Delmarva Broadcasting has gone outside the company to hire a new president.
Jeff Boden has been selected as the new president, the company’s 105.9 station reported.
He succeeds Julian “Pete” Booker who retired as CEO of Delmarva Broadcasting on Monday.
Under Booker, Delmarva had expanded from its flagship stations of WDEL-WSTW, Wilmington to a dozen stations in Delaware and Maryland.
Delmarva’s 105.9 station in Lewes reported that Boden is a 30-year Washington-Baltimore broadcasting veteran who served as president of WRQX/WMAL in Washington, DC. Those stations are part of Cumulus Media, reportedly the second largest radio station group behind iHeart (formerly Clear Channel).
His LinkIn profile indicated that it recent years he operated a marketing firm and opened a store for Embroidme, a part of a uniform printing and embroidery company. The store is in Bethesda, MD just outside Washington, D.C.
Local speculation had centered on Michael Reath, vice president and general manager at Delmarva taking the helm.
In recent decades, Delmarva has promoted from within. However, Booker actually worked for Delmarva three different times. He did serve as president for more than two decades before retiring.
Reath will continue at the post and handle other corporate responsibilities.
WDEL is owned by the Steinman group of companies, which include daily and weekly newspapers in the Lancaster, PA area, a restaurant and a commercial printing company.
The appointment of a veteran of big-chain radio is expected to raise concerns in media circles as Delmarva has maintained and even grown its news staff under Booker.
Like their newspaper counterparts, radio stations have been trimming their news staffs.
Delmarva may have an advantage over other radio companies in keeping news functions in place. Unlike national chains, Delmarva did not take on large debt loads in buying up stations. Those burdens led to expense cuts.
