Leon Williamson to Lead Memphis/Tupelo for iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia names Leon Williamson market president for the Memphis/Tupelo area. Williamson most recently served as market president and SVP of sales for the company’s Indianapolis operations. iHeartMedia Kentucky/Memphis area president Kristy Beebe. She says, “Leon brings a wealth of
experience and a proven track record of success in our industry. His leadership and vision will be instrumental in driving our continued growth and success in the Memphis and Tupelo markets. Leon is not only a seasoned professional but also a dedicated supporter of the community actively involved in various initiatives, demonstrating his commitment to making a positive impact. This passion for service and his strategic approach to market challenges make him the perfect fit for this role. I am confident that under Leon’s leadership, we will achieve new heights and continue to deliver outstanding results for our clients and partners.”
nominees that were chosen by the nominating committee with input from the radio industry and listeners. Voting begins May 27 and runs through June 16. The top six vote-getters will be inducted as part of the 2025 Radio Hall of Fame Induction class. Nearly 1,000 industry members will receive a ballot on Tuesday, May 27. Nominees from spoken word formats include: Bob Sirott, Colin Cowherd, Joey Reynolds, John & Ken, and Larry Elder.
lies in its ability to deploy high-end, labor-light, automation-heavy processes at scale. It’s a productivity story now, driven by robotics, industrial AI, and, most crucially, advanced 5G infrastructure deployed as an industrial platform — not just as a consumer gimmick.” He adds, “Compare this with our own policy environment, where even the best private sector players are hamstrung by outdated regulations, capricious permitting processes, and the dogma that government shouldn’t pick winners — especially in telecom or manufacturing. That ideology might have made sense in the 1990s, but it’s lethal to the future of our telecommunications industry now, and in consequence, our manufacturing future.” 
three stagnant years below inflation and a net drop of 2.5% last year – appear to be rebounding. RTDNA says reported salaries are increasing 14.5%. “Employees who contribute to the web were among the higher earners, which brought the figures up. Additionally, commercial stations often matched or exceeded the wages of non-commercial stations — an uncommon trend historically.” 
brought together podcast fans and The Black Effect Podcast Network’s top talent for a day of live podcast recordings from network’s most popular shows including ‘Trap Nerds Podcast,’ ‘Good Moms, Bad Choices,’ ‘R&B Money Podcast with Tank and J. Valentine,’ ‘Naked Sports with Cari Champion’ and ‘Woman Evolve with Sarah Jakes Roberts.’” 
Santrella says, “We’re excited to welcome ‘KeepTheFaith’ back to our airwaves. For more than a decade, they’ve been a vital programming partner with content that’s unmatched in our industry. Listener enthusiasm and advertiser confidence played a major role in our decision to feature the show on our teach/talk stations. With over 4 million monthly listeners, we’re excited to continue to partner with ‘KeepTheFaith.’”
reports that Johnson tweeted on Friday afternoon: “It was a good run. I regret nothing.” The story notes that Johnson – producer and co-host – took over hosting the afternoon show in 2022 after Mike Missanelli’s departure. The most recent iteration of the show included Rickey Bo and Sylvana Kelleher and Crossing Broad says the show’s ratings were on par with the station’s morning show ratings. 
ransomware attack involved unauthorized access to its network resulting in the exposure employee data including names, Social Security numbers, direct deposit details, W-2 tax information, and home addresses. The attack is being attributed to Cactus, a known ransomware gang. The organization says it stole 2.5 terabytes of data and posted a sample of documents to back its claims. The report goes on to say that Urban One maintains no financial account information or electronic medical records were compromised. 
on Wednesday (4/30) from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm ET. The special is being moderated by anchor Chris Cuomo, along with Bill O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith, plus a live phone interview with the president. The program originates from New York and will showcase Trump administration officials including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., alongside leaders of the Democratic Party. The town hall will be held in front of a live studio audience comprised of Democrats, Republicans, and independent voters.
send on our behalf help us get the word out to radio and television professionals that the Foundation is here to lend a hand-up to those in our industry who need it most.” The BFoA created the 2025 BFOA Overview Video narrated by Deborah Norville and a second video featuring a BFOA grantee, the Toscano family that benefitted from the Foundation. See 
marketing efforts, including brand/design, research, B2B marketing/activation and corporate communications. The company says she will also continue to focus on sales enablement and supporting Audacy’s local and national sales. Most recently, she served as EVP marketing solutions & strategy.
well as the company’s Government Affairs, Business Affairs and Privacy teams. Hillman was most recently chief legal officer for Venu Sports. iHeartMedia chairman and CEO Bob Pittman comments, “David has very relevant experience across a range of media businesses, as well as specific familiarity with the audio industry. We believe his wealth of experience will make him an ideal addition to the iHeart executive team as we continue to grow our momentum as the #1 audio company in America.”
NASDAQ after failing to bring its stock price above $1 for the required period of time. The statement says the company will do this “rather than investing time, effort, and cost into developing a plan to remain on NASDAQ.” The change takes effect on May 2 and solely impacts the trading venue. “The CMLS ticker remains the same and it does not affect the company’s operations. Cumulus remains focused on executing its strategy and driving long-term growth.”