The Mary G. Berner Era Begins At Cumulus

Day 1

The CUMULUS MEDIA Board of Directors named MARY G. BERNER CEO of the company, just two weeks ago (NET NEWS 9/29). That appointment is effective TODAY (10/13). BERNER joined the CUMULUS board this past MAY. She succeeds LEW DICKEY, the company's Founder/CEO, who will continue to serve as Vice Chairman and as a director of the company.

BERNER made a company-wide webcast at 2p (EDT) TODAY to introduce herself. According to those present, getting ratings up was Job #1.  BERNER emphatically stated that bankruptcy was not in the cards, and that she was a big fan of the NASH initiative.

BERNER is now perched atop the CUMULUS MEDIA Leadership page on the company website which writes:

"MARY BERNER became Chief Executive Officer of CUMULUS MEDIA, INC. in OCTOBER 2015. Over more than three decades, she has established a track record of leading media companies to deliver strong financial performance and growth. Prior to joining CUMULUS, BERNER served as President and CEO of MPA -- THE ASSOCIATION OF MAGAZINE MEDIA where she leveraged her deep understanding of media to aggressively champion the magazine media industry. In recognition of her work, Ms. BERNER was named one of the Top Women in Media by FOLIO MAGAZINE in 2014.

"Ms. BERNER also previously served as Chief Executive Officer of READER’S DIGEST ASSOCIATION where she developed and executed a successful turnaround strategy, oversaw the restructuring of the company’s acquisition-related debt and the subsequent doubling of the company’s stock price, and optimized its brands and assets including through the development of new digital revenue streams. Under her direction, the $2 billion global media and direct marketing company launched 83 websites and 31 mobile apps, and built Allrecipes into the world’s largest food website.

"From NOVEMBER 1999 until JANUARY 2006, she led FAIRCHILD PUBLICATIONS, INC., first as President/CEO then as President and as an officer of CONDÉ NAST after FAIRCHILD became a division of CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. During her tenure at FAIRCHILD, she was named ADVERTISING AGE’s 'Publishing Executive of the Year' (2004) and inducted into the min Sales Executive Hall of Fame (2006). BERNER joined FAIRCHILD from CONDÉ NAST’s GLAMOUR where she served as Vice President and Publisher. She began her career selling advertising for a neighborhood newspaper in BOSTON before being hired to oversee the advertising and marketing department of TV GUIDE, ultimately rising to publisher of that title.

"BERNER currently serves as the lead director for SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS in NEW YORK CITY and the JESUIT VOLUNTEER CORPS, and is a member of the advisory board of AAB RESEARCH LLC and of the NEW YORK UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR PUBLISHING."

Rumors continue to swirl that CUMULUS will shift from its ATLANTA home to become a NEW YORK-based company.

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