take approximately $100,000 in recoupment fees out of the sales from that artist's CD.That seems like a lot for the artist to pay back, but while viewers see videos as entertainment, music executives see them as a marketing tool. When MTV came barreling into households in 1981 -- launching with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," ironically -- these videos were merely standard promotional practice. Now that you can purchase videos to watch on your own time, albeit on a tiny screen that would make a director cringe, videos have become moneymakers in their own right.

Nashville Gets Into The God Business

.. and, according to a story in today's Boston Globe, that business is very good. "The old joke in country music was that you couldn't die and go to heaven unless you did at least one gospel album," says Wade Jessen, director of Christian and gospel charts for Billboard and Radio & Records.

With each passing year, the hand-wringing over the downturn in record sales becomes a little more desperate. But one genre continues to experience steady growth: gospel and Christian music. In July, the Gospel Music Association -- which tracks artists who express Christian ideals in their music and hands out the Dove Awards, gospel's Grammy equivalent -- reported that sales were up a hallelujah-inducing 11.6 percent over last year. Consumers aren't the only ones who have increasingly embraced a gospel message in recent years. It's become a growing trend for mainstream artists known strictly for secular music to release albums singing His praises. This year alone, superstar country acts Alan Jackson and Alabama, R&B stars Patti LaBelle and Kelly Price, and blues-rock guitarist Jonny Lang entered the sanctuary. These latest worshipers join a new-millennium flock that includes "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard, Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child, Gladys Knight, Aaron Neville, and Smokey Robinson, as well as country veteran Randy Travis.

They're building on a longstanding tradition, of course: Country and soul artists, from Dolly Parton to Aretha Franklin, have long either sprung from the church choir or periodically joined up with it.

"I think there's just absolutely no way to have this discussion without going back to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001," says Billboard's Jessen. "That really was a turning point in a lot of people's lives in this country. Five years ago there was a lot of noise in the consumer press about how after the terrorist attacks a lot of people were rediscovering their spiritual roots, going back to church."

"I think it has a lot to do with war and with the hurricanes and the tsunami and everything that's been happening," says LaBelle. "People have to cling to something, and you know [gospel music] is a wonderful place to cling."

"It's new. It's free. It's got variety. It's HD digital radio."

It's tempting to add "..and, it's wishful thinking!" by terrestial radio, but in fact it's real PR which, at long last, appears to be starting after the lengthy head start by satellite radio.

An important metric to watch: low long will it take to have 7,000,000 HDRadio receivers in the marketplace? How many subscribers will XM and Sirius have by that time?

Big & Rich, John Michael Headline American Legion Gulf Area Fundraiser

Big & Rich and John Michael Montgomery are scheduled to perform at a three-day country-music festival March 23-25 at South Mississippi's Harrison County Fairgrounds.

Dubbed the 2007 All Star Jamboree and hosted by the American Legion, "the event was organized to rebuild Legion posts on the Coast, and to replenish the National Legion Emergency Relief Fund, as well as to benefit Arms and Legs, prosthetics for veterans, and other Coast and national veteran's organizations and programs," said L.D. Carrico, an event spokesperson. Organizers will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday at American Legion Post 119 in Gulfport to present details of the festival.

The festival will feature both major and minor country players, including the Bellamy Brothers, T Graham Brown, Eddy Raven, Moe Bandy, songwriter Bobby Boyd, Copper Rose and Scott Hisey.

"Every show, you want to give it everything you've got. And I'm just taking it one show at a time."

That's great radio, music and life advice from Dierks Bentley, in a very cool profile by Jon Bream of McClatchy Newspapers.

Broken Wrist Sidelines Buddy Jewell

Jewell, the first winner of the "Nashville Star" singing competition, was hurt in a fall from a ladder while hanging Christmas lights at his Nashville home Nov. 19. He underwent surgery last Wednesday to insert three screws and a two-inch metal plate on his left wrist. Jewell decided against performing in a 20-city Great American Country Christmas Tour that runs from Thursday through Dec. 21.

He is being replaced by "American Idol" alumnus Bucky Covington. Also on the bill are Deana Carter, Julie Roberts, Blue County and Steve Azar.

"I am sure some of y'all have already purchased tickets for the Christmas tour, and we strongly encourage you to still go," Jewell's wife, Tene, wrote on the Web site. "It's going to be a great show, and I would hate for y'all to miss out because of Buddy's unfortunate accident."

Getting On The "Brand" Wagon

"Fibber McGee and Molly," "The Jack Benny Show," "NBC," "The Mighty 690," "77-WABC," "Color Radio," "93 KHJ," "Westinghouse Broadcasting, KDKA," "WCCO, real radio," "WSB, Atlanta," "Paul Harvey News," "The Big 8," "The best variety," "Kay Lite," "CHUM," "EZ," "The most music," "CKNW," "Magic," "Continuous country," "12 in a row," "Mix," "New."

There, in 50 words or less, is a history of "brand identity" on American and Canadian radio.

I wanted to remind you that the concept of building brand awareness and recognition has been around for quite awhile in the radio business. That seems necessary because blogs have popped up in the past year or two promoting the concept of brand loyalty marketing and research as if they had invented the idea.

Perhaps a reality check is in order here.

I remember when we all started doing callout, then focus groups, then diary reviews, then auditorium music research, strategic planning sessions, perceptual studies, cluster analysis, multi-variant crosstabs, "fit" testing, diary-based research, market segmentation and now brand identity research.

All of them have been valid techniques to solve certain sets of problems. Yet, it seemed like each somehow replaced its predecessor, making it useless and outmoded. If you weren't doing the absolute latest research and marketing technology, you were just simply OUT of it.

That brings us to the current fad, "brand loyalty" research.

Having observed some very aggressive radio stations which were doing the most sophisticated research and marketing tactics being beaten handily by "less state of the art" radio operators, I've learned a thing or two about lemmings, those omnipresent radio birds.

The concept of researching brand loyalty is based on a truism - the average person will listen to three radio stations per week. Arbitron and BBM researchers claim that 96% of all radio listening is encompassed by these three positions on the average radio listener's hierarchy of usage. PPM usage data has shown that the average listener actually visits more than twice as many radio frequencies in the average week.

So, the question is -- if you're station #4 in the average radio listener's mind in your market, you may be able to build higher cume audience, but you'll never get your fair share of time spent listening until you can climb at least into that #3 ‘top of mind’ spot.

The Kirby Confer Group created the "Kay-Frog" brand in both San Bernadino-Riverside (KFRG), in Altoona (WFGY) and in other Ohio and Pennsylvania markets to brand their stations as fun, irreverent and entertaining. Clearly, the brand worked. Frogs are now quite successful in markets from Santa Rosa to Gainesville.

“Young Country” built a powerful brand in Little Rock, Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco and Seattle in the early 1990’s, but only one of those stations (WYCD, Detroit) continues to exist.

Two decades ago, Seattle’s #2 ranked country station (KRPM) called on New York advertising guru Dale Pon to create a "brand" that would render KMPS' "12 in a row" brand useless as a benchmark for owning the "most music" brand in country listeners' brains.

Pon, who previously created the very successful "Flex Your Plex" campaign that had built KPLX a "brand" in Dallas, gave birth to "Twice As Much Country Music."

After an expenditure of considerably more than half a million dollars in media advertising, KRPM abandoned the "Twice As Much" brand, and then adopted a totally different brand - K-106. That station is now pop CHR KISS 106.1, of course, and now Entercom is coming up on its first year of building 100.7 the Wolf (KKWF) as an emerging country brand in the Puget Sound.

Following the success of KPLX’s relaunch a few years ago as "The Sound of Texas 99-5 The Wolf," Wolves have popping up from Cincinnati, Portland to Nashville and many points in between.

Will this one be as memorable as "Kay Frog," still around and successful two decades from now? Or, as forgettable as "Twice As Much Country"?

How about “Jack,” “Bob,” "Earl," and "El Patron?"

Time will tell.

Meanwhile, this much I know. As Coca Cola learned when it attempted to change its formula, a successful brand identity takes years to build and can be lost very quickly.

Creative, forceful brand identities endure over time.

This is true with Ivory, Hertz, GM, WGN, KMOX, WLW, WPOC, KILT, KNIX, Country 105, KMLE, JR-fm and, maybe - in your market - YOUR call letters.

If you need a new brand identity, we would be happy to help in the process of researching and innovating one. However, there is quite a bit of brand switching going on in our medium today. THAT alone might possibly be the best argument for NOT changing your current brand identity, as long as its working positively for you.

"Be what you are, intensively" is a great prescription for success in any field. Can listeners care or recall what you are, when what you are changes or is several different things simultaneously?

The current crop of excellent research people doing brand awareness and loyalty research will no doubt spawn many exciting and successful "brands" that will be touted widely.

They will sound sexy and alluring.

And, it will be tempting to tag some of them onto your current identity. Or, replace your current brand name with a new one.

If you're considering a change in identity, A&O would recommend asking your audience before you do it. But, if your ratings are good and your station is well positioned in your market (we can help determine this), there is no reason to change identities just because it's the "in thing" to do.

Or, as Coke discovered, you could be making a "classic" mistake.

Country Music Dominates People's Choice Awards Nominees

Queen Latifah will host "The 33rd Annual People's Choice Awards," to be broadcast live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 9 (9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on CBS-TV.

The first awards show of 2007 (click to vote) honors favorite performers in television, motion pictures and music and country performers figure prominently among all genre Peoples Choice awards categories and all of the Favorite Male Singer nominees are country singers, TRACE ADKINS, KENNY CHESNEY and TOBY KEITH. Meanwhile, two of the three Favorite Female Singers are country, FAITH HILL and CARRIE UNDERWOOD. Rascal Flatts' "Life is a Highway" appears in both the Favorite Remake category and Favorite Song from a Movie (for Cars).

PEOPLE'S CHOICE NOMINEES (PARTIAL LIST)
Favorite Female Singer
Faith Hill
Shakira
Carrie Underwood

Favorite Male Singer
Trace Adkins
Kenny Chesney
Toby Keith

Favorite Remake
"Crazy" by Alanis Morissette
"Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts
"Save the Last Dance for Me" by Michael Bublé

Favorite Song from a Movie
"Crazy" by Alanis Morissette from The Devil Wears Prada
"Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts from Cars
"Real Gone" by Sheryl Crow from Cars

Favorite Country Song
"Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood
"What Hurts The Most" by Rascal Flatts
"When the Stars Go Blue" by Tim McGraw

Troy Gentry Press Statement

Gentry, 39, and Lee Marvin Greenly, 46, who owns Minnesota Wildlife Connection near Sandstone, were charged in August with conspiracy and falsely "tagging" the "trophy-caliber" bear by claiming it was shot in the wild. In reality, the tame bear was shot in a fenced area of several acres. After the indictment, Gentry's Nashville agent shifted the blame for any improper conduct to Greenly, and online fan discussion forums were abuzz with debate over whether Gentry was a bona fide big-game hunter or a wannabe.

Gentry, in a statement released by his management company, said he regrets what happened, but he stops short of accepting any culpability other than relying on Greenly's guidance.

"I did participate in improperly tagging the animal I shot, without realizing the seriousness of what I was doing. For that, I am truly sorry," the statement said. "I relied on the experts around me for guidance, and I regret that today. Not so much because I was fined and punished, but because it appears that I don't have respect for the law." He says the legal case "has been a humbling experience for me, and one which I deeply regret."

Gentry's attorney, Ron Meshbesher, of Minneapolis and the U.S. attorney's office worked out the plea bargain last week, and Gentry entered his new plea Monday morning before U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson, sitting in Duluth. In return for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a felony count against Gentry. "It was emphasized by the judge … that he was merely charged with an improper tagging where the bear was killed," Meshbesher said. "The bear was legally harvested.''

Toby Keith Hooks Up With Wounded Warriors

From Army News Service (click to read the entire press release): Country music superstar Toby Keith rocked the stage, and a few Soldiers' world, at a private concert Sunday for 14,000 Texas Ford truck owners and about 500 servicemembers at the AT&T Center in downtown San Antonio.The military invite was courtesy of Ford Motor Company and Texas Ford Dealers, sponsors of the free concert, "Toby Keith's Hookin' Up and Hangin' Out Tour."

For more info: Elaine Wilson, Fort Sam Houston Public Affairs, who picked up this quote from TK..

"We do that everywhere we go," said Keith, referring to the military "hook up." "If there are tickets available, we try to make sure the military is taken care of."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Dixie Chicks - Free Speech? Or, Censorship?

Woman to women: Shaunti Feldhahn, a right-leaning columnist, spars with Diane Glass, a left-leaning columnist.

Meanwhile, the folks who field Callout America for Radio and Records just did a snap poll for A&O of the same 25-54 national sample of country radio users they use to test music for R&R:

Now that you've seen the Dixie Chicks on TV promoting their movie "Shut Up & Sing" on Oprah, Today Show, Good Morning America & Larry King discussing their situation, what should radio do?

* Play their music more? 31.36% of 25-54 women say 'yes' but only 20.73% of males tested agreed.
* Play their music less? 34.32% of the women agree with that and 53.66% of the men did.

A&O client stations have access to the complete study, of course.

Investor Calls Clear Channel Sale "Too One-Sided"

Financial Post reporter Barbara Shecter had this story on Saturday: Some shareholders, including Canadian fund manager Larry Sarbit, are unhappy with (last) week's multi-billion-dollar sale of Clear Channel Communications Inc. A private equity group led by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners said on Thursday it intends to buy Clear Channel, the largest radio company in the United Sates with more than 1,100 stations, for $19-billion, a roughly 10% premium to the share price. But some shareholders say the deal is detrimental to them because it offers more benefits to insiders -- namely the Mays family that founded the San Antonio, Tex.-based media conglomerate.

"This was an extremely one-sided deal," said Mr. Sarbit, whose firm, Winnipeg-based Sarbit Asset Management Inc., owns Clear Channel shares in a portfolio of 10 to 15 companies, primarily based in the United States. "I suspect there are others who feel this way. It's particularly galling to sit here as a public shareholder ... and watch them sell the assets off, knowing we won't benefit from any of it," he added that Clear Channel is being sold just ahead of an expected turnaround in performance, the benefit of which is not reflected in the price Thomas Lee and Bain are paying for the company.