Tag: TALKERS BOOKS

Industry Views

Monday Memo: Sound Thinking

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Holland Cooke
Consultant

Each week here, TALKERS affords me a voice in the career conversation we all share. Iimg appreciate this real estate, and your feedback.

To say thanks, publisher Michael Harrison and I have a stocking stuffer for you, an anthology of all 2025 “Monday Memo” columns. Included: additional pieces I filed on Tuesdays of holiday weeks when TALKERS didn’t publish on Mondays; and daily reports during the Consumer Electronics Show and NAB Show, both of which I have covered for this publication for decades; and additional reports on news and trends pertinent to you, my fellow storyteller.

Here ya go, an instant E-book download: http://getonthenet.com/SoundThinking.pdf

And here’s to 2026!

Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke and connect on LinkedIn

Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Talkers Books, the book publishing arm of TALKERS, celebrates the first anniversary of the release of one of its most successful titles, From Immigrant to Public Intellectual: An American Story (Talkersim Books, 2022) by Dr. Murray Sabrin. The book has been an Amazon bestseller and a popular vehicle sparking conversations on political news/talk shows across America. Its author, Murray Sabrin, Ph.D. is emeritus professor of finance, Ramapo College of NJ. Dr. Sabrin – a prolific author – is considered a “public intellectual” for writing essays about the economy in scholarly and popular publications as well as being a prolific guest and “go-to” resource on hundreds of radio and TV talk shows and podcasts. According to publisher Michael Harrison, who wrote the book’s provocative foreword, “From Immigrant to Public Intellectual is a truly American story about an immigrant child’s rise from humble beginnings to forge a stellar career as an educator, author, candidate, and media influencer. Murray Sabrin explains libertarianism in plain language using his own life story set against a half-century of changing times. Talk show hosts have been tapping into this articulate scholar’s knowledge and views for more than three decades since his impressive third-party showing as the Libertarian candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 1997.” To learn more about Dr. Murray Sabrin please visit murraysabrin.com and murraysabrin.substack.com.

SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly will host a special live edition of her program on December 6 at 10:15 pm ET immediately following the “NewsNation” Republican Primary Debate. SiriusXM’s Triumph channel will also carry the debate live.

New York-based software firm Aiir Inc announces the addition of five news staffers. They include Paul Carlin and Phil Ray who join the customer support team in the UK. Phil Hannon joins Aiir’s team in North America, as does Chase Daniels, who has been serving as Bold Gold Media’s director of programming. Additionally, Alex Watson assumes the newly created position of customer experience specialist.

Edison Research’s Top 10 Findings of 2023 will be unveiled in a 30-minute webinar on December 13 at 2:00 pm ET. Edison says the list-worthy findings on audio, podcasts, radio, exit polls and more from its custom research and syndicated datasets will be presented by many of the researchers who worked on the studies.

Industry Views

Monday Memo: Be Known for Knowing

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Holland Cooke
Consultant

“STIMULATING TALK.”  Like much of radio’s imaging wallpaper, this frayed 1990s promo cliché was station-centric, rather than a benefit statement explaining and assuring how habitual use is… useful.

“Stimulating” was an immeasurable claim. And won’t THEY be the judge of that? If our talkers – of any political stripe – are stimulating, their work speaks for itself.

“Talk” itself has baggage. Say “talk radio” at a backyard cookout populated by non-radio people, and someone will roll their eyes. Rush Limbaugh personified that “crazy uncle at Thanksgiving” who became the format caricature.

imAnd when what’s-talked-about sounds too much like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, it works against what ratings people call horizontal maintenance (same-time day-to-day tune-in). No names, but his first six words when I tuned in were “…and it will only get worse!” Stimulating?

Commercial Copy 101: Sell benefits, not features. Almost any station can sound instantly more-user-friendly by simply projecting “you” and “your” early and often in promo copy. “Because ONE traffic jam can jam-up your WHOLE day…”

News will save news/talk. Mass shootings du jour, deadly severe weather, inflation, Trump, Hunter’s laptop, and what-next has listeners wondering, “What NEXT?” Be known for knowing, and you will stimulate more tune-ins.

Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. He is the author of “Spot-On: Commercial Copy Points That Earned The Benjamins,” a FREE download; and the E-book and FREE on-air radio features “Inflation Hacks: Save Those Benjamins;“and Multiply Your Podcast Subscribers, Without Buying Clicks,” available from Talkers books. Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke