On Wednesday, Barrett Media reported that Saga Communications was moving away from utilizing voiceover artists for station imaging and will instead utilize a third-party AI service going forward.

CEO Chris Forgy noted that the move was the right one for the company at this time. Like many in the industry, Saga Communications is looking to trim its budget wherever it can.

But Forgy said that the move to utilizing AI voices — which will be generated by real-life humans — was the difference between a small round of layoffs of its full-time employees or being able to keep them on staff.

“When we started this process, we said we wanted to be prudent and control our expenses,” said Forgy. “And we didn’t want to cut people. So where else can we go? That was one of the places we could go. The savings we were able to generate by going through this other way of doing station imaging — utilizing AI — saved about 10 people who otherwise would have lost their jobs as a result of the expense reductions we wanted to put in place.

“It was just to be prudent, to allow us to grow, not to try to cut our way out of a downdraft, because you can’t do that,” he continued. “We’re trying to sell our way out of the downdraft the industry is facing, while at the same time being prudent with our expenses. That kept us from letting no one go, instead of letting 10 people go, if we hadn’t gone down this AI solution path.”

During the first quarter of 2025, Saga Communications reported a 4% decline in overall revenue, with just over $24 million in the quarter ending March 31st. The company decreased its operating loss to $2.3 million during the first three months of the year. It has yet to announce second-quarter financial results.

Chris Forgy likened the company utilizing AI for its station imaging voices to a real-world application.

“I said to our leadership team — and to many of our team members — that Saga will use AI with this analogy in mind: A doctor who uses AI to be more efficient and effective is not going to be replaced. The doctor who decides not to use AI is probably the one who will be replaced by AI, or something similar. So, we’re not using it to replace anyone.”

While Saga will now utilize AI-replicated voices for its station imaging, Forgy said that the company remains committed to not replacing on-air talents with the emerging technology.

“I’ve said that as long as I’m President and CEO, AI will never replace our on-air personalities, period,” he said. “I think there was and is a lot of trepidation in the marketplaces across the country where people are afraid for their jobs. And justifiably so, because I think some broadcast companies have said, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna we’re gonna use AI, and we’re gonna use it in this way that will impact jobs.’ And it already has, in some cases.”

Saga Communications is a publicly traded company. In fact, it has one of the highest stock prices of major radio ownership groups, as it closed trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday at over $13 per share.

The company was subject to a hostile takeover attempt of the Board of Directors earlier this year by Gate City Capital Management, which owns just under 14% of the company’s stock. That firm had publicly shared that it was unhappy with the direction of the company and its focus on its digital efforts.

In the past year, Saga has built out several local news sites in its markets, as newspaper deserts sprung up around the country. More than $1 million in advertising had been secured before the launch of several of the local news sites. Nearly 20 local news sites were launched in 2024, adding to some of the existing markets in the company’s portfolio of outlets.

While Saga Communications has utilized AI in some aspects of those local news sites, a question was asked of Forgy if shareholders or those on the Board of Directors could someday look at AI as a way to increase cost reductions even further.

He noted that the situation earlier this year with Gate City was not an ideal situation, but said that those invested in the company are more apt to offer recommendations rather than demands on how to operate the organization.

“Our board of directors and shareholders — certainly, they’re going to share their guidance and opinions,” said Forgy. “Our board is there, essentially, for advice and consent. To get into operations and start telling us how to run the company, that’s not their role. They could say, ‘We need to cut expenses,’ or ‘I need you to do this or that,’ but it’s rare.

“Very seldom, if ever, have we experienced that. Although we did recently, when an activist shareholder tried to take over the company and claimed our digital platform was poorly conceived,” Forgy continued. “The truth is, they had no idea what our digital platform actually was, so they eventually retreated. So, to have a shareholder — or even the board of directors — say, ‘I want you to do X with AI,’ really wouldn’t happen. That’s more of a tactical decision … It would be more advisory than directive.”

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