Sheridan Broadcasting Corp. to cut news, sports divisions

Family-owned Sheridan Broadcasting Corp., still struggling after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2016, has announced it will eliminate its news and sports divisions.

In an interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier, Ron Davenport Jr., Sheridan’s COO and general counsel, said 10 jobs will be cut in the Pittsburgh-based operation, according to the newspaper’s online report Tuesday.

Sheridan was founded by the family in 1972 and at one time owned the radio station WAMO. It was majority owner of American

Urban Radio Networks until earlier this year, providing content to 60 radio stations nationwide as the Sheridan Broadcasting Network.

Sheridan Gospel Network will continue to provide content to 30 stations across the country.

“It’s a painful step, a very painful step,” Mr. Davenport told the Courier. “But we look forward to the next opportunity and new directions.”

SBC, which has its headquarters Downtown, still owns a radio station in Atlanta. Last May, April Ryan, longtime AURN White House correspondent and more recent CNN political analyst, spoke at an event in Pittsburgh.

In a Post-Gazette interview previewing her appearance, Ms. Ryan said she was grateful to get her start with Sheridan. Its troubles in recent years, she added, were “unfortunate for black media. We are the drumbeat of the community.”