Cumulus Media has begun another round of layoffs affecting radio personalities across several major markets. The reductions follow the company’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October.
What We Know: Additional Cumulus Media talent and staff have revealed they’ve been part of a company wide reduction in force. The layoffs follow Cumulus’ successfully completing its financial restructuring and emerging from the Chapter 11 reorganization process, following receipt of all required approvals, including from the FCC. It also is the second round of staff layoffs this year. The previous round occurred during the summer in August.
What’s at Stake Programming continuity at affected stations faces immediate pressure across multiple markets. Markets lose experienced management and on-air talent simultaneously. Cumulus must rapidly fill these additional vacancies coming off the round of layoffs in August.
What Remains Unclear The total number of layoffs remains unknown across all Cumulus markets. Additional departures may emerge as details surface in coming days. The company has not announced strategic plans for affected markets. Reach out to our Barrett Media team of Garrett Searight (Garrett@barrettmedia.com), or John Mamola (John@barrettmedia.com) if you have information from affected employees.
What It Means These cuts reflect broader consolidation pressures gripping the radio industry. Experienced talent departures typically precede format or operational changes ahead. Ultimately, the industry continues navigating economic realities.
Who Is Affected: (If you have been affected, please reach out to Barrett Media via e-mail or social)
Houston, TX: Kevin Quinn is out as APD and afternoons at 104.1 KRBE. Quinn joined KRBE in 2013 after his previous work with 96.9 WINK-FM (Fort Myers, FL), Q103 (Brunswick GA), and Kiss 105.3 (Gainesville, FL). Quinn also hosted middays at WWWQ (Atlanta, GA) and KLIF-FM (Dallas, TX) while serving at KRBE. During his tenure at KRBE, Quinn also spent time hosting middays at WWWQ Atlanta and weekends at KLIF-FM Dallas. Audrey Rose, who had co-hosted afternoons with Quinn since March 2022, remains in the daypart and shared the news of his departure with listeners.
Minneapolis, MN: Shannon Knight departs 93X. She hosted nights and weekends at the radio station. Knight’s previous stops include 92.5 KQRS, KFMW (Waterloo, IA), KNXR (Rochester, NY), and several brands in St. Cloud, MN.
Nashville, TN: Brian Wilson is exiting SuperTalk 99.7 WTN after retiring from his afternoon show at the end of 2024 but continued working as a regular fill-in host. However, he has now been notified that his association with the station will end November 15th. His final appearance came Wednesday morning alongside Dan Mandis. Additionally, producer Bel Kaeh departed during the same round of cuts, sources close to the situation tell Barrett Media. Wilson spent eight years with SuperTalk 99.7 WTN across his time as a full-time host and fill-in personality.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA: Adam ‘Lazy E’ Sieminski departs afternoons at 97.9X WBSX after spending nearly 22 years with the brand.
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