• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 9, 2008

About a year after declaring victory in Clear Channel Radio's "Less Is More" campaign, launched in 2004, president and CEO John Hogan said last week that there will be some changes in the company-wide policy, which originally called for Clear Channel stations to reduce their ad inventory to deliver a better radio listening experience.

In the memo sent to Clear Channel managers on July 2, Hogan said some stations and markets will be cutting inventory further -- but some will also increase it.

In his memo, Hogan recalled that "we didn't approach inventory management as a one-time fix. [Less Is More] was an important first step... "Now, we're customizing by station and by daypart." He also explained: "In some cases, we will be reducing inventory further. In other cases, we will be increasing it. In all cases, the changes are designed to give you the greatest opportunity to compete effectively for listeners and for revenues."

The memo comes a few weeks after Clear Channel Communications renewed Hogan's contract as radio chief. It seems to be part of a broad reorganization time for the beginning of his new term. Shortly after renewing his contract, Hogan also announced a major shakeup in CCR's top management, with a hierarchy corresponding to the size of various markets.

At the top of the totem pole are Tom Schurr and Susan Karis, who will serve as executive vice presidents of operations for the Eastern and Western regions, where most of the big radio markets are located.

Schurr will oversee East Coast markets, including New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Boston. Karis will oversee West Coast operations, including Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.

Beneath Schurr and Karis, senior vice presidents Mark Kopelman and George Toulas will have responsibility for midsized markets, operating out of Houston and Miami, respectively. There are also two promotions in the mix: Tom Thon and Dave Crowl have both been named senior vice presidents of operations, responsible for overseeing smaller markets from their respective headquarters in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.

In a parallel structure, Hogan is bringing back the position of senior vice president of programming, with responsibility for specific regions, to work alongside the sales executives.

At the time, Clear Channel explained that these moves would allow the company to allocate resources to marketing and operations more efficiently, with efforts customized for individual stations and markets.

The shakeup and the revisions to "Less Is More" come as Clear Channel, like the rest of the radio business, struggles with falling ad revenues. In the first quarter of 2008, CCR's ad revenues slipped 4% compared to the same period in 2007, to about $770 million.