The most discussed stories yesterday (11/3) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
iHeartMedia promotes Grace Blazer to SVP of programming for its Miami market stations. iHeartMedia Miami EVP of programming Marc Chase says, “Grace is a powerhouse of programming excellence. Her ability to elevate brands, inspire teams and drive meaningful
results has made her an invaluable leader within iHeartMedia.” Blazer has been with iHeartMedia since 2013 and serves as national news, talk, and sports brand coordinator, news director for the Florida News Network, program director for Miami’s WIOD and WINZ, and program director for Tampa’s WFLA. Market president Shari Gonzalez adds, “At iHeartMedia Miami, we’re fortunate to have exceptional programming leadership, and Grace is a shining example of that excellence. With 12 years of unwavering passion, strategic vision and meaningful impact across our organization, Grace has consistently raised the bar. We’re thrilled to recognize her achievements and promote her to lead our dynamic cluster into the future.” Blazer comments, “I’m incredibly proud and excited to step into my new role at iHeartMedia Miami. iHeartMedia is a powerhouse of creativity and bold ideas, and I’m energized by the opportunity to help shape our Miami brands growth and collaborate with some of the most extraordinary programmers in the industry.”
When FOX Nation hosts its seventh annual Patriot Awards ceremony on Thursday (11/6), it will present the inaugural Charlie Kirk Legacy Award to his widow Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA. Country music’s Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany Aldean, will join FOX News Channel’s Jesse Watters to present the award Kirk. Aldean will take the stage for a live performance of his hit songs, “Try That in a Small Town,” and “How Far Does a Goodbye Go.” FOX Nation says that each subsequent year, it will present the “Charlie Kirk Legacy Award” to a recipient who embodies Kirk’s mission and his spirit of free speech, faith, and family. FNC personality Sean Hannity will emcee the awards ceremony live from The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, New York at 8:00 pm ET.
Wisconsin radio personality current host of “Matenaer On Air” on several of Civic Media’s news/talk stations, Jane Matenaer, announces her retirement after 44 years in the business. She says, “When I started my radio career, my goal was to be a ‘cool, nighttime rock chick.’
Tragically, I was none of those things. Fortunately, I had the support of those who believed I had potential and encouraged me to follow a slightly different path — to morning radio. And while I never envisioned eventually moving from music to talk radio, the transition has been the most rewarding experience of my life, and these last three years at Civic Media have been the proudest of my 40-plus year career.” Prior to joining Civic Media, Matenaer served with Good Karma Brands’ news/talk WTMJ, Milwaukee in the newsroom and in morning drive. She adds, “As I head toward retirement, I want to take this moment to thank my current and former colleagues and mentors. You are among the most talented, dedicated and hilarious people on the planet. Thank you to Civic Media, for believing in a 60-something woman to host her own show and for your commitment to community-based radio and to a healthy democracy.”
iHeartMedia Denver confirms the news shared on social media by talk host Ross Kaminsky that TALKERS reported last week. On Monday, November 10, KOA will debut the “Ross Kaminsky on the News, with Jeana Gondek,” program from 6:00 am to 9:00 am. The show
follows the 5:00 am hour of “Colorado’s Morning News” anchored by Gondek. Michael Brown, former FEMA Administrator and nationally syndicated host of “The Situation with Michael Brown,” moves from sister KHOW to the 9:00 am to 12:00 noon daypart. The rest of the day’s local programming is Mandy Connell from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm; KOA Sports with Dave Logan and Ryan Edwards from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, followed by “Broncos Country Tonight with Benjamin Allbright and Nick Ferguson.”
La Dolce Vita! WPHT, Philadelphia’s Dom Giordano teams up with travel company Conservative Tours to host a group of 60 listeners on a fabulous trip to Italy. Pictured above is Giordano taking in the sights in beautiful Calabria.
SiriusXM Debuts College Hoops Season Coverage. Satcaster SiriusXM is recognizing today’s first day of the 2025-26 college basketball season by presenting 77 live men’s and women’s game broadcasts, including #7 Duke visiting #16 Baylor in women’s action at 12:00 noon ET, and #13 Arizona hosting #3 Florida on the men’s side at 7:00 pm ET.
New Affiliate for Donal Ware. “BOXTOROW” with sports and entertainment host Donal Ware adds non-commercial KCEP-FM, Las Vegas to its roster of affiliate station. Ware says, “We are happy to have them aboard. BOXTOROW was a media partner of the Las Vegas HBCU Classic that took place last week, so to now be able to bring BOXTOROW to Las Vegas is a blessing and exciting.
The most discussed stories over the weekend on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The Radio Hall of Fame inducted its 2025 10-member class of honorees last night (10/30) in Chicago that included Premiere Networks president Julie Talbott who is pictured above at left with fellow inductee and FOX Sports Radio star Colin Cowherd at right, as well as radio industry programmer and consultant Mike McVay (pictured below with RHoF co-chairs Dennis Green at left and Kraig Kitchin at right). 2021 Radio Hall of Fame Inductee Kim Komando served as emcee for the event.
iHeartMedia San Francisco names Annalee Gould SVP of sales for the station group that includes sports talk KNEW-AM and KKSF-AM BIN Black Information Network, plus five music
brands. Gould comes to iHeartMedia from Metamorphosis.Digital where she was chief revenue officer and VP of sales. iHeartMedia division president Kris Foley says, “Annalee’s ability to build trust, navigate change, and deliver creative, cross-platform results makes her the ideal leader for our San Francisco sales team. Her experience and relationships in the Bay Area will be instrumental as we continue to grow our presence and impact.” She comments, “Audio is one of the most powerful and evolving channels in media today and nowhere embodies creativity and innovation quite like the Bay Area. I’m excited to join iHeartMedia and work with a team that understands how meaningful human-generated content continues to drive trusted marketing. In a time when that connection feels increasingly rare, radio and podcasts remain deeply human, built on authentic voices, real stories, and companionship.”
SiriusXM reports its operating results for the third quarter of 2025 and says net revenue was $2.16 billion, down 1% from the same period in 2024. The company also reveals it posted net income of $297 million, compared to a net loss of $2.96 billion in the third quarter of 2024 (that included a $3.36 billion noncash goodwill impairment related to the Liberty Media transaction). CEO Jennifer Witz states, “This was a quarter of meaningful progress for SiriusXM. We’re
enhancing the subscriber experience through new content, deeper personalization, and continued innovation across every stage of the customer journey, driving greater engagement and value for our listeners. At the same time, we’re scaling our digital advertising business and strengthening our leadership in podcasting. Across each of these areas, we’re leveraging our unique assets to deliver sustainable profitability and long-term value for our shareholders — a strategy that is already delivering as we raise our full year guidance.” During the quarter the satcaster expanded and developed its roster of high-profile voices. It extended its agreement with Andy Cohen and celebrated the 10th anniversary of his flagship channel, Radio Andy. Stephen A. Smith also debuted on the platform, launching new political and sports programs and renewed its agreement with Megyn Kelly, expanding the partnership to include the upcoming Megyn Kelly Channel.
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (10/27-31) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
Stories
People
To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.
Denver talk radio host Ross Kaminsky reveals changes coming to iHeartMedia’s news/talk KOA-AM/K231BQ effective November 10. Kaminsky will move from his late morning daypart to
morning drive (6:00 am to 9:00 am). Sister KHOW talk host Michael Brown will take over the 9:00 am to 12:00 noon slot on KOA. Kaminsky says in a social media post, “This will be the first time in decades (or maybe ever, I really don’t know) that KOA has a talk show in ‘morning drive.’ We’ll keep bringing you plenty of news but now we’re doing it in a show that also talks about the news (and lots of other things…the show won’t be very different from my current show.) Psyched to be embarking on this project with @JeanaGondek who I always have so much fun bantering with. The show will be fun, informative, and entertaining…at least that’s the goal!” Kaminsky says the “Colorado’s Morning News” program featuring Gondek will air from 5:00 am to 6:00 am.
Cumulus Media’s Westwood One appoints Armen Williams executive director of Westwood One Sports 24/7 programming, effective November 3. In this role, Williams will lead the development and production of the network’s new round-the-clock sports content. The company
says he’ll “oversee all aspects of sports talk content across the network, including daily technical operations, social media strategy, and brand management. He will build a talented team of hosts and producers responsible for compelling on-air programming – featuring original content, interviews, benchmarks, and fan interaction.” Williams says, “There’s never been a more exciting time to be in audio – the industry is thriving, innovative, and constantly evolving. This is a unique opportunity to build on the incredible foundation created by our partners at Audacy and BetMGM and combine it with the reach, heritage, and credibility of Westwood One Sports. I’m honored to help shape the next chapter, delivering smart, entertaining, and authentic sports content for listeners everywhere.”
Cumulus Media reports its operating results for the third quarter of 2025 and reveals net revenue of $180.3 million, a decline of 11.5% from the same period in 2024. The company says it generated digital revenue of $39 million, a decrease of 2.6% year-over-year, or an increase of
8.4% excluding the $6.9 million impact from discontinuing the DailyWire and Dan Bongino relationships. The company posted a net loss of $20.4 million compared to net loss of $10.3 million in Q3 2024. Cumulus breaks down its revenue by segment and reports that its broadcast radio spot revenue declined 13.1% to $83.7 million, while network revenue fell 26.5% to $31.2 million. Total broadcast revenue was 
$114.9 million, a decrease of 17.2% from the same period in 2024. Cumulus president and CEO Mary G. Berner says, “In an advertising environment that remained challenging for legacy media, we continued to outperform. We once again gained market share in total broadcast spot as well as in digital, where our market share gains reflected the strong growth of our digital marketing services business, which was up 34% in the quarter. Additionally, we remained highly focused on re-engineering the business, reducing annualized fixed costs by $7 million and accelerating our efforts to implement a wide array of AI initiatives to drive efficiencies and enhance growth. These results underscore our disciplined focus on optimizing performance in areas that we can control. While we do not expect the current headwinds to abate in the near-term, we remain confident in our ability to position the company for long-term success through strong execution and by maximizing value from the company’s underlying assets.”
WGN Radio announces that market news pro and afternoon news anchor Steve Bertrand will retire from radio on November 13 after a 40-year career with the Nexstar Media Group station.
WGN VP and general manager Mary Sandberg Boyle says, “From joining WGN Radio in 1985 during the Wally Phillips era to anchoring news on the ‘Lisa Dent Show’ today, throughout his 40 eventful years here Steve has faithfully maintained the highest standards of journalistic integrity, combined with his own unique gift for playful on air banter which is sure to be missed by colleagues and listeners alike.” Bertrand comments, “I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the history of radio. As a kid, I dreamed of one day living in Chicago. I never imagined I’d be part of her daily conversation. I will forever be grateful to the legends I worked with and, most especially, the listeners who made it all happen. I’ve had the privilege of being part of a pretty amazing family for 40 years.”
iHeartMedia Omaha announces that longtime “NewsRadio 1110 KFAB” personality Gary Sadlemyer is retiring from full-time radio and his daily morning show on December 12. Sadlemyer, who began with the station in 1976, has anchored “KFAB’s Morning News” for more
than three decades. During his career, he hosted the first live, daily talk show in KFAB’s 100-year history and served several years as the station’s program director. He was also the voice of Nebraska Cornhusker football from 1980-1995. He says, “Time sure flies when you’re havin’ fun. Since I was a kid growing up in Minnesota, I had a passion for radio. It’s just like anything else, kids who dream about being a doctor or whatever; mine was radio.” KFAB says that Sadlemyer’s on-air partners for the past quarter-century – Jim Rose and Lucy Chapman – will remain as part of the station’s morning drive commitment to providing news, weather, traffic, sports and compelling conversations about the issues important to the community. The station says that KFAB listeners will still hear plenty of Gary Sadlemyer on the station as he’ll still work to provide personalized content for station advertisers, and pop in to hang out or be a fill-in host on the morning show from time to time.
Audacy reports that former longtime KYW, Philadelphia anchor Harry Donahue died at age 77 after a battle with cancer. The company says, “Donahue joined KYW Newsradio as a freelance
reporter in 1974 and became an anchor in 1979, beginning a 35-year run as a morning drive and sports anchor. Countless Philadelphians came to know Donahue’s voice as he brought the news, traffic, weather, and much-longed-for snow days over the airwaves in his time at the station. He was also a fixture in the city’s sports radio scene, doing play-by-play for the Philadelphia Stars — the city’s USFL team in the 1980s — and was the TV and radio voice of Temple football and basketball for more than two decades.” Donahue retired from KYW in 2014 and was promptly inducted into the KYW Newsradio Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
The National Association of Broadcasters announces that the nominations window for the NAB Crystal Radio Awards – recognizing NAB member stations that demonstrate exceptional year-round commitment to community service – is being extended several days to November 4. Get all the information here.
The most discussed stories yesterday (10/29) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research include:
Pictured above is Salem Radio Network talk host Mike Gallagher on the set today at Jewish News Syndicate in Jerusalem as he broadcasts his program. Upon the news of President Trump’s peace deal between Israel and Hamas, Gallagher announced he would travel to Israel to report to his listeners from the Holy Land. Gallagher’s in-studio guests on today’s program included Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
NBCUniversal announces that iHeartMedia is serving as its exclusive audio partner for the upcoming Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games taking place from February 6 to February 22. As part of the partnership, iHeartRadio will provide 24/7 play-by-play audio channels of
NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Games. It will also produce a new Winter Games season of “Two Guys, Five Rings” hosted by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, produce Olympic-specific episodes of some of its podcasts, and promote tune-in for NBCU’s coverage. iHeartMedia president of business development and strategic partnerships Michael Biondo says, “We’re eager to build upon our relationship with NBCUniversal and once again deliver premium audio coverage of the Olympic Games, this time focusing on the awe-inspiring athletes and incredible stories set to come from the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. As the leading destination for sports audio, we’re excited to deepen the connection between audiences and the athletes they love.”
Two of the Fargo-Moorhead market’s longest-serving news pros are retiring. KFGO, Fargo’s
Don Haney and Minnesota Public Radio’s Dan Gunderson will leave their respective employers over the next 10 days. Both news pro spoke with Forum Communications’ The Forum about their careers. Haney covered news in Fargo for nearly 50 years. He joined WDAY in 1982, then 
moved to KFGO in 1995. Seventy-two year old Haney has been working part time with KFGO since last spring. Gunderson, who joined MPR in 1987, say he got into journalism because he enjoyed writing so much. About his radio work he says, “I liked the idea of taking voices and sounds and putting them together in something interesting. It’s like a craft, where you take this raw material, interviews, and facts, and you try to make it into something meaningful.” See the Forum’s story here.
VSiN, The Sports Betting Network, adds three new affiliate stations as WARF-AM, Cleveland “The Gambler,” expands to 20-plus hours of VSiN’s sports betting programming daily and WIWF-FM/HD-3, Charleston, South Carolina and KOSP-FM, Springfield, Missouri add VSiN
programming to their lineups. VSiN president and chief business officer Brian Musburger states, “We’re thrilled to bring these new radio markets the news, analysis, and expert insights listeners need to make more informed wagering decisions. Through the continued distribution expansion VSiN is delivering its trusted sports betting programming to more listeners than anyone else and solidifying our position as the largest sports betting radio network in the country, by far.”
After 33 years of service, WUSF-FM, Tampa general manager JoAnn Urofsky will soon retire
from the public media organization based at The University of South Florida, capping a career of 45 years in radio and public media. She says, “My time at WUSF has been incredibly rewarding. I am proud that our commitment to public service – building community through trusted journalism, classical music, jazz, and culture – has remained steadfast. As I step away, I’m confident this mission is in excellent hands with a new generation of talented leaders and innovators dedicated to serving the community through public media.”
The most discussed stories yesterday (10/28) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research include:
Audacy SVP, research & insights Ray Borelli writes that “with nearly two-thirds of U.S. households now either cord-cutters or cord-nevers, accessing credible and trusted local news is harder today than ever before.” He adds, “Furthermore, distrust in social media is likely fueling a
16% year-over-year decline in the percentage of Americans who say they get their news ‘often’ from apps like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X.2. In this rapidly changing landscape, consumers are increasingly turning to All News Radio for local news, trusted voices, and fact-based reporting.” Borelli cites as evidence for this Nielsen data indicating that Audacy all-news stations are up 11% versus last year and adds that’s coming off a presidential election year. Ben Mevorach is vice president of news at WINS, New York and he says, “As the number of places to get news continues to grow, the number of places to find news that is credible, trustworthy, and without bias is rapidly shrinking. People constantly tell us that 1010 WINS is their sole source for news they can trust.” Read Borelli’s complete story here.
Talk media superstar Sean Hannity is on the road Thursday (10/30) as his FOX News Channel show that evening will be a town hall with New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack
Ciattarelli at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant. The one-hour town hall will focus on the top issues impacting New Jersey and the proposed policies that Ciattarelli would implement across the state. Additionally, FNC’s Harris Faulkner will join Hannity and Ciattarelli to discuss the issues that matter most to New Jersey ahead of the upcoming gubernatorial election. FNC national correspondent Bryan Llenas will also be on site providing live updates on the event.
Bonneville names Jim Richmond SVP and market manager for its Sacramento station group that includes sports talk KHTK-AM, “Sactown Sports” and three music brands. Richmond has been serving as director of sales for the company’s Seattle operations since September of 2020.
Bonneville president and COO Tanya Vea says, “I’m thrilled for Jim to take on this leadership role in Sacramento. This market has a great lineup of stations, a strong digital sales business, and wonderful employees. Jim has shown himself to be an excellent leader, and his background is the perfect fit. I’m confident that he will build on the strengths of the market, developing the business and the culture at Bonneville Sacramento.” Richmond comments, “I’m honored to join the Sacramento team. These stations have a meaningful connection to the community, and I look forward to supporting our people, growing our digital presence, and serving listeners wherever they are across every platform with purpose and innovation.”
This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog addresses creative best practices related to branding. Blog author Pierre Bouvard writes that when a campaign fails to get the desired brand lift or poor website traffic, usually creative is the issue and your campaign is failing to “brand early and often.” He recommends the following analysis procedure: 1)
Conduct a “brand early and often” creative audit: Watch/listen to all your ads. Check off if your brand is mentioned in first two seconds and if there are at least five or more audio track brand mentions in 30-second ads; 2) You can look away but you cannot shut your ears: In video ads, audio branding does all the brand recall heavy lifting; 3) Audio case studies reveal implementing the “brand early and often” creative best practice generates stronger purchase intention and increased brand lift and website attribution; 4) Do you want your brand association and recall to explode? Use a jingle with melody that says the name of your company; and 5) Don’t blame the media plan or media vendors for weak attribution and brand lift: Usually creative is the issue and the ad copy fails to “brand early and often.” See the full blog post here.
Veterans Day (November 11) is the day of the world premiere of the Just Do GOOD Entertainment-produced film, Air Angels: Flight Helene, that honors the “everyday heroes who sprang into action during Hurricane Helene” in September of 2024. The film – which tells the inspiring stories of individuals who selflessly used their own aircraft, vehicles, time, and resources to rescue and support strangers stranded during the aftermath of catastrophic Hurricane Helene – premieres at Cameo Art House Theatre in Fayetteville, North Carolina and Cumulus Media’s news/talk WFNC-AM/HD2, Fayetteville is sponsoring the showing and station morning host Gilbert Baez – and Emmy Award-winning journalist and Army Rangers veteran – will host the screenings. Gilbert will offer his personal perspective of what it was like to film Air Angels this past summer and share his experiences with catastrophic storms. Baez says, “It’s going to be a pleasure to host the premiere of Air Angels in downtown Fayetteville. I’m also very proud that Cumulus agreed to be a media partner since I host a morning show on one of its stations. It’s exciting and an honor to work with Valerie Smaldone. For years, she’s been a well-known radio voice in New York. Now, Valerie is a tv and film producer who develops outstanding special programming.” Pictured above are (from l-r): Hannah Brown-Kitchens (strategic data analyst, Cumulus Media), Smaldone (co-founder Just Do GOOD Entertainment), Baez, and Tish Boden (VP/market manager, Cumulus Media).
NPR and WBUR, Boston announce three new appointments at that nationally syndicated midday news program, “Here & Now,” heard on 500 NPR member stations across the country.
Award-winning journalist Indira Lakshmanan is the new co-host of “Here & Now,” debuting in Late November alongside Scott Tong and Robin Young. Additionally, Peter O’Dowd, the senior editor who has stepped in regularly as a host for several years on “Here & Now,” takes on a new role as correspondent and regular fill-in host. And international news industry pro Allan Price joins to lead the team as the new executive producer. NPR says that according to Nielsen ratings data, “Here & Now” is the third most-listened-to NPR news program after “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”