Top Story

    Saga Communications CEO Chris Forgy used the company’s Q1 earnings call to assure shareholders, investors, and analysts that the company is continuing its digital transformation and provided some highlights in its progress. Saga said it has generated $5.3 million in digital revenue through the beginning of May, including a $1 million integrated campaign for a client of its Columbus, OH, cluster. Read moreCEO Chris Forgy Highlights Digital Wins During Saga’s Earnings Call.

    Inside Radio News

    Entravision Communications saw its radio and television advertising revenue decline during the first quarter of the year. Macroeconomic uncertainty, spurred by geopolitical issues, caused marketers to pull back on their budgets at the start of the year. Media segment revenue dipped 10% to $40.98 million during Q1. Entravision does not break out separate figures for its radio and TV businesses. Read moreEntravision Sees Lower Media Revenue During Q1, While Digital Ad Revenue Soars.

    John Hannon, a longtime executive at TelevisaUnivision, has joined Sinclair as VP/GM of the company’s TV operations in Omaha and Lincoln-Hastings-Kearney, NE. Hannon had been serving as SVP of Local Media Sales for TelevisaUnivision’s 57 radio stations and 59 TV stations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. He had been with Univision since 2019, when he was named President/GM of its Houston cluster. Read moreSinclair Recruits Longtime Univision Executive To Oversee Nebraska TV Stations.

    Following the sale of Alexander Broadcasting AC WRCR in Haverstraw, NY to Red Apple Media, parent company of talk station WABC New York, WABC’s feed has been airing on WRCR’s signal. But according to the new owners, don’t expect that to last. “It will start off as a simulcast,” a spokesperson for WABC tells Inside Radio about its plan for the AM serving Rockland County. “Stay tuned for the future vision.” Read moreAfter Red Apple’s Purchase of WRCR, What’s Next for the Rockland County AM?

    In response to President Trump’s executive order to eliminate federal funding to NPR and PBS, Minnesota Public Radio has doubled down in its efforts to raise donations during its annual fund drive, to raise at least $1 million. MPR President Duchesne Drew told the station that the cut in federal funding could lead to an estimated $7 million loss annually. Read moreWith Possible Loss Of Funding, MPR Aims to Raise $1 Million in Five Days.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has lifted a stay that had blocked a preliminary injunction ordering the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGA) to distribute government-appropriated funds due Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe, and others. The NewsGuild and other associated groups in March filed a lawsuit to restore funding and return journalists at Voice of America to their jobs. Read moreCourt Lifts Stay, Clearing Way For Restoration Of Funds For International Radio Outlets.

    People Moves

    Diane Shannon Hansell, OM of MacDonald Broadcasting AC “Lite 96” WLXT Petoskey, MI, will retire after a 40-year broadcast career on Friday, May 23. Hansell earlier worked at WMEE Fort Wayne, WNAP Indianapolis, and KWK St. Louis. Read moreDiane Shannon Hansell

    Audacy’s “99.9 The Rock” KISW Seattle is mourning the loss of one of its own, Kevin Diers. Diers served as co-host of the station’s “Metal Shop” and “Loud and Local.” Read moreKevin Diers

    The Nebraska Rural Radio Association (NRRA) – the only radio group in the nation owned by a cooperative of farmers and ranchers – has named veteran broadcaster Steve White Farm Director for “880AM Rural Radio” KRVN in Lexington, NE. White will lead farm programming on KRVN and contribute to the Rural Radio Network, delivering news, market coverage, and features for the Nebraska agricultural community. Read moreSteve White

    Eric Jurgensen, known in the radio industry as Rick Jensen, died Tuesday, April 29, at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. He was 61. The cause was a stroke, related to complications from long-term congestive heart failure. Eric had been recovering at a rehab facility and was close to returning home. Just days before his passing, he was still engaged with his team at Magnum Media, where he first started working in 1994. He was actively broadcasting on several Magnum stations until two weeks before his death. Read moreEric Jurgensen