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                                                                    Exhibit 10.1



                                    PARENT GUARANTEE AGREEMENT dated as of
                           December 17, 1999, between CITADEL COMMUNICATIONS
                           CORPORATION, a Nevada corporation (the "Guarantor")
                           and CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON, a bank organized
                           under the laws of Switzerland, acting through its New
                           York branch ("CSFB"), as collateral agent (the
                           "Collateral Agent") for the Secured Parties (as
                           defined in the Credit Agreement referred to below).


         Reference is made to the Credit Agreement dated as of December 17, 1999
(as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the "Credit
Agreement"), among Citadel Broadcasting Company, a Nevada corporation (the
"Borrower"), the Guarantor, the lenders from time to time party thereto (the
"Lenders"), the Lenders identified therein as issuing banks (the "Issuing
Banks"), CSFB, as administrative agent (in such capacity, the "Administrative
Agent") and as Collateral Agent for the Lenders, FINOVA Capital Corporation, as
syndication agent, and First Union National Bank and Fleet National Bank, as
documentation agents. Capitalized terms used herein and not defined herein shall
have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Credit Agreement.

         The Lenders have agreed to make Loans to the Borrower, and the Issuing
Banks have agreed to issue Letters of Credit for the account of the Borrower,
pursuant to, and upon the terms and subject to the conditions specified in, the
Credit Agreement. As the owner of all of the issued and outstanding capital
stock of the Borrower, the Guarantor acknowledges that it will derive
substantial benefit from the making of the Loans by the Lenders and the issuance
of the Letters of Credit by the Issuing Banks. The obligations of the Lenders to
make Loans and of the Issuing Banks to issue Letters of Credit are conditioned
on, among other things, the execution and delivery by the Guarantor of a
Guarantee Agreement in the form hereof. As consideration therefor and in order
to induce the Lenders to make Loans and the Issuing Banks to issue Letters of
Credit, the Guarantor is willing to execute this Agreement.

         Accordingly, the parties hereto agree as follows:

         SECTION 1. Guarantee. The Guarantor unconditionally guarantees (the
"Guarantee"), as a primary obligor and not merely as a surety, (a) the due and
punctual payment of (i) the principal of and premium, if any, and interest
(including interest accruing during the pendency of any bankruptcy, insolvency,
receivership or other similar proceeding, regardless of whether such interest is
allowed or allowable in such proceeding) on the Loans, when and as due, whether
at maturity, by acceleration, upon one or more dates set for prepayment or
otherwise, (ii) each payment required to be made by the Borrower under the
Credit Agreement in respect of any Letter of Credit, when and as due, including
payments in respect of reimbursement of disbursements, interest thereon and
obligations to provide cash collateral and (iii) all other monetary obligations,
including fees, costs, expenses and indemnities, whether primary, secondary,
direct, contingent, fixed or otherwise (including monetary obligations incurred
during the pendency of any bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or other similar
proceeding, regardless of whether such monetary obligations are allowed or
allowable as a claim in such proceeding), of the Loan Parties to the Secured
Parties under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents, (b) the due and
punctual performance of all covenants, agreements, obligations and liabilities
of the Loan Parties under or pursuant to the Credit Agreement and the other Loan
Docu ments and (c) unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by the applicable
Lender party thereto, all obligations of the Borrower, monetary or otherwise,
under each Hedging Agreement entered into with a counterparty that was a Lender
at the time such Hedging Agreement was entered into (all the monetary and other
obligations referred to in the preceding clauses (a) through (c) being
collectively called the "Obligations"). The Guarantor further agrees that the



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Obligations may be extended or renewed, in whole or in part, without notice to
or further assent from it, and that it will remain bound upon its guarantee
notwithstanding any extension or renewal of any Obligation.

         SECTION 2. Obligations Not Waived. To the fullest extent permitted by
applicable law, the Guarantor waives presentment to, demand of payment from and
protest to the Borrower of any of the Obligations, and also waives notice of
acceptance of the Guarantee and notice of protest for nonpayment. To the fullest
extent permitted by applicable law, the obligations of the Guarantor hereunder
shall not be affected by (a) the failure of the Collateral Agent or any other
Secured Party to assert any claim or demand or to enforce or exercise any right
or remedy against the Borrower or any other guarantor of the Obligations under
the provisions of the Credit Agreement, any other Loan Document or otherwise,
(b) any rescission, waiver, amendment or modification of, or any release from
any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement, any other Loan Document, any
Guarantee or any other agreement, including with respect to any other guarantor
of the Obligations or (c) the failure to perfect any security interest in, or
the release of, any of the security held by or on behalf of the Collateral Agent
or any other Secured Party.

         SECTION 3. Security. The Guarantor authorizes the Collateral Agent and
each of the other Secured Parties to (a) take and hold security for the payment
of this Guarantee and the Obligations and exchange, enforce, waive and release
any such security, (b) apply such security and direct the order or manner of
sale thereof as they in their sole discretion may determine and (c) release or
substitute any one or more endorsees, other guarantors or other obligors.

         SECTION 4. Guarantee of Payment. The Guarantor further agrees that the
Guarantee constitutes a guarantee of payment when due and not of collection, and
waives any right to require that any resort be had by the Collateral Agent or
any other Secured Party to any of the security held for payment of the
Obligations or to any balance of any deposit account or credit on the books of
the Collateral Agent or any other Secured Party in favor of the Borrower or any
other person.

         SECTION 5. No Discharge or Diminishment of Guarantee. The obligations
of the Guarantor hereunder shall not be subject to any reduction, limitation,
impairment or termination for any reason (other than the indefeasible payment in
full in cash of the Obligations), including any claim of waiver, release,
surrender, alteration or compromise of any of the Obligations, and shall not be
subject to any defense or setoff, counterclaim, recoupment or termination
whatsoever by reason of the invalidity, illegality or unenforceability of the
Obligations or otherwise. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the
obligations of the Guarantor hereunder shall not be discharged or impaired or
otherwise affected by the failure of the Collateral Agent or any other Secured
Party to assert any claim or demand or to enforce any remedy under the Credit
Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, by any waiver or
modification of any provision of any thereof, by any default, failure or delay,
wilful or otherwise, in the performance of the Obligations, or by any other act
or omission that may or might in any manner or to any extent vary the risk of
the Guarantor or that would otherwise operate as a discharge of the Guarantor as
a matter of law or equity (other than the indefeasible payment in full in cash
of all the Obligations).

         SECTION 6. Defenses of Borrower Waived. To the fullest extent permitted
by applicable law, the Guarantor waives any defense based on or arising out of
any defense of the Borrower or the unenforceability of the Obligations or any
part thereof from any cause, or the cessation from any cause of the liability of
the Borrower, other than the final and indefeasible payment in full in cash of
the Obligations. The Collateral Agent and the other Secured Parties may, at
their election, foreclose on any security held by one or more of them by one or
more judicial or nonjudicial sales, accept an assignment of any such security in
lieu of foreclosure, compromise or adjust any part of the Obligations, make any
other accommodation with the Borrower or any other guarantor or exercise any
other right or remedy available to them against the Borrower or any other
guarantor, without affecting or impairing in any way the liability of the
Guarantor hereunder except to the extent the Obligations have been fully,
finally and indefeasibly paid in cash. To the fullest extent


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permitted by applicable law, the Guarantor waives any defense arising out of any
such election even though such election operates, pursuant to applicable law, to
impair or to extinguish any right of reimbursement or subrogation or other right
or remedy of the Guarantor against the Borrower or any other guarantor, as the
case may be, or any security.

         SECTION 7. Agreement to Pay; Subrogation. In furtherance of the
foregoing and not in limitation of any other right that the Collateral Agent or
any other Secured Party has at law or in equity against the Guarantor by virtue
hereof, upon the failure of the Borrower or any other Loan Party to pay any
Obligation when and as the same shall become due, whether at maturity, by
acceleration, after notice of prepayment or otherwise, the Guarantor hereby
promises to and will forthwith pay, or cause to be paid, to the Collateral Agent
or such other Secured Party as designated thereby in cash the amount of such
unpaid Obligations. Upon payment by the Guarantor of any sums to the Collateral
Agent or any Secured Party as provided above, all rights of the Guarantor
against the Borrower arising as a result thereof by way of right of subrogation,
contribution, reimbursement, indemnity or otherwise shall in all respects be
subordinate and junior in right of payment to the prior indefeasible payment in
full in cash of all the Obligations. In addition, any indebtedness of the
Borrower now or hereafter held by the Guarantor is hereby subordinated in right
of payment to the prior payment in full of the Obligations. If any amount shall
erroneously be paid to the Guarantor on account of (i) such subrogation,
contribution, reimbursement, indemnity or similar right or (ii) any such
indebtedness of the Borrower, such amount shall be held in trust for the benefit
of the Secured Parties and shall forthwith be paid to the Collateral Agent to be
credited against the payment of the Obligations, whether matured or unmatured,
in accordance with the terms of the Loan Documents.

         SECTION 8. Information. The Guarantor assumes all responsibility for
being and keeping itself informed of the Borrower's financial condition and
assets, and of all other circumstances bearing upon the risk of nonpayment of
the Obligations and the nature, scope and extent of the risks that the Guarantor
assumes and incurs hereunder, and agrees that none of the Collateral Agent or
the other Secured Parties will have any duty to advise the Guarantor of
information known to it or any of them regarding such circumstances or risks.

         SECTION 9. Termination. The Guarantee made hereunder (a) shall
terminate when all the Obligations have been indefeasibly paid in full and the
Lenders have no further commitment to lend under the Credit Agreement, the L/C
Exposure has been reduced to zero and the Issuing Banks have no further
obligation to issue Letters of Credit under the Credit Agreement and (b) shall
continue to be effective or be reinstated, as the case may be, if at any time
payment, or any part thereof, of any Obligation is rescinded or must otherwise
be restored by any Secured Party or the Guarantor upon the bankruptcy or
reorganization of the Borrower, the Guarantor or otherwise.

         SECTION 10. Binding Agreement; Assignments. Whenever in this Agreement
any of the parties hereto is referred to, such reference shall be deemed to
include the successors and assigns of such party; and all covenants, promises
and agreements by or on behalf of the Guarantor that are contained in this
Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of each party hereto and their
respective successors and assigns. This Agreement shall become effective when a
counterpart hereof executed on behalf of the Guarantor shall have been delivered
to the Collateral Agent and a counterpart hereof shall have been executed on
behalf of the Collateral Agent, and thereafter shall be binding upon the
Guarantor and the Collateral Agent and their respective successors and assigns,
and shall inure to the benefit of the Guarantor, the Collateral Agent and the
other Secured Parties, and their respective successors and assigns, except that
the Guarantor shall not have the right to assign its rights or obligations
hereunder or any interest herein (and any such attempted assignment shall be
void).

         SECTION 11. Waivers; Amendment. (a) No failure or delay of the
Collateral Agent in exercising any power or right hereunder shall operate as a
waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or
power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce


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such a right or power, preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the
exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of the Collateral
Agent hereunder and of the other Secured Parties under the other Loan Documents
are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they would
otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement or consent to any
departure by the Guarantor therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the
same shall be permitted by paragraph (b) below, and then such waiver or consent
shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which
given. No notice or demand on the Guarantor in any case shall entitle the
Guarantor to any other or further notice or demand in similar or other
circumstances.

         (b) Neither this Agreement nor any provision hereof may be waived,
amended or modified except pursuant to a written agreement entered into between
the Guarantor and the Collateral Agent, with the prior written consent of the
Required Lenders (except as otherwise provided in the Credit Agreement).

         SECTION 12. GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND
CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT GIVING
EFFECT TO THE CONFLICT OF LAW PRINCIPLES THEREOF.

         SECTION 13. Notices. All communications and notices hereunder shall be
in writing and given as provided in Section 9.01 of the Credit Agreement. All
communications and notices hereunder to the Guarantor shall be given to it in
care of the Borrower.

         SECTION 14. Survival of Agreement. All covenants, agreements,
representations and warranties made by the Guarantors herein and in the
certificates or other instruments prepared or delivered in connection with or
pursuant to this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be considered to
have been relied upon by the Collateral Agent and the other Secured Parties and
shall survive the making by the Lenders of the Loans and the issuance of the
Letters of Credit by the Issuing Banks regardless of any investigation made by
the Secured Parties or on their behalf, and shall continue in full force and
effect as long as the principal of or any accrued interest on any Loan or any
other fee or amount payable under this Agreement or any other Loan Document is
outstanding and unpaid or the L/C Exposure does not equal zero and as long as
the Commitments and the L/C Commitment have not been terminated.

         SECTION 15. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in
counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when
taken together shall constitute a single contract, and shall become effective as
provided in Section 10. Delivery of an executed signature page to this Agreement
by facsimile transmission shall be as effective as delivery of a manually
executed counterpart of this Agreement.

         SECTION 16. Rules of Interpretation. The rules of interpretation
specified in Section 1.02 of the Credit Agreement shall be applicable to this
Agreement.




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         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed this
Agreement as of the day and year first above written.

                                  CITADEL COMMUNICATIONS
                                  CORPORATION, as Guarantor,


                                  by:
                                     --------------------------------------
                                      Name:
                                      Title:



                                  CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON, as Collateral
                                  Agent,


                                  by:
                                     --------------------------------------
                                      Name:
                                      Title:


                                  by:
                                     --------------------------------------
                                      Name:
                                      Title: