Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

— SiriusXM and sports talk personality Adam Schein agree to a new, four-year contract that keeps Schein hosting his daily late morning show “Schein on Sports” on the Mad Dog Sports Radio channel. Schein will also continue to host his newly rebranded SiriusXM podcast, now titled “Rise and Schein,” which features compelling long-form interviews with athletes and celebrities.

— Hillsdale College’s WRFH “Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM” in Hillsdale, Michigan takes home the top honors at the 2023 Michigan Student Broadcast Awards, hosted by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. The station was named the “2023 College Audio Station of the Year” and received nine individual awards. Station general manager Scot Bertram comments, “Our student broadcasters and journalists are committed to producing high-quality content that keeps listeners engaged. We’re honored to have that work recognized by such a prestigious organization.”

Features

‘Serial’ Wisdom

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in TALKERS magazine on December 23, 2014. The release of Adnan Sayed from prison last week put the investigative podcast “Serial” back in the spotlight. 

 

By Bill McMahon
The Authentic Personality
CEO

 

EAGLE, Idaho — I first learned about “Serial” the podcast from my Twitter feed. It was a day I was thinking a lot about the future of radio and audio entertainment. I was feeling pretty pessimistic. The current crop of news and talk programming on radio wasn’t giving me much hope. The headline style news delivered by most radio stations has become a commodity available on demand on multiple platforms. The superficial reports of common crime, ordinary human misfortune, politics and political process that dominate the radio news menu aren’t distinctive, interesting or relevant to the lives of most listeners. Talk programming is limited to conversations about sports and politics from a conservative political perspective. Digital audio initiatives from radio broadcasters are primarily repurposed radio programs offered as podcasts. The lack of imagination, innovation, and variety in audio content created by radio broadcasters left me feeling depressed about the future of the business to which I’ve dedicated most of my professional life.

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