Monday Memo: Feature the Moments That Matter
By Holland Cooke
Consultant
Are archived shows – whole hours – your station’s only on-demand offering? It’s an easy checkbox: post the aircheck, call it a podcast.
And why not? In our on-demand culture, why expose this work – and its sponsors – only to those who happened to be listening in real-time? But few listeners will sit through an hour – or three – of linear audio. Most don’t when listening live. They’re busy. The only person who hears the whole show is the host (which is why I cringe when I hear “hour number three”).
Trim the fat, serve the steak
Many more will be interested in highlights, those couple minutes of Pet Pro Dr. Donna Stone’s tips for “Helping Your Critters Keep Their Cool During a Long Hot Summer,” or whatever “money moments” aired.
— Give these excerpts a title, incorporating words someone might include in Search. Add a sharable description. Let MS Copilot or ChatGPT make you a graphic. For this example, make it a cute puppy.
— In addition to the station’s website, these clips should be all over your social media. Think of your whole show as a movie. Hashtag-laden Tweets that include a click-to-listen link are the trailer. Script several versions and post at intervals.
— Get good at this, and your posts will get shared.
–And Dr. Donna can share her moment to her followers.
This is something music station morning shows do better than talk stations, because archiving whole songs is taboo. They’re forced to cull.
Find the time
It’s an investment in reach, relevance, and revenue. Don’t just archive – curate. You can find new ears, using these audio appetizers to offer people who don’t know your show to try the entrée.
Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a media consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke
2025. The inductees will be honored at the in-person 2025 Radio Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on October 30 at the Swissotel Hotel in Chicago. Among this year’s inductees are: Colin Cowherd, host of “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”; Mike McVay of McVay Media; and Julie Talbott, president of Premiere Networks. 
($2.7 billion), #2 direct mail ($2.5 billion), #3 PC/laptop ($2.3 billion), and #4 TV OTA+digital ($1.6 billion). The report notes that 64% of the state’s total ad spend in done in three markets: Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Tampa-St. Petersburgh-Sarasota, and Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne. 
-24 and, perhaps not surprisingly, their most preferred categories of podcasts are Comedy, Music, Entertainment, and True Crime. News/Information is far down the list with just 17% saying they watched or listened to a news/information podcast in the last month. Also noteworthy is the breakdown of delivery systems for audio for this demographic. Streaming music is the top audio source (42%), followed by YouTube (20%), and AM/FM (16%) in third place. 
solutions executive Michael Katz writes that, according to Scarborough consumer purchase data, consumers were asked to “select auto dealerships where you or other household members might shop if you were planning to buy or lease a new or used vehicle (including in-store and online shopping)” and 36% were unable to name an auto dealer. Katz adds that one out five auto intenders (21%), those who will lease or buy a new or used vehicle in the next year, cannot name one auto dealer. He says, “Auto dealers need ads that teach people who they are and build their brands.” 
are grateful to Steve and Ken Thiele (founder & executive chairman) for their magnanimous corporate contribution to support the work of the Broadcasters Foundation. With support like this from the broadcast industry, the Broadcasters Foundation can continue to deliver much-needed aid to those in our business who need it most. We hope this match campaign inspires other organizations to find impactful ways to support our unique mission.” For information about the Broadcasters Foundation, including how to make a donation or apply for aid, please visit 
If you saved back issues from when TALKERS was a print tabloid, dig-down about 20 years into the stack. A couple times a year beginning then, I was reporting from conferences then called The Podcast and New Media Expo, which later evolved into NMX and BlogWorld and other incarnations.
The drive to stream video of radio shows has always been risky. Remember your shock when you first saw one of your radio heroes? Video streaming can present a constant disconnect between the show in the listener’s head and the show on the stream. Many stations make the disconnect worse by streaming terrible video images. Combine the trauma of how a host really looks with a dreary TV show and the package cannot benefit the relationship between station and listener/viewer.
right, two shows… one on the radio, one on the stream. Seamless and fun.
KPIs and lower CPMs can be misleading, and a channel’s ability to claim conversion credit doesn’t necessarily translate to real value. This bias can lead to underinvestment in traditional channels, like radio, which, despite being perceived as less effective, can deliver substantial ROI.” The perceived effectiveness of radio by marketers puts it dead last in ROI. But a weighted average shows that radio is second only to social media in ROI. The study also found that “podcasts demonstrate strong ROI, comparable to TV and digital display, yet they are often overlooked or undervalued.” 
manager Liz Mayer says, “There is no denying that YouTube is playing an important role in the podcast ecosystem, especially when it comes to discovering new podcasts. However, over half of weekly podcast consumers indicate they consume via audio primarily. So, while the new video capabilities are exciting and need to be focused on, the industry can’t forget that it’s what consumers are hearing that is most important.” Highlights from the report include: 1) Audio remains the primary mode of podcast consumption (58%) despite growing video options; 2) YouTube is the leading podcast platform, yet it is not a walled garden as consumers listen to podcasts across multiple platforms; 3) Podcast discovery: YouTube is the place to be found; 44% of new podcast audiences started listening on YouTube; 4) Downloads and listens underestimate the actual audience: The current download impression model fails to account for co-listening; and 5) Why podcast advertising works so well: Podcasts hosts are three times more influential than social media influencers. 
With so many of us taking vacation time soon, guest hosts are often local somebodies who are not career broadcasters and don’t share our second-nature performance routines. For their benefit, these tips, based on my experience on both sides of the mic:
website: “He was our friend and co-worker at WWJ Newsradio 950 and also a friend to our listeners, bringing you the stories of the day from Detroit and across Southeast Michigan. Someone recently described him as a hero, and we can’t argue with that. We are heartbroken to share that WWJ reporter and anchor Mike Campbell died on Sunday. He was 65 years old, having just celebrated his birthday at the end of May. He was a fearless reporter, with unique style — a way of talking to and connecting with the people who were a part of the stories he told.” Campbell is survived by his wife Terri and is children. 
This coming Sunday, June 15, is Father’s Day. For that day – and the Friday before (hint-hint) – you might have already readied Harry Chapin’s “
study of 303 media agencies and marketers conducted in August 2024 found the perceived combined audience share of Pandora/Spotify is 43%, much greater than the perceived share of AM/FM radio (27%). In reality, “According to the Q1 2025 Share of Ear, AM/FM radio’s persons 18+ share of ad-supported audio (68%) is 14 times larger than ad-supported Pandora (5%) and ad-supported Spotify (5%).” The data also reveals that podcasts take the second-place spot with a 20% share. Ad-supported Pandora (5%), ad-supported Spotify (5%), and ad-supported SiriusXM (3%) lag distantly. 
“Fewer than half of Americans plan to travel this Summer,” according to a 
encompasses four divisions: Local TV and Radio; Network, Syndication Service, Program Service TV and Radio; Digital News Organizations; and Student Awards. RTDNA says the Murrow Awards “recognize local and national news stories that uphold the RTDNA Code of Ethics, demonstrate technical expertise and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community. Murrow Award-winning work demonstrates the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession.” 
that the KNBR “‘Papa and Silver’ midday show signed off from the 750 Battery St. studios just before 2:00 pm. After a break, the ‘Dirty Work’ afternoon show went live from Daly City.” The story notes that sports talk KNBR was originally KPO-AM when it launched on April 17, 1922 with its tower on top of the Hale Brothers department store at 901 Market Street. 
driving brand preference is ‘mental availability’: how well known a brand is, and how easily it comes to mind. Brands with low mental availability tend to struggle, rejected in favor of more familiar rivals. Or not considered in the first place. Brands with high mental availability don’t have to push so hard to sell, so tend to have higher market shares and better margins.” The authors also advise, “Always aim to get more customers from all segments of the market. It’s the main way brands grow.” The blog post concludes that AM/FM radio makes your media plan better by increasing reach. One example is illustrated as follows: Edison’s “Share of Ear” study of ad-supported audio reveals the combined persons 18+ daily reach of Pandora and Spotify is only 12% of Americans. Adding podcasts causes reach to surge to 29%. The introduction of AM/FM radio lifts daily reach to 74%. 
hasn’t committed to the run by opening a campaign account but confirms to the paper he’s seriously considering challenging incumbent Sabina Matos. The story notes that Matos’ 2023 run for congress was marred by a “signature-collecting scandal that led to a campaign worker being charged with a felony.” Bartholomew is the producer and sometimes fill-in host for WPRO’s “Dan Yorke Show.” 
ad-supported media campaign. Among the findings is that in order to ensure that digital audio buys are effective, marketers should commit news/talk and sports stations because they represent 28% of all 25-54 AM/FM radio streaming audiences. Among 25-54s, spoken-word formats have a massive 28% streaming share, 2.4 times larger than the overall spoken word share of 12%. The news/talk format has a 6.7% share of total AM/FM radio listening. The streaming share for news/talk is 15.4% — more than double its total share. The sports format has a 12.5 share of the streaming audience, 2.5 times bigger than its overall 5 share. Further, the data indicates that for the 18-34 demographic, sports and news/talk streaming is a combined 19.6% share. 
signals including WQKR, WAMG, WCOR, WRMX, WSM-AM, WSM-FM, WZPC – Power Country 102.9, WFCM / Moody Radio, WJKM, and more. He also served with Cumulus and as chief engineer for 5 Star Radio in Clarksville. During his time with WSM-AM, he also served as an announcer for the Grand Ole Opry. Randall managed and operated WJKM for five years and served as chief engineer for Cromwell Radio (now Cromwell Media) for over 20 years, overseeing engineering for ten stations in the greater Nashville area. Randall’s son, Matt Aaron, serves as a broadcast engineer for Ramsey Solutions. 
TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison introduced the term in the 1990s, inviting us to think-beyond the real-time audio we were sending up those towers. What he described seemed conceptual, even futuristic, back then, when we were still logging-onto AOL via dial-up (screech).
original interviews, including 28 with individuals who have had near-death experiences (NDEs). He says, “This series weaves together stories of survival, grief, revelation, and spiritual awakening. It brings together voices rarely heard in one place: grief counselors, psychologists, metaphysical teachers, mediums, and survivors of clinical death – all sharing their deeply human experiences and insights.” He adds, “This series was created for people in mourning and for those who are curious about life beyond this world. The program is not driven by ideology or dogma. It’s about opening a door and letting others walk through it in their own way. I truly hope this presentation can bring people some measure of peace.” 
LLC, owner of news/talk KIVA, Albuquerque and hosts the afternoon drive “Rock of Talk” show. The seat is currently held by Democrat Gabe Vasquez. The Albuquerque Journal reports that Aragon ran for congress in the state’s 1st Congressional District in 2021 and previously ran for mayor of Albuquerque. He tells the paper, “I can win this race… We need more privatization of education. I think the approach that’s being taken at the national level is important. We don’t want to do without the money, but we definitely want to do without the bureaucracy.”