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| Amanda Rollen |
Cumulus Radio Corp. – which owns New Castle radio station WMDH 102.5 FM, branding as NASH-FM – in March filed suit against Amanda Rollen and Hoosier AM/FM LLC, which operates several stations in Marion and Kokomo.
In the lawsuit, Cumulus Radio attorneys claimed Rollen had violated a “non-competition” clause – in a December 2012 contract – that prohibited her from engaging in “essentially the same job” for any radio station within 50 miles of NASH-FM for six months after leaving the New Castle station.
The suit said Rollen left her job as an on-air personality and programming assistant at NASH-FM on Oct. 2, and began work for the Hoosier AM/FM stations on Oct. 20.
In a ruling this week, Delaware Circuit Court 4 Judge John Feick denied Cumulus Radio’s request for an injunction to keep Rollen off the airwaves, according to The Star-Press.
The judge – who presided over a hearing on the case last week – noted attorneys for the New Castle station produced no evidence of any monetary losses, or an impact on ratings, as a result of Rollen’s work for the Marion and Kokomo stations.
Non-compete is non-compete. You sign it and it's your word. All of us in radio KNOW that you build an audience and if you are in the same market, that audience WILL follow. Unless they dismissed her, she had no business walking across town to a competitor. If her word (on signing a non-compete) is not good, other stations and groups will KNOW she won't keep her word. Hope she knows how to work the deep fryer at McDonalds for phase 2 of her career. BTW, Crappy judge!
ReplyDeleteUncalled for, smarmy comment. You must be a Cumulus management drone, or at least, someone who has never worked for them.
DeleteNon-competes only favor one group...ownership. If you work at a hardware store, grocery or convenience store and leave or are fired, you can go down the street to the next one. Why should radio be any different?
DeleteNon-competes in broadcasting are ILLEGAL in Arizona. You should be able to go from one station to another, especially if you are fired.
ReplyDeleteNon-competes & confidentiality clauses & a whole lot of other "employment contract" languages bind one into unwilling servitude and/or violate personal human rights. Imagine if one were dismissed after an intra-office affair that went south and was thenceforward prohibited from seeking employment in the broadcasting field. In order to be employed, a person should never be required to surrender a right guaranteed by the US Constitution - period! No exceptions for past practices!
ReplyDeleteCompletely disagree. She engaged in "willing servitude", if you will, by signing that agreement in advance of her employment. She had full knowledge of the conditions of her job. Promise made, promise broken. If she didn't like the Noncompete, she should have gone to work somewhere else.
ReplyDelete