On Wednesday, it was shocking to read trade reports announcing Emmis President of Programming Rick Cummings is retiring.
Cummings has been with Emmis since its beginnings. He’s been behind most of the company’s greatest successes and, as Rick will remind others, also its worst failures. Over his career, he’s been one of the most respected and admired programmers. Talking to people about him makes it easy to understand why, starting with Rick’s boss of 43+ years.
For those who have never enjoyed the comedy duo of Rick Cummings and Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan, it’s like missing out on a ticket to the year’s best concert. Cummings and Smulyan are right there with the greatest duos of all time: Frick and Frack, Laurel and Hardy, Lennon and McCartney, peanut butter & jelly.
When Smulyan looks back at “his partnership with Rick,” he says, “after 10 million debates, there are a billion stories.” But their ability “to laugh and make each other laugh is the basis of their relationship and friendship.”
Smulyan recalls how their partnership began. “I met him during my ‘zombie’ days. He was our new production guy (at WNTS – Indianapolis). What did I care about a production guy? We kept asking him to do more, and he kept doing more. I came to love him.”
One of Smulyan’s favorite stories is when he asked Rick: “Do you laugh because I’m funny or because I’m your boss?” Cummings responded, never missing a beat. “You’re genuinely funny, alright, but I laugh a bit harder because you’re my boss.”
On the Fourth of July 2022, I had a phone interview set up with Jeff, and Rick Cummings joined the conversation. The topic was Emmis’ departure from day-to-day radio operations. I planned for 20 minutes, 30 if I was lucky.
When I posted that column last fall, I wrote, “With Jeff’s permission, I will tell you that he was isolating at home. Since it was a holiday weekend, there must not have been many people available for Jeff to speak to because the interview lasted two hours. Whenever I offered to wrap up the discussion, Jeff insisted he was having fun and said to keep going. Rick was probably thinking how he could fake his own death or wish for mine, but he was always patient.”
Patient is one of the several words that came up repeatedly when I spoke to people about Rick’s success.
Larry Rosin, President and co-founder of Edison Research, remembers Cummings’ extraordinary patience when they did a format study in Hungary. “It said Oldies was one of the biggest holes ever seen. Everyone else (the Hungarian group) had spoken with said it should be Hot AC because all of the highest-rated stations in Europe were Hot AC. They were so nervous that someone had tainted the research that we re-fielded the same study with another Hungarian company, which produced the exact same result.”
Cummings patience helped guide Slager Radio, which debuted as a strong number-one station in Hungary, as he did with dozens of radio stations, including “Power 106,” KPWR – Los Angeles, and “Hot 97,” WQHT – New York.
I joined Emmis International as Vice President of Programming for Slager’s second round of success, which leads me to a story that probably few others can tell about Cummings.
During a visit to Budapest, Rick Cummings and I ended a long workday by grabbing a nightcap and cigar at the hotel bar – a high-end hotel targeting businessmen. We observed prostitutes working the room. Eventually, we tired of the game or ran out of jokes to amuse ourselves and called it a night.
This story had no punchline until last year during my extended conversation with Rick and Jeff. Cummings told me after we left, he discovered he had left his cigar lighter at the bar and went to retrieve it. When he entered, one of the “ladies” had a “cash expectant look.” He continued, “She must have thought he ditched his buddy and returned for the goods.” However, Cummings crushed her when he took his lighter and left again. Alone.
Many people have Rick Cummings stories. Michelle Rice probably has more than most. Rice has been Cumming’s executive assistant for 27 years.
Before working for Emmis, Rice worked for Bill Clark at Shamrock Broadcasting. When Shamrock exited radio, Clark introduced her to Doyle Rose and Cummings, who at the time were headquartered at Power 106.
Rice recalls Rose and Cummings coming to meet her and discussing opening a corporate office. She told them about an office available in the building. “After talking for a while and seeing the office, the guys left. It felt like five minutes later, they called back and said they would take the office, oh and I was hired,” Rice told me.
At first, she worked primarily for Rose. Rice continued, “Rick was self-sufficient and never wanted me to do anything. Over time, he trusted me and wanted me to do more. We grew close, and I got to know and spend time with Martha (Rick’s wife) and (his children) over the years. Martha calls me his ‘sister-wife.’” She grew emotional when she said, “They are family.”
Rick Cummings wouldn’t deny that Rice runs his life. So he wasn’t fazed when she asked him, “Whose going to run your life (after retiring).”
Cummings replied, “I’ll still be calling you…’Michelle, what’s my password?’”
Michelle Rice is terrific. We’ve spoken hundreds of times over the years. When Cummings retires, Michelle will also leave Emmis after 27 years. She’s considering her options and is open to opportunities. Anybody looking for a top-shelf assistant should reach out to her at mbrice0418@outlook.com.
Rice said something that others reported. “I’ve seen him mad but never mad at me. We’ve never had an argument.”
Jeff Smulyan said something similar. “I don’t remember a time I was ever pissed at him. Our debates are always based on respect.”
Respect is another word that often comes up when others explain Cummings’ success. Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs told me, “Rick respects and relies upon the wisdom and experience of others. I’ve never seen him panic or lose his cool or balance. How many radio guys can you say that about?” Not many – for sure.
Continuing to sum up Cummings, Jacobs adds, “Rick’s superpower is his unflappability. Emmis markets were always big, and the stakes were always high. Yet, he never got too high or too low, no matter what was going on. That’s what makes him such a great leader. He doesn’t believe the great numbers are as good as they seem, nor does he fall victim to believing the bad books are fatal.” Cummings’ friends know this about him.
I wanted to find something about Cummings that most people don’t know. I spoke with his wife, Martha, who is delightful. She talked about his relationship with his grandchildren. “It may not surprise those who know him, but it surprises him. The grandkids’ level of love and devotion has brought him to a whole new level. When I Facetime with my granddaughter, he gets so much joy. I see something new in him.”
I tried asking “sister-wife” Michelle Rice for something less associated with Cummings. That stumped her. “He’s an open book,” she exclaimed. “He’s honest to a fault. He won’t be mean, but he won’t sugarcoat it,” she offered.
It’s another trait where Cummings and I are simpatico. I once asked him to provide a reference for me. He told somebody I was “the guy who would throw a turd into the punchbowl at a party,” adding, “But you need a guy like that to keep you from doing something stupid.”
I never minded the characterization because it’s true. Like Cummings, I tell the truth – even when it’s not appreciated.
I asked Martha Cummings about Rick’s legendary ability to control his anger. “He vents and takes out his frustrations on inanimate objects. He pounds his desk or on his computer. He vents to me and even at me – which is usually deserved,” she confessed.
Still, I wondered, doesn’t his anger ever come to the forefront? Martha told me about a recent ENT visit where her doctor described her as having “bat-like sonor hearing.” She continued, “Rick is deaf from years of cans (headphones) on his head and attending concerts. He won’t get hearing aids. Our biggest fights, and his biggest frustration, is over the volume on the TV.”
Could Cummings himself explain how he stays so calm? “I don’t remember the last time I was angry over a work-related issue,” he offered. “Disappointed, yeah. After more than 40 years, this stuff just shouldn’t make you angry. It’s wasted energy. At Emmis, we’ve long had ‘spirited debates.’ Once we agree, those charged with executing the plan do so like it was their idea.”
Smulyan has an anecdote explaining what makes Cummings so successful. One day in Cummings office, Smulyan noticed he had mini-billboards (the samples outdoor companies give clients) of KNRG – Houston, KXXX – San Fransico, and Movin’ – Los Angeles on his desk. Smulyan asked why he kept reminders of some of the company’s epic failures. Cummings responded, “If I look at those, I remember to be humble because we screwed those up good.”
I asked Rick Cummings his secret for success. Naturally, he credited good research leading to solid creative strategy. But here’s what he said that I think is the honest answer: “Working for a company that congratulated you when success came and attaboy’d you when it failed so long as you identified why it failed and fixed it. I’ve always believed that Emmis applied both urgency and patience. We either failed fast and did something else or we identified a fix and had the patience to grit our teeth and stay with something long enough to get it right or know it’s never going to work. That’s inevitably the hardest part. I’d call it a willingness to fail to get it right ultimately.”
Having worked for Emmis, I know this is true. It should be a lesson in all management courses.
So what about his retirement? Smulyan was clear Rick Cummings was serious when he told him he wanted to slow down. Smulyan said, “He had to talk me into this.”
Cummings explained his thought process. “With the sale of the radio stations, I wasn’t feeling as sanguine in recent years about value creation. The more we talked, the more it felt like the right decision for Emmis and the right one for me. Emmis is affording me the chance to actively consult, not just a nice parachute.”
That doesn’t sound like a guy puttering around the house or going fishing every day. So, what does Rick Cummings’ retirement look like?
Martha is curious, too. “That’s the biggest question going forward. He doesn’t have hobbies or play bridge or Canasta. He doesn’t hike. His strongest relationships are work-related. Work is his application and hobby. He’s put his heart and soul into it, although I think it’s paid off.”
With a laugh, a determined Martha declares, “If it comes to one of us surviving it, I will be the one!”
And then there’s Smulyan. Every night, as he drives home, he calls Cummings. As he gets to the final few minutes, Smulyan has to cross a bridge. That’s where their evening phone call ends. Smulyan says that Rick Cummings has promised him, “There will never be a time where I won’t get you to the bridge.”
Martha concurs that the daily afternoon (PT) call “to the bridge” was a condition of the retirement, but it is not a problem. “I would be disappointed if we didn’t hear from Jeff, and Rick would be devastated. Jeff was our best man. He will always be in our lives,” she said.
Cummings summarizes it: “I’ve told Jeff I intend to work for him in some capacity, even if it’s just talking him across the bridge on the way home at night until one of us cannot.”
The company Rick Cummings and Jeff Smulyan’s partnership built, Emmis, after the Hebrew/Yiddish word for truth, fits perfectly. From all the laughs and emotional moments I had collecting these stories and anecdotes, I offer them a suggestion for the name of their next company (should they decide to form one): Mispacheah – the Yiddish/Hebrew word for family.
Andy Bloom is president of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT and WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc. and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner, R-Ohio. He can be reached by email at andy@andybloom.com or you can follow him on Twitter @AndyBloomCom.
