R.I.P.: Former Susquehanna Radio President Art Carlson

Former Susquehanna Radio president and  Art Carlson has passed away. He was 82.

Carlson died over the weekend at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonsille, FL.  He underwent heart surgery six months ago. 

As a radio exec,  Carlson spent more than 30 years on the board of directors at the Radio Advertising Bureau.

The Susquehanna Radio Corporation was a media corporation which operated from 1941 to 2006 that was headquartered in York, Pennsylvania. The company was a unit of Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff, a conglomerate more widely known for the Pfaltzgraff kitchenware line than its broadcasting pursuits.

Some of the early Susquehanna radio properties included top 40 music stations WSBA (York, PA), WARM (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA), WICE (Providence, RI), and WHLO (Akron, OH). Spanish language WQBA in Miami, FL, was also part of the group.

Over time, Susquehanna repositioned itself from a company based largely in the Northeast to one based largely in the Southern and Midwestern markets (nevertheless keeping its original stations in York). The company was absorbed into Cumulus Media in 2006 when Louis Appell's children broke up Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff.

He retired in 1994. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, November 7 at 3 p.m. at the Ponte Vedra Valley Funeral Home and Cemetery, 4750 Palm Valley Road, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082.