The Most Valuable Commodity AI Can’t Generate
By Matthew B. Harrison
TALKERS, VP/Associate Publisher
Harrison Legal Group, Senior Partner
Goodphone Communications, Executive Producer
Throughout the TALKERS 2026 conference, there was a recurring theme that bears repeating:
Technology creates abundance. Authenticity creates value.
Throughout human history, creating media required expensive equipment, specialized knowledge, or access to someone willing to open the door. Each technological leap removed another layer of friction. Desktop publishing challenged traditional print. Digital audio transformed radio production. YouTube made anyone with a camera a broadcaster or “content creator.” Podcasting removed the need for a transmitter. Today, generative AI can help write scripts, edit video, compose music, translate languages, and produce polished content in minutes.
That isn’t the end of creativity. It’s the beginning of an era with more creativity than we’ve ever seen.
We should cautiously embrace it.
Every time technology lowers the barrier to creation, more people get the opportunity to tell stories, share ideas, build businesses, and reach audiences that were once inaccessible. That’s a remarkable thing.
Abundance, however, changes the economics.
When content was scarce, simply producing it created value. Today, content is everywhere. Tomorrow, there will be even more. Artificial intelligence isn’t replacing creators nearly as much as it’s multiplying them.
When everyone can create, audiences need a different way to decide what deserves their attention.
They look for authenticity.
Authenticity isn’t about perfection. It isn’t about expensive production. It isn’t even about whether AI helped along the way. It’s about whether audiences believe there is a real person behind the work, someone with genuine experience, judgment, and something worth saying.
That idea also explains why fair use has always mattered.
Fair use protects commentary, criticism, reporting, scholarship, and parody because those activities add something new to the conversation. Copyright law has long recognized that society benefits when creators contribute insight rather than simply repeat what already exists. The principle hasn’t changed. The tools have.
Media has entered another frontier. The rules are still developing. Business models continue to evolve. New voices appear every day. Some will succeed because they mastered the latest technology.
The most enduring voices will succeed because people trust them.
Broadcasters have always understood this, even if we didn’t always describe it that way. Listeners return because they believe the personality behind the microphone.
The same is true for podcasters, streamers, YouTubers, journalists, and creators of every kind.
Technology will continue creating abundance. That’s worth celebrating.
The opportunity now is to create something abundance cannot replace.
Authenticity.
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.
Americans 13+ are awake by 6:00 am during the weekday. The two most popular half hour increments Americans set their alarms for are between 6:00 am-6:30 am and 7:00 am-7:30 am. For radio station programmers wondering how important the 5:00 am hour is, just over 14% are awake by 5:00 am with another 17% rising sometime during the 5:00 am hour. Edison says other data indicates most Americans are waking up slightly later than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic shifted routines and schedules to spend more time in the home.
people spend by far the most amount of their time at home, the at-home environment offers a variety of listening devices including smart speakers, internet-connected TVs, and computers, in addition to mobile phones… And we know from our qualitative research that podcast listeners can listen while they multitask at home.” After listening at home, listening at work contributes 16% to the overall daily listening time to podcasts, while in-car listening captures 11% of daily listening time. Edison adds, “We can theorize that because people often take short drives during the day including quick trips to the store, or school, or on errands, that those short trips might not be conducive to becoming fully engaged with a podcast.” Finally, 6% of listening happens in various other locations, such as gyms, grocery stores, or while walking.
Today (1/6), KBLA Talk 1580 kicks off its bold new weekday lineup, which includes some of the nation’s most progressive and provocative voices. The new programming includes Dr. Cornel West, renowned scholar and former independent presidential candidate, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. and former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner. They join KBLA White House correspondent Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey, and nationally syndicated hosts Tavis Smiley and D.L. Hughley, who already appear weekdays on KBLA Talk 1580, the flagship station of SmileyAudioMedia, Inc., based in Los Angeles.
“I am both humbled and proud that Dr. Cornel West, Nina Turner, and Jesse Jackson, Jr. have joined the KBLA Talk 1580 team as we continue to build the nation’s most innovative and empowering Black talk media platform,” said Smiley, Founder of SmileyAudioMedia, Inc. and chief visionary officer for KBLA Talk 1580. “No talk station in America can match the intellectual firepower that launches today, January 6th. KBLA Talk 1580 is proud to have more Black women talk show hosts than any talk station in the country, including Dominique DiPrima, the first Black woman to host her own radio talk show, “First Things First,” in LA morning drive time (6:00 am to 9:00 am).
more recognition as a (legacy) medium that’s constantly innovating and evolving to enhance the consumer experience and the advertiser opportunity. At the heart of Audio lives great storytelling. From the beginning of humankind to today’s best advertising, storytelling is the single most effective tool for sharing information and knowledge – all while entertaining, educating and yes, selling. Storytelling is a constant, but the way stories are told is shifting, driven by new technologies and approaches that allow brands to create more emotional connection, deliver more personalized experiences and scale their campaigns for maximum impact. And no medium is better equipped to do this than audio.” 
“If you missed Biff & Bev in-the-Morning, you missed…” It’s a donut: produced open and close, with an aircheck clip in the middle.
It may seem impossible, but you need to stay in your lane.
Why? Done right, it makes you special. Because new-tech audio competitors don’t do local news, and with most broadcast radio hours now robotic.
My father recently called my attention to something hiding in plain sight. He was watching YouTube and noticed ads for StreamYard, Riverside, Sprizzy and other companies selling tools and services to people who want to produce, distribute, or promote their own media. “They are advertising on consumer venues!” he told me. That was the part that caught his attention.
(9/14). Khan most recently served as anchor at WPTV-TV, West Palm Beach. She’d also hosted shows on Newsmax and America’s News Voice Network. KCMO program director Pete Mundo says, “KCMO Talk Radio is making a strong commitment to Kansas City by continuing to invest in live, local programming. Miranda is a smart, engaging voice who brings years of media experience and deep Kansas City roots, and she knows how to connect with listeners and drive meaningful conversations. Her addition strengthens our commitment to delivering the news, opinions, and discussions that matter most to Kansas Citians every day. We are excited to welcome Miranda home to KC.”
THANKS to all who offered feedback about my most recent column. 
Vikings. The host of the program will be WSCR-FM, Chicago personality David Haugh and will feature a panel of NFL experts including former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt, former Packers kicker Mason Crosby, former Lions (and Packers) offensive lineman T.J. Lang and former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway. It will aur Sunday mornings on WSCR-FM; WXYT-FM, Detroit; WSSP-FM, Milwaukee; and WCCO-AM, Minneapolis. In addition to the Sunday morning broadcasts, video episodes will drop early on YouTube every Friday evening. Audacy sports format VP Mitch Rosen says, “The NFC North features some of the most passionate fanbases and intense rivalries in all of football. By combining David Haugh’s signature hosting with the firsthand perspective of four iconic division figures, ‘Inside the North’ delivers unmatched context and insider access to these markets every single week.”