2 Fired Clear Channel Workers Identified

People within Clear Channel Communications Inc. confirmed that the two employees it fired this week as an outgrowth of New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer’s investigation into radio “pay-for-play” were Diana Laird, program director at KHTS in San Diego, and Michael Saunders, program director at WWPR in New York.

The company did not identify the employees in announcing the firings this week, although Saunders’ departure was disclosed in an internal e-mail.

Spitzer’s investigation alleged the two accepted gifts from record companies in exchange for airplay.

Neither Laird nor Saunders could be reached for comment.

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-- Charles Duhigg