Paul Maassen, general manager of 89.9 WWNO-FM in New Orleans, is joining 89.3 WRKF-FM in Baton Rouge as general manager and president—but he’s not quitting his job in the Crescent City. Instead, Maassen will split his time between the New Orleans and Baton Rouge National Public Radio member stations, effective immediately, WRKF has announced.
Maassen, a 29-year radio veteran, has been general manager of WWNO since 2008. Though he will oversee both the Baton Rouge and New Orleans radio stations, they will retain their separate owners and maintain their unique identities. However, Maassen adds the arrangement may provide new opportunities for the stations to collaborate.
“WRKF will continue to serve Baton Rouge as it has, and WWNO will continue to serve New Orleans as it has,” Maassen says in a prepared statement. “In addition, where we see opportunities to collaborate for mutual benefit, we’ll be able to effectively move forward.”
WRFK board chairman Rodney Braxton says in a statement that “by sharing management and collaborating on content, we can achieve the scale necessary to provide the level of service that is so vital to our local communities—a service that public radio is in a unique position to provide in the evolving media landscape.”
WRKF is licensed to Public Radio Incorporated of Baton Rouge, a nonprofit governed by a volunteer board of directors. WWNO is licensed to the University of New Orleans.
Maassen is taking over the reins at the local radio station from David Gordon, who retired in June after a 10-year stint as general manager at WRKF. Cyril Vetter, the former owner of WVLA-TV and a WRKF board member, has been serving as the station’s interim president and general manager since Gordon’s departure.
