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Tony Richards

Founder, President

Tony is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana.  He graduated from North Side High School in 1978. 

 

He attended IPFW in Fort Wayne, Ivy Tech, National Association of Broadcasters Executive Business Program, and the Executive Integral Leadership Programs at the University of Notre Dame.  He is also a certified trainer in Situational Leadership from the Center for Leadership Studies in California.  Tony is married to wife Leann, has five children and nine grandchildren.

 

At the young age of 13, he and his friends started a small pirate radio station in his basement on August 23, 1972.  He has been in radio broadcasting professionally since 1976. 

 

He joined Federated Media in 1978 part time doing “all the on-air shifts at least once.”  In March 1984 he was promoted to Program Director of WMEE (Contemporary Hit Radio).  He helped take the station to number one status where it stayed until he left the air in 1991. 

 

Tony was also one of “Those 2 Guys in the Morning” on WMEE with Charly Butcher.  They achieved the highest ratings in Fort Wayne radio history.  One half the people in the Fort Wayne area listened to their show every week.  “Those 2 Guys in the Morning” also achieved the highest average quarter hour share in Nielsen in the United States in 1987. 

 

In September of 1991 Tony left the morning show and was named General Manager of Federated Media’s WMEE and WKJG.

 

In December of 1998, Tony became the Chief Operating Officer of Federated Media that operates 17 radio stations in Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Northern Indiana.

 

In 2006, he created and launched Hippie Radio nationally as alternative to traditional Oldies radio programming.  The 24 hour Hippie Radio format was on 6 radio stations throughout the country and the weekend 2 Hour Hippie Radio Show was on in 33 markets.

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In 2008, Tony was named the President of the Indiana Broadcasters Association.  He was on the board of directors for 9 years.

 

In 2009, he created Federated Digital Solutions, a digital marketing firm for Federated Media that currently generates over 5 million dollars in annual revenue and provides digital services for many radio and non-radio clients.

 

In 2011, he formed Kensington Digital Media and launched radio station WHPY-FM (Hippie Radio 94.5), in Nashville, Tennessee on February 10, 2012.

 

In 2013, Tony created Federated Entertainment, an event marketing company that produces over 20 events per year in the Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Warsaw, Indiana markets.

 

In February of 2014, he was elected President of the Association of Independent Market Stations (AIMS) an international consortium of independent radio broadcasters a title that he still carries today.

 

In June of 2014, Tony was appointed to the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters where he served 3 consecutive two-year terms ending in June of 2020.

 

In 2015, he created a 24 hour news only radio format called “News Now.”  This trademarked product can be heard in Warsaw, Indiana and is expanding to other markets.

 

March 31, 2017, Tony founded Brayden Madison Broadcasting and purchased WHIN 1010AM and 100.7FM and 107.9FM in Gallatin/Hendersonville, Tennessee.

 

September 5, 2018 Tony launched Kensington Digital Media of Indiana and purchased radio stations WRSW-AM, WRSW-FM, WAWC-FM and FM Translator W259BJ at 99.7FM  in Warsaw, Indiana.

 

January 22, 2020, Tony was elected to the board of directors of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters.

 

Tony was on the inaugural board of directors of the Independent Broadcasters Association created in 2020 consisting of over 1,100 independent radio stations in the United States of America.

 

March 1, 2021 he founded Kensington Capital Investments to diversify his holdings.  Their first purchase was N.Y. Pizzeria in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.

 

December 8, 2022 Tony’s Kensington Digital Media purchased WPLN-AM 1430 from Nashville Public Radio.

 

January 1, 2023 Tony was elected Chairman of the Board of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters.

 

February 19, 2024 he purchased 4 radio stations in Dothan, Alabama:  WBBK-FM, WECB-FM, WJRL-FM, and WESP-FM.

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Tony enjoys being with his wife & family, staying active in the community, working, flying airplanes, playing baseball, golf, and hockey.

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