RBR+TVBR has confirmed that Midwest Communications President/CEO Duey E. ‘Duke‘ Wright Jr. has passed away at the age of 83.
Wright, who died on Wednesday (12/21), started his radio career in 1958 as a teenage disk jockey at his family owned station in Wausau, Wisc., WRIG-AM. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he returned to manage WRIG and its FM companion, which he put on the air in 1964.
From those beginnings came a radio broadcasting career of over 40 years, during which he built a Midwest broadcasting empire, owning and operating 23 radio stations in Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan.
Jason Cooper, who since December 2012 has served as Chief Engineer of WSM-AM 650 in Nashville while concurrently holding the role of President of Radian Corporation, where he is the department head of its We Stream Radio, shared details on his Facebook page.
“Today we had to say goodbye to Duke Wright,” he wrote. “Duke was a broadcast engineer turned highly successful business man, eventually growing his collection of radio stations to 80+ signals. In Nashville, his company owns Mix 92.9, 96.3 JACK-FM and Hot 106.7 — Media brands so prevalent in our community that most would never guess that they are part of a family business. That family business now employees hundreds of people, providing for hundreds of families.”
Midwest’s entry into Music City U.S.A. came in late May 2014. It was part of a transformative deal that saw Midwest Communications acquire nine FMs from South Central Communications of Evansville, Ind., in a transaction brokered by Kalil & Co. It was rumored at the time to be valued at $63 million — representing 7x cash flow.
Commenting on the deal at the time, Wright said, “We feel extremely fortunate to be acquiring one of America’s best-run radio groups.” With the acquisition, Midwest would add the South Central stations to a roster of 63 radio stations. The headquarters never relocated from Wausau, where Midwest started.
Reminiscing about Wright, Cooper shared, “When Duke would make visits to Nashville we would talk shop just enough for him to know everything was taken care of. We would then get into our broadcast historian gears.” During one visit a quick inspection of Midwest’s tower properties was done, and then the remainder of the day was spent in the archives of WSM. This saw Wright and Cooper looking at old national signal pattern charts and maps, old FCC filings, and such. “At one point he waved his hand dismissively and said [about getting back to the office], ‘Just tell them we’re at the tower site. Don’t have to tell them which one.'”
Mark Turcotte, who served as GSM of Midwest Communications’ Nashville stations from December 2010 through July 2017, staying through the South Central acquisition, also shared his thoughts on Facebook.
“I want to extend my deepest condolences to the Wright family on the loss of their patriarch,” said Turcotte, who recently exited Cox Media Group, where he was a sales leader for radio properties in Atlanta, Dayton, Houston and Athens, Ga. “Duke Wright and I had some interesting parallells. He was a keyboardist; his instrument of choice was the accordion, which he played with great aplomb by the way, and he started a radio station at his parent’s music store. I worked in several music stores and our high school started a radio station, which is what sparked my interest all those years ago. Duke built a business because he loved the medium … and I mean really loved it. There weren’t many topics he couldn’t go deep in when it came to radio … or music, or life. He was a true pioneer. A builder. A doer. But most importantly, a husband, father and grandfather to some very heartbroken people. All who have my love and most sincere sympathies during this difficult time. I’ll be thinking of the entire Wright family, and reflecting on the hours of great conversation I had the privilege to enjoy. He was very proud of his brood.”
