TALKERS 2026 Video: WABC Personality Walter Sterling Addresses “Reflections on Radio: Past, Present, and Future” at Iconic Talk Media Conference
TALKERS begins posting video recordings today of the sessions that took place at the recent 28th installment of the iconic talk media industry conference, TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter (6/5). Today’s post features an address by legendary executive-turned-on air personality, Walter Sterling (a.k.a. Walter Sabo) titled, “Reflections on Radio: Past, Present, and Future.” In it, Sterling talks about some of the great personalities of the past 70-plus years in addition to suggesting techniques that have been and will continue to be effective in the medium throughout all eras. Sterling makes a case for the continuing health of radio and encourages station owners and programmers to hire more women and develop more programming for female demographics. Lee Harris, VP, The Worldwide News Network provides an introduction. To view this video in its entirety, please click here.
City. Three area 18-year-olds have been arrested in connection with the slaying. The Kansas City Star notes that Dodds was a Wyandotte County sheriff’s deputy and a sports media personality who had worked in Los Angeles at FOX Sports 1 and in Nashville with Blaze Media alongside Jason Whitlock. He had returned to Kansas City three years ago and launched a podcast titled, “Jimspiracy.” 
courage, and unlikely twists that built the United States,” the story “uncovers the human drama behind America’s earliest, most pivotal moments. Listeners will meet settlers fighting to survive, preachers sparking mass revival, revolutionaries defying an empire, and founders struggling to invent a functioning nation.” The special will air on more than 350 affiliates of “The Glenn Beck Weekend Program” during the holiday weekend. It’s also available to talk stations in non-competing markets as early as Friday, July 3, and may be aired multiple times throughout the holiday weekend. 
of Americans listen to AM/FM radio as part of their daily audio consumption. Podcast listening gets 20% with ad-supported streaming getting 16%, and ad-supported satellite radio accounting for 2%. The report also indicates that the news/talk radio format maintained its position as the top format with 10.9% share of total radio listening (P18+), a slight uptick from the 10.8% it captured in Q4 2025. All-news listening also increased, climbing from 2.7% to 2.9%. 
The Radio Television Digital News Association announces the winners of the 2026 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. Regional winners advance to the national competition, with winners announced in August. National winners will be celebrated at the Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala on October 12 at Gotham Hall in New York City. 
chair Patrick Mara, but Fredericks says he thinks it’s important to try to build something for Republicans in deep-blue DC. In a campaign video, Fredericks says Republicans have “‘zero representation, zero respect, zero results’ — and [he] promises to promote an ‘agenda that’s going to make your life better: Get rid of the rats, lower rents.’” 
production, station imaging, promotional audio, and other broadcast content across multiple stations and digital platforms. The Assistant Production Manager works closely with Programming, Sales, Traffic, Promotions, and On-Air staff to ensure all production elements are completed accurately, creatively, and on schedule while maintaining Lotus Seattle Corp. quality standards and FCC compliance requirements. This position requires strong audio production skills, creativity, technical proficiency, and the ability to effectively manage multiple deadlines in a dynamic broadcasting environment. 
The Radio Hall of Fame announces this year’s class of inductees and among them are iHeartMedia chairman Bob Pittman and WFAN, New York morning drive personality Boomer Esiason. The 2026 inductees will be honored at the 2026 Induction Ceremony on Thursday, October 8 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago. 
high since 2022 and 28% indicate they commute some days; 2) 85% of average Americans are commuting to work, slightly less than marketers and media agencies (92%); 3) Since AM/FM radio is the “soundtrack of the American worker,” it is the ideal media platform for advertisers; 4) AM/FM radio’s share of ad-supported audio in the car has been consistently dominant at an 83% share, according to Edison Research’s Q1 2026 “Share of Ear” report; 5) Average Americans are clocking slightly more days at work (4.7) compared to the advertising industry (4.4); and 5) Marketers/agencies and average Americans are most likely to work in the office Monday through Thursday with Friday seeing the lowest % of in-office work for both groups. 
downloads for participating networks – and “The Joe Rogan Experience” is #1, followed by audiochuck’s “Crime Junkie” at #2 and The New York Times’ “The Daily” at #3. Other podcasts of interest to TALKERS readers include: “The Tucker Carlson Podcast” at #19, “The Ramsey Show” at #30, “The Ben Shapiro Show” at #34, “The Megyn Kelly Show” at #43, and “The Dan Bongino Show” at #66. Triton also notes in this quarterly report that the top podcast categories by reach remain Comedy (43.6%), News (23.7%), and Society & Culture (21.2%). 
Kevin Kinkead at Crossing Broad reports, The station will be ending local weekday programming at 6:00 pm, airing a two-hour “best of” show from 6 to 8, and then shifting to national programming afterward. That’s according to super-secret sources. It means the Fanatic will broadcast its normal daypart lineup – Kincade and Salciunas in the morning, Marks and Brace middays, and then ‘Unfiltered’ with Bill Colarulo and Ricky Bo in the afternoon, but there will no longer be Fanatic hosts doing local shows after 6 p.m. For instance, no Kevin Cooney or Brendan Gunn on the evening shift, which had been generically branded as “Philly Sports Tonight.” 
Former WXYT-FM, Detroit talk host and Motor City sportswriter Pat Caputo died on Thursday (5/7) after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 67. Caputo hosted in several dayparts on 97.1 The Ticket during his time with the station. He also was a contributor to WJBK-TV, Detroit. But he was initially known in the Detroit market writing for the Oakland Press from 1983 through 2020. 
advertisers are currently buying audio programmatically, up two times from 2022 (41%); 2) The most used programmatic audio demand-side platforms are Google Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk, and Amazon DSP; 3) Among publishers, the most utilized supply-side platforms for digital audio ads are Google Ad Manager, distantly followed by Amazon Publisher Services, Open X, and PubMatic; 4) Among those who purchase podcasts, Google DV360, The Trade Desk, and Amazon’s DSP are the most utilized demand-side platforms; and 5) Recent announcements from Amazon Ads indicate a major expansion of over-the-air AM/FM radio and audio advertising capabilities within the Amazon Demand Side Platform. Regarding that last point, the study notes that those moves “focus on bridging the gap between traditional broadcast AM/FM radio and digital, programmatic buying, allowing advertisers to use Amazon’s first-party signals for targeting and measurement.” 
and meet monthly goals through effective outside sales techniques; Develop new business through selling commercial advertising time and other station products by reaching out to local businesses and other advertisers; Create and present advertising strategies and ideas for local businesses incorporating radio, online and digital mediums; Provide input on sales promotion ideas to sales management; and more. 
Awards will be announced during a dinner program on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at the Edison Ballroom the night before NAB Show New York being held on October 21 – 22. The Marconi Radio Award finalists are selected by an independent body of broadcasters and will be announced in summer 2026. All nominations must be submitted through the NAB member portal. 
University on Long Island. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison states, “The selection of ‘Cats’ as keynoter is in keeping with one of the major themes of this year’s edition of the iconic industry event – radio, talk media, and entrepreneurism. John Catsimatidis is presently setting the greatest example of entrepreneurism at work in giving an injection of much needed energy, focus and life to the medium of radio.” Harrison will serve as facilitator of the presentation in a Q&A / interview style format – a role he has played before with the dynamic billionaire media, grocery, and energy mogul.
Catsimatidis will be joined by more than 60 speakers comprised of legendary industry figures as well as fresh faces and rising stars. A detailed agenda including speakers and schedule – a “who’s who” of industry luminaries – will be posted in TALKERS this coming Tuesday (4/28). See the link below for the names of all speakers booked to date.
Harrison continues, “This important conference will illuminate the forward path of the expanding talk media universe, including all aspects of digital communications from AI and podcasting to streaming networks. As has been its tradition, this latest TALKERS conference will approach the onrushing future of the talk business from a radio perspective. This crucial gathering will cover the new undeniable realities of the radio business for those who not only want to survive but thrive as well. It will be about opportunities, networking, and entrepreneurism for individuals in talent, programming, sales, marketing, and management who are serious about staying in the game.”
requests for comment. The report states, “Liberty SiriusXM Group, once an affiliate of John Malone’s media empire, formerly held significant stakes in both companies. But it eventually sold its stake in iHeartMedia, primarily a broadcast radio company, and split off its ownership of SiriusXM, the satellite radio company, into a separate entity.” The story goes on to underscore that the talks are in the early stages, and a deal may not take place. 
government studies report most commutes are a solo affair. In the car, Honda drivers cannot be reached by social media, online video, or any digital platform while commuting to work. What are the audio habits of Honda drivers in all locations (home, work, vehicle, and some other place)? Edison examined audience shares among Honda drivers to ad-supported audio platforms at home, in the car, at work, and some other place. In all locations, Honda drivers devote 62% of all their ad-supported audio time spent to AM/FM radio.” 
radio industry and listeners. Voting for inductees begins Friday (4/24) and runs through May 8. The top six vote recipients will gain induction as part of the 2026 Radio Hall of Fame Induction class. The additional inductees that will make up the induction class will be selected by the Radio Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. Spoken-word nominees include: Boomer Esiason, Joey Reynolds, John & Ken, and Larry Elder. 
a financial backer of the table tennis phenom played by Timothée Chalamet in the film. Safdie told Vanity Fair he liked Catsimatidis’ ‘larger-than-life regional businessman’ look, which he noticed when the mogul ran for New York City mayor in 2013.” Interestingly, a key focus in the piece is on Catsimatidis’ ownership of news/talker 77WABC. He writes, “Catsimatidis made millions from buying New York real estate on the cheap in the 1970s when the city was in deep economic trouble. So, he recognized a bargain when his Red Apple Media group bought WABC for $12 million from Cumulus Media.” 
newscast that some 700 stations respected enough to put on their air. Schwalb tells the Tribune, “Conversations have been going on since the announcement, and I think we get closer and closer to a decision every day. But we have to be very careful and be very diligent about making sure the product that we select is going to make sense from a listener perspective and a revenue perspective as well… CBS has been a great top-of-the-hour news piece for a long time, but it’s a very small percentage of what we do in a given hour between business, traffic and weather together on the eights, local news – the strongest local newsroom in Chicago radio.” 
Ian Furness Show,” which moves to an earlier start by an hour. The Seattle Times notes that Bell has covered the Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune since 2014, and Kidd is an executive producer with KJR who co-hosts the “Seahawks Man 2 Man” podcast. Bell comments about working Kidd, saying, “We have great rapport. I value his input. He’s a Seattle kid, born and raised, and a Coug. He’s a little younger than I am, so that gives another perspective.” 
court today (4/17) Friday when his lawyers will argue that biased coverage is tainting potential jurors in his aggravated murder case. According to Audacy’s report, media organizations, prosecutors and Kirk’s widow, Erika, want the court to allow cameras. They argue the best way to guard against the misinformation and conspiracy theories that concern Robinson’s defense team is to make the process transparent. 
In a 
“I had a good run. I spent every cent I ever made… I would have rather saved some, but you can’t take it with you. I love you all. Thank you so much.” Barnes began his radio career in the 1980s at WEOK-WPDH in Poughkeepsie, followed by a nearly four-year run as an afternoon news anchor and reporter for WGHQ-WBPM in Kingston. He served as morning news anchor and news director for WSYR, Syracuse; worked at “All News 99.1 WNEW” in Washington, DC, as well as with USA Today Channel on SiriusXM in Washington; FOX News Radio in New York; and The Blaze Radio Network in Washington. DC. 
understate the immense sales effect power of creative. Some 122 marketers placed creative as the third most important contributor toward driving sales behind targeting and brand. But the reality based on analysis of 450 ad campaigns indicates creative is far and away the most important driver of sales. Both marketers and agencies place the greatest importance on targeting. Experts caution that too narrow targeting is ineffective.