January 28, 2026 News@CountryAircheck.com

Fireside Chatt: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for December 2025 (three-month rolling average, 9/18-12/10) compared with October and November. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Cumulus is no longer a subscriber in diary markets.

Chattanooga, TN (Market 93)	WUSY Audacy 8.0 (3) - 9.6 (1) - 11.5 (1) Largest share since July 2024. WUUQ Bahakel Classic Country 2.9 (7t) - 3.6 (6t) - 3.3 (6) WOGT Cumulus 2.5 (10t) - 2.4 (9t) - N/A
Huntsville, AL (99)	WDRM iHeartMedia 6.7 (1) - 6.5 (1) - 7.4 (1) WWFF Cumulus 1.8 (11) - 1.6 (11t) - N/A

Bull-etin Board: Here are select Nielsen Audio Fall 2025 (9/18-12/10) two-book per year diary ratings for subscribing stations compared with their last books (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025). Ranks (in parentheses) are also among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Atlantic City, NJ (150)	WPUR Townsquare 5.8 (1t) - 4.8 (2t) - 5.3 (3)
Augusta, GA (107)	WKXC Beasley 5.4 (4) - 7.6 (2) - 7.2 (3) WLUB iHeartMedia 3.7 (8) - 4.0 (8) - 3.5 (7)
Ft. Wayne, IN (112)	WQHK Federated 7.2 (4t) - 7.8 (1t) - 7.5 (3) WBTU Adams 4.3 (9) - 3.8 (10) - 3.5 (11)
Lexington, KY (103)	WBUL iHeartMedia 7.8 (1) - 7.2 (1) - 8.2 (1) Ninth consecutive No. 1. WLXO Clarity Classic Country 2.6 (10t) - 1.4 (17t) - 1.7 (13t) WVLK Cumulus 3.1 (8) - 2.4 (12) - N/A
Roanoke, VA (121)	WSLC Mel Wheeler 8.7 (2) - 12.7 (1) - 8.7 (2) WYYD iHeartMedia 4.7 (7) - 4.7 (6) - 5.7 (6)

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Major Generali: Longtime RCS Pres./CEO Philippe Generali will be retiring Feb. 28 after nearly three decades with the company. He will remain a senior consultant to RCS for a year, and assist CEO Mark Gray of sister company Katz Media (both part of iHeartMedia) in finding his successor. Generali joined RCS in 1996 as Product Mgr., and rose through the ranks, becoming Pres. in  2000 and, later, President/CEO of RCS Worldwide. In 2010, he also took the helm of Mediabase.

Top Line: In a memo to staff, Audacy Pres./CEO Kelli Turner outlined some internal restructuring, including a shift to "programming teams and content organized by verticals – News, Sports, Country, Alternative, etc. – instead of by location." Among the changes:

• Chief Business Officer/New York Market Pres. Chris Oliviero will lead content organization, and continue to report to Turner. Reporting to Oliviero, Jeff Sottolano continues to oversee programming, Leah Reis-Dennis continues to lead podcast strategy and John Pacino oversees product. Brand Managers now report directly to their format VPs.

• Regional Pres. Brian Purdy is transitioning to Senior Advisor. Audacy has reassigned the markets he was overseeing to other Regional Presidents. Jeff Federman in the West picks up Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland and Seattle in addition to the five markets he was already overseeing. East/Central's Mark Hannon adds Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Madison, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Wichita to his existing 17 markets. Claudia Menegus in the Southeast adds New Orleans to her current seven markets.

• CRO Bob Philips and EVP/Revenue Operations Liz Mozian now report directly to Turner, who says all of the changes "support our goals of creating an agile, dynamic, future-facing Audacy. Local radio remains a lifeblood, and this helps make us even stronger and better as the business evolves."

Dolled Up: Former WKHK/Richmond, VA PD/air personality Garret Doll has joined Townsquare WOKQ/Portsmouth, NH as Brand Mgr./morning host. The programming role had been vacant since Ginny Rogers Brophey's retirement last August (Breaking News 4/14/25). Logan Sherwood had been handling mornings solo since the departure of co-host "Kira Lew" Greenberger last summer (CAT 7/30/25). Sherwood is set to depart after Doll takes over. Doll joined WKHK in 2016 (CAT 3/2/16) following stops at WCKN/Charleston, SC; KYGO/Denver and Westwood One, and departed last fall (CAT 10/7/25) to form GDoll Creative. He is recruiting for a co-host to join him in mornings; see the job posting here. Congratulate Doll here.

Heritage Site: Saga WVVR/Clarksville, TN PD Chad Heritage is departing Feb. 6 to pursue other opportunities, and relocating to the Nashville area. Heritage joined WVVR in 2023 from the Cumulus WGKX/Memphis PD/afternoon host position (CAT 6/9/23), and moved from afternoons to mornings (joining incumbent Monica Reed) the following year (CAT 9/23/24). He previously spent 22 years with iHeartMedia/Little Rock. Reach him here. Meanwhile, WVVR is seeking a new PD/morning host. See the job listing here.

Citizen Smith: Four 17 Artist Management owner Brandyn Steen has joined Smith Music Group in Nashville as VP/Publishing. His experience spans publishing operations, artist and brand development and event marketing. He has executive produced projects including A Lone Star Salute to Little Texas. Reach him here.

Tour Support: Luke Bryan will play three shows in California — Shafter (5/14), Clovis (5/15) and Elk Grove (5/16) – as part of his Farm Tour 2026. Other Farm Tour dates and locations are forthcoming. Tickets here Feb. 5.

Colby Acuff's 19-date The Handmade Horsepower Tour kicks off March 13 in Spokane, WA, with subsequent stops including Seattle, Denver, Chicago and Nashville before wrapping in Philadelphia May 29. Tickets here.

Tracy Lawrence's 2026 No Alibis Tour runs March 12 through Aug. 29 with shows and festival dates in markets including Nashville, Savannah, Roanoke and Midland, TX. Tickets here Friday (1/30).

Signage: Singer/songwriter Willow Avalon has signed with Electric Feel Management, where she will be co-managed by Moral Distaste's Mark Shami.

Stories Of The Week: Search for news and people in the archives at countryaircheck.com.

Connoisseur's Keith Dakin discusses his programming oversight in Country Aircheck Weekly.
Gator Harrison and Travis Daily addressed Nashville radio's storm response. (1/26)
Curb/Word Music Publishing's Sarah Schumacher and Calista Miller were promoted, and Zachary Anderson joined the team. (1/26)
New shows were announced for Zac Brown Band, George Strait and Mitchell Tenpenny. (1/26)

ICYMI: Netflix has acquired the rights to the documentary Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool.

Jelly Roll was moved to tears by a performance of "Hard Fought Hallelujah" from Bear Bailey on Netflix's Star Search. The live series airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8pm CT and features real-time voting.

Service Update: A funeral Mass for veteran Nashville publicist Cathy Gurley will be held March 14 at 11am at Christ The King Catholic Church (3001 Belmont Blvd.) in Nashville, with a reception immediately following. Gurley died Jan. 20 at the age of 76 (CAT 1/22).

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for Jan. 27, according to Mediabase 24/7.

HARDY/Favorite Country Song (Big Loud) 4486 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Choosin' Texas (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) 4007 points
GEORGE BIRGE/It Won't Be Long (Records Nashville) 3886 points
MORGAN WALLEN/20 Cigarettes (Big Loud) 3674 points
JASON ALDEAN/How Far Does A Goodbye Go (Macon Music/Broken Bow) 3620 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for Jan. 25-27, compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase 24/7.

GEORGE BIRGE/It Won't Be Long (Records Nashville) +1582 points
SHABOOZEY & JELLY ROLL/Amen (Empire/Magnolia/Stoney Creek) +930 points
LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) +879 points
JASON ALDEAN/How Far Does A Goodbye Go (Macon Music/Broken Bow) +794 points
MORGAN WALLEN/20 Cigarettes (Big Loud) +720 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (1/29): MacKenzie Porter, Eric Paslay, Irlene Mandrell, Coyote Calhoun, Elaine Schock, the late Walt Wilson.

Midnight And Miss. You: Broken Bow's Jason Aldean (c) with the label's Scotty O'Brien (l) and WWMS/Tupelo's Scott Spencer.

Foster Family: Guaranty Corp./Media's Flynn Foster presents a combined $234,980 to Dreams Come True of Louisiana (top, with the organization's Becky Prejean) and The ALS Association (bottom, with Daniel Mackey, who lives with ALS) to celebrate Guaranty's 100th anniversary.

Signage: Leo33's Jenna Paulette signs with The Erv Woolsey Co. for management. Pictured with the company's Clinton Woolsey (l) and Allen Mitchell.

Signage: Singer/songwriter Ian Munsick signs with Triple Tigers in partnership with his West To The Rest Records. Pictured (l-r) are the label's Laura Hostelley, George Couri and Annie Ortmeier, Munsick, the label's Kevin Herring and Raffaella Braun and Not A Public Figure's Caroline Munsick.