Monday, June 08, 2009

Susan Bayh's Emmis Compensation Soars 43% As Company Losses Surge

The wife of U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh pulled down a cool $99,262 in stock and other compensation for being a member of Emmis Communications Board of Directors, one of several publicly-traded companies on which she serves. That's a 43% increase in her compensation at a time the company lost $283.9 million in the most recent fiscal year according to the IBJ's Scott Olson. Collectively, Emmis' management team earned 25% less.

The Indianapolis Star recently raised questions about Susan Bayh's service on another corporate board, Wellpoint, and the potential conflicts her position posed to her husband's role in any health care reform initiative before Congress. Bayh earned $327,000 last year from her service as a board member for Wellpoint. The Bayh family has parlayed millions of dollars over Bayh's political career from his wife's service as a board member to more than a half dozen different publicly-traded companies. It is obvious these companies are putting Susan Bayh on their boards to win political influence over her husband and not because of any real business experience she brings to the table.

8 comments:

jabberdoodle said...

The Journal Gazette did some extensive articles related to Susan Bayh's 'career' as a board member at the end of 2007. The following link will take you to the longest, with sidebar links to the rest.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20071216/LOCAL1004/712160424

Citizen Kane said...

Nothing new. Bayh is a phony as a three-dollar bill. He was a worthless governor - full of hot air and that is about it. I am proud to say that I never voted for him. I'm not that fond of Lugar either, at least domestically anyway.

Dana said...

Emmis dying? Money pouring out thru the severed arteries of our downtown Right Wing Radio on the Circle building?

Wherever will Greg the Limbaugh clone work if EMMMIS folds? Sadly, some other station will probably pick GG and the Fat Man up while the EMMIS CEO goes to work for Lilly...

GGGrrrrrrrrr. Susan Bayh! Shame on you!

Is there anything in Indiana right now that is making a decent profit besides political hackdom?

Baloo said...

Dana,
Emmis Communications CEO is Jeff Smulyan who is a Major contributor to the Democratic Party, and a reason Dave Wilson is no longer on WIBC due to Dave commenting on the amount of money Jeff has given to the Democratic Party.

The reason Rush is on WIBC is simple, numbers. He, like him or not, has one of the highest ranking programs on radio. A company that is news/talk format would be stupid not to be have a show that brings in the numbers, and revenue that Rush brings in. It's about the funds brought into Emmis not what is on the Air.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Don't forget Emmis' sweetheart book deal for Bayh that cost the company a lot of money.

Dana said...

Baloo said...
Dana,
Emmis Communications CEO is Jeff Smulyan who is a Major contributor to the Democratic Party, and a reason Dave Wilson is no longer on WIBC due to Dave commenting on the amount of money Jeff has given to the Democratic Party.

---

Baloo, I didn't know that was one reason that Dave had lost his show (he was on 1070 for the Indy 500 coverage though). I did know that Jeff was a contributor to the Democratic party.

So, does that make Jeff incredibly... Mercenary?

Ok, so you have two jerks (Limbaugh and Greg Garrison the Moron) on WIBC that play to the base but alienate everyone else. This brings in a small but consistent listener demographic. Would it not be somewhat logical to also offer, on your flagship station, programming that the rest of the Indianapolis listeners would feel like tuning in for?

You have six hours of programming that maybe, what, twenty-thousand listen to. Eighteen hours of basically dead air follow, especially after 3pm. I'll give WIBC some early morning pre-Garrison listeners still. It isn't a good plan.

WIBC is FM now. They could pick up some kind of music (please gods not Christian rock), some liberal programming, something else...

By the way, from what EMMIS emloyees (not WIBC) tell me, Garrison is not universally loved in that building.

Sir Hailstone said...

"WIBC is FM now. They could pick up some kind of music (please gods not Christian rock), some liberal programming, something else..."

Ahhh -- someone who wants Obama State Radio through the UnFairness Doctrine.

Emmis and its predecessor companies had music for over 30 years on that frequency. WNAP, WKLR, WNOU. Times have changed. People who want music listen to Sirius XM or use their ipods.

Liberal programming only plays on NPR because tax dollar are being heisted to play it and there's no real ratings associated with NPR (no adverts therefore no reason for ratings). How many times has Air America reinvented itself? Does any station outside of a 50 watt backyard transmitter play Air America? No. Nobody of any importance even cares about leftie talk. A station can't sell ads for leftie talk if they tried. WIBC tried it years ago with Dick Wolfsie, and his show tanked. If you think WIBC is bad, try WFDM out of Franklin.

People listen to Rush, people listen to Hannity, people listen to Garrison. If people didn't then advertisers wouldn't buy time and the stations would go back to playing elevator music or even give Obama State Radio a listen.

Wow. Imagine that. A radio station where one would receive their daily brainwa....errr bulletins from The Obama. Emmis could install Telescreens on the Circle for the Two Minute Hate.

Dana said...

Sir Hailstone said... "Wow. Imagine that. A radio station where one would receive their daily brainwa....errr bulletins from The Obama. Emmis could install Telescreens on the Circle for the Two Minute Hate."

The Two-Minute Hate? Who is it that is shooting up museums and women's clinics? Friends of Obama, or Dittoheads that have been so screwed up by Limbaugh, Garrison, Hannity, Dobson (James), Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, the American Family Association, the gun lobby and all the rest that they'll imitate the Taleban?

"Ahhh -- someone who wants Obama State Radio through the UnFairness Doctrine."

No one is talking seriously about the "Fairness Doctrine" but right wing radio hosts. No one is talking about taking guns away except for the scary scary Brother John Birchers at the NRA and the right wing radio hosts.

The right wing radio (and FOX News blowhards) hosts are inciting people. That needs to stop. Not for so-called fairness, but because of their incredible wrongheaded dumbness.