Top News/Talk Media Stories for Yesterday July 11
The most discussed story on news/talk radio across America yesterday (7/11) was President Joe Biden’s activities at the G-7 Summit and latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine War. At # 2, a collection of the various legal battles facing former President Donald Trump. At #3, the 2024 presidential race. At # 4, the economy – as inflation seems to be cooling. At #5, the heat and flooding conditions facing various parts of the nation this summer. The Talkers TenTM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed in news/talk media and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. See last week’s complete chart here.
Former Spotify director of global podcast sales David Cohn joins Cumulus Media’s Westwood One as senior vice president of sales & digital partnerships. Cohn will oversee digital sales for Westwood One nationwide, focusing on growing brand partnerships across podcasting. In addition, he will have responsibility for the New York and Atlanta sales teams. Based in New York, Cohn will report to Westwood One president of sales Brandon Berman, who comments, “David is an accomplished sales leader with an exceptional command of the digital landscape. With his proven client-focused, multi-platform sales success, he is positioned to make an immediate impact on our business.” Cohn adds, “I’m super excited to join Westwood One. The opportunity to expand our digital footprint with the company’s amazing podcast and streaming assets was a natural draw for me. I’m excited to dig into the integrated advertising opportunities available in the red-hot audio space.” Prior to Spotify, Cohn held positions with Megaphone, Warner Media, Ziff Davis, and the WWE.
Simulcasting on 98.7 HD-2, iHeartMedia Washington, DC launches “Freedom 104.7 – DC’s Real News. Real Talk.” Senior vice president of programming Jeff Kapugi states, “We are excited to welcome a number of best-in-class personalities to ‘Freedom 104.7.’ We are confident [the station] will quickly become a favorite destination for DMV talk radio listeners.” Premiere Networks executive vice president of affiliate sales Peter Tripi adds, “We’re thrilled to have our industry-leading talk lineup join ‘Freedom 104.7 & 98.7 HD-2.’ These stellar talents will provide entertaining, unique and insightful views on the latest news, politics and events that Washington, DC listeners are looking for.” The station’s weekday lineup includes: “America’s First News” (6:00 am – 9:00 am); Glenn Beck (9:00 am – 12:00 noon); Clay Travis & Buck Sexton (12:00 noon – 3:00 pm); Sean Hannity (3:00 pm – 6:00 pm); Jesse Kelly (6:00 pm – 9:00 pm); “Our American Stories” (9:00 pm – 12:00 midnight); “Coast to Coast Early Edition” (12:00 midnight – 1:00 am); and “Coast to Coast AM with George Noory” (1:00 am – 6:00 am). Approximately six months ago (1/5), WWDC-HD2 and 104.7 translator station W284CQ became “iHeart Sports DC”; it was not listed in Nielsen Audio’s May 2023 sweep. Among persons 6+ in that ratings period, American University public radio news/talk WAMU ranks first (11.4); Hubbard all-news WTOP & WTLP “Washington’s Top News” is second (8.0); Cumulus Media news/talk WMAL “105.9 FM – Where Washington Comes To Talk” finishes seventh (4.7); and Audacy business news WDCH “Bloomberg 99.1 FM” ranks #22 (.5).
Accusing social media giant Meta of pilfering former Twitter employees to create a “copycat” application, Twitter is threatening legal action against Meta over “Threads,” Meta’s text-based “Twitter killer” platform. In a letter addressed to Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro argues that Meta used Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property to build Threads. Flatly dismissing Spiro’s letter, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone states on Threads, “No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee – that’s just not a thing.” Heretofore silent on the launch of Threads, Twitter executive chair/chief technical officer Elon Musk late last week backed Spiro’s claims stating, “Competition is fine – cheating is not.” In addition, Twitter chief executive officer Linda Yaccarino tweeted that Twitter is “often imitated – but the Twitter community can never be duplicated.” According to Zuckerberg, Threads drew more than 30 million sign-ups within 48 hours of last Wednesday night’s (7/5) launch; that number has reportedly now more than tripled, exceeding the 100-million mark.
Afternoon News” program as co-host alongside John Mercure. WTMJ interim market manager Emily Dillinger states, “I am looking forward to fun and lively conversation about the news of the day, what it means and why it matters on ‘WTMJ NOW.’ Both Sandy and Steve are genuinely curious people who also have an infectious energy and the ability to relate to a variety of people, and I’m sure that will resonate with fans across Wisconsin.” Another tweak to the lineup it that “Wisconsin’s Morning News with Vince Vitrano and Erik Bilstad” will now air from 6:00 am to 9:00 am with a local news report at 5:00 am.
gained unauthorized access to a significant amount of data belonging to Townsquare Media. According to their statement, the threat actors allegedly possess a staggering 251GB of the company’s data. This includes files sourced from the company’s servers and workstations, explicitly targeting those created within the past year.” The story does not indicate how much money the hackers are asking for, but they are reportedly giving Townsquare a week to respond before making the data public. 
the company to serve as managing editor for Arizona News Radio and California Headline News, as well as afternoon anchor for California Headline News. Gilliland served in the position for almost 13 years before leaving to work for the Arizona Lottery. Gilliland takes over for the late Steve Clawson, who passed earlier this year.
Whitey Gleason back to Sactown Sports. The credibility that Whitey has with the sports audience in Northern California coupled with Chris’ passion and knowledge of the Sacramento Kings will certainly make this show a perfect fit for our ever-expanding ‘Sactown Sports’ brand.” Gleason most recently served with Audacy’s KGMZ-FM, San Francisco “95.7 The Game,” and prior to that he was part of the “Rise Guys” show on KHTK. Watkins has been with “Sactown Sports” for nine years, most recently as the host of “Chris & Co” and co-host of the “Return of the Roar” podcast. 
Westchester Radio, Inc to religious broadcaster Hope Media Group for $8.15 million. WVIP-FM has been airing programming brokered to Caribbean broadcasters. The O’Shaughnessy family still owns the company’s other station – news/talk WVOX-AM. O’Shaughnessy died in May of 2022 at the age of 84.
dedicated to talk (Monday through Thursday as Friday nights belong to 
Charles Steinhauer says, “We’re excited to welcome USRN into the Gemini XIII ecosystem. We will be able to build on current successes and existing sales infrastructure to immediately grow and make Gemini a destination for producers, advertisers and sponsors looking to deliver to unique audiences. The integration of Gemini XIII’s digital expertise and podcasting prowess will result in a robust content ecosystem that provides an immersive and diverse range of audio experiences for listeners across platforms.” USRN chairman and CEO Nick Verbitsky comments, “Spencer Brown, CEO of Gemini XIII, and Charles Steinhauer have a track record of success in network radio having built Dial Global from the ground up. I am pleased that they will have the opportunity to continue to build United Stations, a company I started along with Dick Clark over thirty years ago and has been a leader in network radio.”
appointed by the company’s board of directors. This committee established the ratio on June 5. The 1-for-30 reverse stock split reduced the number of outstanding shares of the company’s Class A common stock from approximately 137.5 million shares (excluding unvested restricted stock) to approximately 4.6 million shares (excluding unvested restricted stock) and reduced the number of outstanding shares of the company’s Class B common stock from approximately 4.0 million shares to approximately 135 thousand shares. Proportional adjustments were made to the number of shares of Audacy’s Class A common stock subject to outstanding equity awards, as well as to the applicable exercise prices. Trading of Audacy’s Class A common stock was halted on May 5 on the New York Stock Exchange after the share price fell about 12% to $0.09 per share. The NYSE is moving to delist the stock but Audacy is currently appealing that determination. 
“During the past decade, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the people of Central Virginia. This community has been so welcoming to my family and I cherish having the chance to help out a bit by serving as an advocate for special needs kids, saluting our law enforcement officers, and sharing vital news and information.” Audacy Virginia SVP and market manager Bennett Zier comments, “Jeff is a great citizen of Virginia and continues to be an important part of the WRVA family.”
lineup including “Two Pros and a Cup of Joe with LaVar Arrington, Brady Quinn & Jonas Knox,” “The Dan Patrick Show,” “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” and more. Gray president Tony Gray says, “WAAW is extremely excited to bring FOX Sports to local Augusta sports fans. We’re confident that the home of the Masters Tournament will embrace the station’s new format.”
The presentation, sponsored by Backbone Networks, was introduced by John Fredericks, host/owner of the John Fredericks Radio Network (pictured above) and facilitated by WRHU-FM/WRHU.org, Hofstra University, GM, John T. Mullen (pictured at right). The panelists (pictured below left to right) included Mark Chernoff, sports reporter, “107.1 The Boss,” Long Branch, NJ/sports talent coach; Grace Blazer, VP, national NTS brand coordinator, director of news and AM programming Florida region, iHeart Radio; and Spike Eskin, VP programming, WFAN, New York and CBS Sports Radio. 
company says that it expects to continue podcast creation via the Stitcher Studios and Earwolf, but the availability of third party podcasts on the SiriusXM app will be determined by the creators/producers of those programs.