After 50 years in the broadcasting business, Delaware Public Media General Manager and former Delmarva Broadcasting Group President and CEO Pete Booker is planning to step away.
Booker has served as the General Manager of the public broadcaster for the past three years. He joined the outlet after consulting for the outlet.
Previously, Pete Booker served as the President and CEO of Delmarva Broadcasting Group from 1993 to 2015. Before being acquired by Forever Media in 2019, Delmarva Broadcasting operated news/talk stations WDEL and Delaware 105.9, among others. When being hired as CEO, he told the company it needed to expand from the two stations it held. By the time he exited the company, it had purchased six additional stations.
Booker told the Delaware Business Times that he had promised his wife he would no longer be working when he was 75.
“This August, I turn 74, so I’m pushing it,” he said. “Intellectually, I can still do all this stuff. But I feel as though I don’t want to be one of those guys who hangs on too long.”
He added that while he has enjoyed the freedom public broadcasting has provided, Pete Booker said it is simply the right time to step away.
“We’re not beholden to any commercial interests and we’re not trying to be trendy on either side of the political spectrum. I love the difference because the pressure is to deliver on your promise to your community to have the coverage they desire,” he concluded.
His final day with Delaware Public Radio will be on Monday, June 30th.
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