Cumulus Media is working through a fresh round of layoffs across both sales and programming as the company awaits its formal exit from bankruptcy. The cuts are touching stations in multiple markets, as the company’s restructuring effort continues to unfold.
In Washington, DC, RJ Lane tells Radio Ink he is out after 15 years with the company, including as Director of Sales and General Sales Manager, before moving into a seller role for the market. In Columbia, SC; Mobile, AL; and Shreveport, LA, Cumulus has parted ways with programmers Leo Baldwin, Cami Marlowe, and Anthony “Big Ant” Simmons, respectively, among others.
The Cumulus Podcast Network ousted its leaders, as Jay “PodVader” Soderberg is removed as VP of Digital Programming Operations after five years with the company. Carolyn Chauncey, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Podcasts, also exited in this round.
A Cumulus Media spokesperson confirmed to Radio Ink that reports made by other outlets that the entire Cumulus Podcast Network staff had been laid off were “entirely inaccurate.”
“While we made the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles as part of a broader organizational realignment, the Cumulus Podcast Network is operating in full force, with dozens of team members continuing to support the network across production, content acquisition, operations, and monetization. Cumulus Media remains committed to the Cumulus Podcast Network and to the podcasters, partners, and advertisers who rely on it,” the spokesperson said.
While broadcast radio has been ceding revenue at Cumulus, podcasting has been an exception. In Q3 2025, podcasting revenue climbed 15% on a normalized basis, even as combined broadcast revenue dropped double digits. The following quarter told a similar story, with Cumulus pointing to digital marketing services and podcasting as evidence the business wasn’t just shrinking. However, results were more muted in Q1 2026.
In maybe the most publicly visible part of the layoffs, Bay Area sports broadcaster and voice of the San Francisco 49ers Greg Papa has been laid off by KNBR, according to SFGate. Papa has been battling leukemia and other health issues since the 2025 NFL season. Papa & Silver co-host Greg Silver was also let go.
Cumulus filed prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, and a federal judge approved the company’s reorganization plan in April. The company is now waiting on FCC approval to formally emerge, a process that would give Alden Global Capital President Heath Freeman a roughly 32% voting interest in the reorganized company, as Radio Ink reported in July.
Freeman is notorious in the US newspaper industry for his aggressive RIFs at acquired properties.
Cumulus isn’t alone in trimming its ranks. iHeartMedia cut staff across dozens of markets this summer as part of a $150 million cost-savings push, among other major groups making layoffs of their own in recent months. The pattern has drawn unfavorable attention in the regulatory sector, with some critics of the FCC loosening ownership caps for radio arguing that consolidation has left local media outlets hollowed out by cost-cutting and eroding ad revenue.
Hi paying for low billing stations ain’t the way to win!
I agree in principle, but it’s sometimes an easy way to get rid of low-performers without jumping through PIPs, EEO issues, etc.
This is nothing new. iheart did a major sales layoff in 2009 and, even for the survivors, it was ugly.
Laying off sales. Smart. Real smart. No wonder radio revenue keeps falling. Our share of voice keeps falling.
It’s over.