The most discussed stories yesterday (9/8) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories over the weekend (9/5-7) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERSresearch:
Tony Michaels Launches Storytelling Series. Jefferson City, Missouri-based writer and broadcaster Tony Michaels announces the national launch of his program “Five Minutes in America.” He says it’s a “five-minute weekday storytelling series set in the fictional Missouri town of Coffman’s Landing. The stories use small-town humor and ordinary people to explore work, community, citizenship and the things that hold a town together.” It’s being syndicated by Radio Linx.
Audacy and Mavericks Partner. The NBA’s Dallas Mavericks are partnering with Audacy for KRLD-FM “105.3 The Fan” to serve as the official flagship radio station of the franchise. Mavericks chief communications officer Gina Miller says, “105.3 The Fan has built tremendous equity in the market with sports fans across North Texas, and we’re excited to bring the Dallas Mavericks to the Audacy family.” Chuck Cooperstein, in his 22nd year as the radio voice of the Mavericks, calls play-by-play alongside analyst Brian Dameris.
Sileo Moves to Weekdays on SportsGrid. Sports talker Dan Sileo’s “Outspoken” program moves from weekends to a new weekday schedule on SportsGrid. It now streams Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm ET.
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (8/31-9/4) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
Stories
People
To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the national syndication of “The Sean Hannity Show.” Premiere Networks says Hannity’s program attracts “millions of listeners on more than 700 news/talk stations nationwide, the program continues to dominate the format as America’s largest talk radio show, with 99% U.S. coverage.” 
Premiere adds, “For his achievements, Hannity has been honored with two Marconi Awards for ‘Nationally Syndicated Personality of the Year’ and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2017. For the past five consecutive years, radio industry publication TALKERS has ranked Hannity No. 1 on its ‘Heavy Hundred’ list of the most important radio talk show hosts in America.” Sean Hannity comments, “Reaching 25 years in national syndication is both humbling and a tremendous honor. What began as a passion for engaging in meaningful conversations about the issues shaping our country has become a daily connection with millions of listeners across America. I am deeply grateful to our audience, our affiliate partners, Premiere Networks, our advertisers, and the talented team that makes this show possible every day. Their loyalty, trust and support have made this milestone possible, and I look forward to continuing the conversation for many years to come.”
The most discussed stories yesterday (9/2) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories yesterday (9/1) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories yesterday (8/31) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories over the weekend (8/29-30) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
Dolly Parton‘s recent death at 80 (8/25) marked an irreplaceable loss for the world of music and popular culture. Her legacy as a songwriter, performer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist stands in a rarified class of its own. TALKERS founder Michael Harrison experienced what he describes as the “pleasure and honor” of meeting Dolly Parton one time… but their encounter played a historic role in a pivotal turn in her career. Harrison recalls, “It was almost 50 years ago. I was the managing editor of the industry trade publication Radio & Records and an influencer in the world of Album Oriented Rock radio as a personality on AOR giant KMET, Los Angeles. At the time, Dolly was the undisputed queen of country music… but she had not yet crossed over to the broader world of pop, let alone rock.”
In early 1977, RCA Records released a new country-ISH album by Parton titled New Harvest First Gathering with the hope of expanding her media footprint from exclusively country to pop and even rock radio without damaging her established base. In a promotional effort to achieve that goal, RCA recruited Harrison to interview her about her life, career, and the new album, track by track, and sent it out to hundreds of rock and pop stations. Harrison states, “She was absolutely fantastic!” Needless to say, the strategy was successful, and the promotional interview, pressed on 33 1/3 vinyl, got tons of airplay on scores of stations that never would have even thought about playing Dolly Parton. It set the stage for the title track of her next album titled “Here You Come Again,” released later in 1977, to become her first crossover hit.
Harrison recalls, “I had recorded several promotional interview albums for record companies at that time with rock artists such as George Harrison to accompany the hoopla surrounding the release of their new albums without them having to do hundreds of live interviews across the nation. But the idea of doing this kind of thing with an established country music figure as Dolly Parton outside that format was somewhat daunting to say the least. Regardless, all’s well that ends well. My interview with Dolly was well-received by even some of the most ardent rockers on the FM dial.”
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (8/24-28) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
Stories
People
To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.
The most discussed stories yesterday (8/26) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories yesterday (8/25) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories yesterday (8/24) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories over the weekend (8/22-23) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (8/17-21) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
Stories
People
To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.
The most discussed stories yesterday (8/19) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
In Monday’s edition of TALKERS, we wrote that the new, nationally syndicated afternoon drive show from Westwood One starring Dan Bongino and Shawn Farash would “air live from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm ET,” giving the impression the program will be produced live during that time. To clarify, the two hours of the program hosted by Bongino are repurposed from his daily podcast – produced by Silverloch Productions and distributed and repped by the Cumulus Podcast Network – and will be delivered to affiliates during the 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm ET daypart.
The most discussed stories yesterday (8/18) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
At the end of the day, when all is said and done, broadcasters and podcasters should avoid clichés like the plague. And redundancies, “Period, full stop.”
Consultant, longtime TALKERS columnist – and, yes, long, long-ago English teacher – Holland Cooke has been collecting verbal misdemeanors for decades. His new quick-read e-book Who Talks Like That??? skewers broadcast-ese, bloated wording, antique vocabulary, redundancies, mispronunciations and other ways we accidentally make listeners notice how we’re talking instead of what we’re saying.
“Because radio and podcasts are intimate media, and unforgiving,” Cooke urges, “sound human.” Especially now that every word is competing for attention with SO many audio competitors. FREE download to TALKERS readers: https://getonthenet.com/OOPS.pdf
The most discussed stories yesterday (8/17) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories over the weekend (8/15-16) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (8/10-14) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
Stories
People
To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.
The most discussed stories yesterday (8/12) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
By Matthew B. Harrison
TALKERS, VP/Associate Publisher
Harrison Legal Group, Senior Partner
Goodphone Communications, Executive Producer
You post five clips from yesterday’s program. Four do fine. The fifth, an argument with a caller, explodes. It gets more views, more comments, more shares and more click time than anything else you posted.
So tomorrow you post another argument.
That one performs too. Before long, you are clipping more confrontations because confrontation travels. Then maybe the show itself begins to change. You stay on the angry topic a little longer. You take the provocative call you might once have dumped. You learn what gets rewarded.
Nobody at YouTube, Facebook or TikTok called and told you to make an angrier show. The algorithm did not order you to do anything. It simply showed you what produced a reaction, and you reacted to the reward.
Radio people have seen versions of this forever. The phones light up, so we stay with the topic. A feature appears to perform well in PPM, so it gets another quarter hour. Ratings rise, so management asks for more of whatever seems to be working.
Digital distribution makes that feedback faster, more visible and harder to ignore. It also adds another wrinkle: the platform may use strong engagement to give the next clip more distribution. The reward is not just a good number on a report. It may be a bigger audience tomorrow.
That makes analytics tremendously useful. They can show what attracts attention, what holds audience and what helps people discover your program. But a measurement tool can become a programming influence if you start chasing every spike.
A good host learns from the audience without becoming a hostage to it. A good programmer knows what works without assuming that whatever gets the biggest reaction is automatically the best show.
Use the algorithm to distribute your work. Learn from what it tells you. Make money wherever the audience finds you.
Just don’t appoint it the role of program director.
For the larger discussion of ratings, PPM and digital distribution, read The Algorithm Is Listening at TALKERS.com here.
Matthew B. Harrison, associate publisher of TALKERS, is a media and intellectual property attorney who advises radio hosts, content creators, and creative entrepreneurs. He has written extensively on fair use, AI law, and the future of digital rights. Reach him at Matthew@HarrisonLegalGroup.com or read more at TALKERS.com.