Matt Stiles notes that Michael Berry, City Council member and talk radio host, is now the boss of Clear Channel’s AM stations here in Houston. Congratulations on the new gig, Council Member Berry. To answer Stiles’ question, I’ve no particular problem with local politicians having media gigs, as long as everything is up front and subject to full disclosure. For what it’s worth, I don’t think being a media figure makes you a better politician, or vice-versa. There’s some overlap in the skill sets, but being one is not a guarantee of the other.
The real question in my mind is whether this means we’ve seen the last of Michael Berry the candidate/office holder. I’ve always figured he’d run for Mayor in 2009. Is this his departure from that stage, or is he just trying on a bigger microphone? I guess we’ll find out.
Seems to me we have had some previous experience with CEO’s with no experience in the business they were being hired to manage. Exactly why a company would do that is sort of beyond my comprehension, but it’s their money (and their shareholders) at risk, not mine. This should be interesting to watch.