Indianapolis – Emmis Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: EMMS) today announced that the president of Emmis Radio, Doyle Rose, is resigning effective March 1, 2002. Succeeding Rose will be his long-time colleague, Executive Vice President/Programming Rick Cummings.
Rose has signed a 4-year contract to continue working with the company.
“Doyle has done a terrific job building Emmis Radio into one of the most successful and respected groups in our industry – one that is well-positioned for the future,” Emmis Chairman & CEO Jeff Smulyan said. “His dedication and passion to both the radio industry and Emmis in particular will be missed, but I’m delighted that we can follow Doyle with another industry leader who not only knows radio but who also knows Emmis. With Rick, we continue our momentum.”
Cummings, 50, has been with Emmis since 1981, serving as the first program director of Emmis’ flagship station, WENS-FM in Indianapolis. In 1984, he became National Program Director for the company, and in 1987 he was named Executive Vice President/Programming. He has been instrumental in creating Power 106 (KPWR, Los Angeles) in 1986, as well as Hot 97 (WQHT, New York) and the country’s first all-sports station, WFAN, New York in 1987. Under his guidance, Emmis has been the only company to have the No. 1 stations in New York and Los Angeles (Hot 97 and Power 106), a feat the company has achieved twice in the last 6 years.
“Rick has been the chief strategic thinker for Emmis radio since its inception, consistently leading the group which has been viewed as the most innovative in the industry,” Smulyan said. “We fully expect his deep knowledge of radio and thorough understanding of Emmis to be among our company’s key strengths in the years ahead.”
“We will foster the Emmis programming innovation we’ve always been known for to all areas of our radio operations,” Cummings said. “Doyle and I have worked together for 20 years, and I’m thankful I’ll be able to call upon him for his wisdom and expertise.”
Rose started with Emmis in 1982 and has served as President of Emmis Radio since 1988. While Rose’s contract with the company had expired Feb. 28, 2000, he had agreed to stay on another year to finish integrating Emmis’ latest acquisitions and assist in the transition of new leadership in the Radio Division.
“This is a move we have been talking about for a long time internally, but after nearly 20 years and now with a solid team in place, the time was right,” Rose said. “I’m thankful to Jeff Smulyan for providing me with such a great opportunity. I’ve been so fortunate and privileged to have worked with so many incredibly talented people in this company over the years – it’s like the “Who’s Who” of the industry. But I’m also looking forward to moving on to the next chapter of my business career while staying involved in Emmis Radio.”
Rose has served in numerous industry capacities including Chairman of the Management Committee for the NAB convention, the Arbitron Advisory Committee, the RAB Board, Chairman of the RAB 2000 Managing Sales Conference, President of the Knowledge Is Power Foundation, President of the Southern California Broadcasters Association, Chairman of Next Generation Radio Board and member of the NAB Board.