Adam Copeland resigned from his position as KNBR program director on Thursday, days after he was criticized for his behavior on social media in a column published on a sports media website.
According to an internal memo obtained by this news organization, Copeland, 35, will deal with his afternoon show, “Tolbert & Copes,” which he hosted while serving as program director.
Copeland declined to comment on the move.
Barrett Sports Media, the web site that published a set of unflattering tweets from Copeland, was the primary to report on his resignation.
The job of program director is of course short-lived within the radio industry, but at KNBR, the flagship station of the Giants and 49ers, there was significant turnover within the position.
Copeland was named program director in November, succeeding Kevin Graham, who held the post for about two years. Before Graham, Jeremiah Crowe served as program director for five years.
Copeland began as an intern on the station in 2009 and worked his way as much as board operator, producer and host. He was named considered one of the Top 30 Sports Reporters Under 30 by Sports Talent Agency in 2018 and was recognized as a Future African American Leader in Radio by Radio Ink Magazine.
Copeland has hosted the afternoon show with Tom Tolbert since 2022 and can proceed to accomplish that. It is rare and a significant workload when a program director also serves because the each day host.
Shortly after KNBR named Copeland as program director in November, the station, which is owned by Cumulus Media, laid off many employees, including longtime anchor Paul McCaffrey. Although he had only been on the job for just a few months, Copeland bore the brunt of public criticism over the cuts.
Before Copeland took over as program director, the station struggled for months within the rankings battle against 95.7 The Game. But in January, February, March and April of this yr, KNBR rebounded and beat its rival.
The staff on the programming side enjoyed working for Copeland, several sources said. Communication between shows and departments improved. His vision led to a cleaner program, one anchor said.
Some who benefited professionally from Copeland's tenure as program director are disillusioned that it’s ending.
Copeland's resignation as program director got here after Jason Barrett, the owner of trade publication Barrett Sports Media, sharply criticized his behavior on social media. Copeland initially criticized Barrett's website for not reporting on KNBR's recent rankings successes over The Game, the Bay Area's other pure-play sports radio station.
According to his bio, Barrett helped launch 95.7 The Game before starting his own media company, which Copeland interpreted as bias in his reporting. Barrett wrote that he objectively monitors the market and reports complete rankings that appear seasonally – not monthly.
Barrett's column included tweet replies from Copeland through which he used profanity and private insults toward listeners.
A source accustomed to the situation said KNBR leadership never noticed Copeland's social media habits before last week. Cumulus market manager Larry Blumhagen couldn’t be reached for comment.
Copeland will return as co-host of “Tolbert & Copes” on May 30.
Danny Emerman, the reporter for this story, is a former KNBR/Cumulus worker.
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