Cumulus Ups Kurdziel To VP/Classic Rock

• Cumulus Media has promoted James Kurdziel to Vice President of Classic Rock. Kurdziel will retain his other fulltime day job as Program Director of Classic Rock KQRS/Minneapolis.

Kurdziel succeeds Wade Linder as VP of Classic Rock and will work collaboratively with VP of Rock Troy Hanson. Linder will continue to serve as Program Director of Classic Hits WLS-FM/Chicago and handle Special Projects for the Cumulus Corporate Programming team.

In making the announcement, Brian Philips, Cumulus Chief Content Officer, said, “James has met the challenge of refining, and redefining, the elements of Classic Rock. He’s helping to rewrite the rules. He balances a keen respect for heritage with fresh thinking and irreverence. Kurdziel has quickly become one of the new guiding voices in Cumulus programming.”

Before his 2020 arrival in the Twin Cities, Kurdziel programmed acclaimed Cumulus Alternative WEDG (The Edge)/Buffalo, NY. “The work we do now will provide a roadmap for the next several years and the future of Classic Rock and our talent,” Kurdziel said. “It’s a great challenge to our creativity and imagination. I’m excited to show what we can do and I’m grateful for this opportunity.”