The following are videos of presentations and sessions from the TALKERS 2021 Conference that took place at Hofstra University on June 11, 2021:

 

 

GOOD MORNING: Opening Presentations

 

PANEL: Generating Talk Radio Revenue in a Noisy Digital World

 

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS – Michael Harrison: Welcome to the 20’s / Fireside Chat with Bill O’Reilly

 

PANEL: Programming News/Talk Radio in the 20’s

 

LUNCHEON: Welcoming Remarks

 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Brian Kilmeade

 

PANEL: Strategizing a Talk Show Hosting Career

 

PANEL: What Radio Must Do to Survive and Thrive

 

 
PANEL: Attracting Younger Demos and Broadening the Base

 

PANEL: Maintaining Integrity During Times of Political and Cultural Change

TALKERS 2021

Presented by TALKERS in Association with WRHU Radio
Friday June 11, 2021 – Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY

 

Downloadable and printable map with directions to the exact location on the Hofstra Campus.
 

 

 

 

 

Sponsored by (in alphabetical order):

ABC News Radio – Asa Rx – Backbone Networks – The Michael Berry Show – Broadcasters General Store – Howie Carr Radio Network – Comrex – The DJV Show – The Ric Edelman Show – The Sean Hannity Show – Newsmax –  Our American Stories – Premiere Networks – Radio America – The Ramsey Show – Talk Media Network

 

AGENDA                                                                                                 

7:30 am – 6:00 pm – Registration Desk in Lobby of John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Registration Desk Open

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8:00 am – 8:55 am – Reception Tent next to John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Breakfast

Sponsored by Sean Hannity / Premiere Networks

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9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Lobby of John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Exhibits Open

Backbone Networks

Representative: Richard Cerny

Broadcasters General Store

Representative:  Buck Waters

Comrex

Representative:  Raul Hun

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9:00 am – 9:55 am – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Opening Presentations

Morning Greetings

Emcee: David Bernstein, General Manager Broadcast Operations, TALKERS

Welcoming Remarks: Jimmy Failla, talk show host, Fox News Radio

Special Message: Sean Hannity, Talk Show Host, Premiere Networks/Fox News Channel (on video)

Tribute to Broadcasters Foundation of America: Harry Hurley, talk show host, WPG, Atlantic City

Sponsored by Asa RX

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10:00 am – 10:40 am – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Panel Discussion

Generating Talk Radio Revenue in a Noisy Digital World

Introduction: Holland Cooke, Media Consultant / Talk Show host, RT America  (on video)

Moderator: Jim Bohannon, Talk Show Host, Westwood One

Panelists:

Marc Beaven, General Manager, WCBM, Baltimore

Kathy Carr, President, Howie Carr Radio Network, Boston

Paul Gleiser, President/Owner, KTBB, Tyler, TX

Erik Hellum, Chief Operating Officer, Townsquare Media, New York/RAB

Christine Travaglini, President, Katz Radio Group, New York/RAB

Paul Vandenburgh, Owner/Morning Show Host, Talk 1300 WGDJ, Albany, NY

Sponsored by Premiere Networks

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10:45 am – 11:00 am – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Welcome to the 20’s

Speaker:  Michael Harrison, Publisher, TALKERS

Sponsored by Backbone Networks

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11:00 am – 11:25 am – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Fireside Chat

Host: Michael Harrison, Publisher, TALKERS 

Guest: Bill O’Reilly, Commentator, Key Networks

Sponsored by Comrex

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11:30 am – 12:10 pm – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Programming News/Talk Radio in the ‘20s

Introduction: Doug Stephan, Talk Show Host/CEO Stephan Multimedia

Moderator: Mike McVay, President, McVay Media Consulting

Panelists:

Phil Boyce, Senior VP/Spoken Word Format, Salem Media Group/Salem Radio Network; Operations VP, New York Region

Michael Czarnecki, Program Director, WONK-FM, Washington, DC and iHeart Podcast Network

Dave LaBrozzi, Senior Vice President of Programming, Red Apple Media

Josh Leng, CEO, Talk Media Network

Greg Stocker, Executive Producer, Rich Zeoli Show/Assistant Program Director, WPHT, Philadelphia

Joe Thomas, Program Director/Morning Show Host, WCHV, Charlottesville, VA

Sponsored by the DJV Show
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12:15 pm – 1:15 pm – Reception Tent next to John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Lunch

Welcoming Remarks:  Mark Lukasiewicz, Dean, Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, Hofstra University

Special Remarks:  Lawrence Jones, Enterprise Reporter, “Fox & Friends”

 

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1:20 pm – 1:45 pm – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Keynote Address

Introduction:  Frank MacKay, Talk Show Host, (Long Island News Radio) WRCN-FM, Riverhead, NY

Speaker:  Brian Kilmeade, Talk Show Host, Fox News Radio/Fox News Channel

Sponsored by the Ric Edelman Show

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1:50 pm – 2:30 pm – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Panel Discussion

Strategizing a Talk Show Hosting Career 

Introduction: Dick Morris, Talk Show Host, Newsmax/WABC, New York/ Blogger, DickMorris.com

Moderator: Kevin Casey, Vice President/Executive Editor, TALKERS

Panelists:

Rob Carson, Talk Show Host/commentator, Newsmax TV

Heather Cohen, Executive Vice President, The Weiss Agency

Grace Curley, Howie Carr Radio Network/WRKO, Boston

Erick Erickson, Talk Show Host, WSB, Atlanta

Dom Giordano, Talk Show Host, WPHT, Philadelphia

Harry Hurley, Talk Show Host, WPG, Atlantic City, NJ

Sponsored by the Michael Berry Show

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2:40 pm – 3:20 pm – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Panel Discussion

What Radio Must Do to Survive and Thrive

Introduction:  Dr. Ira Nash, Senior Vice President/Executive Director, Northwell Health Physicians Partners

Moderator:  Michael Harrison, Publisher, TALKERS

Panelists:

Bruce Avery, General Manager, WRHU Radio

Vince Benedetto, CEO, Bold Gold Media Group

Chris Oliviero, Senior Vice President/Market Manager Audacy, New York

Walter Sterling, Talk Show Host, “Sterling on Sunday”

Julie Talbott, President, Premiere Networks

Sponsored by the Ramsey Show

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3:25 pm – 4:05 pm – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Panel Discussion

Attracting Younger Demos and Broadening the Base

Moderator: John T. Mullen, operations director, WRHU Radio, Hempstead, NY

Speakers:

Dr. Asa Andrew, Talk Show Host, Asa RX

Mike “Bax” Baxendale, Morning Co-host, WAQY-FM (Rock 102) Springfield, MA

Derek Hunter, Talk Show Host, WCBM, Baltimore

Sid Rosenberg, Morning Co-host, WABC, New York

Brett Winterble, Talk Show Host, WBT, Charlotte

Martha Zoller, Talk Show Host, WDUN, Gainesville, GA

Sponsored by Broadcasters General Store

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4:10 pm – 4:50 pm – John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Panel Discussion

Maintaining Integrity in Times of Political and Cultural Change

Introduction: Brad Shepard, General Manager, Pioneer Valley Radio, Springfield, MA

Moderator: Lee Harris, Morning Drive News Anchor, WINS, New York

Panelists:

Juliet Huddy, Talk Show Host WABC, New York

Dr. Lisa Mozer, Talk Show Host, WSIC, Statesville, NC /Podcaster, “Teacher Talk”

Dr. Daliah Wachs, Talk Show Host, Genesis Communications Network

Lisa Wexler, Talk Show Host, WICC, Bridgeport/Probate Judge, State of Connecticut

Larry Young, Talk Show Host WOLB, Baltimore

Rich Zeoli, Talk Show Host, WPHT, Philadelphia

Sponsored by ABC News Radio

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5:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Reception Tent next to John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Closing Reception

Sponsored by Newsmax

 

 

PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

How Libertarianism Can Save America. Dr. Murray Sabrin Explains Libertarianism and How It Relates to Today’s Hottest Issues.  One of the nation’s most respected authorities on libertarianism, retired professor of finance, prolific author, and former Libertarian nominee for Governor of New Jersey, Dr. Sabrin pulls no punches on inflation, the Russia-Ukraine war, immigration, the polarization of America, supply chain breakdowns, COVID-19 and a whole lot more. To book a guest appearance, contact Victoria Jones at the DC Radio Company. 917-865-3991. victoria@dcradiocompany.com.

Michael Harrison “Idiots” Tour Off and Running. TALKERS founder Michael Harrison has appeared as a guest on a number of major local and national radio talk shows covering several hundred stations across the nation during the past three weeks discussing the musical track “Idiots” on which he appears as lead vocalist with the iconic classic rock band, GUNHILL ROAD. “Idiots” is a catchy song with an ear-worm hook and provocative lyrics taking aim at what Harrison describes as the “growing wave of idiocy that’s spreading across America and threatening the nation’s democracy.” Harrison wrote the song in collaboration with his bandmates – Steve Goldrich, Paul Reisch and Brian Koonin. Since its release in late August, the song’s music video (www.idiotsvideo.com) has racked up thousands of views on YouTube and gotten airplay on dozens of talk shows and radio station websites. “Ironically, the song is becoming somewhat of a talk radio hit,” says Harrison. “The music stations haven’t a clue what to do with it because it doesn’t fit conveniently into their cookie cutter categories. Today’s music radio doesn’t have the flexibility to include those ‘odd’ and ‘offbeat’ songs that would occasionally come down the pike and become hits in pop’s golden era. However, talk radio programmers get it.” One of the song’s qualities that adds to its talk show appeal and support from both liberals and conservatives is its non-partisanship. Harrison calls it an “equal opportunity offender.” Harrison plans to continue the Talk Radio Idiots Tour through the fall. Shows and hosts interested in booking him as a guest can do so by emailing info@talkers.com or calling Barbara Kurland at 413-565-5413. Click here to see the video.

Jack Marshall – ProEthics, Ltd. Innovator in ethics training and consulting in law, accounting, business; national, state, local and foreign governments; non-profits and associations. President of ProEthics, an ethics and compliance firm dedicated to helping organizations and professions build ethical cultures; also Adjunct Professor of Legal Ethics at American University in Washington, D.C. A Harvard and Georgetown-educated attorney, his ethics commentary has appeared in O and The Hardball Times Annual, and heard on NPR’s “Tell Me More!” He writes about the ethics issues of current events on his website, The Ethics Scoreboard. He is also the co-editor, with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ed Larson, of The Essential Words and Writings of Clarence Darrow, published by Modern Library. Contact guest directly in Alexandria, VA.  Main phone: 703-548-5229. jamproethics@verizon.net. More info: https://www.expertclick.com/ex/Ethics

Liza Amlani – Retail Strategy Expert.  Liza Amlani is a retail industry veteran and the go-to expert in retail merchandising, product creation, and accelerating speed to market. In a career spanning 20+ years, Liza has worked with familiar brands including Holt Renfrew, Ralph Lauren Europe and Canada, Club Monaco, Nike, Walmart. Liza founded Retail Strategy Group in 2020 – a consulting practice helping companies in the retail space dramatically improve profitability and increase organizational effectiveness. Liza’s opinion is sought after and is held in high regard; Liza is a regular contributor to RetailWire, Bloomberg, Forbes, and Footwear News & Sourcing Journal. She also brings a wealth of global insight to her work given the number of stamps in her passport and countries in which she has resided – Liza has moved over 27 times in her life. Media Contact: Raj Dhiman in London, ON, Canada.  Contact phone: 416-627-3008. raj@retailstrategygroup.com. More info: https://www.expertclick.com/ex/Retail-Strategy-Expert

Lifesaving Resources to Conduct 2023 Ice Rescue Instructor Academy. Gerald M. Dworkin – Consultant, Aquatics Safety and Water Rescue.  The 2023 International Ice Rescue Instructor Academy is scheduled for February 16-19 in Portland, Maine. This intensive four-day luxury boot-camp style Academy is designed to train First Responders as Ice Rescue Instructors who, upon completion of the Academy, will be authorized to conduct Ice Rescue Awareness, Operations and Technician level courses to members of their own department.  Tuition includes all books and materials, single-occupancy hotel lodging, all meals, and four days of intensive and comprehensive training consisting of 12+ classroom hours and 20+ on/through-the-ice practical sessions, including a Night Ops session.  Lifesaving Resources has been conducting similar Academies since 1990 and has trained and authorized over 500 instructors from throughout the United States and Canada. Lifesaving Resources’ training programs meet/exceed NFPA 1670 & NFPA 1006 Standards for Technical Rescue.  Contact guest directly at Lifesaving Resources, LLC. Direct phone: 207-967-8614. gerald@lifesaving.com.  More info: https://www.expertclick.com/NRWire/Releasedetails.aspx?id=277434.

A Personal Message from Michael Harrison…

For more than six decades, the Broadcasters Foundation of America has provided financial assistance to radio and television broadcasters who are in acute financial need. With the hard work of our dedicated board, officers, contributors and volunteers, we are able to fulfill our mission of giving back to broadcasters who have given so much in their careers.

To see the Broadcasters Foundation of America video, click here.

To visit the website, click here.

To donate, click here.

(more…)

LOS ANGELES — Registrations for the West Coast installment of this year’s innovative two-part Talkers New Media Seminar are now being booked.  Based upon initial demand it will be an early sellout – just as the standing room-only New York installment this past June and last year’s experimental Los Angeles Regional Talkers Forum.  The gathering is following the new format consisting of one solid, power-packed day, a drastically-reduced recession-friendly registration fee of $99 (including breakfast, lunch, refreshments and all sessions) and a limited seating capacity in an intimate setting.  Set for Thursday, October 11 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, the conference will take place at the historic Steve Allen Theater and again be presented by TALKERS in association with the Los Angeles Press Club which is based out of that colorful venue.   According to TALKERS founder Michael Harrison, “Last year’s experimental Los Angeles Regional Talkers Forum was a smashing success that set the stage for this year’s two-part bi-coastal national event.  The first part of this new version of the convention that was held in New York this past June was one of the most productive and well-received conferences in TALKERS magazine’s history.  LA will be equally if not more exciting a happening!  Attendees will enjoy a memorable day of dynamic networking and exposure to the most sought-after views and information about the industry’s hottest challenges, opportunities and issues.”  Full agenda details will be posted here at Talkers.com in the coming days and weeks – but to assure registration, attendees are advised to sign up now.  Because it is open only to working media, there will be no online registration — only by telephone.  For registration and sponsorship information call 413-565-5413.

 

 

 

2CheckOut.com Inc. (Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by TALKERS magazine and it’s affiliates.

2CheckOut.com Inc. (Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by TALKERS magazine.

JC Corcoran Responds

Gentlemen:

I enjoy your work, but I wish one of you responsible for today’s piece (Social Media: Handle with Care, published 1/27/12) had contacted me before it was published.  I might have been able to contribute background information most would consider pertinent.  It’s a bit frustrating to see the outcome which, in this case, amounts to a number of colleagues whose work I respect, taking positions without having some of the key facts in the story at their collective disposal.  These facts may or may not have altered their opinions, but still should be taken into consideration.  I hope you’ll share this information online as an addendum to today’s story.

I am not “defending” my use of rough language in the tweets.  I’m only offering an explanation.  Unbelievably, this entire thing began when, during the first week of October, I was alone in breaking the story, three weeks before the rest of the free world, that St. Louis Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa was about to retire from baseball.  The story was universally dismissed and I was roundly ridiculed by the local media.  It wasn’t until the day after the World Series parade that everyone realized I’d had one of the great scoops in recent memory.  My relatively new Twitter account went from 280 followers to over 2600 in just a few days.  In mid-November, similar kinds of sources told me Albert Pujols was only a few hours away from re-signing with the Cardinals.  I tweeted it.  I ended up being wrong.  That’s when some longtime adversaries went into attack mode.

1)  The Riverfront Times, the publication that started the controversy by publishing the exchange between me and the “listeners,” has been attacking, cheap-shotting and mischaracterizing my work almost since the day I arrived in St. Louis twenty-seven years ago.  I will simply use one story as an example of the way they work.  Several years ago I was involved in a lawsuit with another pair of broadcasters.  The pair engineered a physical attack on me at a charity appearance I was broadcasting from, then told police it was I that had attacked them.  Over the course of the three-year long wait for the case to come to trial, the RFT published almost two dozen attacks on my character, ranging from accusation to ridicule.  When I won the case, and the jury hit the opposing pair with $370,000 in damages, the RFT spoke not a word of it.  Moral of the story?  Their decision to come after me again came as no surprise.

2)  A series of tweets from two of the individuals in question was never published by the RFT or any other media outlet that covered this story.  The people who sent those tweets were nice enough to tell me they wanted to “rape my mother,” among other things.  I ignored them.  Again, I’m not surprised this part of the story was omitted by The Riverfront Times.  It was only when more of this sewage was sent that I finally reacted the way I did.

3)  This is not the way I talk to people.  This is not the way I talk to listeners.  This is the way I talk to creeps.

4)  Two of the people that have been sending this stuff have been identified as local broadcast competitors.  Cowards hiding behind phony screen names.  That element to the story, somehow, has been left out of all of this.  (For the record, every single thing I do in this town contains my real name and image.)

For nearly three decades I have enjoyed a terrific relationship with my listeners.  Frankly, it’s the kind of bond most GMs and PDs can only dream about.  I’ve achieved amazing ratings and won all the awards.  I hardly think it would be fair to make this unfortunate development seem typical of my work here or somehow reduce it to being my defining moment.  I learn from my mistakes as well as the mistakes of others.  I hope you’ll all do the same.

I continue to look forward to your daily work at Talkers.

JC Corcoran
KTRS, St. Louis
jcontheline.com

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Great Article

I read your story, “Social Media: Handle with Care” with great interest.  I find that tweeting is a great way to engage the audience.  You will get tweets from people who will never call a radio program and sometimes from callers after they get off the air.  Twitter is used by some in our business as a one way communication and I assume that is because they don’t want to be seen as only responding to favorable comments.  I will tend to ReTweet a positive comment, but I will RT and respond to negative comments more frequently.  I guess I enjoy the “fight, fight, fight” mentality of the school yard.

Talk radio, at least how I see it, is a persuasive medium and Twitter gives you an oppurtunity to make points and back them up with links. Twitter also reminds you sometimes that you aren’t always right.

I think the real danger in a talk radio host adamantly using Twitter seems to be the danger of slipping into a mode that allows talk that wouldn’t be OK on the air, as if you were texting a freind of yours. I am guilty of this many times.

Great article.

Dale Jackson
PD/ Host of The Dale Jackson Show
The Attack Machine Blog
NewsTalk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN
Cumulus Media – Huntsville, AL
dale.jackson@cumulus.com

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Very Smart

Love the Social Media: Handle with Care exploration.  Very smart!

Amir Forester
Forester Public Relations
Los Angeles, California
amir@foresterpublicrelations.com

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Builds Up Fan Base

I have found facebook and twitter very beneficial in keeping my name in front of my former listeners during my time on the beach.  Everyday I post a story or two and make a comment on it.  Some of the discussions can get pretty intense.  It’s as if I am doing a show without doing a show.

I have the maximum of 5,000 friends on my facebook page plus 1300 on a newer fan page and about 1300 Twitter followers.  Now I know there is some overlap, but I am still adding people every day.  When I announce my next gig I will have a built in forum to drive my listeners to the new station.  It has been a wonderful way to build a loyal fan base and keep my name in the public’s eye.

Any host that isn’t currently using social media to build up their fan base in case they find themselves looking for work is a fool.

Tom Becka
Talk Show Host
Omaha, Nebraska

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Responses to Walter Sabo’s Overnight: The Underexploited Daypart

THANK YOU.  Never understood why dummies don’t do more with overnights.  Why must you and I be smarter than everyone ALWAYS?

– Jake Fogelnest via Twitter

The dream for my next life.  Another all-night talk show.

– Haney Howell via Twitter

Hey…I LOVE this,Walter!  I’m a HUGE fan of “overnight” radio.  It’s how I started my career.  I do hope that your readers understand how true what you suggest is to them.  Overnights has long been ingnored in radio…a place to put the “new guy/gal,” etc.  There are TONS of wide awake people, at those hours, who’d appreciate being treated like they were as important as midday or AM drive listeners.

– Bob Bateman via Twitter

Love this.  My 2 1/2 years of overnights at WHEN Syracuse (1980-82) were fantastic and the phones always rang off the hook thanks to a wide-ranging audience of students & third shifters.

– Peter King via Twitter

Walter, I always liked your response to management: “You want non-traditional revenue?  How about selling the all-night show?”

– Tom Parker via Twitter

‎”Dennison’s…A Men’s Clothier”…etc., etc.  Love the article, as you’d imagine!

– Ray Rossi via Twitter

Enjoyed this article very much, Walter.  I totally agree.  Before talk radio, I was on air at QVC for 15 years and helped them build the overnights to an extremely profitable time slot.  Like radio, they had been neglecting it.  Live and local overnight radio shows will not only “lead the way” to morning drive, they will open the door to so many new advertisers.

Nice job, thank you for writing it!

– Steve Bryant via e-mail

 

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Contact TALKERS: info @ talkers [dot] com.