He’s a longtime owner of broadcast media properties and also served as the head of media brokerage and consultancy Rockwell Media Services. On June 15, this individual — as stated in his obituary — “made a transfer from this sphere of existence to the next sphere of existence.”
E. Morgan Skinner Jr. was 85 years of age and resided in St. George, Utah. Much of his life was tied to his role as Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Communications. Outside of his professional work in Radio, Skinner was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
His professional career and entire adult life was enmeshed in radio. In 1958, as a high school senior, he took to the microphone at KBRV-AM 800 in Soda Springs, Idaho to present the school news. It was his introduction to Radio, which included time at KMUR (today KJJC-AM) in Murray, Utah; and with Bonneville International Corp., taking jobs in the 1960s at “Beautiful Music” WRFM-FM in New York and, later, at KBIG-FM in Los Angeles. In autumn 1972, Skinner would shift to Phoenix, taking a sales job at KOOL-FM, rising to Station Manager in 1974. In 1980, Skinner would take his first GM job in Radio, at the former KORK-AM & FM in Las Vegas.
By October 1988, Skinner was in Southwestern Utah, and teamed up with investors Jack London and Mel Mezler to purchase KDLX-AM 1450 in St. George for $350,000. By July 1991, the station had new call letters KSGI, and Skinner bought out his investors through his Bear River Communications Inc.; the facility had at first taken the “KSLI” call letters, and that triggered a cease-and-desist order from former employer Bonneville and its head, Bruce Reese.
This marked the beginning of an active 30 years of buying and trading media properties across the Western U.S.
