Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories This Past Week (March 17-21, 2025)

Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (3/17-21) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:

Stories/Topics

1. Trump Dismantles Department of Education
2. Trump vs Judiciary
3. The Economy-Jobs-Inflation
4. Musk-DOGE Activities / Federal Firings
5. Israel-Hamas War-Gaza Cease Fire Broken / Russia-Ukraine War
6. Astronauts Return
7. ICE Deportation Crackdown
8. First Amendment Issues / GOP Town Halls
9. Big Tech / Misinformation / Censorship
10.Healthcare / Avian (Bird) Flu / Measles Outbreak

People

1. Donald Trump / Elon Musk
2. Benjamin Netanyahu
3. Vladimir Putin
4. Volodymyr Zelenskyy
5. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
6. Jeff Bezos
7. Mike Johnson
8. John Roberts / James Boasberg
9. Butch Wilmore / Suni Williams
10.JD Vance / Marco Rubio

To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.

Industry News

NPR Looks Back at Political Talk Pioneer Joe Pyne

The NPR program “All Things Considered” produced a piece on political talk media pioneer Joe Pyneimg (pictured here) that aired on the program yesterday (3/13). TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison was among those interviewed for the eight-minute segment called Radio Diaries. Pyne began his career as a disc jockey but after injecting political commentary into his show was encouraged to do more talking and that eventually evolved into the Joe Pyne radio show that the NBC Radio Network put into syndication in 1966. Pyne enjoyed bringing controversial guests – including “hippies, women’s libbers, Scientologists, swingers, a snake charmer, members of the Ku Klux Klan and the John Birch Society.” He then segued to television in Los Angeles. Harrison is quoted in the segment saying, “There were a lot of people that didn’t like Pyne, but they watched him anyway because they thought it was — amusing? Entertaining? Sensational? Different? You know, not boring.” Photo: Everett Collection Read more and listen to the segment here.

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories This Past Week (March 10-14, 2025)

Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (3/10-14) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:

Stories/Topics

1. GOP Budget/Government Shutdown Threat
2. Trump’s Trade War/Financial Markets Plunge
3. Musk-DOGE Activities
4. Department of Education Elimination
5. Russia-Ukraine War
6. EPA Deregulation
7. Greenland Elections
8. Israel-Hamas War
9. U.S.-Canada Relations
10.Big Tech / Misinformation / Censorship

People

1. Donald Trump
2. Elon Musk
3. Vladimir Putin/Volodymyr Zelenskyy
4. Benjamin Netanyahu
5. Howard Lutnick/Doug Ford
6. Chuck Schumer
7. JD Vance
8. Linda McMahon
9. Mike Johnson
10.Jens-Frederik Nielsen

To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.

Industry News

IBS/TALKERS GENERATIONS 2025 Conference – Begins Today

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Presenting an innovative new industry conference. The launch of a new and innovative TALKERS industry conference – “GENERATIONS 2025” – that will be co-located at the forthcoming Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) conference – IBSNYC 2025 – is set for Friday and Saturday, March 7-8 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. The four-hour TALKERS event will take place between 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm on Saturday, March 8 in the heart of the iconic IBS gathering. It will feature an array of six dynamic sessions with 19-plus luminary industry speakers including a keynote address, fireside chat, and four panel discussions that will tackle such topics as “Launching and Managing a Career in Talk Radio/Talk Media,” “Old School, New School, Next School: Learning from Each Other,” “Radio’s Place in a Diverse, Digital World,” “Finding and Delivering Truth in an Age of Misinformation,” and much more. TALKERS is also serving as the Presenting Sponsor of the entire IBSNYC 2025 event.

 Please click here for the latest, updated agenda.

 Please click here for the latest registration information

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Pictured above are TALKERS VP/executive editor Kevin Casey (left) and TALKERS VP/associate publisher and Harrison Media Law senior partner Matthew B. Harrison (right) at day one of the IBSNYC 2025 event.

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories This Past Week (March 3-7, 2025)

Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (3/3-7) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:

Stories/Topics

1. Trump Speech to Congress
2. Trump Tariff Whiplash / Economy
3. Trump-Musk Relationship
4. Musk-DOGE Activities / Federal Firings
5. Russia-Ukraine War
6. Israel-Hamas War
7. ICE Deportation Crackdown
8. Trump First Amendment Issues / GOP Town Halls
9. Big Tech / Misinformation / Censorship
10 Healthcare / Avian (Bird) Flu / Measles Outbreak

People

1. Donald Trump
2. Elon Musk
3. Vladimir Putin / Volodymyr Zelenskyy
4. Benjamin Netanyahu
5. JD Vance
6. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
7. Jeff Bezos
8. Mike Johnson
9. Pete Hegseth
10.Al Green

To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

Las Vegas-based, nationally syndicated talk host Wayne Allyn Root tells TALKERS that he is a member ofimg the “Private Economic Council” – a Washington, DC-based organization composed of “influential business leaders, entrepreneurs and economists promoting free market tax policies, advocating for taxpayers, and helping to support and promote President Trump’s economic agenda.” It also includes former Trump senior economic advisor and former member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board Steve Moore, Papa John’s founder John Schnatter, and former U.S. congressman and current Liberty University School of Business Dean Dave Brat.

Cumulus Media’s KESP-AM, Modesto-Stockton “Sports Radio 970 AM” is the new Central Valley radio broadcast home of the San Francisco Giants. The station is also the official radio broadcast home for the San Francisco 49ers, the Golden State Warriors, and the San Jose Sharks. Cumulus regional VP and market manager Patty Hixson says, “We are thrilled to have this affiliation with the San Francisco Giants. This is a very special franchise and now we get to share all the baseball action with our Sports Radio AM 970 fans. Go Giants!”

Industry News

Top News/Talk Media Stories This Past Week (February 24-28, 2025)

Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (2/24-28) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:

                          Stories/Topics

1. Trump-Musk Relationship / Trump Cabinet Meeting
2. Musk-DOGE Activities / Federal Firings
3. U.S. Foreign Policy / Russia-Ukraine War / Israel-Hamas War/ NATO
4. Unemployment Numbers-Inflation-Trump Tariff War / Stock Market Instability
5. ICE Deportation Crackdown / FBI Turmoil
6. Trump First Amendment Issues / GOP Town Halls / Epstein Files
7. Big Tech / Misinformation / Censorship
8. Healthcare / Avian (Bird) Flu / Measles Outbreak
9. LGBTQ Issues
10.Deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa

              People

1. Donald Trump
2. Elon Musk
3. Vladimir Putin / Volodymyr Zelenskyy
4. Keir Starmer / Emmanuel Macron
5. Benjamin Netanyahu
6. JD Vance / Kash Patel / Karoline Leavitt
7. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
8. Jeff Bezos
9. Mike Johnson
10.Gene Hackman – Betsy Arakawa

To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.