By Pat Davis, The Paper. and The New Mexico News — New private equity owners of Cumulus Media initiated layoffs in its Albuquerque radio group this week, continuing a nationwide pattern of cuts after being acquired out of bankruptcy.
Cumulus’ Albuquerque market cuts have hit on-air, production and back office teams across a number of stations including conservative talk radio giant 96.3 FM / 770 AM KKOB. Layoffs enacted this week included long-time market manager and Cumulus Vice President Jeff Berry.
While the company’s bankruptcy filings did not provide market-specific financial data for its 330-plus stations, its most recent quarterly operating results (covering the six months ended June 30, 2026) showed that advertising spot revenue fell 13.3% year-over-year, while total net revenue dropped 11.0%. The company had entered bankruptcy with over $600 million in debt, according to court filings. In October, private equity investors Alden Capital Group purchased a controlling share of the radio group and took the company private in a deal to acquire the assets from bankruptcy.
Alden’s acquisition of Cumulus is not the private equity group’s first venture into media. It is now one of the largest holders of newspapers in the country where it has deployed a similar “vulture capitalism” approach to local news. Alden cut 20% of staff of the Chicago Tribune within weeks of acquiring that paper for a reported $600 million and taking it private in 2021. That paper’s former staff of 700 are now reported to be about 100. A 2021 investigative report of Alden’s newspaper acquisitions in The Atlantic identified hundreds of newspapers where the company “shrunk its newsrooms in the name of increasing profit margins” in a strategy dubbed “vulture capitalism.”
Earlier this week, Leah Black, morning co-host of the Carlos D and Leah Black morning drive show on 99.3 “The Q” announced that she would also be adding a second slot to her portfolio as the new midday host on KMGA (Magic 99.5). She is filling a slot left in August when long-time midday host Stephanie Duran exited during another round of reductions. Other on-air cuts were included in the newest round of layoffs. We are not naming those impacted to give them time to share the news with families and co-workers on their own terms.
Cumulus owns over 330 individual stations across the country including these in Albuquerque: KDRF FM (103.3 FM, “Ed FM”), KKOB (770 AM/96.3 FM), KMGA (99.5 FM, “Magic 99.5”), KNML (610 AM, “The Sports Animal”), KOBQ (93.3 FM, “The Q”), KRST (92.3 FM) and KTBL (1050 AM / 94.5 FM, “The Pit”).