The most discussed stories yesterday (3/30) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories over the weekend (3/28-29) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (3/23-27) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
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Is a career in broadcast journalism akin to the “priesthood?” Is radio just a “business” or something more? These philosophical questions were two of several addressed this morning (3/26) in an appearance by TALKERS 
founder Michael Harrison on WPRO, Providence’s “The News with Gene Valicenti” discussing the shutdown of CBS News Radio. The two seasoned broadcasters took an analytical look at the past 100 years of broadcast journalism – from Edward R. Murrow to modern times – comparing the role and impact of early day giants such as William S. Paley (CBS), David Sarnoff (NBC), and John W. Kluge (Metromedia) to today’s crop of moguls including the Ellison family’s Larry Ellison (Oracle) and his son David Ellison (Skydance Media) who now control Paramount, CBS, and a variety of other media and technological ventures. To listen to the entire segment, please click here.
The most discussed stories yesterday (3/25) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories yesterday (3/24) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories yesterday (3/23) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
Legendary New York radio personality Richard Neer, who has served almost six consecutive decades entertaining audiences on album rock WNEW-FM and sports talk WFAN, has authored his 16th book. Titled, The Perfect Beast, the novel is the latest in Neer’s popular series of detective Riley King murder mysteries and deals with a number of issues of interest to radio and podcast 
media enthusiasts, including the invasion of AI into the talent job market. Neer first established himself as a heavyweight author in 2001 when he penned the landmark FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio. In The Perfect Beast, Neer poses the question to his fellow broadcasters, “Ever wonder if your job will someday be taken by an AI facsimile of your act?” 
The story also deals with how a commentator’s words can be twisted and misused, resulting in something evil. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison (who makes an appearance as himself in The Perfect Beast) describes Neer as a media “Renaissance man.” Neer can be contacted for interviews via email at novelistcafe@windstream.net.
The most discussed stories over the weekend (3/21-22) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERSresearch:
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (3/16-20) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
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To see the full TALKERS Stories, Topics, and People Charts, please click HERE.
The most discussed stories yesterday (3/18) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
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The most discussed stories over the weekend (3/14-15) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (3/9-13) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
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The most discussed stories yesterday (3/11) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
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The most discussed stories over the weekend (3/7-8) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERSresearch:
Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (3/2-6) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS:
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The most discussed stories yesterday (3/4) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories yesterday (3/3) 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
AI is now embedded in the modern newsroom. Not as a headline, not as a novelty, but as infrastructure. It drafts outlines, summarizes complex reporting, surfaces background details, and accelerates prep for live conversations. For media creators operating under relentless deadlines, that efficiency is not theoretical. It is practical and daily.
That reality raises a quiet but consequential legal question. When AI contributes to your research, what does verification now require?
Professional hosts are not reading raw chatbot answers on air and calling it journalism. That caricature misses the real issue. What is actually happening is subtler and far more common.
AI now sits inside research workflows. Producers use it for background. Hosts use it to summarize reporting. Teams use it to outline controversies or draft rundowns. Most of the time, it works. Sometimes, however, it invents.
When that invention involves a real person and a serious allegation, the legal analysis looks familiar.
For public figures, defamation requires proof of actual malice – knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for truth. For private figures, negligence is usually enough. In both cases, the focus is not on the tool. It is on the content creator’s conduct.
AI does not change the elements. It changes the context in which reasonableness is judged.
Courts have long held that repeating a defamatory statement can create liability, even if someone else said it first. If you rely on a blog, and that blog relied on AI, and the allegation is false, the question becomes whether your reliance was reasonable.
Was the source reputable? Was the claim inherently improbable? Were there obvious red flags? Was contradictory information readily available?
AI’s reputation for “hallucinating” facts now forms part of that backdrop. Widespread awareness that these systems can fabricate citations, merge identities, or invent accusations becomes relevant when a court evaluates your verification choices.
This does not mean using AI indicates reckless disregard. It means using AI does not excuse skipping verification when the stakes are high.
The more specific and damaging the claim, the greater the duty to confirm it through independent, reliable sources. Not another prompt. Not a circular reference to the same unverified blog. Rather, a primary record, official statement, or established reporting.
Documentation matters. If challenged, being able to show that you checked multiple sources before broadcast can be decisive.
None of this is new doctrine. What is new is how seamlessly AI blends into ordinary research habits. That integration makes it easier to forget that the legal question is still about human judgment.
The law will not ask whether your workflow was efficient. It will ask whether your conduct was reasonable under the circumstances.
In the age of AI, verification is not a courtesy. It is risk management.
Matthew B. Harrison 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.
The most discussed stories yesterday (3/2) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research:
The most discussed stories over the weekend (2/28-3/1) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERSresearch: