Wilks - Not Good News Ahead?

Out of nowhere, OMW has been hearing from all over the place about the history, and future plans, of Wilks Broadcast Group...the company which is buying the CBS Radio cluster of stations in Columbus.

And to a person, the information we're getting from our contributors is not promising for folks who currently work at stations like rock WLVQ/96.3 "Q96", country WHOK/95.5 "K95.5", or alt-rock WAZU/107.1 "The Big Wazoo".

You can, of course, point to Wilks Broadcast Group CEO Jeff Wilks and his comments in today's Columbus Dispatch.

Wilks tells Dispatch TV/radio writer Tim Feran that "the stations' formats and personnel are not expected to change". (OK, those who have heard that line before a sale is completed, feel free to laugh out loud at this point...)

Wilks adds:

"These are phenomenally performing stations, financially and ratingswise. Personally, I’ve known about Q (WLVQ) my whole life. I’m a bit of a radio junkie and I know it’s one of those rare, rare, super heritage monster radio stations."

He may call himself a bit of a radio junkie, but that doesn't mean he doesn't cut to the bone.

To that end, a reliable OMW source in the state capital relays word that the Wilks operation is ALREADY planning job cuts at its three new Columbus stations, when it takes over the cluster in an LMA. And the word on the street is that the CBS Radio Kansas City stations may be in for even worse.

We aren't hearing good things from the existing Wilks markets of Fresno, Reno or Lubbock, either, with still more tales of doing "more with less" - people-wise.

We rarely give advice at your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm), but we'd strongly advise folks at CBS Radio in Columbus to polish their resumes and make sure their tapes are updated...