J’ Michael Francois

CUMULUS MEDIA OM J’MICHAEL FRANCOIS is leaving the company. He was in charge of a five-station group that includes NEW ORLEANS R&B KMEZ (BIG EASY 102.9), Gospel KKND (HEAVEN 106.7 FM), BATON ROUGE Urban WEMX (MAX 94.1), R&B KQXL (Q106.5), and Gospel WXOK (HEAVEN 95.7/1460).

FRANCOIS told SAM WEAVER, “After 18 years at CUMULUS BATON ROUGE and 20.5 years at CUMULUS NEW ORLEANS, I choose to take a different route for my future and am putting my faith to work. I can honestly say I’ve experienced some of the most incredible, extraordinary, and enriching moments of my life and career in BATON ROUGE and at home in NEW ORLEANS. I am blessed to have built a lifelong family with my CUMULUS team. There aren’t enough words to sufficiently say thank you to my teams in both NEW ORLEANS and BATON ROUGE.”

“Together, we created radio that’s memorable, impactful, engaging, and progressive. We addressed the murder of ALTON STERLING, the 2016 floods, the COVID-19 pandemic, and countless hurricanes and moments where our listeners relied on us most for direction and healing.”

“Special thanks to PATRICK GALLOWAY, KENNY SMOOV, DOUG HAMMOND, BRIAN PHILIPS, and the corporate programming team for pouring into my life while challenging me to dig deeper and giving us the latitude to be community-focused but strong enough to impact the world simultaneously.”

“Thank you, BATON ROUGE, for receiving me as your own, and NEW ORLEANS, I’m honored to have served you as your native son and pray I’ve made you proud.”