Date and Venue Set for TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter
The date and location for the 28th installment of the talk media industry’s longest running and most important national conference is set for Friday, June 5. TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter will take place at Hofstra University, on Long Island just outside of New York City. Don’t be shut
out. The power-packed, one-day agenda is being organized and designed to address the field of talk media’s most pressing and existential issues. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison states, “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.”
News/talk, sports talk, all-news, and general talk will be amply covered. There will be over 50 top industry speakers, and registration is limited to insure intimacy. Attendance at the conference is only open to members of the working media and directly associated industries as well as students enrolled in accredited learning institutions. All attendees will be required to register in advance on the phone payable by credit card.
Because attendance will be limited, the conference is again expected to be an early sellout. The all-inclusive registration fee covering convention events, exhibits, food, and services for the day is $260. However, attendees can take advantage of the early bird fee of $150 available until 5:00 pm ET on Friday, April 3. All registrations are non-refundable. This power-packed, one-day event is being presented in association with Hofstra’s multi-award-winning station, WRHU Radio and the school’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication.
To register for TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter or to obtain sponsorship information, call Barbara Kurland at 413-565-5413. Nearby hotel information will be posted here shortly.
The best thing about attending media conferences like TALKERS 2024: Radio and Beyond, which occurred last week on June 7, is the opportunity to hear diverse viewpoints from industry experts. Gatherings like these also provide the opportunity for attendees like me to “chew” on some of the great ideas presented by the expert panelists and think about solutions to some of the challenges raised during the discussions.
This week, I started a five-night show on Audacy’s WPHT, Philadelphia. Thank you, market president David Yadgaroff. Because of my tenure in the industry, I received a flattering, humbling number of emails from colleagues in radio. THANK YOU. The support and encouragement are appreciated and certainly needed!
mornings and late nights at the heritage station. Prior to that he served for 15 years as the local host of the evening magazine program on Seattle’s KING5 NBC. During his career on KIRO, Curley has spearheaded a number of extremely creative and high-profile charitable promotions in addition to operating an independent business as a fund-raising auctioneer for charitable causes and organizations across the nation. He raises an average of $80 million per year with this endeavor. In making the announcement, TALKERS founder Michael Harrison stated, “John Curley is a true on- and off-air original… iconoclastic, candid, and smart. His charity work as a radio personality over the years has been creative, entertaining, and effective. However, it is his remarkable skill and productivity as an auctioneer for non-profits around America that is absolutely stunning. When John gets on that stage, he raises auctioneering to a heart pounding art form and drags every ounce of generosity out of his spellbound audiences. His patter is song and his moves are dance.” 
region that carry Carr’s independently syndicated afternoon drive talk show. He is an inductee in the Radio Hall of Fame. With roots in investigative print journalism, Carr is the New York Times best-selling author of The Brothers Bulger and Hitman, in addition to several other Boston organized-crime books and two novels. He has remained in newspaper work that goes back prior to his radio career as an active columnist for the Boston Herald and has received a National Magazine Award for his work with Boston Magazine. Boston organized-crime boss Whitey Bulger was so infuriated by Carr’s groundbreaking reporting that he once put out a murder contract on Carr – a story detailed on “60 Minutes.” At his 2013 trial on murder and racketeering charges, Bulger tried to have Carr banned from the courtroom by calling him as a defense witness. Before he was brutally murdered in a gangland hit, the crime czar still said his greatest regret was not murdering Carr when he had the chance. Carr once taught a course at Harvard, where he had to cross a picket line against himself to get to his class. In making the announcement, TALKERS founder Michael Harrison stated, “Howie Carr is the real deal – the best of both the old and new schools in media. He was practicing ‘cross-platform’ journalism and commentary long before it became the digital-era norm. He’s got ink in his veins and RF in his brains. His impact in the Northeast has been so strong for such a long time that if the six New England States were to consolidate as one, he would possibly be its first governor.” Carr will be one of 60 industry leaders speaking at TALKERS 2024: Radio and Beyond. For more information, see story below.
