iHeart Moves: Tommy Austin, James Howard
• iHeartMedia today made two major programming moves — Tommy Austin, SVP of Programming for the company’s Chicago Region and PD of Top 40 WKSC (103.5 Kiss FM) is joining iHeartMedia’s National Programming Group as SVP of Programming, reporting to Jon Zellner, Executive Vice President of Programming Operations for iHeartMedia. He will remain based in Chicago. It was concurrently announced that James Howard, VP of Programming for iHeartMedia’s Washington, D.C Region has been awarded a transfer to Chicago to succeed Austin as SVP of Programming for the Chicago Region and PD of 103.5 Kiss FM, effective January 16.
Howard (right) joined iHeartMedia more than 16 years ago and previously held programming positions in the Orlando, Albany, Atlanta and Tampa regions. In his new post he will report to Matt Scarano, President of the Chicago Region for iHeartMedia, who said, “James Howard has a winning track record. His breadth of knowledge, leadership and programming creativity will be a tremendous asset to our team.” Howard remarked, “Our Chicago brands and dedicated teams that operate them are some of the finest in our industry. I’m excited to help them continue to make an indelible impact on our Chicago communities.”
Austin arrived in Chicago in March 2013 as VP of Programming for the cluster, transferring from his post as Regional Program Manager for Clear Channel’s stations in St. Louis and Kansas. Austin’s earlier programming stops include KQKQ/Omaha, KHFI/Austin and two stints with the company’s cluster in Portland, OR.
• With James Howard packing for his move to Chicago, the company now has a sizeable DC opening to fill — iHeartMedia is now looking for a PD for Alternative WWDC (DC101) and/or Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100)/Washington.
Jeff Kapugi, SVP of Programming for the DC Region and PD of WMZQ will run point on the stations and head up the search for a successor. Interested candidates are urged to make their intentions known to Kapugi at jeffkapugi@iheartmedia.com.
