The latest cutbacks at CBS follow earlier cutbacks at ABC, NBC and probably at a job near you too. Nothing new here at all. You've been fired, I've been fired. Find someone you know who hasn't been fired at one time or another. You know who doesn't get fired? The person that works for himself, that's who. What you can count on is this - if business is down, you could be fired. CBS revenues - down 14.6% in the fourth quarter. ABC and NBC were down when they cut jobs...
Is this the beginning of some kind of trend? No. I know because I can read. The unemployment rate was just 4.8% in February, 2008. It is up from 2007 when the rate was 4.6% for the year but hardly anything to panic about. You know jobs are scarce when the government extends the length of unemployment checks, something we haven't seen in a few years. This is not to say the economy isn't in the dumper because it is but don't look at these cutbacks as a trend...
Through good times and bad, people will be fired if for no other reason than they can be. The company is top heavy, business is down, it's time to cut expenses, salaries are getting too high. Name your favorite excuse, it's in there somewhere. A few years back I read a book called "Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive" by Harvey MacKay. It's worth a trip to Amazon.com and a minimal investment...
10 Timeline Memories...
- 1882] 'Happy Trails': Outlaw Jesse James, 34, is shot dead in St. Joseph (MO) by Robert Ford, a member of his gang...1990] Jazz great Sarah Vaughan dies from lung cancer at 66...1996] An Air Force jet carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown crashes in Croatia killing all 35 aboard. Brown was 54...2007] Eddie Robinson, college football's winningest coach, dies from natural causes at 88...
- 1936] Death by electrocution: Bruno Hauptmann is electrocuted in Trenton (NJ) for the kidnap-murder of the Lindbergh baby...
- 1953] Debuted on this date: TV Guide is published for the first time with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Jr. on the cover...
- 1962] Curtains: Jockey Eddie Arcaro retires after 31 years and 24,092 races...1968] Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his 'mountaintop' speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis. It will be his final speech...1982] John Chancellor steps down as anchor of "NBC Nightly News" and is replaced by Tom Brokaw and Roger Mudd...
- 1966] The Mets win the lottery: The New York Mets win the rights to "The Franchise" a.k.a. Tom Seaver in a lottery drawing after the Atlanta Braves violated the rules by signing the pitcher after the college season had started. Three years later Seaver helps the Mets win their first World Series...
- 1985] Baseball rolls a seven: Baseball owners and players agree to expand the post-season championship series from a best-of-five format to 'best-of-seven'...
- 1988] The Devil made them do it: The New Jersey Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in OT to make the playoffs for the first time...
- 1996] Gotcha: Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski is arrested by FBI agents, accused of sending 16 mail bombs that killed 3 and injured 23 during an 18-year period. Kaczynski is sentenced to 4 life sentences plus 30 years...
- 1998] How now Dow?: The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 9,000 for the first time...
- 2000] White-collar bust: A federal judge rules that Microsoft had violated U.S. antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors. Microsoft appeals...
Music Memories:
- 1956] Elvis sighting: Elvis Presley appears on "The Milton Berle Show", broadcast live from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hancock. Elvis sings "Heartbreak Hotel", "Money Honey" and "Blue Suede Shoes"...
- 1965] Released on this date: "Wooly Bull" - Sam The Sham and The Pharaoh's...
Commentary:
Gordon Brown alerts us to a show at the Lowell (MA) Memorial Auditorium tonight starring Tony Orlando who will be celebrating his 64th birthday at the show followed by a 'meet and greet' after the concert. Tony will being doing all his hits. For last minute tickets you can call the Auditorium box office at 978-454-2299. Tony was always a mensch when we needed anything from him at CBS-FM. Happy birthday Tony...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Amanda Bynes (22), Jennie Garth (36), Picabo Street (37), Eddie Murphy (47), David Hyde Pierce (49), Alec Baldwin (50), Tony Orlando (64), Wayne Newton (66), Billy Joe Royal (66), Marsha Mason (66), Jeff Barry (70), Jimmy McGriff (72), Jane Goodall (74) and Doris Day (84)...
Timeline Countdown: 2 days until the Final Four, 4 days until the NCAA Championship, 16 days until Passover and 30 days until the Kentucky Derby...
