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Industry News

Worldwide News Network (WWNN) Launches Weekend Business Reports – WTOP, Washington, DC Becomes First Affiliate 

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

WWNN logoRed Apple Audio Networks’ recently launched Worldwide News Network (WWNN) is stepping into the weekend business and financial news space with the launch of WWNN Weekend Business Reports, a new series of reports delivering timely, insightful coverage of the markets, the economy and the companies driving growth. The reports debuted on Hubbard Broadcasting’s WTOP in Washington, DC, this past Saturday, August 1, marking the first affiliate partnership for the new service.

According to Red Apple, WWNN Weekend Business Reports will go beyond traditional market updates, focusing on the industries and economic sectors shaping the future, including automotive, technology and entertainment. The reports will also spotlight breakthrough companies and emerging trends driving innovation.  The reports are being anchored and produced by veteran correspondents John Terrett and Jake Novak.

“WWNN is not simply filling the gap left by the demise of the CBS Radio Network,” said Lee Harris, SVP, news & programming, Worldwide News Network. “We’re building something stronger and more relevant for today’s audience. John and Jake bring extraordinary experience and credibility, and more importantly, they know how to make complicated financial and economic stories understandable, compelling, and actionable. That’s what makes these reports different.”

“Our listeners want and need insightful financial and business news they can trust, and they depend on us to deliver it every day of the week,” said Julia Ziegler, director of news and programming at WTOP. “As the industry has contracted over the last few years, it has left a void. It is exciting to work with a company like WWNN that understands the importance of providing quality reporting seven days of the week.”

Industry News

New England Talk Radio Icon Howie Carr to Give Public Talk on Corruption, Crime, and Politics at Hyannis Arts Hall

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

03211822259Long known as the kind of radio talk show host who can “draw a crowd,” legendary New England personality, best-selling author, newspaper columnist, and broadcasting entrepreneur Howie Carr will bring his passion, wit, and personal experiences in journalism to the Hyannis Arts Hall stage on Sunday, August 16, where he will speak from 4:00 to 5:30 pm.  Carr, host of the largest regionally syndicated talk radio show in New England, will bring his unmistakable blend of outspoken passion and confrontational conservative politics to what is expected to be a sellout live audience. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.com. In 2015, Howie Carr launched The Howie Carr Radio Network, the first major host-owned radio network in New England. Carr quickly grew his network from a few stations in Massachusetts to more than 20 terrestrial radio stations across New England. The Howie Carr Radio Network is the only radio network reaching a majority of the 14 million people living in New England. Carr has authored numerous books, including the bestselling The Brothers Bulger, Hitman, and other works focused on Boston’s underworld and political corruption. Copies of some titles will be available for sale at his appearance.

Industry Views

The Algorithm is Listening

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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By Matthew B. Harrison
TALKERS, VP/Associate Publisher
Harrison Legal Group, Senior Partner
Goodphone Communications, Executive Producer

Radio once measured the audience… now digital platforms use the audience to decide what happens next

Radio programmers have always watched the audience. The difference for programmers today is that the audience can now watch back, respond instantly, influence the show, and determine whether the next person ever receives it.

That is the practical meaning of an algorithm for a broadcaster. It is not a mysterious robot hiding inside the black box of an enigmatic social platform. It is a set of instructions used to make decisions. On YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Spotify, Twitch, and other services, those instructions help determine which content gets shown, to whom, in what order, and under what circumstances.

Radio has used simpler forms of algorithmic thinking for decades. A music clock is a set of instructions. So is a rule prohibiting two songs by the same artist within a specified period. Or two female vocals in a row. A programmer who schedules news at the top of the hour, traffic twice an hour, and the strongest feature before a commercial break has created a decision system.

Digital algorithms do something more consequential. They do not merely organize the program. They organize the audience around each individual piece of content.

From diaries to PPM

The traditional radio diary asked selected listeners to record what they heard and when they heard it. Nielsen defines the diary as a measurement method in which respondents manually record their listening habits. Those reported habits are then used to estimate listening across a larger market.

The system was necessarily crude. A diary could show that someone reported listening to a station during morning drive. It could not reliably establish whether that person loved the program, ignored it, hated it, stayed because the station was playing in a waiting room, or simply remembered the call letters incorrectly.

Still, the diary produced an enormously valuable number. Ratings influenced advertising rates, station formats, talent contracts, syndication opportunities, and management decisions. The ratings service measured the audience, but the station still controlled the programming and the transmitter.

The Portable People Meter changed the speed and granularity of that feedback. PPM panelists carry a small device that detects inaudible identification codes embedded in participating broadcasts. Instead of relying entirely on a listener’s memory and written entry, the meter passively detects exposure to encoded audio.

That gave programmers something closer to immediate feedback. They could study audience movement within smaller portions of a show, identify apparent tune-out points, compare features, evaluate commercial breaks, and make changes much more quickly.

PPM therefore became the bridge between traditional ratings and algorithmic distribution. The diary remembered the audience. PPM observed the audience more closely. Both still produced information for human beings to interpret.

A programmer could see a decline and decide to shorten a segment. The meter did not shorten it. A consultant could conclude that a feature hurt retention. The PPM system did not prevent tomorrow’s listeners from hearing it.

The algorithm closes that gap.

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Industry Views

Monday Memo: Trust is the New Currency

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Holland Cooke
Consultant

Holland Cooke

It is now the ultimate competitive advantage, and for broadcasters it’s a survival strategy. In The Five-Year Century: Bold Leadership and Accelerated Outcomes in the Age of AI, Mihir Shukla and Nancy Hauge explain how—as artificial intelligence accelerates change and demographics reshape the audience—trust becomes the only durable asset radio and television can bank on.

The book describes a 2026 world where the “twin engines” of growth—population and productivity—have stalled. Birth rates are plunging, workforces are shrinking, and productivity has flatlined across most industries. Meanwhile, AI is compressing decades of innovation into months. This collision creates what the authors call “The Five-Year Century,” in which the pace of change overwhelms institutions built for slower times—broadcasting, for instance.

Radio and television were built on industrial-era assumptions: mass audiences, standardized programming, rigid schedules, and hierarchical decision-making. Those assumptions worked when the audience was broad, predictable, and captive. On February 9, 1964, the Beatles tripled Ed Sullivan’s ratings. Back to the future…

AI is rewriting the rules of content creation, distribution, and consumption. Personalized news feeds, customized ad loads, and algorithmic programming are expectations. Younger audiences don’t wait for a newscast; they expect a feed. They don’t tune in; they scroll. They don’t accept one-size-fits-all; they demand one-size-fits-me.

In this environment, trust becomes the new currency because it’s the one thing AI cannot manufacture.

Broadcasting’s advantage has always been credibility. When a storm hits, people still turn to local radio. When a shelter-in-place alert hits their phone, they still switch on local TV. That instinct is powerful, but it’s not permanent. Trust must be earned continuously, especially as AI-generated misinformation floods the ecosystem.

The book’s chapter on the “Trust Economy” makes a critical point: trust accelerates outcomes. High-trust organizations move faster, innovate more boldly, and adapt more effectively. For broadcasters, trust accelerates audience loyalty, advertiser confidence, and community relevance. But trust now requires new behaviors.

It requires transparency about how AI is used in newsrooms. It requires clarity about what is human judgment and what is machine assistance. It requires authenticity as AI-generated talent becomes increasingly commonplace—and increasingly convincing.

Trust requires broadcasters to lean into what humans do best: context, empathy, moral reasoning, and community connection. The book reminds us that “work worthy of human potential” is work that machines cannot replicate. For broadcasters, that means storytelling, accountability journalism, and the human presence that makes local media local.

By all means, assign AI the routine tasks: editing, logging, transcription, versioning, and production. Then reinvest the human time you save in the relationship between a station and its community. In The Five-Year Century, trust isn’t just a virtue. It’s a conspicuous differentiator. It’s the currency that will determine which broadcasters thrive and which fade into the noise of an algorithmic world. As our industry suffers workforce cutbacks, we risk downsizing trust.

To read two sample chapters and watch a short video interview with the authors, click here.

Holland Cooke is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke and connect on LinkedIn.

Industry News

Audacy to Shut Down KXNT, Las Vegas

By TALKERS | by TALKERS
Longtime KXNT, Las Vegas host of the station’s morning show “News at 8,” Alan Stock delivered the sad news of the station’s demise to his listeners this past Friday.  Photo credit: the Las Vegas Review-Journal.   

After nearly 40 years as a mainstay of Las Vegas radio broadcasting, News Talk 840 KXNT will be going dark effective September 1.  Parent company, Audacy announced its plan to shut down the iconic news/talk outlet this past Friday (7/31) on longtime Las Vegas radio talk show host Alan Stock‘s one-hour morning program, “News at 8.” According to a report by John Katsilometes in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Stock stunned his audience with the statement,  “I have an important update for our listeners. Effective September 1, News Talk 840 KXNT will conclude its broadcast operation.” Stock continued reading from a prepared statement: “To put it simply, the station’s transmitter site is shutting down. Our parent company, Audacy, explored a number of alternative transmission options, but ultimately wasn’t able to identify a technically and financially viable long-term solution. This wasn’t an easy decision. I know KXNT has been a part of this community for a long time, and it’s been an honor to spend time with you every day.” Stock continued, “I’m incredibly grateful to our listeners, our advertisers, and everyone who has made the station such an important part of Las Vegas.”  The article in the Friday NEON section of the Vegas publication went on to report that according to Audacy, Stock’s show will move to the company’s other Las Vegas news/talk property, KDWN 101.5-FM in its 8:00 am weekday time slot beginning Tuesday, September 1. At this point, Stock’s “News at 8” is the only locally-produced talk show on KXNT, a conservative platform that is otherwise home to nationally syndicated programming. The report states, shows hosted by such right leaning voices as Glenn Beck and Mark Levin will end their programming in Las Vegas, but still be available nationwide, as the station signs off. Station SVP/market manager Gina Massenzi said the station’s approximately 40 full- and part-time staffers would remain with the company. KXNT-AM 840 signed on under the call letters KVEG in 1986, mixing talk and middle-of-the-road music. In 1997, KVEG changed its call sign to KXNT, the “NT” standing for “News/Talk.”

Industry Views

The Advertiser Gave Us an AI Commercial… Isn’t that Enough?

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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imgBy Matthew B. Harrison
TALKERS, VP/Associate Publisher
Harrison Legal Group, Senior Partner
Goodphone Communications, Executive Producer

Synthetic audio can turn one clearance problem into two
An advertiser sends a finished commercial to a station. The script came from one AI platform, the announcer’s voice from another, and the music arrived inside the final audio file. The production value is surprisingly good for a dental office. Then someone notices that the announcer sounds remarkably like Matthew McConaughey. He does not say “alright, alright, alright,” exactly, but he says something close enough to make the association obvious.

A conventional infringing commercial may misuse a song, recording, photograph, or written copy. An AI commercial can create the same copyright problem while adding another: the unauthorized commercial use of a recognizable person’s identity. One file can therefore produce two entirely different claims.

Copyright protects original expression, including scripts, music, and sound recordings. It generally does not give anyone a copyright in the sound of a natural voice. That does not make a distinctive voice free for advertisers to imitate.

Tom Waits established the distinction decades before generative AI. After Waits declined to participate in a Frito-Lay campaign, the company used a singer who imitated him in a radio commercial. Waits successfully pursued claims for voice misappropriation and false endorsement. AI now makes that imitation faster, cheaper, and potentially more convincing. Waits v. Frito-Lay⁠

The rights do not travel together 

Clearing the script or music does not clear the voice. Permission from the person whose voice was cloned does not clear protected material that the system may have reproduced. The station needs to ask two questions: Who owns everything in this commercial, and whose identity is doing the selling?

There is another wrinkle. The AI company may possess defenses that do not travel with the finished audio. In Walters v. OpenAI, ChatGPT falsely accused radio host Mark Walters of embezzlement. OpenAI defeated the defamation claim because the recipient encountered warnings that the system could be inaccurate, did not believe the accusation, verified that it was false, and did not republish it. Walters also failed to prove the necessary fault or damages. Walters v. OpenAI⁠ case summary⁠

That ruling did not grant AI companies blanket immunity. It does suggest an uncomfortable result for broadcasters. A provider’s warning that its output requires verification may help protect the provider while making it harder for a station to argue that airing the output without checking was reasonable. The company that generated the problem may have a better defense than the broadcaster that delivered it to the public.

California’s AI Transparency Act, operative August 2, 2026, now requires certain large AI providers to offer detection tools and place provenance disclosures in generated audio, images, and video. Those tools may help identify origin. They do not establish copyright clearance, consent, accuracy, or authority to imitate someone. California AI Transparency Act⁠

Stations should require advertisers to warrant both ownership and permission for identifiable voices or likenesses, backed by indemnification. AI has not replaced the old clearance problem. It can place a second problem beside it, then leave the broadcaster holding both.

Matthew B. Harrison is a media and intellectual property attorney who advises radio hosts, content creators, and creative entrepreneurs. He has written extensively on fair use, AI law, and the future of digital rights. Reach him at Matthew@HarrisonLegalGroup.com or read more at TALKERS.com.

Industry News

Radio Hall of Fame Announces “Legends” Inductees

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

imgThe Radio Hall of Fame announced today (8/3) the selection of nine 2026 Legends inductees. These individuals were selected by the Radio Hall of Fame’s 2026 Nominating Committee, which meets annually to recognize deceased individuals who made significant contributions to the radio industry. The Radio Hall of Fame is housed within the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago.

The following nine radio legends take their place in the Radio Hall of Fame immediately:

  • Lin Brehmer — on-air personality
  • Vivian Carter — on-air personality and record company executive
  • Dale Dorman — on-air personality
  • Gary Krantz — network radio and syndication executive
  • Wink Martindale — on-air personality, game show host, and television producer
  • B. Mitchell Reed — on-air personality
  • Pierre Robert — on-air personality
  • Polito Vega — on-air personality
  • D.E. “Duke” Wright — radio station owner and executive

Dennis Green, co-chair of the Radio Hall of Fame, tells TALKERS: “The Radio Hall of Fame is proud to honor this year’s Legends inductees, whose extraordinary careers have helped define the history and enduring impact of radio. From iconic on-air personalities to visionary executives, each has left an indelible mark on our industry and earned their rightful place in the Radio Hall of Fame.”

Kraig Kitchin, co-chair of the Radio Hall of Fame, adds: “It’s an honor and privilege to witness the induction of these radio industry legends. We hope this recognition of their industry contributions benefits their family, colleagues, friends, and listeners.”

The Radio Hall of Fame will recognize its 2026 class of inductees at the 2026 Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at the Fairmont Chicago. Tickets are on sale now at RadioHallOfFame.com. A portion of each ticket purchase is a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Museum of Broadcast Communications.`

Industry Views

Sabo Sez: It’s All Media

By TALKERS | by TALKERS
Sabo Sez:  It’s All Media
By Walter Sabo
A.K.A. Walter Sterling
Host, The Other Side of Midnight
WABC, New York / Red Apple Audio Networks
img“It’s all media,” declared accomplished media executive Jack Griffin when confronted with brand new definitions of content and content distribution. Jack, for years, was president of Meredith Publishing, Time Inc., and The Tribune Company. I met Jack when he was publisher of PARADE magazine. Jack is pragmatic, won’t waste your time and spots BS faster than most humans. We were listening to discussions of the impact of online media versus traditional media, and his line was running out. Jack declared “It’s all media” and the meeting blessedly ended. The phrase haunts me and it is being proven true every second of every day.
Steve Goldstein, CEO of Podcast consultancy, AMPLIFI, published a white paper on the growing acceptance of podcasts in the dashboards of media buyers. The paper tackles the challenge industry committees have had defining a podcast! [link]

Answer: It defines a podcast as an on-demand, spoken-word show intelligible with your eyes closed – video and RSS are both allowed, neither required.
 
The definition of a podcast is simple, broad, and can be met by any podcaster! And every person and entity is making a podcast. Follow that through to what Griffin declared.
VOGUE magazine puts out podcasts constantly. By most definitions they are really good and brand appropriate. Pretty, gossipy, urgent and current. Much more entertaining than the magazine. The New York Times has more podcast viewers than newspaper readers.
The ever-prescient Michael Harrison was right on the money more than two decades ago when he coined the term “media station” to describe the multi-media platform potential of ANY then-traditional venue such as radio and TV stations, newspapers, magazines, books, and cinema.  The media station has since become a reality and the podcast is one of its main engines.
NPR leads the top 20 lists of podcasters, and they can sell advertising in their podcasts without violating their prime directive.
It’s all media
 
When brands evolve from their original product and mission to a podcast, their methodology for success changes but not their definition of success. Brands want revenue and profit. If a brand’s assets can generate the most profit through podcasts, then podcasts will become their business.
 Audience time with media is the target. Capturing their time. Not viewership, listenership, readership, attention: T I M E because it’s ALL MEDIA.
Ultimately a corporate entity’s starter business could be shuttered in order to grow its podcast.  Good to note that every single newspaper and magazine publisher has one fantasy: Get rid of the paper.  Your competition isn’t WXXX it is becoming the VOGUE podcast.
Walter Sabo has been a C-Suite action partner for companies such as SiriusXM, Hearst, Press Broadcasting, Gannett, RKO General, and many other leading media outlets. His company, HITVIEWS, in 2007, was the first to identify and monetize video influencers. His nightly show “The Other Side of Midnight” is heard on WABC, New York and the Red Apple Audio Network 1:00 am – 5:00 am. His syndicated show, “Sterling On Sunday,” from Talk Media Network, airs 10:00 pm-1:00 am ET, and is now in its 10th year of success. He can be reached by email at sabowalter@gmail.com.  He can be phoned at 646-678-1110.
Industry News

NAB Joins Radio Ready

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

The National Association of Broadcasters joins Radio Ready – a global coalition dedicated to safeguarding radio’s prominence in the connected car dashboard. Radio Ready was launched as a unified global response to the rise of the digital dashboard in automobiles and the initiative “brings broadcasters together to ensure AM/FM and digital radio remain prominent, accessible and easy to use in connected vehicles, while giving the industry a imgpowerful, collective voice when negotiating with automakers, tech platforms and policymakers.” NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt adds, “Radio has long been an essential part of the driving experience, delivering trusted local news, lifesaving emergency information and the entertainment Americans rely on every day. As dashboards evolve, ensuring broadcast radio remains accessible is more important than ever. By joining Radio Ready, NAB looks forward to partnering with broadcasters from across the world to ensure that free, trusted radio remains easy for drivers to find and use in the vehicles of today and tomorrow.”

Industry Views

When AI Speaks, Who’s Accountable?

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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By Matthew B. Harrison
TALKERS, VP/Associate Publisher
Harrison Legal Group, Senior Partner
Goodphone Communications, Executive Producer

 

imgNew laws may hold AI companies responsible, but regulating machine-generated speech presents risks of its own.

Florida recently sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that they marketed ChatGPT while concealing known safety risks. California has taken a different approach: a company accused of causing harm cannot defend itself simply by saying the AI acted autonomously. Neither development guarantees liability, but both signal that “the AI did it” may no longer work as a legal escape hatch.  

That sounds sensible. An AI model cannot pay damages, carry insurance, exercise professional judgment, or go to jail. If a company releases a system, profits from it, and markets it as useful or reliable, the law should at least ask what the company knew, promised, and reasonably could have prevented.

Mark Walters – host of Armed America Radio – learned how difficult that can be. ChatGPT falsely reported that he had been accused of embezzling money from a gun-rights organization. Walters sued OpenAI for defamation, but a Georgia court granted the company summary judgment in 2025, finding insufficient evidence that OpenAI knew the output was probably false. The machine was wrong; the legal remedy failed.

The harder question involves speech. Colorado adopted requirements intended to prevent discriminatory automated decisions, prompting AI to sue on First Amendment and equal-protection grounds. The Federal Trade Commission has now suggested that secretly steering a model away from the accurate or objective answers users expect could itself constitute consumer deception.

This presents a genuine slippery slope. Government should protect people from fraud, defamation, discrimination, dangerous products, and nonconsensual deepfakes. It should not acquire a broad power to decide what an AI system must identify as “truth,” particularly in areas involving politics, history, public policy, or contested scientific opinion.

For broadcasters and content creators, the immediate lesson remains familiar. AI may assist with research, writing, editing, and production, but it does not inherit responsibility for the finished product. The person or company that publishes the words still needs to verify them, while the companies building the machines should not escape scrutiny merely because no human typed the final sentence.

Accountability should follow control, knowledge, and profit. The challenge will be imposing that accountability without turning AI regulation into government supervision of lawful speech.

Matthew B. Harrison is a media and intellectual property attorney who advises radio hosts, content creators, and creative entrepreneurs. He has written extensively on fair use, AI law, and the future of digital rights. Reach him at Matthew@HarrisonLegalGroup.com or read more at TALKERS.com.

Industry News

Zimmer and Mid-West to Merge in Springfield, Missouri

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Local media in Springfield, Missouri are reporting that Zimmer Communications and Mid-West Family are merging their operations with Zimmer taking over what will be the nine-station cluster, pending FCC approval. imgZimmer will take over the operation of sports talk KOSP-FM “102.1 The Won” and three music brands. It currently owns news/talk KWTO/K227KO and sports talk KBFL-AM/K245CA. Zimmer Communications president John Zimmer says,img “This is an exciting opportunity to bring together two organizations that share the same values and a deep commitment to local broadcasting. By combining our strengths, we’ll be able to offer advertisers even more effective marketing solutions while continuing to provide the trusted local content our audiences rely on.” Mid-West Family president Mike Paterson adds, “As the local radio and media landscape continues to evolve, bringing these two organizations together creates even greater opportunities for our advertising partners, our communities and especially our employees.” See the OzarksFirststory here.

Industry News

MIW Announces Fourth Annual Speak Up! Mentorship Program

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio says the application window is open for its Fourth Annual Speak Up! Mentorship Program in partnership with Media Staffing Network. The application period runs through imgFriday, August 28. The program was created in honor of the late founder of Media Staffing Network, Laurie Kahn. MIW says Speak Up! is a year-long mentorship program designed to empower women working in small- and medium-market radio stations across all departments. One outstanding candidate will receive personalized mentorship from MIW’s network of female broadcast leaders, complemented by executive coaching from Media Staffing Network’s certified coaches. Get more info and apply here.

Industry News

Court Grants Cumulus Bankruptcy Extension

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Cumulus Media has requested and received an extension of its exclusive rights period from a Bankruptcy Court judge. The company is in Chapter 11 imgreorganization and is waiting for the Federal Communications Commission to finish its regulatory approval process. The court is extending the company’s filing deadline for its Chapter 11 plan to October 30.

Industry News

Marconi Finalists Unveiled Revealing a Dearth of Talk Hosts

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

The National Association of Broadcasters reveals the list of finalists for the 2026 NAB Marconi Radio Awards. The winners of the 2026 NAB Marconi Radio Awards will be imgannounced during a special dinner at the Edison Ballroom in New York City on October 20. While four spoken-word-formatted stations made the cut in the Legendary Station category, it’s interesting to note that just one talk host – news/talk or sports talk – is a finalist across five personality categories. That distinction goes to WCHS-AM, Charleston, West Virginia morning drive host Chris Lawrence who is a finalist in the Small Market Personality of the Year category. Go get, ‘em Chris! We’re pulling for you.

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

The Divorce Hour Hits Five-Year Mark. “The Divorce Hour,” hosted by acclaimed divorce journalist and advocate Ilyssa Panitz, proudly celebrates its fifth anniversary on CRN Digital Talk Radio. CRN says, “‘The Divorce Hour’ has become a staple and respected voice in the divorce and relationship space, featuring carefully vetted attorneys, financial planners, therapists, mediators, coaches, authors, wellness experts, celebrities, and other notable guests. Every episode is carefully designed to educate, inform, inspire, and empower listeners with the knowledge and confidence they need to navigate one of life’s most difficult transitions.”

NHPR Promotes Content Leaders. New Hampshire Public Radio names 16-year NHPR staffer Rebecca Lavoie the organization’s first chief content officer. Lavoi, who previously ran NHPR’s podcast studio, will ensure that NHPR’s journalism and programming meet its business objectives and strategic goals. Additionally, NHPR promotes news director Dan Barrick to vice president of news.

Industry Views

Monday Memo: AI Can’t Fake Real

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Holland Cooke
Consultant

imgIn Full Stack Human: The Mindset Upgrade You Need to Stay Human in a World Ruled by Technology (2026, Wiley Books) Dara Simkin and Tane Hunter describe a 2026 media landscape where people face information overload, shrinking attention spans, negativity fatigue, algorithmic manipulation, and constant distraction.

The irony is that radio may win the future not by becoming more like technology, but by becoming more human. In an age of artificial everything, that’s the sustainable competitive advantage local radio has. And the more crowded the media landscape becomes, the more valuable radio’s unique strengths become.

Consider what today’s digital platforms do best. They personalize content as algorithms learn what users like and deliver more of it. Streaming services can build custom playlists. Social media feeds are tailored to individual interests. AI can generate content instantly.

What those platforms cannot do is belong to a community. Spotify doesn’t know why I-95 is jammed. TikTok doesn’t care that the town council just approved a controversial zoning change. An AI-generated playlist can’t tell listeners where to find shelter during a storm or why Friday night’s high school football game matters. Local radio can. And as media becomes increasingly global, local content becomes increasingly scarce. And scarcity creates value.

Citing research, the book points to another opportunity: Digital platforms are optimized to trigger emotion, especially outrage and conflict – the 1990s talk radio caricature on steroids. The result is a public that often feels overwhelmed, exhausted, and anxious.

Listeners want information, and are looking for context, usefulness, connection, and (dare we?) a reason to smile. Stations willing to do more than simply amplify the argument du jour become indispensable. Winners deliver local information, from trusted voices, a genuine connection that answers the listener’s constant question: “What’s in this for me?”

Click here to read a free sample chapter of “Full Stack Human: The Mindset Upgrade You Need to Stay Human in a World Ruled by Technology.”

Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke and connect on LinkedIn

Industry News

SRN to Cover Graham Services

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Salem Radio Network is presenting comprehensive coverage of ceremonies honoring the late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday, July 28 at the U.S. Capitol and at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, as well as on Wednesday from the State Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina. SRN News says White imgHouse correspondent Willie Nelson will be on-site at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday during the hours Senator Graham’s body will be lying in state and will provide interviews with lawmakers and citizens on the scene who come to pay their respects to Senator Graham. Additionally, on Wednesday SRN nationally syndicated talk host Mike Gallagher will be on-site in Columbia where Senator Graham’s life will be honored, prior to his private burial later that afternoon in Graham’s hometown of Central, South Carolina.

Industry News

TALKERS Marks 36th Anniversary

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Today marks the 36th anniversary of the launch of the broadcast industry trade journal, TALKERS.  The first issue of TALKERS rolled off the presses as a tabloid-style newspaper on Monday, July 23, 1990.

The publication was the brainchild of Michael Harrison, who had already made his mark as a radio broadcasting pioneer (often referred to as “the father of AOR radio”) and trade magazine editor (Radio & Records, Billboard) when he conceived a periodical imgdevoted to chronicling the development and growth of what he envisioned as “the coming talk radio phenomenon of the nineties.” The publication went on to publish as a newspaper on newsprint evolving into a glossy magazine and eventually an online publication fully devoted to serving the needs of talk radio and eventually a variety of spoken word platforms that have collectively become known as talk media. TALKERS also contributed to the growth of the field by producing 28 national conventions / conferences in New York and two in Los Angeles, more than 50 groundbreaking radio rows, dozens of talk show host tours of international hot spots, and thousands of hours of spoken word syndicated and online programming. Throughout its colorful history, TALKERS always maintained a neutral position regarding politics except for, as Harrison puts it, “unwavering support of the First Amendment.”

Industry Views

Harrison: Don’t Believe that AI Lacks “Heart”

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

imgTALKERS founder Michael Harrison is this week’s guest on the National Press Club’s official podcast, Update-1, in which he tackles the topic “Predicting the Future of Media Following the Shutdown of CBS News Radio.” Interviewed by noted American University media professor Gemma Puglisi, Harrison addresses such issues as changes in the tenets of journalism and the general shrinkage of radio news. Along the way, he offers his insights into a variety of media and societal topics including the impact of clickbait and what he describes as “the daily dance of affirmation” resulting imgfrom the trend toward news platforms “targeting” audiences for purely marketing purposes. Harrison defends AI from critics who claim the technology lacks “heart” and that audiences will swing back to the “authenticity” being destroyed by AI slop. Harrison makes the case that what counts is the humanity behind the operation of AI which is “only a tool.” He says, “Blaming AI for shallow content is like attributing shoddy novels to the invention of the word processor.” Harrison boldly predicts that AI and modern technology will hasten the “death of Hollywood” as we know it among other insights into the future of news, entertainment, and communications.  Don’t miss this!  To listen to the podcast in its entirety, please click here.

Industry News

Worldwide News Network to Air in Germany

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Red Apple Audio Networks’ Worldwide News Network announces entry into its first European market as it begins a distribution partnership with BLR, a Germany leading radio news and content syndicator based in Garching near Munich. Worldwide News Network’s top- and bottom-of-the-hour newscasts and special reports are now available to German broadcasters. Red Appleimg CEO John Catsimatidis states, “Audiences around the globe deserve the facts about what is going on in our world and that is why we created the Worldwide News Network. We’re delighted to partner with BLR and look forward to working with them as we continue to expand our reach into more European markets and around the world.” Worldwide News Network SVP of news and programming Lee Harris comments, “Expanding beyond the U.S. is an important milestone for Worldwide News Network. We’re excited to partner with BLR to bring an authentic American perspective on world events. This is the first step in building an international network of partners who value trusted, high-quality radio journalism.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Cumulus and Memphis Tigers Renew. Cumulus Media Memphis renews its agreement with Univerity of Memphis’ Tiger Sports Properties (the locally based team of Learfield) in which WKIM-FM “News Talk 98.9 The Roar of Memphis” will continue to serve as the exclusive radio home for University of Memphis Tiger football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball, along with football and men’s basketball coaches’ shows.

Williams Named Interim Communications Contact for Beasley. With Heidi Raphael leaving Beasley Media Group to lead the New York State Broadcasters Association after August 14, Jennifer Williams will serve as interim communications contact on behalf of Caroline Beasley and the company until the end of the year.

Hidden Brain and PRX Ink Distribution Deal. Social sciences program “Hidden Brain” moves from distributor NPR to PRX beginning October 1, 2026. Host Shankar Vedantam says, “I’m delighted that ‘Hidden Brain’ will join PRX and its portfolio of innovative and beloved radio programs. We’re excited to continue to work with the many stations that carry ‘Hidden Brain,’ and to collaborate with PRX on new ways to serve our broadcast listeners and the public media community.”

Industry News

PA Official on Leave After Suggesting KDKA-AM/FM Talk Host Kill Himself

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

KDKA-AM/FM, Pittsburgh afternoon drive talk host Colin Dunlap was recently suggesting to his listeners that staying indoors to avoid the smoky conditions was fine if you have health conditions, but otherwise do what you like. Patch.com reports that Dunlap said, “If you’re A-OK with things and you feel like, well, you know we’re all gonna die someday anyway, what’s one day of walkingimg around getting a little smoke in my lungs, then go out and live your life. I find the pandemonium about some smoky conditions in Western Pennsylvania for like 26 hours to be over the top – especially when you consider this: some of our grandparents lived like this every day here and smoked a pack a day on top of it.” The communications director for Allegheny County executive Sara Innamorato, Abigail Gardner, testily responded to Dunlap suggesting he go smoke a pack on a bridge – and then jump.” Gardner later apologized for her “lapse in judgement.” See the Patch.com story here.

Industry News TALKERS 2026

TALKERS 2026 Conference Videos Attract 30,000-plus Views on YouTube

By TALKERS | by TALKERS
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Attendees at TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication’s TV Studio A

The 28th annual installment of the TALKERS conference, TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter, has drawn more than 30,000 views thus far on the TALKERS MEDIA YouTube channel.  This year’s installment of longest running and most important talk media industry gathering was held on Friday, June 5 at Hofstra University on Long Island, drawing a crowd of 338 registrants and more than 65 speakers. TALKERS VP / executive editor Kevin Casey comments, “The world-class Hofstra video team at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication really came through for us in documenting a power-packed day of panel discussions, one-on-one presentations, and keynote addresses making the event’s valuable content available to a wide broadcast industry audience across the nation as well as internationally. We couldn’t be more pleased.”  To view the events of that special day captured on video, please click here.

Industry News

O’Malley Promoted to SVP of Revenue Development for Saga

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Saga Communications announces the promotion of Paul O’Malley imgto SVP of revenue development after having served as president and general manager for the company’s Charleston, South Carolina cluster for the past eight years. O’Malley says, “I’m honored by the opportunity to help lead Saga’s next phase of growth by developing innovative revenue strategies, strengthening client partnerships, and working alongside our exceptional fulfillment partners and corporate team.”