ED CHRISTIAN

Ed Christian was the founder, Chairman, President and CEO of Saga Communications Inc.  As a child he dreamed of becoming a radio disk jockey, but his calling was as a radio junkie, pioneering old school ideas with local content.

In 1986, he raised $38.5 million to buy out Josephson International’s radio division, which he had been running for 10 years and renamed it Saga Communications.  At that time, the company owned three AM and five FM radio stations.  Christian fostered the growth of the company to 79 FM and 35 AM radio stations and under his leadership, Saga became a publicly traded company in 1992.

Christian was a former chair of the Radio Music Licensing Committee, NAB Board Member, President of the Associated Press Broadcast Advisory Council as well as an adjunct professor in Broadcast Arts at Central Michigan University.

In the Nordic language, “Saga” means an ongoing adventure.  That is how Ed Christian viewed his company and his life.