Withers Broadcasting (Website) owns and operates about 35 radio stations, mostly in the upper Midwest in small or unrated radio markets. The company is owned by W. Russell Withers, Jr of Mount Vernon, Illinois.
History
Russ Withers is a native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Rush Limbaugh’s home town. Mr Withers became involved in radio in 1955, going to work for KGMO-AM – after FM radio became more popular, he bought the AM station in 1970 (the station is now KAPE-AM). KGMO was the station where Rush Limbaugh had his first radio job in 1967.
In 2008, Withers Broadcasting purchased 6 Southern Illinois radio stations from Clear Channel for $4 milion, as Clear Channel was divesting itself of small market stations.
Dana Withers, the daughter of Russell Withers has 7 stations licensed in her name or companies she controls. They’ve been included under the Withers Parent Company ID, even though it’s possible there is no operational or ownership relationship between father and daughter.
Major Stations – top 25 markets
Withers Broadcasting owns no major market stations.
For a list of all radio stations controlled by the Withers family, follow this link.
Ownership
Mr Withers owns all of the stations as sole owner (other than the 7 owned by his daughter). Mr Withers has had his hands in a lot of different businesses over the years – Cable TV, Art galleries, a beverage bottling company, a fishing lodge in Belize, and a lobster processing operation in Costa Rica.
Management
Mr Withers is an active participant in the National Association of Broadcasters, and recently testified to Congress opposing relaxing the rules for Low Power FM radio stations.
Day to day operations are managed by Rick Lambert (General Manager) and
Steve Thomas (Operations Manager / PD), according to the web site.
Financial Condition / Profitability
Since the company is privately held, and has no publicly traded securities, there is no publicly available financial data.