Wayne Allyn Root, “We Did This!”
Las Vegas-based, nationally syndicated talk radio host Wayne Allyn Root celebrates the 8th anniversary of his talk radio show (2/7). The anniversary coincides with the Nevada GOP primary that saw GOP
candidate Nikki Haley come in behind “None of the Above Candidates.” (“None of the Above Candidates” is choice that has been on Nevada ballots since 1975.) Root tells TALKERS that he came up with the strategy of convincing his audience to vote “None of the Above” to support Donald Trump and claims, “This is Exhibit A for the power of talk radio. Look at the vote totals. The number of ‘None of the Above’ voters almost exactly matches the number of listeners to my Vegas and statewide Nevada radio show. We did this. My Nevada audience almost single-handedly ended Nikki’s presidential ambitions.”
Shelley says, “It is our sacred duty to promote, protect and defend the First Amendment, which makes journalism the only vocation specifically protected in our Constitution. The individuals represented in this group of recipients embody the spirit of such journalism. And their work reminds us why it is so important to defend the First Amendment each and every day.” The honorees include: Gio Benitez, ABC News; Lauren Chooljian, New Hampshire Public Radio; Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, CBS News; Evan Gershkovich, Wall Street Journal; Dylan Lyons, Spectrum News 13 “Citation of Courage”; Joan
For several years I’ve had the surprising privilege of serving as a member of the nominating committee of the Radio Hall of Fame. How does the process work? Let me clear up some of the mystery. FAQ:
his CBS Sports Radio-syndicated program will cease its video simulcast with CBS Sports and that simulcast will move to X (formerly Twitter) soon. Rome had nothing but praise for CBS Sports and added that the video simulcast will disappear for a period before resurfacing on X at a date yet to be determined. There are no reported changes coming to the radio program itself. 
retired from the station in 2016. Over the years, his focus was often on court reporting and the criminal justice system. He covered multiple Space Shuttle launches, the 1988 Democratic National Convention, the Jim Bakker trial, Hurricane Hugo, the crash of USAir Flight 1016, and the Rae Carruth trial. In 1990, he traveled with a North Carolina political and trade delegation to Germany during the aftermath of the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and the German reunification. WBT says that Barroll and fellow anchor John Stokes were the backbone of its news operation for over 30 years. His daughter Amy posted to social media: “I will miss this man so, so much. He passed away this morning from an exceedingly aggressive mantle cell lymphoma. He was a completely healthy man a month ago. I am the luckiest person in the world to have called him my father.”
Last week, we recapped how all-news stations have recently performed in Nielsen Audio‘s (volatile) “Holiday” PPM survey periods.
One person can make a difference.
Now that every single thing is a political argument, the angry social media conversation about Taylor Swift is unsurprising. And with the Super Bowl looming, the decibel level amps-up.
video stream in partnership with YouTube on the iHeartRadio Channel. Podcast fans help decide the winner of the Podcast of the Year by voting online at iHeartPodcastAwards.com now through February 18. This year’s nominees include “Crime Junkie,” “The Daily,” “My Favorite Murder,” “New Heights,” “Normal Gossip,” “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” “The Retrievals,” “Scamanda,” “SmartLess” and “Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.” iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group CEO Conal Byrne says, “As the podcast industry continues to rapidly grow, this past year has clearly proven that podcasters are always innovating in the audio space and finding new ways to reach and engage new audiences. The nominees for the 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards reflect the results of honing that creativity and we’re thrilled to celebrate and once again empower these creators and elevate the podcast industry together live in person at SXSW.” 
RAB in 2000 to help create databases and programming as RAB.com was emerging on the internet. Since then, she has designed RAB’s proprietary systems touching nearly every aspect of RAB services and operations including, RAB’s CRM product Account Manager, GoCart (RAB’s e-commerce platform), training and education management platform and Radio Mercury Awards’ database and entry platform. Promoted in July 2023, Madison Wright is the director of events and communications for RAB, intertwining her passions for public relations, social media and creating “memory-making moments” with her love for radio. RAB president and CEO Erica Farber states, “RAB is proud and delighted to promote all three dedicated and accomplished team members. I am truly excited to see how they will continue to grow professionally and super serve RAB’s membership.”
other members of our unit. First and foremost, we denounce layoffs in their entirety; we believe this form of ‘cost cutting’ is fundamentally avoidable, and we don’t think innocent, hardworking staff should ever lose their livelihoods over mismanagement at the highest levels of a company. As previously reported, our parent company, Audacy, filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of this year after racking up $1.9 billion in debt. This same company also gave out at least $3.2 million in executive bonuses just months prior… Today, our union began the bargaining process where we will be fighting for the severance that our colleagues deserve — compensation that honors the immense time, skill, and creativity that each of them dedicated to the company over the years.”
announced. Neuhoff states in announcing the sale that this “transaction is part of an overall strategic decision on behalf of the Neuhoff family to depart the broadcast industry after nearly 70 years,” according to Julian Hickman and Makena Neuhoff, trustees of the Neuhoff family. The company still owns 13 radio brands spread across the Springfield, Illinois; Bloomington, Illinois; and Lafayette, Indiana markets and it “expects to make additional announcements regarding future agreements as the Neuhoff divestiture process moves forward.” Hickman states, “We are proud of what broadcast ownership has meant to our family, our employees, and the markets we serve. Our grandfather, Roger Neuhoff, began his ownership in the business during the mid-1950s. He loved the broadcast industry and was proud of the way our radio and television stations served their local communities.” Neuhoff Media president Mike Hulvey adds, “We are pleased to see the iconic local media brands of Neuhoff Media’s Danville and Decatur markets all brought together through this historic transaction with the Champaign Multimedia Group. The next chapter for the Danville and Decatur radio stations and digital platforms will create something very special for each community.” Kalil & Co., Inc. acted as the exclusive broker for this transaction.
nominees to be voted upon by industry personnel later this year, leading to the selection of the 2024 Radio Hall of Fame Induction Class. Kraig T. Kitchin, co-chairman of the Radio Hall of Fame, comments, “The input from fellow radio industry members and listeners alike helps our nominating committee contemplate so many more individuals worthy of a nomination. We’re grateful for the input and the ideas offered.”
states, “We are excited to air ‘The Other Side of Midnight with Frank Morano.’ We were looking for a live, informative, interactive and entertaining show that will rekindle the joy of overnight radio.” Morano comments, “I’m excited to join the KMOX lineup and bring live programming to overnights in St. Louis. St. Louis is a terrific market and KMOX is a legendary talk station, with an incredible audience and history that goes back nearly a century. I’m looking forward to being a big part of their history when the chapter on their next century is written. We’re going to have a blast.”
network across both total day and primetime with total viewers and the 25-54 demographic. FNC continued its ratings dominance for the month of January and grew its primetime audience in total viewers versus January 2023. Additionally, FNC was the only cable news network to show year-over-year growth in the younger 18-34 demo, growing 18% in total day and 25% in primetime, while MSNBC and CNN are experiencing double-digit declines.” FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott comments, “Marking another historic feat is a true reflection of the unwavering dedication and outstanding talent that we have throughout the entire organization of FOX News Channel.”
Ever since Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio) instituted the Portable People Meter as ratings currency in 2007, the “Holiday” ratings period has been a veritable goldmine for stations employing the wall-to-wall Christmas music programming strategy.
follows a multi-year advertising sales and production partnership between the two organizations. Terms were not announced. Crossover Media Group managing member Sue Freund states, “Throughout her more than four decades in talk radio and now podcasting, Dr. Laura has amassed an enormous following with her frank, direct, captivating style, which is sometimes provocative, always interesting and insightful, and never dull. After many years of working with her and her team at Take On The Day, we’re proud to expand our relationship and commitment to her programs, and to continue to grow our presence as a leading partner to the nation’s top audio-talk hosts.” Take On The Day LLC president Geoff Rich comments, “Crossover Media Group’s investment in Take On The Day adds so much to our ability to reach more listeners and help more sponsors. With Sue and her partners Ron Hartenbaum and Scott Calka joining the management team, we are supercharging the future of the Dr. Laura programming and brand.”
Other notable findings: 1) Older Americans and women are listening to podcasts at a faster rate, with a 22% increase in listeners over the age of 55 and a 19% increase in female listeners 18+ over the past two years; 2) Top podcast genres of 2023 were News (22% of downloads), True Crime (18%), and Comedy (15%). Of True Crime podcast listeners, 67% were female, of Comedy podcast listeners 62% were male, and of News podcast listeners 58% were male; 3) The top sales networks of 2023 in the Triton U.S. Podcast Ranker were SiriusXM Podcast Network at #1, NPR at #2, and Wondery at #3. The top podcast of the year was “NPR News Now.” Triton Digital SVP measurement products & strategy Daryl Battaglia says, “2023 was another year of significant growth for the podcast industry, and with increasing female and over 55+ audiences, we can expect more content production to serve those groups in the coming year. As podcast listenership continues to rise and reach new audiences, we’ll continue to provide our customers with in-depth insights around podcast consumption and listener habits in the coming year.” 
I’m no expert, but I do have a theory.
The fourth of four rounds of ratings data from Nielsen Audio’s Holiday 2023 PPM survey has been released for 12 markets including Austin, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Providence, Norfolk, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Greensboro, Memphis, and Hartford. The survey period covers December 7, 2023 – January 3, 2024. Today, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian presents his Ratings Takeaways from this group of markets. In Raleigh, iHeartMedia’s news/talk WTKK-FM falls a full share to finish with a 5.0 share (weekly, 6+ AQH share) that leaves it ranked #5, while Curtis Media’s news/talk WPTF loses two-tenths for a .6 share finish good for the #22 rank. In Milwaukee, iHeartMedia’s news/talk WISN sheds six-tenths to wrap the survey with a 9.0 share, but remains ranked #1 for the fourth consecutive survey, while Good Karma Brands’ news/talk WTMJ declines 1.2 shares for a 6.4 share finish that leaves it ranked #5. In Nashville, Cumulus Media’s news/talk WWTN-FM falls four-tenths to a 3.9 share good for the #12 rank, while iHeartMedia’s news/talk WLAC-AM dips three-tenths to a 1.2 share and remains ranked #19.