Industry News

Carr Congratulates Thumann Severs on FCC Nomination

President Donald Trump is nominating Danielle Thumann Severs for a seat on the Federal Communications Commission. She has served two stints at the FCC focusing on matters before the Wireline Competition Bureau, the Public Safety and Homeland imgSecurity Bureau, as well as the agency’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr states, “I want to congratulate Danielle on her nomination to serve as a Commissioner on the FCC.  Danielle is a dedicated public servant and has worked with skill and distinction on some of the most important matters before the agency.  Danielle has delivered policy wins across the FCC’s economic agenda – from bridging the digital divide and protecting consumers to advancing public safety.  With the advice and consent of the Senate, Danielle would make a terrific Commissioner.”

Industry News

Gomez Remains Outspoken About TV Cap Elimination

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez is not backing away from her criticism of the Commission’s recent vote to eliminate the television ownership cap. On Friday (8/7), she stated: “The FCC’s decision to eliminate the 39 percent national audience reach cap is unlawful on its face. Congress set this cap in federal law, and only imgCongress can change it. I am not alone in that conclusion. Republicans with deep firsthand knowledge of this issue agree. Former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly has been unequivocal that the FCC lacks authority to change the cap. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who negotiated the 39 percent compromise, has stressed that Congress wrote the cap into law specifically to keep the FCC from changing it. And Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz has said he is skeptical a change can be made absent an act of Congress.”

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

Clay Travis to Launch New Media Venture. After selling his Outkick platform to Fox Corporation earlier this year, Front Office Sports is reporting that Clay Travis is working on launching a new sports and politics media platform. The publication says that Travis has filed a trademark application for the name, “Sports & State.” See the Front Office Sports story here.

KBNW, Spokane to Carry Vandals Sports. KBNW, Spokane has aligned with Learfield’s Idaho Vandals Sports Properties to carry Idaho Vandals football and men’s basketball for the next two seasons. KBNW market manager Roger Nelson says, “We are excited to partner with Idaho Vandals Sports Properties to bring Idaho football and basketball game broadcasts to the Spokane/Coeur d’ Alene market. The Vandals have a rich history in football and men’s basketball and have long been a leader in the Big Sky Conference. Approximately 16% of the University of Idaho’s alumni base reside in the Spokane/Coeur d’ Alene metro and we look forward to developing a strong partnership with the Vandals and their fans.”

Rob Parker to Receive Innovator Award. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) announces that in conjunction with the induction of its 2026 Hall of Game class, it is recognizing FOX Sports Radio personality Rob Parker with the second annual JL Wilkinson “Innovator” Award during ceremonies on Saturday, September 26 at the Gem Theater in Kansas City.

Industry News

Jenny Tartikoff Named Senior Vice President and Head of Communications for SiriusXM

Jenny TartikoffSiriusXM today (8/6) announced that Jenny Tartikoff has been named senior vice president and head of communications, effective August 10, 2026. Tartikoff will report to president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein and lead SiriusXM’s overall communications and public relations strategy and execution. She will be responsible for promoting the company’s content and business narrative while serving as a senior advisor to the company’s leadership team on major business developments and high-profile moments. Tartikoff brings more than 20 years of communications experience across media, entertainment, and technology. She most recently served as EVP, Global Communications at Paramount Pictures, where she led internal and external corporate communications, corporate social responsibility and awards strategy for the studio’s live-action and animation properties. During her tenure, Tartikoff guided the company’s communications through the industry’s post-pandemic recovery and the evolution of Paramount’s multi-platform release strategy.

Industry Views

The Algorithm is Listening

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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.

(more…)

Industry News

Audacy to Shut Down KXNT, Las Vegas

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?

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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

TALKERS News Notes

NYPR Announces Collaboration with URL Media. New York Public Radio is collaborating with URL Media, a network of more than 50 independent publishers and content creators serving diverse communities across the United States. NYPR president and CEO Christy Tanner says, “New coalitions, bold approaches, and radical collaborations such as our work with URL are essential as we lead a new era of democracy where journalism and creativity thrive, facts unite us, and power answers to the people. Our collaboration with URL Media is a call to action and an invitation to reimagine how creators and media organizations can collectively amplify impact and build community.”

WUSF Plans Expanded Election Coverage. Listener-supported radio station WUSF, Tampa announces a project to produce dramatically expanded news coverage and resources for voters in advance of elections across Florida this year. The station says it is enlisting more reporters into this effort, including journalists from the WUSF newsroom, plus student journalists from the University of South Florida, and partner public media stations across the state. WUSF general manager Leslie Laney states, “The result is the residents of this state will have access to some of our strongest-ever election coverage. And as part of our public service mission, all of this coverage will be free – not behind a paywall.”

Industry Views

When AI Speaks, Who’s Accountable?

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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

Kings County Conservative Party Honors Dominic Carter with American Heritage Award

By Robert Pearl

imgVeteran journalist, author, political commentator, and 77WABC Radio personality Dominic Carter was honored with the American Heritage Award at the Kings County Conservative Party’s Annual American Heritage Reception on July 23 at the Knights of Baron DeKalb in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The event celebrated Carter’s more than four decades in broadcast journalism, recognizing his distinguished career as a radio host, television commentator, author, and one of New York’s most respected media voices.

Hosted by Kings County Conservative Party and Chairwomanimg Frances Vella Marrone, the reception brought together elected officials, candidates, community leaders, and supporters to recognize Carter’s professional achievements while celebrating the values of perseverance, public service, and the American Dream.

Presenting the award, Vella Marrone praised Carter’s remarkable journey from a difficult childhood in a Bronx housing project to becoming a nationally recognized broadcaster.

“Where you begin in life does not determine where you can go,” she said, describing Carter as someone whose life story reflects the opportunities made possible through determination, personal responsibility, and hard work. She also commended his willingness to openly share his experiences through his journalism and bestselling memoir, “No Momma’s Boy”, inspiring listeners and readers far beyond New York City.

Accepting the honor, Carter explained that he had undergone surgery less than 24 hours earlier but was determined to attend.

“I was not going to miss this event,” he told the audience. “The Conservative Party has saved my life.” Carter reflected on his upbringing in public housing and his political evolution, saying he came to embrace the values of work, family, accountability, and opportunity. “I was a lifelong Democrat… but the Democrat Party left me. I didn’t leave them,” he said, noting he proudly shares those beliefs on the air and during speaking engagements nationwide.

One of the evening’s heartfelt moments came when Carter invited his son, Dominic Jr., and wife, Marilyn, to the stage. Sharing that doctors once believed his son would never graduate from high school because of epilepsy and a learning disability, Carter proudly announced that Dominic Jr. earned two college degrees.

“Never let anybody define who you are,” Carter said, drawing sustained applause.

Vella Marrone thanked supporters and volunteers for strengthening the Kings County Conservative Party and encouraged continued grassroots involvement.

“We’re going to keep fighting and fighting,” she said, urging attendees to remain engaged in preserving liberty and opportunity through civic participation.

Additional remarks were delivered by Conservative Party State Chairman Gerard Kassar, Assembly Minority Leader Edward Ra, Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, and other elected officials, all of whom praised Carter’s broadcasting career and contributions to journalism. The evening concluded with a standing ovation, featuring book signings, and photographs as guests celebrated Carter’s enduring impact on New York media and public discourse.

Robert Pearl is a Brooklyn-based journalist who writes about New York City media, politics, and culture.  He can be emailed at pearlknows@yahoo.com.

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

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 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

WIBC-FM News Director John Herrick Exits

News/talk WIBC-FM, Indianapolis news director John Herrick reveals that he’s been let go by the Urban One station after three years as news director. He posted to Facebook: “I am proud of the work we accomplished and the stories we were able to tell on behalf of our listeners. I especially appreciate the trust and support of the people who welcomed us into their lives through our imgreporting. While this chapter has come to an end, I remain committed to the values that have guided my career: serving the public, pursuing the truth, and treating people with fairness and respect. I want to thank my colleagues, mentors, friends, and family – especially my wife and sons – for their support throughout this journey. I look forward to what comes next and the opportunity to continue contributing meaningful work. I will still be broadcasting games, and I will continue to be a member of the Indiana University Radio Network.” This comes on the heels of the spring firing of late morning talk host Rob Kendall and the subsequent exit of late morning co-host Casey Daniels, who left of her own volition.

Industry News

TALKERS Marks 36th Anniversary

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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 & RecordsBillboard) 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 mediaTALKERS 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 News

Newsmax CEO Warns Christian Leaders About Media Consolidation

Last Friday (7/17), Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy addressed the attendees at The FAMiLY Leader’s Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines. Among the topics Ruddy spoke about included the FCC’s move to abandon the 39% ownership cap for television stations. Ruddy warned that FCC chairman Brendan Carr’s plan “is imgdangerous and would allow two or three corporations to dominate local television news, reducing competition, independent journalism, and threatening religious broadcasters.” He noted that conservative organizations including CPAC, the National Religious Broadcasters, and the Zionist Organization of America oppose lifting these ownership limits. Ruddy also took the opportunity to address how broadcasters view the American people, saying, “Polling consistently shows Americans are far more center-right than portrayed by the legacy media. There is a growing disconnect between public opinion and media narratives.” See more about Ruddy’s speech at Newsmax here.

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

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

Sean Hannity to Present First Interview with Senator Darline Graham

On this evening’s edition (7/20) of FOX News Channel’s “Hannity,” Sean Hannity will conduct the first exclusive interview withimg Senator Darline Graham (R-SC), sister of late Senator Lindsey Graham. FNC says, “During the interview Senator Graham will reflect on her brother’s legacy, the shared values that shaped their family and upbringing and her decision to carry on his public service representing the people of South Carolina following his passing.”

Industry News

Gomez: FCC Cannot Change Ownership Cap

After FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the Commission votes to eliminate the cap on television station ownership, FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez issued a statement on the matter. She says: “This unlawful effort to hand control of the public airwaves to billionaire buddies of this administration will destroy imglocal newsrooms, silence community reporting, and drive-up costs for the American families who depend on local stations for news and emergency alerts. A free and diverse media landscape depends on real limits on how much of the public airwaves any one company can control, and this FCC is now poised to allow local broadcasters to sell those airwaves off to the highest bidder. Congress set the 39 percent national ownership cap in federal law, and only Congress has the authority to raise or eliminate it. The Commission cannot waive away that limit simply because these corporate behemoths want to get out from under it.”

Industry News

Broadcasters Press Congress to Pass AM Radio Bill

Yesterday (7/14), broadcasters from 31 states, along with representatives from AARP, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and local emergency managers were on Capitol Hill pushing Congress to pass the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. According to the National Association of Broadcasters, the legislation, which would ensure AM radio remains available in new vehicles, has united an extraordinary coalition of support, including an overwhelming number of bipartisan cosponsors in Congress, imgthe endorsement of President Donald J. Trump and backing from first responders, emergency managers, public safety organizations and community leaders nationwide. NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt says, “The time for Congress to act is now. Hundreds of broadcasters from across the country alongside nearly one million AM radio listeners have reached out to their members of Congress to support the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act and protect this essential public safety resource. We are grateful to our congressional champions who have led this bipartisan effort every step of the way. Congress has everything it needs to act. It is time to finish the job and send this bill to the president’s desk.”

Industry News

Weather Channel Radio Net Recognizes Meteorologists for 30 Years of Service

The Weather Channel Radio Network is recognizing meteorologists Ray Stagich and Scott Lawrimore, each of whom has completed 30 years of dedicated service to the network. The imgWeather Channel president Tom O’Brien states, “Ray and Scott represent the very best of what The Weather Channel Radio Network stands for. Their careers are a testament to more than longevity; it is the genuine sense of public responsibility that has guided every forecast, emergency and broadcast for 30 years. We are immensely proud to celebrate this remarkable milestone with them.”

Industry Views

Who Gets to Decide If and Why a Guest is Newsworthy?

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

imgA political candidate sits down for a broadcast interview. The host asks questions. The conversation reaches into policy, personality, controversy, and campaign issues… just another day in the world of talk radio.

To the FCC, depending on the program and the circumstances, it may raise a different question: did the station give one legally qualified candidate a broadcast “use” of its facilities that now triggers equal opportunities for opponents? That question sits at the center of ABC’s dispute with the FCC over “The View,” and it deserves the attention of every broadcaster who books public officials, candidates, advocates, and political personalities.

This is not an article about whether anyone likes “The View.” That is the wrong question. The better question is whether the government should decide, after the fact, that a long-running interview program no longer qualifies as a bona fide news interview program because regulators dislike, distrust, or second-guess its guest selection.

The Equal Opportunities Rule, often called “equal time,” is not the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine is gone. However, equal opportunity requirements remain part of broadcast law. In general terms, when a broadcast station permits a legally qualified candidate to “use” its facilities, opposing legally qualified candidates for the same office may be entitled to comparable opportunity, unless an exemption applies.

One such exemption covers bona fide news interviews.

That exemption matters because it allows broadcasters to cover politics without turning every meaningful candidate interview into a scheduling trap. The law recognizes that a news judgment is different from a campaign favor. A host may interview a candidate because that candidate is newsworthy, controversial, powerful, interesting, or central to a public issue, not because the station has endorsed the campaign.

ABC’s argument is that “The View already cleared that hurdle more than two decades ago, when the FCC treated it as a bona fide news interview program. ABC now says the Commission has forced the issue back onto the table and is effectively asking whether the government should dictate which candidates the program may feature. That is why ABC’s filing points beyond daytime television and directly toward talk radio.

Talk radio should not dismiss that warning. The format routinely features candidates and officeholders without immediately inviting every opponent. Sometimes the reason is obvious: one guest is in the news and the others are not. Sometimes the reason is practical: a candidate accepts and the opponent declines. Sometimes the reason is editorial: the host believes one interview will better serve the audience.

Those are normal programming judgments. But if regulators start looking behind those judgments for partisan motive, the risk changes. The question becomes less “Was this guest newsworthy?” and more “Can you prove to the government that your reason was acceptable?” That is a dangerous shift for any medium built around editorial discretion.

This does not mean broadcasters should panic or stop booking candidates. It does mean stations, networks and programs should tighten their habits. Know when a guest is a legally qualified candidate. Understand when an appearance may count as a use. Keep clean records. Preserve the editorial reason for the booking. Make sure producers and hosts know the difference between a campaign appearance, a news interview, and paid political time.

The larger warning is simple: broadcast talk is regulated speech in a way podcasts, YouTube shows, and most streaming programs are not. That distinction already matters for indecency, sponsorship identification, public files, political files, and license obligations. Now it may matter again in the heart of the format itself: who gets invited to talk.

The government should not sit in the producer’s chair. But broadcasters should not pretend the chair is invisible. The best protection is not silence. It is disciplined editorial judgment, documented in real time, applied consistently, and defended as what it is: the broadcaster’s constitutional role in deciding what is newsworthy for its audience.

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

Charlotte Radio Fans Hope to Preserve Some of WBT-AM’s History

Since Urban One transitioned news/talk WBT, Charlotte from its primary broadcast frequency at 1110 AM to 107.9 FM back in December, radio history buffs have been wondering what will become of the AM transmitter property and, more importantly, its historic transmitter building that was retrofitted as a bomb shelter imgin the early 1960s. WCNC-TV reports that local radio fan Johnny Caudle has launched a Change.org petition to save some of the history. He tells WCNC-TV, “I heard the land was for sale and knowing the radio background industry the way I do, I know that that probably means the towers are going down and the place is going to be bulldozed and redeveloped. So, I started thinking we need to save something.” Caudle says he’s not trying to kill any deal that would see the land developed but just wants “to preserve something.” The story indicates the property has an assessed value of $3.5 million. Urban One has not made a public statement about the future of the property. See the WCNC-TV story here.

Industry News

ABC Responds to FCC About its Targeting “The View”; Says Talk Radio Could Be Next

ABC states in the opening paragraphs of its filing with the FCC that the Commission’s targeting of “The View” over its guest bookings is not consistent and ultimately threatens talk radio as well. The petition states: “These Reply Comments arise from an unusual imgposture. ABC did not come to the Federal Communications Commission asking for anything. The Commission compelled ABC to file the Petition for Declaratory Ruling at issue here, directing the network to explain why the government. should not dictate which political candidates may appear on The View—even though the Commission itself resolved that very question in ABC’s favor more than two decades ago, ruling in 2002 that The View is a bona fide news program not subject to the equal opportunities requirement.

“Members of the public then submitted tens of thousands of comments in the proceeding, the overwhelming majority urging the Commission to respect the broadcaster’s editorial independence. These Reply Comments respond to that record. The commenters are right to be concerned. The First Amendment does not permit the government to sit in an editor’s chair. Yet that is the seat the Commission now proposes to take—deciding which broadcast programs qualify as legitimate news and, for those it finds wanting, compelling them to surrender their airtime to guests they never chose to feature.

“Today, the program in the Commission’s sights is The View. The principle in the balance is far larger: whether a federal regulator may override a broadcaster’s editorial judgment about whom to interview—a judgment the Constitution commits to broadcasters and their audiences, not to the state. Nothing about The View that the law cares about has changed since the Commission last answered that question more than two decades ago. The program remains regularly scheduled, remains under ABC’s control, and remains driven by the same lodestar—newsworthiness—that has long led it to interview the day’s most consequential figures, from Presidents and Senators to Supreme Court Justices. What has changed is not the program but the political climate around it.

“The Commission has trained its attention on daytime and late-night television—programs perceived as unfriendly to the current administration—while leaving untouched the vast landscape of talk radio, where candidates routinely appear without their opponents. A rule pressed against one set of speakers and quietly suspended for another, along lines that track the administration’s political preferences, is not evenhanded regulation. The record here reflects a widespread and well-founded concern that it is not.”

Industry News

FCC’s Gomez Critical of Dismissal of Petition to Repeal News Distortion Policy

Federal Communications Commission commissioner Anna M. Gomez is criticizing a summary dismissal of a Petition for Special Relief with the Commission seeking a repeal of the Commission’s news distortion policy filed last fall by a bipartisan group of former imgFCC officials. Gomez filed a petition for mandamus with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia seeking to compel action by the FCC on such petition. Instead, of responding to the mandamus petition, on June 22 the Commission filed its response and included a copy of an unpublished letter dismissing the News Distortion Petition that was signed by the Acting Chief of the Media Bureau on delegated authority.

Gomez writes, “The Commission has increasingly used its regulatory authority as a cudgel against broadcasters whose coverage it dislikes rather than as a neutral enforcement tool, and license renewals and merger approvals have been treated as leverage over editorial judgment rather than as the objective processes the Communications Act requires them to be. This is not an isolated tactic, and the Commission has repeatedly reached for rarely used or long dormant authority to discipline broadcasters it views as critical, including reviving a license renewal mechanism that had not been invoked in over half a century apparently to target a single company’s news coverage. This includes repeated reliance on the previously rarely invoked news distortion policy at issue here.  That pressure has had a real effect, and station groups and local broadcasters across the country have asked my office what topics are now considered too risky to cover, a question that should never need to be asked in a country with a First Amendment. When a federal agency with the power to grant or revoke broadcast licenses starts weighing in on editorial content, the chilling effect reaches far beyond any single station or story, and it is compounded here by the Commission’s choice to resolve this particular petition through an unpublished staff letter rather than a public vote of the full Commission.

“The Commission regularly uses delegated authority to get the work of the Commission done, issuing licenses, seeking comment, granting rule waivers, etc. These are instances where the bureaus and offices of the agency take actions consistent with established Commission precedent.  Delegated authority allows the Commission to operate efficiently.

“Delegated authority, however, can be abused to shield significant actions from judicial review as only final Commission actions can be appealed.  That is what appears to be happening in this instance and the consequences for our democracy are serious.  The Commission has repeatedly used the Media Bureau to take actions that are inconsistent with longstanding Commission precedent that violate both the Communications Act and the First Amendment.

“I am cognizant that my dissent on the substance will not change the outcome of the News Distortion Petition by the Commission.  Not providing the Commissioners with an opportunity to vote on this important petition, however, shields the Commission’s actions from critical judicial review.  Accordingly, I stand ready to vote on an order addressing the issues raised in the News Distortion Petition to facilitate the timely advancement of this matter to a final appealable order that will allow the appellate review process to move forward without unnecessary delay.”

Industry News

Gomez Unleashes on SCOTUS Ruling

With her status uncertain after her term officially ended on June 30, Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. Slaughter. Gomez, who seems intent upon remaining with the Commission, knows that President Donald Trump can fire her and continued her criticism of the imgadministration and the Supreme Court’s ruling. She wrote: “This decision puts at risk how Congress intended independent agencies to function in American democracy. When Congress established the Federal Communications Commission, it made a deliberate choice to create a multi-member, multi-party, independent body insulated from political pressure precisely because the decisions this agency makes about who can speak over the public airwaves, how spectrum is allocated, and how communications markets are regulated, are too consequential to be made on the basis of political loyalty. We are already seeing what political control of this agency looks like in practice, through investigations targeting broadcasters and government critics for coverage this administration finds unfavorable.

“In a companion decision, the Court protected the Federal Reserve from political interference while leaving media regulators exposed. Democracy depends on a free press and the preservation of free expression through all communication technologies as much as it depends on a stable economy.

“For nearly a century, the FCC’s credibility as an expert-driven regulatory body has been a cornerstone of American leadership in global communications. When we negotiate spectrum agreements with foreign governments and international bodies, our counterparts trust that our positions reflect technical expertise and legal authority, not the political preferences of whoever occupies the White House at a given moment. That credibility is difficult to build and easy to destroy, and the uncertainty created by this decision puts it at risk in ways that will reverberate far beyond our borders.

“The potential consequences for consumers and for American innovation are just as serious. Independent agencies exist to make decisions based on facts and the law. Those who argue these agencies are unaccountable misunderstand how they were designed, as the FCC answers to Congress, the democratically elected body that created it, through oversight, appropriations, and legislation. When commissioners can be removed for their policy views rather than for cause, the inevitable result is an agency that pulls its punches and defers to political winds rather than the record before it. Consumers pay the price for that kind of regulatory timidity in higher costs, fewer choices, and slower progress toward the connected future this country deserves.

“Protecting consumers, promoting competitive innovation, and defending free expression are at the heart of my work at the Commission, and I intend to keep doing that work for as long as I am able to serve.”