Tag: The Michael Harrison Interview

Industry Views

Lee Habeeb is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Lee Habeeb, the creator and host of the super-successful, syndicated program, “Our American Stories,” is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Habeeb is one of the most accomplished and influential storytellers in news/talk radio. “Our American Stories”img (distributed by Premiere Networks) which runs two hours per day, five days per week on stations across the nation, is one of the most innovative and well-received syndicated talk radio shows (as well as podcasts) to come down the pike in many years. It is described by Habeeb as follows: “There’s no debate or opinion. No imgpolitics. No news. Just stories that bring people together around common values, themes, and the founding principles and ideals of our nation. Stories that create a space for listeners to escape the news and noise of the day and be moved and informed. To listen and learn.”  Habeeb’s talk show credentials are formidable. He co-founded Laura Ingraham’s national radio show in 2001, moved to Salem Media in 2008 as VP of content, and launched “Our American Stories” in 2016. He’s a University of Virginia Law School graduate, a Newsweek essayist, and lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife Valerie and daughter Reagan. He is currently ranked #11 on the TALKERS “Heavy Hundred” list of the 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America. Harrison and Habeeb engage in an illuminating conversation about the importance of history and the power of storytelling. Don’t miss this! Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry News

Westwood One’s Rich Valdés is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Rich Valdés is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” He is a seasoned communications professional with extensive experience in multiple media formats including radio, podcasting, television, and print journalism as well as a demonstrated passion for policy, education, and community volunteerism. He is the host of Westwood One’s “America at Night” airing weeknights from 10:00 pm to 1:00 am ET. An eclectic generalist, he talks with guests and callers about a spectrum of topics ranging from current events and politics to entertainment and pop culture. Valdés was named permanent host of the show in October of 2022 filling the big shoes of the late Jim Bohannon, who passed away shortly thereafter following a brave battle against esophageal cancer. He’s a proud American of Puerto Rican heritage – a Gen-X’er who was born in Brooklyn and grew up in New Jersey. He’s known as “your liberty-loving Latino amigo” as well the “voice of Hispanic conservatives.” Harrison and Valdés discuss the important role Puerto Ricans play in U.S. politics as well as a number of other contemporary topics. Listen to the podcast here.  

Industry Views

The Fine Line Between Serious Investigative Journalism and Flimsy Conspiracy Theory Mongering

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Historian, author, and investigative journalist Mark Shaw joins TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison in a revealing discussion about the preponderance of conspiracy theories and flimsy sourcing currently flooding the nation’s talk and print media under the guise of researched reporting. Shaw, the author of dozens of critically acclaimed books including the 2016 best seller, The Reporter Who Knew Too Much, is this week’s guest on the TALKERS MEDIA YouTube channel video series “Up Close and Far Out with Michael Harrison” (see it here) as well as the award winning PodcastOne series “The Michael Harrison Interview” (listen here). Harrison and Shaw examine the important role responsible journalism and critical thinking play in maintaining a healthy, functioning democracy. Have we entered a “post-truth” era? Harrison says, “There’s a growing tendency in the rapidly unfolding digital age for the media, the politicians, and the intellectually dishonest from all strata of society to seek victory at the expense of truth.” Don’t miss this provocative thought-starter!

Industry Views

Walker Sabo Discusses the Legacy of Dr. Ruth Westheimer on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

One of the legends of radio, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, died this past Friday July 12 at the age of 96. Much has been written and said about this one-of-a-kind person all across the media since the news broke less than a week ago. She achieved enormous success on radio and television as a multi-media purveyor of information and advice about human sexuality. She was without question an historic figure whose media career was launched and flourished in the second half of her long and colorful life. It all started on radio with a program titled, “Sexually Speaking,” unveiled by brave NBC executives on WYNY-FM, New York in 1980. And Walter Sabo was there. Sabo is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview” to talk about how it all happened. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry News

WRHU GM John Mullen is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

John Mullen is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Mullen is tremendously accomplished and respected in college and university radio broadcasting holding the position of general manager at one of the most celebrated and prestigious campus stations in America – WRHU-FM and WRHU.org at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. WRHU has been honored with multiple NAB Marconi Awards – some in categories usually reserved for professional, commercial outlets. The high-profile station also has an impressive track record of working with New York City commercial radio in the production of major league PBP sports programming and then some. Some of the nation’s leading broadcasters – including legends – have come up through Hofstra’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. TALKERS has partnered with WRHU for five recent installments of its 27-year run of annual national talk media industry conferences. Harrison states, “Obviously, I know our guest very well. I am proud to call him a friend and a colleague. He is a man who left a successful career in New York City radio programming and management years back to become a master educator in the field of radio and play a role, year after year, in the training and inspiring of young, fresh careers in the business of communications. He is one of the industry’s most astute experts and a man very closely in touch with the feelings and culture of the next generation of radio and television broadcasters. What he says in this interview contains important insights into the state and future of radio.” To listen to the podcast in its entirety, click here. 

Industry Views

Kim Komando is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Talk media megastar Kim Komando is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Komando is a syndicated talk radio star, newspaper columnist, and internationally renowned technology expert. She’s known to her millions of listeners and readers as “America’s Digital Goddess,” For more than three decades, she has been burning up talk media as the leading authority on the evolving technology and sociological impact of the digital era. She is a Radio Hall of Fame inductee and past recipient of the TALKERS Woman of the Year award. This outstanding broadcaster and modern-day thinker produces, hosts, and distributes a weekend three-hour radio talk show, with a recently expanded fourth hour designed to stand on its own. This extra hour was recently added to the Friday evening lineup at WLS-AM, Chicago where it is exploding with ratings success. And now WSB-AM, Atlanta has added it to their Saturday menu where it is showing immediate audience traction. Komando also hosts a couple of short-form daily shows about computers and digital technology heard on stations across America including such giants as WABC, New York and WTOP-FM in Washington, DC. Harrison and Komando engage in an extraordinary conversation about AI and its looming impact on Homo sapiens. Don’t miss this! Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry News

REVERSE ROLES: Harry Hurley Interviews MH on Harrison Podcast About Artificial Intelligence

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

WPG, Atlantic City radio star Harry Hurley reverses roles with MH on this week’s installment of the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Actually, this week’s episode of the long-running podcast consists of provocative excerpts from Harrison’s recent guest appearance (6/4) on Hurley’s popular WPG morning show in which he was booked to discuss the technological and sociological implications of AI. This took place in conjunction with the release of the new Gunhill Road music video, “Artificial Intelligence (No Robots Were Injured in the Production of this Song).”  Harrison co-wrote and performs lead vocals on the song with the venerable band which had its world premiere on WPG that morning and kicked off Harrison’s “Obsolete Slobs” radio tour in support of the piece. The conversation is a no-holds-barred look at the implications – beneficial and destructive – of the remarkable new technology that is disrupting art, communications, and life here in the early decades of the 21st century and promises to have dramatic impact on the course of humanity going forward. Don’t miss this! Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

WABC, New York Morning Host Sid Rosenberg is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

77WABC, New York morning show host Sid Rosenberg is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Rosenberg, who is a Jewish native New Yorker and outspoken supporter of Israel, risked his life this past Friday evening (5/17) on a Brooklyn-bound subway train standing up and defending an orthodox Jewish man being threatened with physical assault by an obscenity-spewing, anti-Semitic African American man who appeared dangerously amped up on drugs. The story is compelling and offers insight into the hate and dangers that are on full display in the Big Apple. Harrison and Rosenberg discuss the dangerous spread of anti-Semitism in America, the disturbing behavior of Gen Z on college campuses, and the rise in crime on the streets of America’s leading urban centers. This powerful conversation is not to be missed. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here. 

Industry Views

WIP Sports Talk Pioneer Howard Eskin is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Philadelphia sports talk media founding father Howard Eskin is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Eskin’s stellar career in radio and TV goes all the way back to 1972 and his impact on local media in the City of Brotherly Love is indelible. He still maintains an active presence as sports radio personality for WIP-FM 94.1 and anchor at FOX 29 News in addition to being a sideline reporter for the Eagles Radio Network. Eskin has hosted/anchored more than 8,000 sports radio programs in his career, which is likely the most by any sports radio personality in American broadcasting history. Harrison and Eskin discuss the state of sports, media, big money, the impact of gambling and the generational divide per the multi-award-winning host’s recent commencement speech at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware where he received an honorary doctorate in acknowledgement of his contributions to media, culture and philanthropy. Don’t miss this! Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

Doug Stephan is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Nationally syndicated talk radio host Doug Stephan is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” After starting out as a music DJ more than a half century ago, Stephan has chalked up a remarkable career as a pioneering syndicated talk show host heard on hundreds of stations weekday mornings with his general-appeal program titled, “Good Day.” After 36 consecutive years on the air, the durable show, currently co-hosted by Jai Kershner, recently surpassed the late Rush Limbaugh’s mark as the longest running Monday thru Friday syndicated talk property in the business. Stephan is now in the process of reconfiguring “Good Day” to suit the demands of the digital era and radio economics to ensure further longevity by transitioning it into a fresh weekend news/talk entity with modular application to weekday broadcasts. Stephan’s firm, Stephan Multimedia, is also a major radio producer/syndicator of several specialty radio programs hosted by Stephan and others including, “Good Day Health,” the “Talk Radio Countdown Show,” and a program that is achieving notable traction in the world of agriculture called the “American Family Farmer.” The latter taps directly into his qualifications to tackle the challenges facing independent 21st century farmers and champion their causes. In addition to his work in radio, the indefatigable Stephan is the longtime owner/operator of a well-known dairy farm located just outside of Boston in Framingham, Massachusetts. Harrison and Stephan talk about the state of radio, syndication, media entrepreneurism, food, health, and agriculture including his educated take on the current bird flu/cow issue. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

Lee Harris is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Radio journalist, personality, media manager and tech creator Lee Harris is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” It’s been nearly a year since Harris surprised the world of broadcast journalism when he announced that after nearly 30 years, he would be leaving one of the most important positions in all-news radio – morning anchor at the legendary 1010 WINS, New York. He left by his own choice to accept the position of director of integrated operations with NewsNation, the new and rapidly growing cable news network, where he would be responsible for the development and distribution of the multi-platform operation’s audio content. Based at NewsNation’s New York newsroom, this Edward R. Murrow Award-winner would also assist in news writing and the creation of NewsNation specials. He is also playing a large hand in the programming of the company’s major radio property – the historic WGN, Chicago. Harrison and Harris discuss a variety of subjects from 1010 WINS history back to its top 40 roots to NewsNation’s positioning as an unbiased news platform. (Harris will moderate “The Great Debate” between Mike Gallagher and Thom Hartmann scheduled for TALKERS 2024 on June 7.) Harrison and Harris’s fascinating conversation also covers AI and technology’s impact on programming. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

Harrison Podcast Pays Tribute to Joe Lieberman

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

TALKERS founder Michael Harrison pays tribute to the late U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman on thisim week’s installment of the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” The program includes an archived interview conducted with Lieberman in 2018 for the podcast which offers valuable insight into his perspective on the Electoral College and the presidency of Donald Trump among other historic issues. Harrison describes the late senator and former VP candidate as, “one of the last true American statesmen of the modern era.” To listen to the podcast in its entirety, please click here.

Industry News

Alex Fife is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

The nearly century-long relationship between radio and the automobile has been a top of mind industry discussion since a number of car manufacturers ignited worldwide concern over their stated intentions to remove AM radios from the dashboards of new electric vehicles. Is this relegation of AM radio to obsolescence premature? Can FM radios and the expansion of this exclusion to gas powered vehicles be far behind? Alex Fife, VP Southeast operations for iHeartMedia‘s Total Traffic & Weather Network is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Fife, a 25-year veteran of radio’s reporting of news, traffic and weather, joins Harrison in an extensive conversation about the timely issue. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

Steve Weisman is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Noted attorney and respected talk media commentator Steve Weisman is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” A prolific author and lecturer who teaches White Collar Crime and Media Law at Bentley University in Boston, Weisman is one of the nation’s leading experts on scams, identity theft and cybersecurity.  His widely read blog, Scamicide, provides daily updated information about the latest scams, identity theft schemes and cybersecurity developments. He recently testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging about the dangerous proliferation of scams being targeted to America’s senior population. Harrison – a longtime outspoken foe of digital-era corruption – states, “Our podcast this week is aimed at shedding light on the dark corners and back alleyways of our modern society in which scammers, fraudsters and cyber criminals are flourishing… they steal our identities, our money and our peace of mind. Our loss of privacy and security is a loss of freedom and our legislators on both sides of the aisle remain basically clueless. In an era in which talk show hosts are rightfully obsessed with street crime, terrorism and immigration run amok, it is surprising there is not more attention being paid to this insidious social cancer born of advanced technology and civic decay.” Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry News

Mirta Lourenço is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Mirta Lourenço is the chief of media development and media in emergency for UNESCO based at the agency’s headquarters in Paris. She is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” The name UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization which is a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its stated mission is to promote world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. Podcast host and TALKERS founder Michael Harrison served as executive advisor to UNESCO for the recent 13th annual celebration of UN World Radio Day 2024 which gave him the opportunity to work directly with Lourenço, who heads the project each year. According to Harrison, “This year’s theme was a celebration of radio’s first century informing, educating and entertaining with the purpose of bringing global attention to the medium’s continuing importance and vitality in the 21st century while acknowledging the challenges it and all heritage media face in the digital era.” Harrison adds, “Mirta Lourenço is a true champion of global media supporting its potential and responsibility to serve the public good. She is a first responder to the first responders. Her work transcends the boundaries of nationality, ethnicity, and language. It includes media platforms of every structure – commercial, public, community, corporate and governmental. She diligently operates at a smorgasbord of diversity at the center of the media world.” Harrison and Lourenço discuss the state of international radio from her global perspective. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here. 

Industry Views

Howie Carr is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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Legendary radio talk show host Howie Carr is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Carr – a mainstay at WRKO heard 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm – is legendary among Boston-based radio figures as a conservative populist in addition to being a long-running Boston Herald columnist famous for his fearless organized crime fighting and investigative reporting on government corruption. Over the years, his show grew so popular that it has expanded to being carried on several dozen radio stations across New England on his own independent Howie Carr Radio Network. Carr, a prolific author, has penned two best-selling New York Times blockbusters, The Brothers Bulger and Hitman, in addition to several other Boston organized crime books and a couple of novels. His latest book – a memoir covering his journey from being a city hall reporter to hanging out with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago – is titled, PAPER BOY: Read All About It. Harrison and his guest discuss the past, present and future of media and journalism including Carr’s no-holds-barred critique of the corporate powers shaping today’s flow of information and dis-information. Not to be missed! Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

FROM THE ARCHIVE: Joe Madison Classic Interview Posted This Week on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Legendary radio talk show host and civil rights activist Joe Madison, who succumbed last week to cancer at 74, is memorialized on this week’s installment of the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” In addition to expressing his personal view of Madison’s career and historic accomplishments, Harrison presents what he describes as the “most comprehensive interview with Joe Madison available in the extensive TALKERS archives.” Harrison continues, “Joe Madison has appeared as a guest on eight occasions during this podcast’s eight-year history (a milestone achieved this month) in addition to delivering two major keynote addresses and making at least five additional panel appearances at national TALKERS conferences – so we certainly have a wealth of material from which to choose.” The interview presented here was conducted and originally posted in April, 2022 in conjunction with the publication at that time of Madison’s long-awaited book, Radio Active: A Memoir of Advocacy in Action, on the Air and in the Streets. The strikingly candid conversation between the two old friends covers Madison’s personal exploration into his genealogy along with his experiences in dealing with alleged racism in his radio career, life-threatening hunger strikes, and his general complex overview and connection with Black and White relations in America. Harrison states, “As warm as our personal friendship grew over the years, interviewing Joe was never easy.  He challenged me at every turn – even when I agreed with him. At one point in this interview, he bluntly tells me that my question is naïve!” Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

Ralph Nader is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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The man described by Michael Harrison as the “father of American consumer advocacy,” Ralph Nader, is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Nader is a legendary American consumer advocate, lawyer, author and five-time significant third-party presidential candidate. His nationally syndicated “The Ralph Nader Radio Hour” (Pacifica Broadcasting), heard weekly on approximately 50 stations and as a podcast, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this February. Harrison and Nader discuss the historical role of third-party candidates in American politics in addition to taking a deep dive into the proliferation of scams and high-tech fraud, including the dangers presented to children in this technologically amplified era. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry News

“Paper Boys” at Dinner

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Legendary New England radio talk show host/newspaper reporter-columnist/prolific author Howie Carr (right) and TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison (left) shared dinner and conversation last night (1/14) at the renowned hotspot Trevini in Palm Beach, Florida where they discussed Carr’s forthcoming guest appearance on the award-winning podcast, “The Michael Harrison Interview” and Carr’s latest bestseller, Paper Boy: Read All About It (2023 Frandel, LLC). The book is a fascinating memoir following Carr’s life in the media “from the early days at Boston City Hall to hanging out at Mar-a-Lago with President Donald Trump.” Carr is heard daily across New England on his HCRN syndicated four-hour radio show, an hour of which is carried on the Newsmax streaming service. He is also a long-running columnist for the Boston Herald.

Industry Views

Benztown CEO/Founder Andreas Sannemann is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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The CEO/founder of Benztown, one of the world’s most successful creators and suppliers of radio station jingles and imaging, Andreas Sannemann is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Sannemann is a leading international audio imaging specialist, composer and entrepreneur based at Benztown’s European headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. He joined forces with Dave “Chachi” Denes (who is a past guest on this podcast) and Oliver Klenk in 2008 to form the company.  Benztown’s American headquarters are located in Glendale, California. The international production giant provides imaging and other types of programming content and branding to radio stations in the United States, Germany, England, Australia, New Zealand, and more servicing over 2,300 affiliates on six continents. Audio imaging for the 21st Century and beyond – that’s Sannemann’s mission! Michael Harrison says, “I’ve been talking with broadcast industry leaders around the globe, as we lead up to the United Nations ‘World Radio Day 2024’ on February 13, to acquire a greater comprehension of the massive scope of this medium beyond the US. Sannemann and I discuss the state of radio around the world from his knowledgeable perspective in Germany.  I’ve always had a special place in my heart for jingles and imaging. The audio jingle has gone through many incarnations over the years, but our modern world has not grown so sophisticated as to relegate them to being a relic of the past. Catchy, ear-wormy jingles are still a major part of product branding, and this continues to be a rich and valued tradition in the radio business where personalities, shows and especially stations regularly present a harmonic group of people singing names and call letters. Jingles and imaging are a key part of the radio ‘esthetic.’ Radio-lovers and audiophiles will find this conversation illuminating.” Harrison is serving as executive advisor to UNESCO for “World Radio Day 2024.” Listen to the podcast in its entirety here. 

Industry Views

New York Festivals VP/Exec Director Rose Anderson is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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The New York Festivals Radio Awards, currently accepting entries for 2024, honors radio content in all lengths and formats and across all platforms from radio stations, networks, and independent producers around the world. Embracing all aspects of the radio and audio industries, its categories mirror today’s global trends and encourage the next generation of storytellers by recognizing innovators in many category groups. (The organization also has divisions for advertising and TV.)  NY Festivals longtime VP/executive director, Rose Anderson is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Anderson brings tremendous practical experience to the table in her role at NY Festivals. Prior to joining, she was director of production of the Sports Emmy Awards for the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She has been an associate director of the CBS Sports Olympic Unit as well as having served as associate director of ABC Sports.  She was a history major at the University of Massachusetts and earned a Masters degree in Broadcast Journalism at Boston University. As the international broadcasting community looks forward to celebrating World Radio Day on February 13, Harrison and Anderson discuss the global state of radio and storytelling. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here. 

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Brian Kilmeade is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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FOX News Radio and FOX News Channel talk media star Brian Kilmeade is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.”  Kilmeade, ranked number three on the TALKERS Heavy Hundred, is seen every morning as one of three co-hosts on the popular FOX News Channel TV show “FOX & Friends” and heard on numerous stations across the country hosting his own daily midday program on FOX News Radio…among a number of other FOX projects and programs including the weekend, “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade.” He is the author of eight books – two about sports and he’s just published his sixth about key figures and stories in American history. Subscribing to the tried-and-true adage, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it,” Kilmeade brings new insights into the lives, times and impact of icons such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass. His latest book is titled, Teddy and Booker T: How Two American Icons Blazed A Path For Racial Equality (Sentinel, 2023) referring to the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington and its impact on race relations in America. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

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Paul McLane is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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Noted radio industry journalist Paul McLane is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” McLane is editor in chief of the worldwide broadcasting trade publication Radio World, which he joined in 1996. In anticipation of World Radio Day 2024 coming up on February 13, Harrison and McLane discuss the past and present of radio from a global perspective and speculate on the iconic platform’s future integrating into the rapidly changing paradigm of 21st century media while maintaining its unique identity. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

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International “1World Radio” Co-hosts Andy Gladding (USA) and Jamie-Lee Fredericks (South Africa) are This Week’s Guests on Harrison Podcast

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The co-hosts of “1World Radio,” Andy Gladding and Jamie-Lee Fredericks, are this week’s guests on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Their weekly international radio show is a co-production of Gladding’s WRHU 88.7 FM, Hempstead, NY, USA and Fredericks’ Bush Radio 89.5 FM, Cape Town, South Africa. WRHU is a highly respected campus radio station broadcasting from Hofstra University on Long Island, just outside of New York City. The American co-host is also the chief engineer at WRHU as well as a college instructor. He simultaneously serves as chief engineer at Salem Media’s WNYM and WMCA in New York. The South African co-host is an air personality on Bush Radio – a dynamic young woman who grew up with an intense love of radio. The conversation explores the differences and similarities between their stations and how they reflect the cultures of their home nations. Not to be missed. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

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Harry Hurley is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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WPG, Atlantic City, New Jersey legendary host Harry Hurley is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Hurley has been at the helm of the heritage station’s wildly successful morning show for more than 30 years. He is also known to talk radio audiences nationwide as a special guest host making numerous appearances on FOX News Radio. Before he made an indelible mark in radio, Hurley was an accomplished executive in Atlantic City’s hotel and banking industries. Michael Harrison describes Hurley as being “a remarkable combination of business savvy and emotional intelligence – not to mention, extremely talented.” One of the notable accomplishments this outstanding broadcaster has achieved in his career has been on the philanthropical front. During the past 16 years, Hurley’s 501c3 charitable foundation, which annually presents both a gala civic dinner and a charity golf tournament, has raised and distributed more than $1.4 million to worthy causes across the State of New Jersey and beyond. His most recent dinner took place on September 29. It alone raised over $100,000. Hurley is a public service dynamo and in Harrison’s words, “a role model for local hosts and stations to emulate in establishing a positive brand within their market.” Hurley is the recipient of numerous radio industry and local New Jersey honors. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

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Jerry Del Colliano is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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Noted media industries analyst Jerry Del Colliano is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Del Colliano is publisher of the daily newsletter Inside Music Media that serves radio and music professionals with behind-the-scenes happenings at the highest levels in these industries sparked by his hard-hitting and often controversial commentary. Del Colliano has served as Professor of Music Industry at the University of Southern California and currently holds the position of Professor of Music Business Program at New York University’s Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Profession. These positions have given him insight into today’s youth culture and its potential application in both the radio and music businesses looking to appeal to younger demos. Harrison and Del Colliano engage in an extensive discussion about “generational media” and the professor’s first-hand observations about the habits and mindset of “Gen Z.”  Not to be missed! Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

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Matthew B. Harrison is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

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Two generations of the Harrison radio family meet on mic discussing the copyright implications of artificial intelligence as Matthew B. Harrison is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Matthew, the son of Michael, is VP/associate publisher of TALKERS in addition to being a media and intellectual property attorney, talent manager and audio/video producer.  His latest productions, “I Got a Line in New York City” (www.igotaline.com) and “My Friend is Going Away” (www.myfriendisgoingaway.com) are experimental exercises in the utilization of AI graphics in the music video genre. On this podcast, Harrison and Harrison bring into focus the somewhat murky application of copyright law in communications and the arts as we hurtle into the frontier age of artificial intelligence. Listen to the podcast in its entirety here. 

Industry Views

Talk Host Rick Smith is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Maverick talk show host, Rick Smith is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Ranked by TALKERS at number 100 on the journal’s Heavy Hundred list, Smith – who has positioned himself as a tell-it-like-it is champion of the working class – is described by Michael Harrison as “somewhat of a square peg in a scene dominated by round holes on both the left and the right.” The Chicago-based genre-bender is a 30-year Teamster trucker-turned-working-class talker heard 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm ET on dozens of radio stations across the U.S. – a mix of commercial and public. He tells Harrison, “I’m not a red hat, I’m not a blue hat… I’m a hard hat.” His left-of-center talk media footprint is enhanced by exposure on a variety of cable TV channels including Free Speech TV, DirecTV, Dish and more. He has a successful podcast with millions of downloads, and he streams on Facebook, X, Twitch and YouTube. All this is accomplished with a modest, independent operation run by two people and a homemade studio. His show’s slogan is “Where working people come to talk.” Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

13-Year-Old Singer/Songwriter Stella Mabry Discusses Bullying on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Stella Mabry – a stunningly talented 13-year-old singer/songwriter from Owensboro, Kentucky – is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” At the tender age of 10, Stella was the victim of school bullying… but she did something about it. She wrote a song as a message to her tormentor titled, “Mean Girl,” and it proved to be a far more effective defense mechanism and diplomatic bridge than a nasty verbal or physical escalation of the problem. The power of music made a huge difference.

Stella’s parents had already recognized their daughter’s musical talent at an early age and gave her lessons and encouragement. But her dad was so taken with the quality of the anti-bullying song that he booked her into a local studio, recorded a rough demo and sent it to his old friend in Los Angeles. That old friend happened to be Les Garland – one of the most plugged in-pop media executives of the past half century – a brilliant radio programmer-turned-innovative-media-entrepreneur who, among his long list of achievements, co-founded MTV.

Garland was so impressed by the song and its back story that he played it for a couple of his buddies in the LA music scene – Sasha Krivtsov and Paul Mirkovich from the famed NBC’s “The Voice” house-band. They loved it and agreed to record it with Stella in the renowned L.A. studio, Sound Factory. With Garland now serving as executive producer, the entire band with instruments in hand was in-studio to record the song as well as a number of other tracks written and performed by Stella. The track “Mean Girl” and its accompanying music video are being released TODAY (8/22). Check it out on YouTube at www.MeanGirlVideo.com.

Michael Harrison says, “Bullying is a major societal cancer with devastating impact. Although with us since the dawn of time – bullying is a worsening problem that torments so many of our children in this era of social media where there’s no relief from taunts, lies and cruelty 24/7 even at home – away from school or the playground. It can lead to depression, unspeakable violence, and teen suicide. I am gratified to be able to interview this young woman about this deeply important topic at such a key point in what could very well become a major musical career. She is authentic, talented and on a meaningful mission. I encourage my colleagues in talk media to book her as a back-to-school guest as soon as possible… before the music media world gobbles her up.” Harrison suggests that interested hosts and producers contact him directly at michael@talkers.com.

Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry Views

Kim Komando is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Syndicated talk radio star, newspaper columnist, and internationally renowned technology expert Kim Komando is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Known to her millions of listeners and readers as “America’s Digital Goddess,” Komando has been burning up the news and talk radio airwaves as a leading authority on the evolving technology and sociological impact of the digital era for the past three decades. Among her numerous honors, she is a Radio Hall of Fame inductee and past recipient of the TALKERS magazine Woman of the Year award. This outstanding broadcaster and modern-day thinker produces, hosts, and distributes a weekend radio talk show, a couple of new daily shows and a number of short-form features about computers and digital technology from her studio at WestStar TalkRadio Network in Phoenix, Arizona along with her husband Barry Young, a legendary radio personality in his own right and an extremely adept businessman. Together they built a multi-million-dollar empire based on her keen intelligence, outstanding personality and extraordinary understanding of the new era. Harrison and Komando engage in an illuminating conversation about the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence and other technological developments that are changing the world at lightning speed, including the two-pronged threat of Big Tech’s growing domestic power and China’s push for international hegemony. Don’t miss this! Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.

Industry News

TALKERS Vice President/Executive Editor Kevin Casey is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Last month marked the 33rd anniversary of the launch of TALKERS magazine – the talk media industry trade publication founded by Michael Harrison in July of 1990. The term “talk media” established and popularized byim the journal refers to AM, FM, online and satellite talk radio, cable news/talk TV, and talk podcasting.

Marking this third-of-a-century milestone, TALKERS longtime VP/executive editor, Kevin Casey is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Casey, then a program director for Clear Channel’s WHYN, imSpringfield, MA, joined TALKERS as its managing editor almost a quarter-of-a-century ago in 2000. The big story during that pre-9/11 year was the excruciatingly inconclusive presidential election between Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore that took over a month to settle.

Michael Harrison states, “I’ve been blessed with a tremendous group of media professionals who operated and built TALKERS into the established communications vehicle that it has proven to be in many ways paralleling the growth of talk radio and its offshoots for more than three decades. One of the key individuals who has been responsible for its growth and longevity is my dear colleague, Kevin Casey.”

In a casual conversation between longtime friends and co-workers, Harrison and Casey take stock of the publication’s journey which parallels the historic role of talk radio’s modern era. Hear the complete podcast here.

Industry News

British Record Collector and Author Jonathan Scott is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Get ready for a journey back to the earliest days of sound recording as British author and music historian Jonathan Scott is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” Scott is the author of the fascinating book, INTO THE GROOVE: The Story of Sound from Tin Foil to Vinyl (Bloomsbury, 2023). He tells the story of recorded sound – the technological developments, the humans that made them happen – and their impact on society, from the phonograph to LPs, EPs and the recent resurgence of vinyl. Harrison and Scott dissect a mind-blowing feat that we all take for granted today –  the domestication of sound. Thomas Edison’s phonograph, the first device that could both record and reproduce sound, represented an important turning point in the story of recorded sound, but it was only the tip of the iceberg, and came after decades of invention, tinkering and experimentation. Scott traces the birth of sound back to the earliest serious attempts in the 1850s, celebrating the ingenuity, rivalries and science of the modulated groove. And, of course, the conversation raises the controversial question, in which medium does music actually sound better? Vinyl or digital? Listen to the podcast in its entirety here.