Fred Jacobs hands Jacobs Media presidency to brother Paul
Fred Jacobs, a consultant who has shaped public discussion of the US radio business, is stepping back from running Jacobs Media. His brother Paul takes over as president at the end of 2026, and Fred moves to chairman.
Paul Jacobs sets the course
Paul Jacobs says the core of the company will stay intact, though changes are coming to match client and industry needs. He expects the firm to concentrate on overall strategy, including digital transformation and building profitable digital revenue programs.
Director of Digital Revenue Chris Brunt and consultant Bill Jacobs keep their roles.
The Techsurveys continue. They cover commercial, public and Christian music radio, and Fred will still help design and run them.
In his own words
"I've been thinking about this for a couple of years now, and I'm ready for a change," Fred Jacobs said.
In 2025 he publicly disclosed that he has Parkinson's disease. Starting next year, he says, his daily routine will shift. He plans to keep reading the trades, checking ratings, advising Paul, talking strategy with some clients, giving the occasional talk and working on the Techsurveys.
He closed that list with a number: after nearly 4 million miles on Delta, mostly domestic, he said it is time.
Four decades in radio research
Jacobs founded the company in 1983, working from a kitchen table in his apartment in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He has written that the early idea was a full-service consultancy helping stations lift ratings and, through them, revenue. That worked for roughly two decades. After that, he wrote, disruption from many platforms forced radio to change, pivot and defend its position.
Jacobs is regarded as the father of the classic rock format. The company moved into app development in 2008 with jacapps, co-produced the DASH Conferences on radio's place in the car dashboard, and led executive tours of the CES show floor in Las Vegas. His daily blog is widely read in the industry.
Before founding the firm, Jacobs worked in research for Frank N. Magid Associates, then as director of radio research for ABC's FM stations, and later as program director of WRIF in Detroit. He entered the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2022, he and Paul received the NAB National Radio Award.
NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said Jacobs "has spent more than four decades helping radio innovate, evolve and thrive."
Our take
The handover is planned and stays in the family. The sharper question is how much the firm's emphasis on digital revenue changes what it publishes and advises. One early signal may be how the Techsurveys look once Paul runs the company day to day.
Source: Radio World