Sports Journalist Lesley Visser to be Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at NYF TV & Film Awards
New York Festivals® Television & Film Awards has announced that it will honor pioneering sports journalist and broadcasting groundbreaker Lesley Visser with the New York Festivals 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award. NYF states, “A true innovator in sports journalism, Visser has made history as the first woman to achieve numerous milestones in the industry, earning her place as the most highly acclaimed female sportscaster of all time.” 
The New York Festivals Lifetime Achievement Award, launched in 2011, honors prominent industry leaders, innovators, and driving forces in the broadcast world whose groundbreaking accomplishments have advanced their field and left a lasting impact on the industry. The award recipient will be celebrated at the annual Storytellers Gala virtual event, which will recognize TV & Film Awards and Radio Awards trophy winners in May 2025. “I am deeply honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Television and Film Awards,” said Visser, “and I love that it will be presented at the Storytellers Gala. The heart of any sports journalist is dedicated to telling stories. I’m grateful to CBS for giving me this opportunity for more than 30 years, and I salute the men and women who have won this honor before me.” A nine-time Hall of Fame inductee, Lesley Visser has a long list of “firsts” to her credit. She was the first woman inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the first to win the Lifetime Achievement Sports Emmy, and the first recipient of the Vin Scully Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. Lesley’s memoir, Sometimes You Have to Cross When It Says Don’t Walk, reflects her impressive journey of breaking barriers and has been optioned for both TV and film. The annual TV & Film Awards Storytellers Gala, featuring winners and industry executives from around the globe, will be streamed in May 2025. View the 2024 Storytellers Gala. To view entry details, competition rules and regulations, and 2025 categories visit HERE.
Seven consumer studies commissioned by the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® over an eight-year period find audio listeners are a rich source of in-market financial consumers and drive significant top and bottom funnel impact. The key findings from the studies are outlined on this week’s blog.
…..FIVE TO BE INDUCTED: The Nebraska Broadcasters Association will induct Dennis & Kathi Brown, Dale Johnson, Mike McKnight and Dave Wingert into the NBA Hall of Fame on August 12th in La Vista during the NBA Annual Convention. Established in 1972, the NBA Hall of Fame will grow to 123 members with these pending inductees…..
IBA AND RVA TO HOST LIVE VIDEO STREAMING WEBINAR: The Radio Vendor Alliance (RVA) is producing another “Lunch and Learn” workshop in partnership with the Independent Broadcasters Association (IBA). The workshops are free online sessions and feature industry experts with practical solutions to radio’s most pressing problems. “Is Video the New Audio?” is scheduled for Thursday, February 20, at 1:00 pm ET.
The 45-minute session will include a Q&A and will be available for replay to all registrants. Registration is free (link: https://www.coolradiostreaming.com/) and IBA membership is not required.
received a letter that also contained a “suspicious white, powdery substance” and forced the company to evacuate the building for several hours. Station employees continued to broadcast from the parking lot while authorities, including a hazmat team, investigated. They were allowed to return to the building after a period but so far authorities have offered no details on the letter or the powdery substance. 
According to a story by reporter Louis Krause in yesterday’s (2/11) Minnesota Star Tribune longtime KDWB-FM Twin Cities radio host Dave Ryan was suspended from appearing on his talk show Monday morning, three days after a segment aired during which Ryan and co-hosts snorted powder food ingredients as part of a Super Bowl trivia game. He returned to the show yesterday following a one-day suspension. The segment on Friday’s episode of “The Dave Ryan Show” was titled “Super Blow,” according to three listeners who spoke with the Star Tribune and others who discussed it on the Reddit online forum. To read the full Star Tribune story, 
The syndicated “Armed American Radio” live stream hosted by successful broadcaster-Second Amendment defender Mark Walters is now available Monday through Friday 4:00-5:00 pm ET and Sundays 8:00-11:00 pm ET on You Tube at Armed American Radio, on Rumble at Armed American Radio, on Facebook Live at 
Mix-minus is handled internally by Gagl. Since guests or reporters are using equipment they are already familiar with, Gagl is accessible to everyone. Even if no conferencing is desired, Gagl provides a simple way to bridge the audio from computer and smartphone browsers to Comrex codecs, avoiding the need for a hardware codec in the field.
The Miami Marlins announced this morning (2/7) the hiring of Jack McMullen as the lead play-by-play announcer on the Marlins Radio Network. McMullen takes over for Kyle Sielaff, who is the 
Edison Research announces the Top 50 Podcasts in the U.S. based on reach for Q4 2024 among weekly podcast listeners age 13+. The list ranks podcasts based on total audience reach from 
Since then, he has solidified his position as a major radio host with notable audience share growth on flagship 77WABC in New York (41% year-over-year) and impressive weekly TSL of 1 hour and 15 minutes*. “I am looking forward to connecting every day with listeners in markets all across the U.S.,” Golden tells TALKERS. “During The Rush Hour, we take a look at events that occurred during the day, but we also take a break and have a little fun, too.” “James has attracted a loyal audience that continues to grow,” stated John Catsimatidis, owner of Red Apple Media, Red Apple Audio Networks, and 77WABC Radio. “Many of his listeners remember him from the Rush Limbaugh days, but the audience growth he is experiencing is solely on his own talent. His insights on politics, combined with his love for talk radio, has made him a phenomenal success.” In addition to “The Rush Hour,” Golden hosts a three-hour syndicated Saturday morning program, “The James Golden Show,” which launched into syndication last June. The show has amassed more than 30 affiliates, including five in the Top 50 DMAs. Both programs originate from the Red Apple Audio Networks flagship station, 77WABC Radio in New York. For information on any of Red Apple Audio Networks’ syndicated shows, stations may visit 
pm on Saturday, March 8 in the heart of the iconic IBS gathering. It will feature an array of six sessions with 16+ luminary industry speakers (to be named shortly) including a keynote address, fireside chat, and four panel discussions that will tackle such topics as “Launching and Managing a Career in a Changing Media Industry,” “Old School, New School, Next School: Learning from Each Other,” “Radio’s Place in a Digital World,” “Finding and Delivering Truth in an Age of Misinformation,” and much more. TALKERS will also serve as the Presenting Sponsor of the entire IBSNYC 2025 event.
A series of new studies from Advertiser Perceptions reveals national marketers are increasingly confident in the economy, will advertise more, and anticipate new product launches at record levels. Each month, Advertiser Perceptions, a leader in providing research-based strategic market intelligence for the advertising and ad tech industries, surveys 300 executives involved in media brand selection decisions who will spend a minimum of 1 million dollars in ad spend over the next 12 months. This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® blog outlines the key findings, examining the outlook national marketers have on the economy:
12 years with the station. A report in The Chattanoogan says that Joyce, who hosted the late morning “Brian Joyce Unfiltered” program, “parted ways” with the station last week. Joyce joined WGOW in 2012 and became part of the morning drive show in 2018, alongside Jim Reynolds and Kevin West. In 2023, Cumulus retooled the morning show bringing Jed Mescon aboard to co-host with Reynolds and Joyce moved to the late morning slot. 
from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. In 2022, the Lutzes moved to the 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm slot to better accommodate their schedules. Bob Lutz is the founder and executive director of the League 42 baseball league that serves inner city and low-income youths, and Jeff Lutz is a full-time digital producer at KWCH-TV, Wichita. In late 2024, KFH notified the duo that it wanted to move the syndicated Jim Rome show into their time slot and move them to the 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm slot. The two tried to produce the show earlier in the day to air at 5:00 but Bob Lutz tells the Eagle that not speaking live with callers took the fun out of the show. 
It says, “BIA will share radio ad forecasts to offer a clearer picture of what’s in store this year and which verticals are ready to spend in 2025. The advertising landscape keeps shifting, and we’re here to make sense of it all.” 
platforms that emphasize conversation and create a sense of connection. To win with this community who wields $2 trillion in buying power, brands must prioritize engagement strategies that center diverse Black experiences and cultural nuances.” The study notes that social media apps have become a haven for Black consumers – Black adults overall spend more time scrolling than their peers. Black millennials (between 18 and 34-years-old) spend the most time on social media among all adults by almost an hour per week. Black adults also have high engagement with radio and podcasts. Radio averages the same as TV in weekly reach with Black adults – each medium reaches 27 million Black adults on average. 
decided they didn’t want to call it quits and began formulating a plan to take their talents to the digital realm. According to a report in the Des Moines Register, they are launching the streaming program “The Rush” today (1/27). The 6:00 am to 8:00 am show streams live on YouTube, X/Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms five days per week. The duo survived a round of layoffs in 2020 after their program was canceled but listener blowback caused management to bring them back. 
Don McLean recalls the newspaper headline on February 3, 1959: “Three Rock’n’roll Stars Killed in Plane Crash.” He says, “I cried,” telling AARP Magazine that, years later, “I had my tape machine on, and this song just came out of me: ‘A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile…’”
(distributed by Premiere Networks) which runs two hours per day, five days per week on stations across the nation, is one of the most innovative and well-received syndicated talk radio shows (as well as podcasts) to come down the pike in many years. It is described by Habeeb as follows: “There’s no debate or opinion. No 
politics. No news. Just stories that bring people together around common values, themes, and the founding principles and ideals of our nation. Stories that create a space for listeners to escape the news and noise of the day and be moved and informed. To listen and learn.” Habeeb’s talk show credentials are formidable. He co-founded Laura Ingraham’s national radio show in 2001, moved to Salem Media in 2008 as VP of content, and launched “Our American Stories” in 2016. He’s a University of Virginia Law School graduate, a Newsweek essayist, and lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife Valerie and daughter Reagan. He is currently ranked #11 on the TALKERS “Heavy Hundred” list of the 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America. Harrison and Habeeb engage in an illuminating conversation about the importance of history and the power of storytelling. Don’t miss this! 
Metrics and “Share of Ear” Report, MRI-Simmons, Screen Engine/ASI, Podscribe, and Magellan AI. Four of the key findings from this are: 1) Podcast ad campaigns are too light: No brand is coming close to “saturating” podcast audiences; Brands should allocate 5% of digital budgets to podcasting; 2) After five years with a median age of 33 to 34, podcast audiences finally age to 36, reflecting broader appeal with older audiences; 3) Screen Engine/ASI: Podcast audiences offer CTV advertisers significant incremental reach; and 4) Podcasts tighten their grip on audio audiences: Among podcast listeners, 35% of all audio time spent now goes to podcasts. 
Here’s the script:
Longtime talk radio mainstay and TALKERS Heavy Hundred member, Jeff Katz is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Katz is the tremendously popular 3:00 – 6:00 pm host at Audacy’s WRVA, Richmond, VA where he has developed a national reputation within the broadcasting industry as a champion of public service and community outreach. 
In addition to being a compelling political commentator and dazzlingly entertaining personality, Katz – a former Philadelphia police officer – has worked tirelessly for years as a champion of law enforcement, the needy, and the disabled. A former recipient of the TALKERS “Humanitarian of the Year” award, Katz has received numerous honors over the years from public officials including the President of the United States, Director of the FBI, and Governor of Virginia. Just recently, VA Governor Glenn Youngkin appointed Katz to the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities. Katz and Harrison discuss radio’s handling of the current water crisis afflicting central Virginia, which has been overshadowed, in terms of national attention, by the Southern California wildfire disaster, in addition to the importance of radio as an invaluable societal safety net. Don’t miss this. To listen to the podcast in its entirety, please click