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It will come as no surprise that Radio Ink has chosen Entercom CEO David Field as the 2017 Radio Executive of The Year. Field orchestrated one of the most successful radio mergers of all time in 2017, which helped create one of the industry's largest companies and may also have put the entire radio industry in a position to change how it's perceived by big advertisers.

Every once in awhile a press release floats into your inbox that, after seeing the headline, you say to yourself, "Well...that's a bummer." And that's exactly what happened Tuesday when a press release headlined: "Chuck DuCoty Announced His Retirement" arrived.

That's the big question for about 6,000 people working for the company who've been asked to roll up their sleeves and have a business-as-usual approach to their working day. The bankruptcy filing announced by Cumulus executives last week could take up to 6 months - or longer - before a court approves the plan. Radio Ink spoke to Debtwire Legal Analyst Josh Friedman to get his expert opinion on how this bankruptcy might play out.

The first big shoe has fallen. Cumulus has taken a serious step to try to restructure its $2 billion in debt by seeking protection in bankruptcy court. Since former CEO Lew Dickey was pushed out over two years ago, company executives have made it clear the debt was a major issue and they needed to get it under control. It's the first step to what may be a long process, because it appears not all lenders are on board. Here's what they've done.

The world of digital continues to edge in on radio's space. iHeartMedia has really taken advantage of the company's scale in recent years by teaming with artists, launching their new songs, and playing the daylights out of them, sometimes for an entire day at the top of every hour. Now, it's Jeff Bezos' team taking advantage of Amazon's scale, using Alexa to do the same for U2.

This is the most important event of the year....if you want your 2018 to be a success that is. Forecast 2018 is only 48 hours away. If you're attending, you'll be hearing from, and rubbing elbows with, the smartest minds who'll be sharing all of their knowledge to make 2018 your best year ever. Here's exactly who will be in attendance at The Harvard Club in New York City Wednesday.

This one is not going to go over well with many of you. In fact, it might even make you angry. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told her version of the story about the small community of Minot before voting against eliminating the Main Studio Rule on Tuesday. And her opinion was radio failed that local community.

Entercom is divesting three stations to Educational Media Foundation. They are: KSWD-FM 100.3 The Sound in Los Angeles, KSOQ-FM 92.1 in San Diego, and WGGI-FM 95.9 in Wilkes-Barre. The deal is the first of what will probably be several spin-offs to allow Entercom to complete its merger with CBS in order to stay under FCC caps in several markets.

Eric Mastel is the Market Manager for Cumulus in Savannah. He's also one of Radio Ink's Best Managers for 2017. Mastel got his first job in radio as an AE, got handed the phone book and some cassettes called, “tiger tapes”, 33 years ago. His first managers position was GSM for WKFM in Syracuse in 1987.

It's a project he's been working on for years and now WBEB Philadelphia Chairman Jerry Lee is making his Advertising Effectiveness Program free for Philadelphia advertisers that spend $12,000 or more a year in radio. Hershey Entertainment and NRG Energy have already taken advantage of the program. The idea is to help radio advertisers create commercials that produce results.