Rick Cummings is ready to call it a career. The innovative programmer served as the backbone of Emmis Corporation for 43 years is ready to step away from the day-to-day grind.
“Save my immediate family, nothing has given me more joy in life than working for Jeff (Smulyan) and Emmis,” Cummings said in a press release. “This company has afforded me extraordinary professional and personal opportunities, here and abroad, that no kid from rural Indiana could ever have imagined. I am eternally grateful for this and the future as Emmis allows me to continue in a consulting role. As I told Jeff, ‘I’ll work for you until they carry one of us out!’”
Cummings’s first job with the company was programming what was then WENS in Indianapolis in 1981. He was elevated to the company’s national program director three years later with the launch of Power 106 in Los Angeles. He also oversaw iconic New York stations Hot 97 and WFAN.
“Rick and I have been together every day since Emmis started, and we worked together even before that,” Jeff Smulyan, Emmis founder and chairman of the board, added. “It’s hard to describe our relationship, but no one has contributed more to the success of Emmis for 43 years than Rick and no one has been a better friend and partner. It is hard to see Rick wanting to slow down, but he has certainly earned the right to do that. Knowing that he will remain as a consultant means that we will continue to work and laugh together for a long time.”
The influence of Rick Cummings on the radio industry extends beyond Emmis. He formerly served on the boards of the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau.
While his day-to-day duties will end on September 1, Cummings intends to stay on as a consultant to Emmis.
