There are weeks in radio where the story is a format flip. A ratings win. A new hire that turns heads.
And then there are weeks like this one.
Weeks where the story isn’t a single headline—it’s a wave. A slow, steady, unmistakable wave that touches every layer of the business. Leadership. Programming. Sales. Digital. On-air. Off-air. Legacy. New voices.
This is one of those weeks.
Audacy has officially begun its transformation into a regionalized company, eliminating the traditional Market Manager role and replacing it with a layered structure of Regional Presidents, Regional Vice Presidents, and centralized sales leadership. On paper, it’s strategy. It’s efficiency. It’s scalability.
But on the ground?
It’s people.
And when you start calling the names, you begin to understand the full weight of what just happened.
⸻
The New Power Structure
At the top, the company is drawing clear lines across the country.
Jeff Federman now oversees the West. Mark Hannon takes the East. Claudia Menegus handles the Southeast. Debbie Kenyon—now elevated—steps into the Central Region with expanded authority. Chris Oliviero continues as Chief Business Officer, helping steer the entire operation forward.
Beneath them, a new layer takes shape. Regional Vice Presidents like Dan Barron, Sarah Frazier, Kieran Geffert, Micah Goldberg, Pete Kowalski, Roxanne Marati, Brian Rooney, Dave Scopinich, and Michael Spacciapolli are now responsible for clusters of markets—groups designed not by geography alone, but by revenue potential and operational alignment.
It’s a structure built to remove what the company sees as barriers. Market walls are coming down. Collaboration is being forced. Scale is the goal.
And for some, this is opportunity.
Debbie Kenyon’s rise is a clear example—expanded influence, broader reach. Tracy Brandys steps into a new SVP of Sales role in Baltimore. Rick Caffey moves into Chairman in Atlanta, shifting from market oversight to format growth and strategic influence, particularly in Urban. Mike Thomas returns to programming strength in Boston, stepping into SVP Programming and rejoining the sports format leadership circle. Kevin Cassidy transitions into special projects in Chicago, staying inside the building but outside the traditional structure.
Some didn’t lose jobs.
They lost lanes—and were told to find new ones.
⸻
The Departures at the Top
But not everyone transitions.
In Philadelphia, David Yadgaroff prepares to close a 36-year run. A career that outlasted formats, ownership changes, and entire eras of radio.
In Greenville, Steve Sinicropi exits after more than a decade leading the cluster—another steady hand now removed from the equation.
In St. Louis, Becky Domyan steps away rather than moving into the new structure, ending a run that saw her rise from sales to market leadership.
And while some questions have been answered, others remain. Bennett Zier, notably, stays in Richmond, offering at least one point of continuity. But across other markets, uncertainty still lingers in pockets of the company.
Even before this week, change was already in motion. Michael Martin’s pending departure from programming leadership signaled that the shift wasn’t coming—it was already here.
⸻
Then It Hits the Air
Because no matter how corporate the structure becomes, radio still lives and dies on its voices.
And this week, a lot of them went silent.
In Houston, Tucker “Frito” Young and Katy Dempsey—award-winning, proven, and still relatively new to the market—are out at 100.3 The Bull. A CMA-winning, Marconi-recognized morning show, gone just over a year after arriving. That’s not just a lineup change. That’s a statement about how little tenure matters in a moment like this.
In Seattle and Phoenix, Matt McAllister’s run with “The Morning Wolfpack” ends, cutting off a show that had begun stretching across markets. Expansion one moment, exit the next. Gabe Mercer and Ron Koons remain question marks, their status unclear as the dust settles.
Seattle feels it again with Doug Duin’s departure from his dual role as Assistant Program Director and Music Director, along with digital sales manager Linda Hansen. Programming. Sales. Strategy. All touched in one market.
In Cleveland, Joe Czekaj exits after seven years delivering traffic across multiple stations. A role that becomes part of listeners’ daily routine—until one day, it isn’t there anymore.
Philadelphia takes another hit with Devan Kaney’s exit from Sportsradio 94 WIP. A rising presence who had stepped into a major role on Eagles broadcasts just months ago. She stays in the market—but her role in radio changes overnight.
In Pittsburgh, Maria D’Antonio signs off after more than a decade. A voice that grew with the station, now stepping away without a defined next chapter.
Minneapolis loses Greg Thunder from mornings. A career that spans decades and major markets now paused in an instant.
Hartford sees David Simpson exit afternoon drive after more than 30 years in the business. Another veteran voice, another sudden silence.
Rochester’s Hope Breen departs the Bee Morning Coffee Club, a newer addition still building her connection with listeners.
Riverside says goodbye to Vicki Pepper-McDonel after 13 years of doing everything radio stations rely on—traffic, public affairs, fill-ins, weekends. The glue roles. The roles that don’t get headlines but hold everything together.
San Diego closes a remarkable chapter as JR Rogers exits after 35 years. Through multiple ownership groups, multiple eras, and countless changes—until now.
And across Baltimore and Atlanta, Jessica Fessler and Marcos Pieras exit from digital sales roles, another reminder that this reset isn’t limited to programming or on-air talent. It’s everywhere.
⸻
What This Really Is
It would be easy to call this a restructuring.
But that word feels too clean.
This is a redistribution of power. A redefinition of value. A recalibration of what matters—and where.
Audacy is betting on scale. On regional strength. On breaking down local silos in favor of broader reach and bigger revenue opportunities.
And maybe that works.
Maybe this creates a stronger, more competitive company built for where media is headed.
But it comes at a cost.
Because radio has always been local at its core. It’s been about the voice you recognize. The manager who knows the market. The team that understands the community without needing a spreadsheet to explain it.
And this week, a lot of that local knowledge walked out the door.
⸻
The Part We Don’t Say Enough
There’s a tendency in moments like this to rush forward. To talk about what’s next. Who lands where. What opportunities exist.
And those conversations matter.
But so does this one:
Acknowledging what just ended.
Careers didn’t just pause this week—they pivoted without warning. Routines built over years disappeared overnight. People who did everything right still found themselves on the outside.
That’s the reality of radio in 2026.
Not unstable—but undeniably changing.
⸻
What Comes Next
For those who remain, the message is clear: adapt.
For those who exited, the message is less clear—but not without hope. This industry has a way of recycling talent, of creating second chapters that sometimes outshine the first.
And for Audacy?
The path forward is defined now. Regional. Streamlined. Focused.
The structure is in place.
Now comes the real test—whether it can deliver not just results on paper, but connection where it matters most.
Because at the end of the day, no matter how the org chart looks…
Radio is still about who’s on the other end of the speaker.
And this week, for a lot of listeners across the country—
That voice changed.
-Just Plain Steve