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Citadel Broadcasting, the American radio broadcasting group, has become the latest big US media company to file for bankruptcy under the weight of crippling debts and a collapsing advertising market.

The company is best known for syndicating the shows of a stable of controversial radio hosts, including Rush Limbaugh, the right wing shock jock and Don Imus, whose nationally distributed show Imus in the Morning has been entertaining and infuriating Americans for decades.

Citadel owns and operates 224 radio stations in all big US markets. Farid Suleman, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement that will continue as usual” as the company seeks to emerge from restructuring as quickly as possible.

“We are pleased with the support from the majority of our senior lenders, and we look forward to working with the remaining senior lenders and other stakeholders,” he said. The company’s board of directors agreed that the bankruptcy was “desirable and in the best interests of the corporation” on 18 December.

In documents filed in the US bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York, Citadel, also the owner of ABC Radio Networks, listed total assets of $1.4 billion (£867 million) against debt of $2.46 billion.

The company said in a statement it was filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had reached an agreement with more than 60 per cent of its lenders on a deal that would erase about $1.4 billion of debt.

The plan will convert a $2.1 billion loan into a new $762.5 million term loan, giving senior lenders 90 per cent of the shares in the reorganised company.

Much of Citadel’s debt burden stems from its $2.7 billion purchase of ABC Radio from Walt Disney in 2007. Citadel also has been hurt over the past couple of years by declines in advertising revenue in nearly all markets as many listeners abandoned the format for pre-recorded music and the commercial-free satellite radio offerings of Sirius XM.

The economic slump further cut advertising spending across all media, including newspapers and television, and has affected rivals including Clear Channel, the leading US radio broadcaster. In May, Citadel hired a financial adviser to help it to assess its options including refinancing or restructuring its debt.

In documents filed with regulators in November, Citadel portrayed a gloomy picture in which it said revenue was expected to continue to decline through the end of thje year, according to the Associated Press.

The company said lower advertising sales in its radio markets drove net revenue down more than 18 per cent for the nine months to September 30 over the same period of 2008. It added that it expected to be unable to meet debt requirements by the middle of January because of current economic conditions and tight capital markets.