Top News/Talk Media Stories for Week of August 5 – 9
The presidential race was the most-talked-about story in news/talk media this week, landing atop the Talkers TenTM. At #2 this week was the global financial markets activity, followed by the U.S. migrant crisis and the U.K. anti-immigrant riots at #3. The Talkers TenTM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed in news/talk media during the week and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. See this week’s complete chart here.
July 2024 PPM Data – Ratings information for Nielsen Audio’s July 2024 survey period (June 20 – July 17) has been released for Austin, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Providence, Norfolk, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Greensboro, Memphis, and Hartford.
$22.2 million, a decline of 26.7% from the same period in 2023. Urban One CEO and president Alfred C. Liggins III states, “On a same station basis our radio division finished Q2 -5.6% excluding political, and -3.0% with political. We saw a sequential improvement in national revenues vs. Q1, which was offset by weaker local revenues. Q3 core radio revenue is currently pacing down 6.9% on a same station basis, down 5.1% including political, and up 7.0% overall. We are starting to see a significant uptick in political advertising revenues, and remain optimistic for the remainder of the year, which should benefit both our radio and digital divisions. Our Cable TV business continues to suffer from subscriber churn and audience delivery shortfall, impacting both advertising and affiliate revenues, although we are seeing a bounce-back in ratings and delivery in Q3. Our digital business experienced weaker advertising demand than prior year but remains well positioned for the second half of the year, particularly with political and CTV advertising. During Q2 we repurchased an additional $35.5 million of our 2028 notes at 78.0%, and we ended the quarter with approximately $132.4 million of cash.”
-hourly money news reports Monday through Friday in middays and PM drive. Robison most recently served as evening news anchor at Townsquare Media’s WKXW-FM, Trenton New Jersey 101.5.” Compass Media Networks also names Joe Mackay director of audio sales. The 25-year radio sales pro, based in Chicago, will manage advertising sales relationships throughout the West Coast and Midwest. Also joining the company as manager of sales planning is Laura Schaeffer. The 10-year radio industry pro will help manage customer relationships and assist sales executives and management with sales proposals and inventory management. She is based in New York.
and our unique and differentiated digital platform… In the second quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $48.9 million, in large part due to non-cash impairment charges. Our Q2 performance was driven by stabilizing and/or improving trends across segments: Townsquare Interactive returned to sequential revenue growth in each month of the quarter, as a result of positive subscriber trends that have improved dramatically compared to previous quarters; Digital Advertising net revenue growth continued at +1% year-over-year; and Broadcast Advertising net revenue was approximately flat as compared to the prior year, an improvement from first quarter declines. In total, Digital represented 52% of Townsquare’s net revenue in the first six months of the year. Additionally, we continue to generate strong cash flow, granting us the ability to invest in our digital growth engine while preserving financial flexibility, as evidenced by our ongoing debt and share buybacks in the open market… Most importantly, due to our current cash position and our strong cash generation, we retain financial flexibility moving forward and we are confident in our ability to build shareholder value for our investors through long-term net revenue and cash flow growth, net leverage reduction, future dividend payments, and potential future share repurchases.”
7.8%. The company says net broadcast revenue was $47.1 million (-5.1%), while net digital media revenue was $11.9 million (+9.9%), and net publishing revenue was $1.56 million (-70.3%). It should be noted that Salem sold Regnery Publishing in December of 2023. The company reports net income of $2.3 million during the quarter, compared to that net loss of $7.1 million it reported in Q2 of 2023. 
responsible for overseeing the Fort Myers and Tampa, Florida markets. In addition to serving as Ft. Myers market manager, AJ Lurie will now oversee sales across the state. Mac Edwards will oversee the Charlotte and Fayetteville markets. Kent Dunn will continue to lead the Augusta market. Mary Menna will lead the company’s Boston, Philadelphia, and New Jersey markets. Kevin Rich, who currently serves as Beasley Media Group vice president of operations, will now also be responsible for overseeing the company’s Las Vegas and Detroit-based operations. Beasley CEO Caroline Beasley states, “These changes reflect the company’s continuous commitment to streamline our sales efforts and drive revenue in an efficient manner across multiple platforms throughout the company.”
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm host. Tatum filled in for Elder during his run for governor of California in 2021 and subsequently assumed the role full time. Elder joined the 2024 Republican presidential primary race but dropped out last fall and threw his support behind Donald Trump. Since then, he’s been hosting his podcast, “Larry Elder – We’ve Got a Country to Save.” He’ll continue the podcast with Salem handling sales and marketing for the it. Salem SVP of spoken word Phil Boyce says, “Larry is one of a rare breed who actually grew in popularity and influence AFTER he departed the radio. Now we get to hear his sage words of wisdom daily on radio stations across the country, on Salem News Channel, and the Salem Podcast Network.”
7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. KRLD brand manager Drew Anderssen says, “Will’s unique perspective on today’s top headlines will be a welcomed addition to our revamped lineup on KRLD. We’re excited to expand his reach and introduce his wildly popular program to KRLD listeners in Dallas and nationwide via the Audacy app.”
July 2024 PPM Data – Information for Nielsen Audio’s July 2024 ratings period (June 20 – July 17) has been released for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, San Jose, and Middlesex-Somerset-Union.
governor who’s been a frequent contributor, guest host, and weekly co-host on the Rod Arquette show since 2018. Arquette says, “Greg has been a passionate contributor of political commentary in Utah on TV and radio dating back to 2012. His extensive experience and background in public service and public policy allows him to pull back the curtain on what’s really happening in Utah and national politics. Our goal is to bring common sense and fair mindedness to the issues that are impacting Utah families in an entertaining and informative way.” Hughes states, “I am beyond grateful and excited to join 105.9 KNRS and the iHeartRadio family. I am especially excited, to partner with Rod every day to inform and entertain the greatest listening audience in Utah. We are living in uncertain, but historic times. There is a real need for thought leaders today who can reach out and dialogue with public servants, business, and community leaders but most importantly, with everyday Utahns. ‘The Rod and Greg Show’ will be the place where that happens… and then some. I’m ready to go!” 
investors are defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Rule 501(a) as individuals with a net worth greater than $1 million – excluding their primary residence – or incomes in excess of $200,000 in the last two years with the expectation of the same in the current year – or $300,000 with a spouse.) Last month, Newsmax announced that it would seek to become a public company later in 2024 or in early 2025 with a listing on the NYSE or Nasdaq. In preparation for this contemplated public offering, Newsmax has launched a private placement offering seeking to raise up to $225 million. Ruddy states, “We are excited to connect with the tens of thousands of investors nationwide who have already shown interest in investing in Newsmax. There is much to be enthusiastic about Newsmax, including significant growth in our audience, a surge in interest in conservative media and our expanding portfolio of platforms and distribution. Now more than ever — especially in this election year of 2024 — America needs Newsmax. We look forward to sharing more details with everyone who tunes in to the webinar.” 
president and CEO Mary G. Berner says, “In the context of a challenging advertising environment, second quarter total revenue finished in line with our pacing guidance, down 2.5% year-over-year. However, our unrelenting focus on areas of the business that are in our control helped us to mitigate the impact of soft demand while also driving tangible progress in key priority areas. During the quarter, we grew our digital marketing services business by 24%, reduced fixed costs by $4 million, and continued to strengthen our balance sheet through the successful completion of our exchange offer, ABL upsizing, and the buyback of a portion of our remaining 2026 maturity debt. Looking ahead, while the advertising outlook remains uncertain, our advertisers continue to be focused on when – not if – they’re going to return to more typical spending levels. Fortunately, thanks to our success at extending our debt maturities, we have time on our side and the flexibility to pursue multiple paths to create shareholder value.”
NAB Show New York on October 9. News/talk stations WLS-AM, Chicago and WLW-AM, Cincinnati are finalists for Legendary Station of the Year. WWTN-FM, Nashville talk host Dan Mandis is a finalist for Large Market Personality of the Year. KIDO-AM, Boise host Kevin Miller is a finalist for Medium Market Personality of the Year. The finalists for News/Talk Station of the Year are: WSB-AM, Atlanta; KRMG-FM, Tulsa; WLW-AM, Cincinnati; KDKA-AM, Pittsburgh; and WIBC-FM, Indianapolis. 
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.”
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.”