Tag: talk radio industry

Industry Views

LOOKING AHEAD to the Second Half of the Third Decade of the 21st Century

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Michael Harrison
TALKERS
Publisher

imgWith the conclusion of 2025 at hand, we are entering the second half of the third decade of the 21st century.  It will be a remarkably transitional period for the talk radio industry and its closely associated fields in talk media, as well as media-in-general.

Here’s what’s going to happen:

The age old “radio station” paradigm as a brick-and-mortar business/cultural/communications center will disappear.  After more than a century, it will be financially and physically impractical to operate the process of “radio” as a federally licensed production company tethered to a broadcast tower that houses programming, sales, and a roster of creative practitioners under one roof on an employee-based payroll. Radio “stations” will be more of an esthetic meme than an actual physical place on a dial coming from a specific business space with desks and “departments.” Programming and sales – local, regional, and national – will be provided by “outside” sources.  Most “talent” will operate as either independent contractors or employees (or “partners”) of these outside companies.  Local-ness and/or national-ness will not depend upon actual location of sources but rather focus of content.  The biggest challenge facing radio station owner/operators will be to transition their “media station” brands from being licensed entities to effectively competing in the “dark jungle” or “high seas” of unlicensed platforms… without going broke.

In the wider world of media:

AI is going to put “Hollywood” out of business.  Oh, there will still be a nebulously geographic place in Southern California called “Hollywood” but it will no longer be mythically based on big studios, production companies, and star talent.

And lovers of freedom will come to recognize the communications arm of “Big Tech” as the greatest threat to liberty facing humanity since World War II.

More on the above in 2026.

Happy holidays!

Michael Harrison is the publisher of TALKERS.  He can be contacted at michael@talkers.com.

Industry News

TALKERS 2023 Heavy Hundred is Published

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

The TALKERS magazine editorial board announces that the 2023 edition of its annual feature the 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America – also known as the Heavy Hundred – is now posted. This annual ranking of talk radio hosts is undertaken by TALKERS editors, with input from industry leaders, and is based on a combination of hard and soft factors including courage, effort, impact, longevity, potential, ratings, recognition, revenue, service, talent, and uniqueness. It is as much subjective art as mathematical science and intended to be a dimensional snapshot of the national talk radio industry at this given moment with an emphasis on the news/talk format.  Candidates for the Heavy Hundred must be working a regularly scheduled professional show on the air at a minimum of one terrestrial or satellite radio station at the time of publication. TALKERS magazine executive editor Kevin Casey says, “This feature remains one of the most challenging undertakings for the editors. There are so many quality talk radio hosts working at stations in major markets all the way down to the smallest outlets serving intimate communities. Winnowing that field to the ‘100 most important’ is very difficult, but it is a challenge we take very seriously. We’re excited to publish this year’s Heavy Hundred and to congratulate those fine hosts who’ve made the list.” See the 2023 Heavy Hundred here.