TALKERS News Notes
Paragon announces that public radio fundraising consultant and voice coach Christina Shockley joins its consulting roster. Paragon CEO Mike Henry says, “Several Paragon clients raved about Christina’s work for them and once we started talking, I realized why. She is a dynamic thought leader who excels at everything she does. Christina’s long tenure as an on-air host at NPR News stations fuels her creatively effective approach to fundraising and voice coaching. Her unyielding focus on the listener experience is a perfect fit for Paragon’s mission of re-inventing content.”
On Long Island, the Suffolk County District Attorneys office is releasing public safety announcements to remind the public of the dangers of drunk and drugged driving, the importance of staying at the scene of a crash, and the legal and financial ramifications of a criminal arrest. All of the announcements will be broadcast on all of the JVC Broadcasting Long Island radio stations. JVC president and CEO John Caracciolo says, “All of us at JVC Broadcasting are committed to work with our elected officials to get this important message out. We were happy to donate the airtime to make it possible, this is what live and local radio is all about.”
Humility means to be teachable. It’s the most important trait of great leaders and managers. For years I looked forward to focus groups to reveal the top-of-mind awareness of media among listeners. These groups always reminded us of a listener’s life priorities which never included radio listening! They taught us the correct secular language to use in promos and slogans, and what they remembered versus what we wanted them to remember.
news/talk stations plus the John Fredericks Radio Network. He adds, “This undertaking was never authorized, sanctioned, or endorsed by President Trump or his campaign. Despite several very direct public communications disavowing any affiliation by Trump campaign senior staff, the fake news continued to propagate phony stories, which The Heritage Foundation and their Project 2025 leaders were willing and happy to substantiate. Sources say President Trump made the decision to shut it down himself. Good riddance to yet another grift charade using Trump to raise money.” TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison commented on Fredericks’ statement saying, “It has been disturbing watching the once-honored think tank known for its even-handed academic fastidiousness devolve into what is now perceived as just another fund-raising propaganda machine in the mud-slinging political wars. This is the kind of credibility squandering that damages the true American conservative moment and people’s confidence in all political organizations.”
The station says, “After a distinguished 36-year career in public education that included serving as a classroom teacher, school principal, and most recently, Superintendent of Warren Consolidated Schools, Dr. Livernois brings to WJR AM 760 and its listeners a wealth of experience and perspective on teaching and learning, technology, social-emotional learning, school safety, social media, and many other areas of interest to both parents and educators alike.” Dr. Livernois continues to serve as an adjunct faculty member of the College of Education at Wayne State University. WJR program director Ann Thomas comments, “Education is the key to a great future for our children and WJR is proud to partner with Michigan’s top educators to help them tell their stories about the great work they do in our communities.”
including radio over-the-air and radio streams. The next highest portion, 18%, was spent with owned music such as CDs and downloaded audio files, and 11% of their daily audio time went to streaming. Today, we see the increase in listening from linear sources to more on-demand audio sources such as YouTube for music or music videos (not the YouTube Music streaming service), and podcasts. Americans age 13+ now spend an average of 18% of their audio day listening to streaming music from sources such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, and Spotify, 14% listening to YouTube for music, and 10% listening to podcasts. AM/FM radio still takes the largest portion of the audio day on a 13+ basis with 36%, driven heavily by in-car listening.” Edison director of research Laura Ivey adds, “A decade ago Share of Ear was created to answer the question, ‘What do Americans listen to?’ Today we can understand the listening patterns of Americans and see how audio sources have emerged to vie for our daily listening time. There are surely audio developments that we can’t even imagine that will impact our daily audio time over the next 10 years.” 
Horne to a full-time reporter position. Pamplin has spent the past 30-plus years with WDIV-TV as a photojournalist and reporter. Horne has been a part-time producer and 
reporter at WWJ since 2021. Previously, she was a weekday reporter and weekend fill-in producer at WLNS-TV. Audacy Detroit market manager Debbie Kenyon states, “We couldn’t be more excited for Tim to join our news team. We plan to leverage his renowned breaking news reports to provide our listeners with quality coverage of each day’s top stories. We’re also looking forward to supporting Darrylin in this new role as she applies her skillful storytelling in everything from feature stories to contributions on our digital platforms.”
relief pitcher – joined the afternoon drive show in August of 2022. Beasley Philadelphia cluster manager Paul Blake comments, “Ricky was a fierce competitor on the mound during his 12-year career in Major League Baseball. His grit, toughness, and strong work ethic make him an ideal co-host for our afternoon show on ‘The Fanatic.’ We’re thrilled to announce his renewal.” Bottalico says, “I am happy to be back with Tyrone and ‘The Best Show Ever.’ I will continue to work hard to bring my best every day. As a group, we are striving to be better every chance we get!”
Here’s a cost-effective way to see if you’ve got what it takes. I’m tired of podcasters coming to me in tears after they sign up for services that market their work ‘wherever podcasts are available.’ That’s not a marketing campaign. Don’t you want to be more than a ‘wherever?’ PUMP is your answer.” He says that with PUMP, a selection of the podcaster’s episodes will be broadcast across five states via six prominent radio stations, helping tap into new listener bases, turning casual listeners into dedicated subscribers. Ryan adds, “If you want to turn your DUDcast into a serious PODcast with marketing power, this is how you do it.” 
Jersey for $133,000. The former sports talk outlet has been dark since late last year due to what at the time was reported as being the result of problems with its nighttime antennae. This deal leaves Townsquare with three signals in the Trenton market: news/talk WKXW-FM “New Jersey 101.5”; CHR WPST-FM, and religion WCHR-AM.
syndicated program is heard on 14 affiliate stations throughout New England. Money Matters Radio COO Jason Wolfe comments, “The growth of ‘The Financial Exchange’ throughout New England has attracted interest from stations outside of the region and I’m thrilled to be able to add the show to KBNP. Keith Lyons has had 30-plus years of success in the Portland market and I’m looking forward to bringing our brand of business and financial talk to his station.”
2025, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. In commemoration of this golden milestone, AWMF unveils a newly refreshed logo, shown here. AWMF president Becky Brooks says, “As we approach the 50th Annual Gracie Awards, we reflect on five decades of tremendous progress made in advancing women in media. The Gracies have been a beacon of recognition for the incredible talents and contributions of women in our industry. Next year’s celebration is not only a tribute to our past but also a spotlight on the bright future ahead. We are eager to honor the trailblazers who have paved the way and the rising stars who continue to shape the media landscape.”
Many Americans have been, in the two years since the Supreme Court punted the issue down to the states. For suburban women voters in swing states, it is – by far – the number one issue, per a Wall Street Journal poll. It tipped 2022 midterms and 2023 elections and swung other elections in battleground states.
Citizens Bank Park and from the 76ers’ practice facility in Camden, New Jersey after an unwanted advance on an Aramark employee at the ballpark. Eskin was off WIP since that time. He said, in part, “I’d like to briefly address the recent reports about an incident at Citizens Bank Park. Now I’m not going to get into specifics other than to say that I recognize my actions have offended and upset her. I feel awful about that. I really do. I apologized to her at the time of the incident, and I apologize again now. I’m truly sorry that this did occur. I know a lot of you want me to say more about this, but I don’t intend to comment on this any further and hopefully you understand.” 
The 33-year (1975 – 2008) radio voice of the NBA Houston Rockets, Gene Peterson, died this past Wednesday (7/24) succumbing to cancer at the age of 83. “How sweet it is” was Peterson’s signature victory call and – as noted on a Rockets’ Facebook page post – that catch phrase, “spanned across many franchise moments that will forever live in the hearts and minds of Rockets fans.” Peterson once told The Houston Chronicle, “I’ve watched the Rockets’ family grow, and I’ve watched my own family grow through it all; I know I’ve been blessed to live this life.” Team owner Tilman Fertitta comments, “We say goodbye to my friend and broadcasting legend, Gene Peterson. Gene devoted his life to the Rockets and brought passion and energy towards creating timeless memories for countless fans, including myself. I am forever grateful for the time I knew Gene and for the invaluable contributions he made to our city and franchise for over three decades. My thoughts are with his [family] during this difficult time.”