April 2, 2026 News@CountryAircheck.com

Power Play: Audacy is eliminating the Market Manager role companywide, switching to a structure in which 10 Regional VPs, each responsible for multiple markets, report to one of the company's five Regional Presidents (listed below). This move follows a previous restructuring on the programming side that found Brand Mgrs. reporting to Format VPs (CAT 1/28). As part of the latest move away from MMs, Audacy is introducing the SVP/Sales position in local markets. In many cases, that role is being filled by existing market leadership. The new Regional VPs are:

Dan Barron (Greensboro, Greenville, New Orleans, Memphis, Chattanooga)
Matt Bewley (Miami, Orlando, Gainesville)
Sarah Frazier (Austin, Dallas, Houston)
Kieran Geffert (San Diego, Riverside, San Francisco, Seattle, Sacramento
Micah Goldberg (Denver, Portland, Las Vegas, Phoenix)
Pete Kowalski (Detroit, Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Cleveland)
Roxanne Marati (Kansas City, St. Louis, Wichita)
Brian Rooney (New York, Boston, Hartford, Springfield)
Dave Scopinich (Philadelphia; Washington, DC; Baltimore; Wilkes-Barre)
Michael Spacciapolli (Norfolk, Richmond, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Rochester)

The Regional VPs report to their respective Regional Presidents: Kowalski to Debbie Kenyon; Marati, Baron and Bewley to Claudia Menegus; Geffert and Goldberg to Jeff Federman; and Scopinich, Spacciapolli and Frazier to Mark Hannon. Rooney reports to Hannon for all of his markets except New York, where he reports to Chris Oliviero.

Take Heart: iHeartMedia Pres./Markets Group & Sales Operations Ann Marie Licata has been named CEO of its Multiplatform Group, the largest of the company’s three operating segments, which encompasses its more than 860 radio stations, networks businesses including Premiere, and live events and sponsorships. Succeeding Licata is Bernie Weiss, who rises from COO of the Markets Group. In this new organization, Premiere Pres. Julie Talbott and Enterprise Development Group Pres. Julie Donohue now report to Licata.

Wirthlin Originals: Former iHeartMedia/Salt Lake City Market Pres. Joyce Wirthlin has joined Cumulus as VP/MM for its cluster in that market, including KUBL. Prior to becoming Market Pres. for iHeart, she was SVP/Sales.

She's Country: Maverick Nashville Asst. Tori MacDonald-Nash has been promoted to Dir./Artist Projects, Dir./Creative Ashley Negrillo to Sr. Dir. and Coord./Marketing Grace Foster to Mgr./Marketing Strategy & Fan Engagement. MacDonald-Nash has been with the company for 13 years, Negrillo joined in 2021 from TourDesign Creative, and Foster in 2022 after graduating from Belmont University. Reach MacDonald-Nash here, Negrillo here and Foster here.

Switching Lanes: New South WUSJ/Jackson, MS morning co-host and cluster social media content creator Hannah Lane will join Cumulus KSCS/Dallas later this month as host of its new, live and local Y’all Night Long! show, aimed at younger country fans. Prior to joining WUSJ in 2023, Lane worked at WTGE/Baton Rouge. Her last day on the air at WUSJ is April 10. No word on plans for a successor.

Ignition (Remix): Ignition has added social media entrepreneur Vanessa Menzo in the role of Artist Relations and Dir./Digital & Social Media, former Riser House Coord./Promotion Kennedy Fisher as Mgr./Operations & Creative/Digital Strategy, and content strategist Tayler Burke as Day-to-Day Mgr. for Tyra Madison. The management and publishing company's roster includes Madison, Austin Williams, Chase Matthew and Trevor Snider. Reach Menzo here, Fisher here and Burke here.

Tour Support: Max McNown's The Summer Vacation Tour kicks off July 8 in his home state of Oregon and wraps in New York City August 19. Tickets here April 10.

Bits & Pieces: Hardy, Zach Top, Jordan Davis, Ashley Cooke, Priscilla Block, Parker McCollum, Ryan Ellis, Zach John King and RaeLynn are playing in Folds of Honor Tennessee's Rock ‘N Jock* Celebrity Softball Game June 1 at Nashville’s First Horizon Park; tickets here Friday (4/3).

Craig Morgan, Lauren Alaina and The War And Treaty are among the artists performing during the Grand Ole Opry's Salute the Troops May 19; tickets here.

ICYMI: Anne Wilson performed the national anthem for NASA's launch of the Artemis II mission at the Kennedy Space Center yesterday (4/1).

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

First-timers take on CRS with fresh eyes in Country Aircheck Weekly.
JB Hager, Sandy McIlree and Tricia McIlree joined KVET/Austin in mornings. (4/1)
KILT/Houston morning hosts Tucker "Frito" Young and Katy Dempsey departed. (3/31)
Audacy's Debbie Kenyon was promoted to Regional Pres. for the company's Central U.S. markets. (3/30)
Adam Star was named Beasley/Augusta, GA PD. (3/30)

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for April 1, according to Mediabase.

JUSTIN MOORE/Time's Ticking (Blue Highway) 4343 points
LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) 3898 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Choosin' Texas (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) 3807 points
THOMAS RHETT f/JORDAN DAVIS/Ain't A Bad Life (Blue Highway/MCA) 3705 points
DYLAN SCOTT/What He'll Never Have (Curb) 3600 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for March 29-April 1, compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase.

JUSTIN MOORE/Time's Ticking (Blue Highway) +2831 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Be Her (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) +2354 points
LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) +2302 points
LUKE BRYAN/Country And She Knows It (MCA) +1924 points
CHRIS JANSON/Me & A Beer (Harpeth 60/WMN) +1214 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (4/3): Curtis Stone (Highway 101), Michelle Brown, JoJo Turnbeaugh, Lisa Davis Purcell, Alicia Jones, the late Don Gibson, the late Billy Joe Royal.

Trade Secret: Black River's Chris Young, The Core/Mercury's Josh Ross, Big Loud's Ashley Cooke and Broken Bow's John Morgan play WGNA's Secret Star Show. Pictured (l-r) are Broken Bow's Misti Douglas, Black River's Kellie LaJack, Young, the station's Matty Jeff, Ross, Cooke, Big Loud's Nikki Wood, Morgan and Mercury's Summer Harlow.

Radio Active: Quartz Hill's Lakelin Lemmings with WKRO/Daytona Beach's DJ Tremble (l) and WGNE/Jacksonville's Brian Jordan.

Charlotte Flare: Leo33's Trey Pendley with WSOC/Charlotte's Cameron Moore (l) and WKKT/Charlotte's Ashley Wilson.