June 4, 2005
Layoffs at TV & Radio Museum
By JESSE McKINLEY
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/04/arts/design/04muse.html?pagewanted=print
Facing what its chairman called "difficult financial challenges," the
Museum of Television & Radio has laid off more than a dozen employees and
accepted the resignation of its president, Stuart N. Brotman.
The layoffs, announced to the staff on Thursday afternoon after a meeting
of the museum's board, included 14 full-time employees and one part-time
employee. Diane Lewis, a spokeswoman for the museum, said the layoffs would
affect its operations at both the museum's locations, on West 52nd Street
in Manhattan and in Beverly Hills, Calif.
In a statement released yesterday, Frank A. Bennack Jr., the museum's
chairman, said the museum "reluctantly had to make these adjustments" in
the face of a continuing financial crunch.
As for Mr. Brotman's resignation after just 15 months on the job, Mr.
Bennack thanked him for his efforts and said the museum would conduct a
national search for his replacement. Calls to Mr. Brotman's office at the
museum and to his consulting business in Lexington, Mass., were not
returned, but in a statement, Mr. Brotman said it had been "an honor and a
privilege" to work for the museum.
One fired employee, who would not give her name for fear of jeopardizing
her severance package, said the layoffs were painful but not altogether
surprising. "We all knew things were bad," she said. "And then the board
just seemed to slash."
The layoffs are the third in recent years for the museum, founded in 1975
as the Museum of Broadcasting by William S. Paley, the longtime president
and chairman of CBS. In 2003 the museum suffered the death of its
president, Robert M. Batscha, who had led the museum since 1981. Mr.
Brotman was hired in February 2004 and took over the next month.
=================================================
George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923
Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927
Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-3011
Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post.
_______________________________________________
MEDIANEWS mailing list
[email protected]
To unsubscribe send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
