Cumulus Announces Management Shuffle

• Taps Joe Russo For Kansas City
• Gary Nolan To Pensacola
• Jerry King To Corporate Programming

Joe Russo

Cumulus Media shuffles the deck and announces that it has appointed 15-year radio programming professional Joe Russo as Program Director for AdultHits KCJK105.1 JACK-FM and N/T KCMO 94.9 FM Kansas City.

He replaces Gary Nolan who moves to Cumulus Pensacola as Operations Manager and Program Director for WJTQ. Concurrently, Pensacola Operations Manager/Program Director Jerry King joins the Cumulus corporate programming team. Current KCJK PD Jon Anthony will remain with the company in Kansas City as APD and on-air at KCMO-FM and as Program Director for NASH Icon.

Russo was previously a consultant with SparkNet Communications (syndicators of the JACK format), following nearly a decade in Buffalo. He served as Program Director and Brand Manager for 92.9 JACK-FM/WBUF and later, as Adult Hits Brand Leader for TownSquare Media.

Mike McVay, Senior Vice President, Content and Programming for Cumulus said: “Joe and I worked together during my consulting days. I was impressed with him then and even more impressed seeing what he did with SparkNet. He’ll be a great addition to JACK/Kansas City and is quite capable to build on Gary Nolan’s success at KCMO-FM. Gary steps into Jerry King’s shoes. He’s a brilliant multi-format PD. Jerry King returns to a corporate role and will work directly with John Dickey and I as we develop new projects. Jon Anthony has served us well in KC and we’re delighted that he will continue to be a part of the team.”

Donna Baker, Midwest Regional Vice President for Cumulus said: "Two out of three people - over a million fans - listen to a Cumulus Kansas City station every week. Joe Russo brings a wealth of experience and results to his position leading KCJK and KCMO-FM.  Jon's legacy of success in Kansas City continues as he goes back on the air in prime afternoon drive on 94.9 and leads NASH Icon. Winning with this team is going to be fun!"

Russo said: “This is such an incredible opportunity to work with two exciting and fun brands. I have unbelievable respect for Mike McVay’s work as a consultant, and his vision with Cumulus Media. He’s always been a mentor to me, and influenced me as a consultant. The Jack format is one of the most unique and challenging formats to program, but also the most rewarding. KCMO has massive heritage in Kansas City and thanks to Gary Nolan, is already positioned to win. I couldn’t have drawn up a better position. I’m impressed by Donna Baker’s commitment to Jack FM and I’m looking forward to working with her team, and Cumulus Media in building on these strong brands and making some noise in Kansas City.”