Providence Radio: Barbara Haynes OUT As Cumulus GM

Barbara Haynes

Long serving General Manager Barbara Haynes for the N/T simulcast WPRO 630 AM / WEAN 99.7 FM and Top40 WPRO 92.3 FM radio in Providence  was fired Wednesday by executives from the parent company’s Atlanta office, according to golocalpro.com.

Cumulus Media - the parent company of the radio cluster in the Providence market - is the second largest radio company in the United States.

According to sources in the Salty Brine broadcast center in East Providence, the dismissal of Haynes may be tied to a series of ongoing personnel issues or could be tied to the parent company’s weak financial performance. The other stations Haynes oversaw included BusinessWPRV AM 790, Hip Hop WWKX 106.3 FM Hot106, and WWLI 105.1 FM Lite105.

Haynes has overseen some major controversies as WPRO leader, including an infamous fight between former staffer Ron St. Pierre and host John DePetro, the hiring of Buddy Cianci, the boycott of WPRO by labor groups and the organization For Our Daughters, and, most recently, the arrest of a producer on child porn charges.

Haynes was one of Rhode Island's few female market leaders in media and is very active in the RI Broadcasters Association, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, City Year RI and efforts to support Rhode Island's military and veterans.

GoLocalProv reports Cumulus’ stock has been poor performing as of late, hovering around $2 per share - down nearly two-thirds over the past year. First quarter results were disappointing for the company as net revenue for the three months ending March 31, 2015 decreased $21.0 million, or 7.2%, to $271.1 million, compared to $292.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014. Digital advertising took the biggest hit - down over 16% year-over-year.