Paxton Saga Draws To A Close

• RAMP has confirmed that Pat Paxton has resigned as SVP of Content at Saga Communications after a three-year run. His last day is this Friday, August 28.

As initially reported by Barrett Media, Saga CEO Chris Forgy announced that Paxton’s duties will be jointly absorbed by Scott Chase (below, left), OM of Saga’s North Central Florida Media Group in Ocala, FL, and Ryan Ploeckelman (below, right), OM of Saga’s Clarksville, TN cluster, both of whom will serve as Group Program Director.

Paxton joined Saga in June 2023 as Senior Vice President of Content after a two-year industry hiatus. He previously spent nearly 23 years with Audacy, rising to Chief Programming Officer until his departure in August 2021. Paxton He earlier spent two years with Zapoleon Media Strategies, programmed KHMX/Houston, and served as Group PD for Nationwide Communications, Cardinal Communications and Adventure Communications. [Ed. Note: I first met Pat in the early ’90s when I was working for Hitmakers, and he was programming WKEE/Huntington, WV]

Paxton shared his news in a staff memo that reads, in part, “I’ve had a long successful career in this business and I’ve loved every second of it. But I’m not as young as I used to be. I’ve been considering this for a few months and given the challenges Chris mentioned in his email, stepping away now makes perfect sense. Scott and Ryan are two of the smartest programming minds out there, so I am 100% certain the transition will be smooth and easy.”

Paxton added, “To our Content Directors. You are the best. No one works harder than you. No one wears more hats than you. And you do it all with energy and passion. I feel blessed that I had the chance to work with and get to know you. I will miss you all but feel like I’m a better person having worked with each of you.”