Industry News

“Rich on Tech” Show Added to WOR, New York Lineup

img

Nationally syndicated technology expert Rich DeMuro is going to be heard on iHeartMedia’s news/talk WOR, New York. His weekly program, “Rich on Tech,” will air Sunday nights from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm, and he’ll join WOR morning personality Larry Mendte for a weekly segment every Thursday. WOR program director Tom Cuddy says, “We are excited to welcome ‘Rich on Tech’ to the new WOR Sunday lineup. Rich’s expertise and passion for technology make him a perfect fit for our audience, and we look forward to providing our listeners with Rich’s valuable and entertaining content, including hidden features of your iPhone, Androids, how AI can help around your home, the best new smart TVs, cybersecurity tips and much more.” In addition to his Premiere Networks radio show, DeMuro is a tech reporter for KTLA-TV, Los Angeles. Pictured above are Larry Mendte (left) and Rich DeMuro (right). 

Industry News

SRN Offers Special Show on First 100 Days of Trump Administration

Salem Radio Network is producing a one-hour special show for affiliates on the first 100 days of the Trumpimg administration that will air on Tuesday, April 29. It will take the place of the third hour of the Larry Elder show at 8:00 pm ET. “The 100 Days of Trump” is being hosted by Larry Elder with co-host Chris Stigall – host of SRN’s morning show – as the two will interview White House officials, cabinet members, members of congress, plus other Salem hosts.

Industry News

Top Four Unchanged in Triton Digital’s March U.S. Podcast Ranker

Triton Digital releases its U.S. Podcast Ranker for March based on weekly average downloads for participating networks and the top four shows keep their places on the ranker: 1) NPR’s “NPR News Now,”img 2) NPR’s “Up First,” 3) Cumulus Podcast Network’s “VINCE,” and 4) iHeart Audience Network’s “Stuff You Should Know.” Moves of note from March include Salem Podcast Network’s “The Charlie Kirk Show” rising three spots to #6, Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Shawn Ryan Show” falling four places to #9, and iHeart Audience Network’s “The Sean Hannity Show” soaring 24 places to #14. See the complete ranker here.

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

Beasley Partners with University of Michigan Athletics.  Beasley Media Group, University of Michigan Athletics, and Learfield’s Michigan Sports Properties announce a multi-year broadcast agreement that makes rock WCSX-FM, Detroit the new flagship radio home for the Michigan Wolverines. WCSX-FM will broadcast all Football, Men’s Basketball, and Men’s Hockey games, along with coaches’ shows and exclusive ancillary programming. In addition, WMGC-FM will carry select Women’s Basketball regular-season games as well as postseason matchups.

Lisa Waks Named to Executive Position. AdLarge and the fwd. network name Lisa Waks EVP of business development and partnerships. In this role, Waks will be leading the business development team in strategic digital partnerships and expanded opportunities for the company and creators across the fwd. network’s portfolio of female-focused content.

Industry News

Guy Gordon Exits WJR-AM, Detroit

Guy Gordon leaves Cumulus Media’s news/talk WJR-AM, Detroit after declining to take the company’s offer to move from mornings to early afternoon and take a 60% pay cut, according to a story by Neal Rubin in the Detroit Free Press. Gordon says he understands that the request by management was due toimg a budget crunch – the company has been eliminating positions at stations across the country. He says he didn’t have “an inkling” that his job was at risk, “I probably should have. Radio is really tough now.” Gordon has been a host on the morning show since June of 2023 and was on in afternoons six years prior to that. During his long career in Detroit, he worked as 11:00 pm news anchor at WXYZ-TV and as morning anchor on WDIV-TV. He told his listeners, “If this is the end of the career, I have no grievances. I’m Lou Gehrig without the horrible disease. I’m the luckiest man on Earth.” See the Detroit Free Press story here.

Industry News

Edison Research: Women Podcast Listeners Triples in 10 Years

According to data from Edison Research, female monthly podcast listenership has tripled over the past decade, growing from 15% in 2015 to 45% in 2025. This is from Edison’s “Women’s Audio Report: Women & Podcasts” with support from SiriusXM Media. The report finds that when factoring in video podcast viewership, estimates for engagement by women climbs even higher, to 52% of women age 18+ nowimg consuming podcasts in some form. Other notable findings from the report: 1) Female podcast consumers skew younger (39% between ages 18-34), have higher incomes (29% with household incomes over $100K), and higher education levels (51% with college degrees); 2) Primary motivations among women monthly podcast consumers include exploring topics in depth (53%), learning (46%), and entertainment (44%); and 3) Among the women monthly consumers who have heard an ad on a podcast, 75% have acted as a result of hearing an ad. The Women’s Audio Report was based on 2,520 interviews with women age 18+ who had listened to audio in the last month. See more about the Women’s Audio Report webinar here.

Industry News

Charlie Kirk Engaging with Students on College Campuses

img

Salem Radio Network nationally syndicated talk host Charlie Kirk is visiting college campuses to engage with students, specifically students who disagree with him. According to KIVI-TV, Boise, the founder of Turning Point USA is on “The American Comeback” tour and was at the campus of Boise State University yesterday (4/15). On the tour, Kirk talks with students who disagree with him under a pop-up tent with the words, “Prove Me Wrong,” emblazoned along its top. Kirk will visit Washington State University in Pullman, Washington tomorrow (4/17). Kirk is pictured above at the event on the Boise State campus.

Industry News

Wisconsin’s Civic Media Network Announces Program Changes

Civic Media owns and/or operates 20 signals across the state of Wisconsin airing its news/talk programming and announces a new weekday lineup for the network. First is a new morning show, “Mornings with Pat Kreitlow,” hosted by the founding editor of Courier Newsroom’s Wisconsin digital media outlet, UpNorthNews. The company says several existing morning shows will be folded into the new program, while new voices will be added in other communities around the state to provide the best mix ofimg state and local information. Earl Ingram, host of “The Earl Ingram Show,” will join “Mornings with Pat Kreitlow” on 540AM WAUK in Milwaukee and appear as a regular guest on other network shows. In other moves, “Matenaer On Air” with Jane Matenaer and Greg Bach shifts one hour earlier, airing from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. “The Thom Hartmann Program” returns to its live air time (11:00 am to 2:00 pm). “The Todd Allbaugh Show” moves to 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and “The Maggie Daun Show” now airs from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Civic Media CEO Sage Weil says, “We are excited to bring a more robust and flexible morning show to the state, and to reposition our best shows to serve our uniquely Wisconsin audience. This new approach will provide the flexibility to spotlight our local voices that focus on what is happening in our local communities, from Earl Ingram in Milwaukee to Chad Holmes in Wausau, and to share that content both on and off the air.”

Industry News

Katz Promotes Two in Political Sales

Katz Media Group promotes PJ Stack to vice president of political sales and Kevin McTigue to director ofimg political sales for their Katz Digital Video division. The promotions are effective immediately. The company says these leadership moves reflect Katz’s continued imginvestment in delivering strategic, results-driven solutions for political advertisers through both linear and digital media. Katz Media Group CEO Mark Gray states, “Katz has built the most experienced and trusted political sales team in the industry. With deep-rooted expertise across both broadcast and digital, our team delivers unmatched scale, strategy, and results for political advertisers. As the landscape continues to evolve, Katz remains the go-to partner for campaigns looking to connect with voters in meaningful and measurable ways.”

Industry News

KILT-AM, Houston’s Clint Stoerner in Arkansas Sports HoF

Houston sports talk personality and former University of Arkansas star quarterback Clint Stoerner was inducted into Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame on April 11 during their 67th annual induction banquet at theimg Oaklawn Event Center in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Stoerner co-hosts “The Drive with Clint Stoerner and Ron Hughley” in afternoon drive at Audacy’s sports talk KILT-AM, Houston “SportsRadio 610.” Audacy Houston SVP and market manager Sarah Frazier comments, “We are so proud of Clint and his accomplishments both on and off the field. Not only is he a premier sports radio host who was a finalist the same night for Media Alliance of Houston as Sports Specialist, but he is a great teammate to all of us in the building.” Stoerner began as a fill-in host on “SportsRadio 610” in 2018 and joined as a full-time host in 2019.

Industry News

Good Karma’s WTMJ, Milwaukee Makes Lineup Changes

Good Karma Brands’ Milwaukee news talk outlet 620 WTMJ is making changes to its program lineup that says will enhance its news offerings and doubling down on its political talk. Effective tomorrow (4/16), Kristin Brey and Steve Scaffidi will co-host the late morning program Point Taken from 10:00 am toimg 12:00 noon. “Wisconsin’s Morning News” with Vince Vitrano & Erik Bilstad, will air from 6:00 am until 10:00 am and the station’s midday news show, “Wisconsin’s Midday News” with Greg Matzek & Jessica Tighe, will air from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm. The change eliminates Brey’s one-hour 9:00 am show and moves business-imgfocused “The Upswing” with Jeff Sherman (heard from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon) to Saturdays and available as a podcast. Brey says, “Steve first invited me to come onto his show back in 2020 and we hit it off immediately. He is largely the reason I have a career in radio at all. After years of being a guest on each other’s shows or a fill in host, I am so excited that we finally have the chance to tussle with the biggest political stories of the day with each other every weekday.  We rarely agree but we always have fun and I think that’s the kind of energy that makes good radio and interesting conversations.” Scaffidi adds, “I’m thrilled to finally be able to work with Kristin on a daily basis. We recently launched our podcast, You Need to Listen, but having two hours with her each weekday morning will offer our fans and listeners a chance to hear our unique perspectives on the news of the day.”

Industry News

Salem Unveils Deal with Donald Trump, Jr and Lara Trump

Salem Media Group announces multi-dimensional deal that it says not only adds two of the most influential voices in American media, Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump, but launches the company into an entirely new era of scale, relevance, and cultural power. As part of the deal, Salem acquires a 30% stake in MxM News, a mobile news aggregation app co-owned by Trump Jr., and enters into a longterm servicesimg agreement under which Trump Jr. and Salem will work together to develop a series of high-impact promotional and growth initiatives. At the same time, Salem enters into a strategic agreement with Lara Trump to collaborate on business growth in the digital podcast space, advertiser partnerships, and content innovation. Both Trumps become significant stakeholders in Salem Media. Salem CEO David Santrella states, “These aren’t just partnerships, they’re power moves. Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump bring credibility, energy, and the kind of megaphone that moves markets and shapes public opinion. Their alignment with Salem signals a massive leap forward in our ability to lead the next era of conservative media. Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump aren’t just becoming business partners with Salem, they now also have significant ownership stakes in the company with a major incentive to grow shareholder value which in turn will drive the stock price. It’s definitely an exciting time to be a Salem shareholder.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

RTDNA’s Dan Shelley to Retire. RTDNA president and CEO Dan Shelley is reriting at the end of 2025 after more than 25 years with the organization. The RTDNA board of directors voted to approve current executive director Tara Puckey as the new president and CEO beginning in January of 2026.

Two Media Companies Announces Q1 Earnings Reports. Townsquare Media will release first quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, May 8. The company will host a conference call to discuss certain first quarter 2025 financial results that day 8:00 am ET and Saga Communications will release its First Quarter 2025 results at 9:00 am ET while holding a conference call at 11:00 am ET that morning.

Industry News

Mike Gallagher Posts Updates from Plane Trapped on Montgomery Tarmac

Salem Radio Network talk host Mike Gallagher was a passenger on one of the two Delta flights from Mexico that were diverted to Montgomery, Alabama due to severe weather in their destination city of Atlanta. By law, passengers must go through customs and since Montgomery is not an international airportimg there are no customs agents there and the passengers were forced to remain on the planes for more than six-and-a-half hours. The Daily Mail reported the story and included some of Gallagher’s social media posts that he made throughout the night, including this one: “After 12 hours at the overwhelmed Montgomery, Alabama airport – 7 hours trapped on the plane on the tarmac, 5 hours stuck in a cordoned-off area of the airport – they are now boarding people 10 at a time. They are checking off names by pen, one by one. So hey, 16 hours after our original departure, there’s hope! I’m thinking it will take at least an hour to board.” See the Daily Mail story here.

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

JFMN Launches WV Sports News Service. WVTheTorch.com and the John Fredericks Media Network announce the launch of West Virginia’s newest digital newspaper: WVSportsNation.com. JFMN says this fully integrated West Virginia sports news service is designed to bring Mountaineer fans in both WV and across the country the very best and most in-depth coverage ever created in the Mountain State. WVSportsNation.com is part of JFMN’s growing portfolio of digital news and information platforms.

Season 11 of Katie Couric Podcast Debuts. iHeartMedia announces season 11 of the podcast, “Next Question with Katie Couric.” In this podcast, Couric talks with politicians, DC insiders, and journalists to uncover what’s worth attention (and what’s not). In the first episode, Couric speaks with journalist, documentary filmmaker, and best-selling author Chris Whipple, whose latest book “Uncharted” captures the human drama behind the 2024 election.

Irby Promoted at Baltimore Public Media. The corporation that operates non-commercial outlets WTMD and WYPR in Baltimore announces Danyell Irby is promoted to chief of content for both stations. Most recently, Irby served as executive director of news at WYPR, joining the organization’s leadership team in April 2020. Prior to that, she held multiple editorial and leadership roles at NPR, including anchor, editor, and senior supervising producer of newscasts.

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories This Past Week (April 7 – April 11, 2025)

Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (4/7-11) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:

                      Stories

1. Trump Tariffs/U.S. vs China
2. Financial Markets Activity/Recession Fears
3. Deportations- Detentions-Visa Revocations
4. SCOTUS Gangsters Ruling
5. DOGE/Universities Funding Freeze
6. U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks
7. Russia-Ukraine War/Israel-Gaza War
8. Bernie Sanders Rallies-CNN Town Hall-“Hands Off” Protests
9. HHS Job Cuts/Health Care/Vaccines
10.Severe Weather in Mid-South/NCAA Hoops Championships

                   People

1. Donald Trump
2. J.D. Vance
3. Elon Musk
4. Howard Lutnick / Scott Bessent
5. Xi Jinping
6. Benjamin Netanyahu
7. Vladimir Putin
8. Kilmar Abrego Garcia
9. RFK Jr.
10.Karoline Leavitt

To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.

Industry News

PodcastOne: Video Views Up 218% Year-Over-Year

PodcastOne says that after accelerating and investing in diversifying its content offerings and expanding audience reach, it has achieved a 218% year-over-year increase in video views of its programs. The company’s shows are distributed across video streaming services including YouTube, Rumble, Substack, Spotify, TikTok and Apple+. PodcastOne says it has “broadened its video production capabilities andimg distribution for its podcast offerings, enabling listeners the option to engage with content in a more dynamic and interactive way. This move has proven highly successful, leading to an explosive increase in video consumption across both its owned channels and third-party platforms.” Company president and co-founder Kit Gray comments, “We are thrilled with the success of our video distribution strategy. Podcasting is no longer just about audio, it’s about offering our audience a rich, immersive, and multi-channel experience. Expanding into video has allowed us to reach new viewers and unlock impactful opportunities for our advertising partners. PodcastOne has a unique ability to support our shows with the technology and resources needed to create best-in-class video podcasts.”

Industry News

KFNS, St. Louis to Change Hands and Sports Talk Format

Changes are afoot at KFNS-AM, St. Louis. “FOX 2” St Louis is reporting that Zobrist Media has found a buyer for the station licensed to Wood River, Illinois that’s been airing sports talk for much of the past three decades. Big Toe Media has reportedly agreed to acquire the station and will assume control over itsimg operations via a local management agreement, though a format change it in the works. Big Toe Media’s president and director of sales Dave Greene tells FOX 2, “I was attempting to sell it on Dave Zobrist’s behalf and got very close with one person and had several others interested. When the strong lead didn’t work out, we were able to work out a very favorable deal for both sides.” Regarding the format, Geene says, “The idea of one singular topic for content is outdated. We will talk about what St. Louis talks about, which includes plenty of sports but also local news, culture, food, business, events and more.” FOX 2 notes that Greene is “closely involved with the leadership team” of Sports Hub STL, a digital sports network producing content from local personalities, most of whom have worked in St. Louis sports radio at some point over the years. See the FOX2 St. Louis story here.

Industry News

Edison Research: Ad-Supported Audio Tops Ad-Free

Edison Research says that according to Q1 2025 data from its ongoing Share of Ear study the U.S. population 13+ spends most of its daily audio time with ad-supported audio sources (64%) compared to ad-free audio sources (36%). Ad-supported sources include AM/FM radio and radio streams, music onimg YouTube with ads, SiriusXM talk channels, free versions of streaming audio sources, and podcasts. Breaking it down demographically, time spent with ad-supported sources is highest among Americans age 55+, with 75% of their audio time spent with ad-supported audio. While the 18-34 demographic spends the majority of its audio time with ad-supported audio sources, 46% of its listening time is spent with ad-free audio. Edison says, “The strength of ad-free audio with this age group is not surprising considering that younger Americans spend more time on platforms that make removing advertisements easy and not terribly expensive, such as Spotify and YouTube.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

Tide 100.9 Host Wins ABBY Award. Wyatt Fulton, the brand manager for Townsquare Media’s sports talk WTBC-AM/W261BT “Tide 100.9,” wins Best Sports Talk Show in a Medium Market for his “T-Town Sports Daily” program at the Alabama Broadcasters’ Association ABBY Awards. Fulton tells Tuscaloosa Thread, “I am honored to win my first Abby Award in my first year on the air on ‘Tide 100.9!’ I’m extremely grateful and hope to continue building a reputation as an award-winning multimedia sports journalist in Tuscaloosa.”

NYPR Names New Officer. New York Public Radio president and CEO LaFontaine E. Oliver announces that Thomas J. Reno is been named chief operating and financial officer. Reno joins NYPR from Precision Strategies, a DC-based strategic communications agency.