Midwest Communications President/CEO Duey E. ‘Duke’ Wright, Jr. passed away on earlier this week at the age of 83.
Wright helped found Midwest in 1958 when as a teenager he convinced his parents to acquire the 1400 AM license in Wausau WI (now 1390 Schofield WI). The station was relaunched as Top 40 WRIG above their music store where he would work as a DJ, and after graduating college running the company as he added an FM in the market, and began expanding into other markets. The privately held Midwest currently owns stations in eighteen markets across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Wright was inducted into the Wisconsin Broadcasting Museum Hall of Fame in 2000. Wright’s three children all serve in executive roles in the company with Michael Wright as Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kay Wright as Chief Marketing Officer, and Jeff Wright as Chief Sales Officer.
This story will be updated when more details become available.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com