Save up for retirement!

We can't honestly say that we recommend Liberman Broadcasting, Inc., if you've got a mind looking towards the future.  It seems that anybody worth their salt won't stick around the company very long, and if they do, well, their salt has lost it's saltiness.  But, if for some unfortunate reason you do find yourself clutching to your job as this ridiculous company, you have some options for retirement.  Well, you have AN option:

FutureAdvisor.com has this analysis of the company's retirement 401 (K) plan:

The Liberman Broadcasting 401k Plan is a defined contribution plan sponsored by Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. and held at Fidelity Investments - NetBenefits. FutureAdvisor rates this plan 2 out of 5 stars, based on its 20 plan options with an average expense ratio of 0.67%. This plan is among the top two-thirds of all reviewed plans in terms of cost, and is one of the more expensive plans in the Radio & Television Broadcasting industry. With $4,193,124 in assets and serving 104 participants, the Liberman Broadcasting 401k Plan is among the top 100% largest plans reviewed by participant count, and top 100% largest plans reviewed by assets, with an average participant balance of $40,318.

Let's bet that those actually doing the grunt work at Liberman are not generally one of those 104 participants, and don't have around $40k in their accounts.

Nobody loves a load of crap...

...well, somebody does. And although we don't necessarily enjoy loads of crap, we find much humor in them when they are provided to us directly by, you guessed it, LBI itself.

Take this gem from KPNZ-TV's EEO Public Filing.

We're no experts, so don't take it from us, but take a look at page 4. Officially, it's a "recruitment event" called "Celebracion del Grito". In other words, LBI "recruiters" ie promotions department interns, promoted the station at the event, with an attendance of approximately 10,000. And every effort was made at the event to recruit new people to work at the station. There's nothing like a promotions event that we can chalk up on the EEO report. Penn and Teller would call it "Bullshit." We call it, "LBI."

Let's look at the 2nd "recruitment initiative" LBI took part in. It was "Super Mom" Career Day. So, LBI "recruiters" went to an elementary school, to, uh, recruit new hires... This doesn't take much explanation. Too bad LBI isn't in Mexico, or better yet, China, where you could literally hire those elementary school children.

And third, it just keeps getting better. No better way to recruit than to speak to your own employees about equal opportunities. LBI's own David Munoz, Jr. was the keynote speaker at an event that had a title probably longer than the actual "initiative". "Diversity in the Workplace...Creating an Environment of Understanding, Tolerance & Respect." We think we might have just thrown up a bit in our mouths. We're think that you could throw even more buzzwords into a longer title, but we're not sure. Thanks to eHow.com for the idea, David!

We could go on and on, and note that there were more events pandering to children, or made-up events such as a "Job Fair & Open House." But we know it's all rubbish, and frankly, we're tired of it.

Flashy Spanish culture may be viewed as gay, but don't call it that, fa**ot!

We're always amused by a company that doesn't seem to learn, and even after GLAAD got MAAD at Liberman back in 2005, along with other companies and organizations, still LBI seems to think that anti-gay slurs and remarks are acceptable.

So, they're back to producing anti-gay television with one of their gayest hosts, Jose Luis! From GLAAD:

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) asks you to join calls for the reality talk show José Luis Sin Censura to immediately stop using defamatory terms and apologize to viewers. The terms “maricón” and “puñal,” which in English translate to “fa**ot” were chanted by audience members on the June 8 segment of the program. The same pattern occurred on the June 10 segment of the show, when audience members chanted “puto,” a word that also means “fa**ot” in many Spanish-speaking countries.

They continue:

In the past, GLAAD has called attention to the show’s use of defamatory language and violence against gay and transgender guests. GLAAD’s efforts resulted in national advertisers KFC and Chevrolet pulling their ads from José Luis Sin Censura. At that time, producers vowed to improve their record, but recent shows make it clear that defamatory language is acceptable to LBI and the show’s producers.

We hope that other large advertisers will find that this is just unacceptable. Oh, and, as if we didn't already know it, GLAAD gives us some contact information:

Lenard Liberman
Executive Vice President
Liberman Broadcasting, Inc.
1845 Empire Ave. Burbank, CA. 91504
818 729-5300
lliberman@lbimedia.com

Bill Garcia
Director of Distribution & Television Syndication
818 729-5300
bgarcia@lbimedia.com

Jose Luis Gonzalez
Host and Executive Producer of José Luis Sin Censura
jgonzalez@lbimedia.com

Winter Horton
Corporate Vice President
whorton@lbimedia.com

LBI's KRCA 62 gets new sports ancor

And nobody cares.

And while we don't claim to be perfect in our punctuation and grammar, we think that the big PR suits in New York ought to have the "brains" to get this right.

From the press release:

In his early career, Mr. Cardona worked at various TV and radio stations in the New York and Los Angeles markets, like Univision’s KTNQ-AM; KKHJ-AM, 930 Radio Alegria; Univision’s WXTV-TV; La Maquina FM Radio; TV 38 UHF Channel; and Univision’s WADO-AM, 1280 Noticias De Nueva York.

Again, we're no geniuses, but we're pretty sure KKHJ-AM 930 was/is in Los Angeles, and has nothing to do with Radio Alegria. But far away boys (or girls) in New York probably were on autopilot.

Demand a refund for that press release, Leonardo!

Now there's a PR agency!

"Oh" my goodness!!!! We're so excited!!!! After years of bad PR and shameless publicity stunts, apparently somebody at LBI finally got a "brain"! Go "Nancy!"

LBI has hired a publicity company! And we're sure they're not cheap either, boasting client rosters such as AOL Time Warner, Comcast, Intel, and Weight Watchers.

Congrats! Reach out to them with your favorite LBI nuggets, but make sure to tell us the scoop first! We love to here from you, and we're probably a bit less biased than the big PR suits in New York.

Media Contacts:
Sharon Oh
oh@braincomm.com

Nancy Zakhary
nancy@braincomm.com

Brainerd Communicators, Inc.
212-986-6667

Estrella TV goes to gamble in Reno!

Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. has signed an affiliate deal with Fiori Media, Inc. in Reno to air Estrella TV on KNRC-TV, Channel 14.1, starting in August.

Estrella TV’s second foray into Nevada means the network now reaches approximately 76 percent of U.S. Hispanic households. Reno is the 55th largest U.S. Hispanic TV market, representing 37,000 Hispanic TV households. The network also has an affiliate agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. in Las Vegas for KVMY-TV, Channel 21.2.

This affiliate deal increases Estrella TV’s affiliate count to 25, with the network now present in 33 markets nationwide. Estrella TV airs musical-variety, comedy, drama, talk and game shows, as well as a daily national newscast and a news magazine program.

LBI Media Holdings Conference Call, May 17, 2010

http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/100521/LBI-MEDIA-HOLDINGS-INC_8-K/dex991.htm

LBI Media Holdings Form 10-Q

We'll take a closer look at this lengthy document one of these days. But for now, we just wanted to get it out there for you, our faithful readers, to comment, and review.

Let us know if you find any juicy nuggets!

From the mailbag:

LBI is (possibly) getting out of the radio business and plans on focusing all of their attention, talent and resources on television.
After all, In Los Angeles they hardly have a stable of full market FM signals.. They're all essentially ground based Class A's with limited coverage.
Dallas and Houston FM's are all rim shot signals that no one else wanted. As for their AM's, with the possible exception of KHJ, they're all
technically inferior signals that no one else wanted.. Wait, thinking back, apparently no one wanted KHJ either.
Does the radio make money? Yes. But looking to the future, i suspect they see TV as the way to go..

While we tend to see this as a large amount of speculation, our reader does have a point, we think. But, we know they like their radio stations to advertise their own products, like those from LDL Enterprises...owned by none other than Mrs. Leonardo!

Don't let the door hit you on the way through...

Well, looks like Liberman has left another victim in its wake. After leaving Telemundo in May of 2008, Ibra Morales is gone, after just a few short months.

Hispanic Market Weekly is reporting that:

The veteran executive resigned last week, in a mutual decision. Morales joined Liberman to assist in the launch of Estrella TV, the company's forthcoming television network.

MediaWeek has more details:

Veteran TV broadcaster Ibra Morales has been tapped by Katz Television Group to head up a new national marketing unit as senior vp. The new group will focus on creating customized multi-platform campaigns for national advertisers and their agencies.

"This new team offers us an unprecedented opportunity to champion local television's extraordinary advertising impact, reach and flexibility to marketers across the advertising spectrum," said Jim Beloyianis, president of the Katz Television Group.

Morales isn't new to Katz, where he served as president of Katz TV's Eagle Television Sales from 1999 to 2002. Most recently, he served as vp of network operations for Estrella TV, Liberman's new Hispanic TV network. Prior to that, he was president of the Telemundo Station Group and senior vp of sales for Hearst Television.

We're sure there's probably more to this story. And if you know it, tell us! Simply email us at LBIExposed@gmail.com.

Someone's getting tricky...

...which of course, leads us to believe that someone has something up their sleeve.

LIBERMAN BROADCASTING is assigning its right to purchase R&R RADIO CORPORATION Oldies KDES-F/PALM SPRINGS, which is moving into the RIVERSIDE-SAN BERNARDINO market with new community of license REDLANDS, to LC MEDIA, LLC. LC is headed by veteran LOS ANGELES market manager ROY LAUGHLIN, partnered with WARREN INVESTMENTS, ROSETREE PARTNERS and GOLD COAST BROADCASTING.

The new price for the station is $7.1 million, dropping from $105 million, and GOLD COAST's Top 40/Rhythmic KCAQ (Q104.7)/OXNARD-VENTURA will be dropping its opposition to the move of co-channel KDES and will enter an interference reduction agreement. The KDES format is expected to move to the 98.5 FM slot of R&R Beautiful Music KWXY-F when the 104.7 FM signal moves west, and the KWXY format will move to sister Talk KPTR-A.

Our collective heads are swimming after all that. Know anything else about it? Tell us!

Liberman Broadcasting boasts: We're gullible!

A Media Life Magazine story today reports that Los Angeles company Liberman Broadcasting is all atwitter over their new Estrella TV network, which Liberman claims will "serve all Hispanics in the US," even though the network will offer programming only in Spanish - a language most Hispanics in the US do not speak. Liberman apparently suffers from the delusion that Hispanics want more of the abomination pictured at right. Hint: We don't.

"Don Cheto" expands reach!

Effective immediately, Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI Media), the largest privately-held, minority-owned Spanish-language broadcaster in the United States, today announced that its No. 1 rated Hispanic morning drive radio program, “El Show de Don Cheto,” has been added to two additional California radio stations: San Joaquin Broadcasting’s KSTN, La Poderosa KSTN, 107.3 FM (Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto) and Wolfhouse Radio Group Inc.’s KEXA, La Jefa 93.9 FM (Salinas-Monterey-Santa Cruz). Additionally, the highly ranked show recently entered the Santa Rosa, Calif. market on Exitos 98.7 KXTS, jumping to become the top morning show among adults aged 25-54, growing from a 0.7 to an amazing 4.4 in the 2009 spring ratings period.

“’Don Cheto’ continues to draw listeners, attract new syndication opportunities across the country, and boost ratings for our affiliate stations,” said Lenard Liberman, Executive Vice President, LBI Media. “We are excited to bring our No. 1 radio show to KSTN and KEXA audiences. The quality of ‘Don Cheto’ as a program is illustrated in the impressive numbers released from KXTS in Santa Rosa, and our two newest affiliates should expect the same kind of results.”

Since the launch of the show in 2007, “Don Cheto” has tripled KBUE’s coveted 18-34 audience and displaced longtime favorite Univision’s “Piolín,” taking the number one spot in Los Angeles. For the past four Arbitron monthly Portable People Meter (PPM) books, “Don Cheto” consistently placed as the top rated Hispanic morning program in each of its three markets; Los Angeles, San Bernardino-Riverside and Dallas.

“KSTN La Poderosa is pleased to partner with Liberman Broadcasting and Don Cheto to bring our listeners an extraordinary talented morning radio host to help start kick-off their days,” said Robert LaRue, General Manager, KSTN. “With this new affiliation agreement, we will continue to serve California’s central valley with excellent programming that engages listeners and delivers results for our advertisers.”

Hosted by Juan Razo as “Don Cheto,” a 63-year-old Mexican who serves as the “Grandpa” for generations of Mexican-Americans living in the U.S., the six-hour live daily show entertains all members of the U.S. Hispanic family, targeting different generations and demographics, including first generation and bilingual Hispanics. “El Show de Don Cheto” delivers humor and insight to issues that are relevant to Hispanics living in the U.S. on topics such as immigration and employment.

“Operating as an independent radio network in the very competitive market of Monterey-Salinas, we are constantly looking for a competitive edge against the bigger corporate networks,” said Hector Villalobos, Chairman and CEO of Wolfhouse Radio Group Inc. “LBI’s ‘Don Cheto’ will do exactly that and help strengthen our programming in this market, and in turn, attract more listeners to KEXA.”

"Since adding Don Cheto to our programming just twelve short weeks ago, Exitos 100.9 FM has seen dramatic growth,” said Debbie Morton, General Manager of Wine Country Radio. “In the category of listeners aged 12 and above, the station’s audience reach has increased astoundingly, with listeners of the morning show escalating to 14,400 from 4,100. We hear the same response over and over again. People everywhere know Don Cheto and they love the promotions.”

LBI Web Site succumbing to slow death...

Earlier, we noted that it didn't seem that much was happening in the LBI Web programming department! And, apparently, that's true!

From our mailbag:

No LBI does not have their web designer anymore. They fired him. But not before he was able to access all the LBI sites and infect them with a few lines of additional code. Rendering all the pages non-viewable for several days.. further rumors involve the addition of "malicious code" by him in the pages that would infect the computers of anyone going to the pages without having the proper protection active on said computers.. In other words, he was PISSED..

over the past few months many folks have been asked to resign, were fired or otherwise shown the door by LBI security in L.A. and both Texas clusters. Seemingly folks that have been there a while.

Awww. So sad. Well, no sense in getting mad. Get even. Or at least, spread the word! Let us know how you were treated? Have you been shown the door? Been forced to resign? Let us know. We'll keep your identity secure, if that is your wish!

Hey, it seems to be working for us, and from what we hear, LBI would LOVE to know who we are. But, that's one secret we'll never tell!

XOXO

LBI Detective!

Liberman Broadcasting grows...

Liberman Broadcasting, the Burbank, Calif.-based broadcaster, has tapped former Telemundo station group President Ibra Morales to lead the launch of Estrella TV, a new Spanish-language network it hopes to premiere in the first quarter of 2009.

According to Liberman CEO Winter Horton, the new venture is being built through a combination of acquisitions, and the company expects to be in 70 percent of U.S. Hispanic homes by the end of first quarter.

Privately held Liberman Broadcasting, which owns a group of 30 radio and television stations in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, San Diego and Phoenix, offers a variety of programming targeting mostly Mexican-Americans, with comedy, music and game shows featuring some of Mexico’s longtime comedians.

And although the company now wants to expand its reach by targeting a wider audience, it will keep a close attention to Mexican audiences, by far the largest.

Such programs as music/variety show Estudio 2 and Trancazo Musical came in first in key Hispanic demographic groups during their time segments.

We're sure that they'll be keeping US entertained, as well.

Unemployed? Have we got a job for you!

We here at the official LBI Exposed Blog find it very interesting that the LBIMedia.com Web site seems to not have updated its employment opportunities listing, since, oh, October of last year. Perhaps the Webmaster also was run off, just like so many others. Perhaps he or she was actually good at what they did, which means that they don't have much of a chance for success at Liberman!

So, if you want a job, don't go looking at LBIMedia.com. Search around, though, and you find this opening:

We are LBI Media, Inc. (LBI), the largest privately-owned Spanish broadcasting company with TV and radio stations operating in Arizona, California, Texas and Utah. We are looking for a well-rounded, top performer who can be a key contributor in a high-energy growth environment. The Director of Music Licensing, with guidance from the Executive Vice President and General Counsel, is responsible for ensuring that LBI meets all legal requirements for public performance rights on all of its radio and television stations. The Director of Music Licensing will also be responsible for finding creative and cost-effective ways to comply with music licensing requirements, particularly as it relates to Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). The Director of Music will also be responsible for the creation and implementation of rights and clearances practices, securing licenses and approvals to all third party materials used on-air, online, or in any ancillary marketing materials. The successful candidate will possess initiative and drive, have substantive experience with public performance rights on radio and television, as well as internet-related issues, and have excellent written and verbal communication skills. LBI is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We hope that the poor suckers who answer this ad don't leave a cushy job at some other company. That'd be a terrible mistake. You can't say we didn't warn you!

We wonder who owns LibermanBroadcasting.com?

It occurred to us the other day that it would be fun to see what was happening over at LibermanBroadcasting.com. And, we found out that NOTHING was happening over there. Say it isn't so! Cyber Squatters! Apparently, some smart soul captured LibermanBroadcasting.com back in 2005, and is holding on tight.

From the whois information:

Registrant

Eric Domains
Eric (c/o Rebel.com Privacy Service)
26 Auriga Dr.
Ottawa, Ontario (CA)
K2E 8B7

We'd sure like to find out who registered this domain, and as recently as May 8, 2009, made some sort of changes to the registration. No, we wouldn't pass your secret identity on to the fine folks at LBImedia.com, but we'd love to congratulate you on a job well done, and who knows, might even buy you a round of drinks!

As always, you know how to reach us! LBIExposed@Gmail.com

Time for a new network? LBI thinks so!

Here's the latest basic "press release" from LBI. (Yeah, we know it's an "article", but really, it's just a press release!)

This would not seem the most opportune time to launch a new broadcast TV network, what with advertising revenue in a tailspin.

Yet, Liberman Broadcasting is determined to give it a try.

The Los Angeles-based broadcast company, best known for its 21 major-market Hispanic radio stations, plans on launching a Spanish-language TV network this summer with the original programming that it has developed over the past 11 years for its own short string of TV stations.

Estrella TV will offer 55 hours of original programming each week — musical variety, drama, comedy and talk — supplemented by the best of what it claims is an evergreen library of 6,000 additional hours.

The network is being built on a solid foundation of owned-and-operated stations in Los Angeles (KRCA), Houston (KZJL), Dallas (KMPX), Phoenix (KVPA), Salt Lake City (KPNZ) and San Diego (KSDX-LP). Liberman also has a deal to acquire a low-power station in New York, WASA, from Venture Technologies for $6 million.

Liberman is now actively seeking TV stations that will add Estrella TV on a digital subchannel or perhaps even the main channel. The goals is nothing less than coverage of all Hispanic homes in the United States.

In this interview with TVNewsday Editor Harry A. Jessell, Liberman Broadcasting Executive Vice President Lenard Liberman explains why he is undaunted by the unforgiving economy and reveals some of the strategy behind Estrella TV.

Read all the juicy details, and the words of wisdom from our here Leo!

From the mailbag:

From our LBIExposed@Gmail.com mailbag, comes this:

I don't have words to tell you how much I love your blog about LBI. Gosh I hate that company. Im a former employee in the #*$&#^@% area. My #*@&$ is also a former employee from them. [The person] was fired for a mistake that cost Mr. Liberman #*@&$ dollars. The first and only mistake in [the person's long] career with LBI. That just tells you the kind of company Mr. Liberman runs.

Anywho, just wanted to tell you how much I love your site!

And thanks to you, loyal reader. Yes, we'd love to say that we haven't heard stories like this. We say we'd love to say it, but we can't. It seems that the bottom dollar is LBI's solitary concern, and loyalty, years of service, and past cost savings mean nothing.

LBI Fires Many, Then "Wants to Help People Find Jobs"...

As the tough times roll on, it's nothing but a party over at Liberman Broadcasting. As earlier emails from our loyal readers note, the chief radio engineer left, and then even the assistant abandoned ship. Now, RadioAndRecords is reporting that former chief engineer Shannon Murdoch is still looking for work. They say:

As the nation's economic woes continue to wear on the radio and record industry, we are compiling a list of radio professionals who have fallen victim to job cuts beginning Sept. 1, 2008, in an effort to help them network.

Then, among many others, they list Mr. Murdoch.

Shannon Murdoch; chief engineer, radio; Liberman/Los Angeles' regional Mexican KBUE, KBUA & KEBN (Que Buena), regional Mexican KHJ (La Ranchera), regional Mexican KWIZ (La Rockola 96.7) and ethnic KVNR; 626-376-9530 or mrshannonmurdoch@yahoo.com

But, it looks like LBI would like to help you find a job, Mr. Murdoch! As if.

By Jackie Madrigal

In response to the massive job losses, Liberman Broadcasting regional Mexican KBUE (Que Buena)/Los Angeles is launching a job-placement campaign. To introduce it, the station will dedicate the entire day on Monday, Feb. 9, beginning with Don Cheto morning show, to placing people looking for jobs with companies or individuals that have job openings.

PD Pepe Garza tells R&R they have already received many job openings from employers, and Monday begins the process bringing together people with potential employers. This effort, which will continue past Monday, is open to anyone looking for a job, regardless of ethnicity or language.

In addition, regional Mexican sisters KNOR (La Raza)/Dallas, KEYH (El Norte)/Houston and KRQB (Que Buena)/Riverside are joining the campaign by taking local job openings to place local people. But all four stations will simulcast on Monday.

"We do not want to just be a spectator of what is affecting our community, we want to help out and do something about it!" said Don Cheto. "Our responsibility besides entertaining and informing our listeners is to create change and support the needs of our people."

Business owners or individuals who have job openings available can contact the morning show at 323-520-1055, 866-621-5642 or elshowdedoncheto@hotmail.com.

Copyright © 2009 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved.

Flood those phone lines, America! We hear that the Que Buena audience is among the most affluent, most educated, and most sophisticated audiences in Los Angeles. Oh, wait, we were thinking of K-LOVE.