Posted by chicagomedia.org on September 05, 2008 at 09:39:01:
When it comes to hot air --no competition
I don't care what Mike North, Pat Cassidy or my other friends in the media say. In this case, they're all wrong.
North and Cassidy, who both left morning jobs at CBS Radio stations in recent weeks, have turned up in other newspapers talking about "non-compete clauses" in their old contracts and how they've restricted their freedom to get back on the air.
In North's case, he told anyone who'd listen that his non-compete clause is keeping him off the airwaves until January. Cassidy said his non-compete delayed his start on Citadel Broadcasting news/talk WLS-AM (890).
Here's the fact: Broadcasters in Illinois haven't been subject to non-compete clauses since Jan. 1, 2002. That's when a law went into effect outlawing any such restrictions, thanks largely to the efforts of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
While former employers may retain a right to match other offers for a specified period of time -- a highly unlikely scenario in either North's or Cassidy's case -- talent can't be kept off the air after their contracts expire.
Cassidy later acknowledged that he should have phrased his situation differently.
But North still isn't backing down. "The law sounds nice, but the problem is with GMs [general managers] who are too afraid," he said. "They all have families to feed and just don't want to risk getting sued" by CBS.
(FEDER/Sun-Times)