Talkers Magazine

Attendees at TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication’s TV Studio A The 28th annual installment of the TALKERS conference, TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter, has drawn more than 30,000 views thus far on the TALKERS MEDIA YouTube channel. This year’s installment of longest running and most important talk media industry gathering was held on Friday, June 5 at Hofstra University on Long Island, drawing a crowd of 338 registrants and more than 65 speakers.

Here are the most talked about stories of the past week (7/13-17) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS: Stories ICE Killings U.S.- Iran War Graham Death Aftermath / McConnell Health Status Trump’s Election Integrity Address Dems Block Defense Bill Blanche Confirmation Hearings SCOTUS Requests Increased Security Funding DOJ Subpoenas NYT Reporters Judge Rebukes Trump-IRS Deal Wildfire Smoke Smothers Midwest & Northeast / Texas Floods People Donald Trump Joan Sebastian...

After FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the Commission votes to eliminate the cap on television station ownership, FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez issued a statement on the matter. She says: “This unlawful effort to hand control of the public airwaves to billionaire buddies of this administration will destroy local newsrooms, silence community reporting, and drive-up costs for the American families who depend on local stations for news and emergency alerts.

Skyview Networks is unveiling a series of organizational moves that president and CEO Steve Jones says are “designed to sharpen strategy, improve alignment and increase efficiency across the company.

The asset purchase agreement recently filed with the FCC indicates that St. Louis-based Hoffman Media Group will pay Audacy $20 million for its six-station cluster that includes news/talk stations KMOX-AM/FM, KFTK-FM, and four music outlets. Hoffman Media Group is a subsidiary of Hoffman Family Companies and recently acquired the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Beasley Media Group promotes Jose Alberto Roldan to head of technology and infrastructure. In this newly created position, Roldan will oversee the company’s technology strategy, information technology operations, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and enterprise systems.

During the spring, the NFL’s Buffalo Bills announced they would, through a deal with Good Karma Brands, take production and distribution of Bill radio play-by-play in house after years of Audacy’s sports talk WGR-AM, Buffalo serving as the flagship station. Now, the team announces that it has 23 stations signed up as affiliates, including Good Karma-operated WHSQ-AM, New York City (formerly WCBS-AM at 880 kHz) and WESP-FM, West Palm Beach “ESPN West Palm” – both stations operated by Good Karma.

The most discussed stories yesterday (7/15) on news/talk radio and related talk media according to TALKERS research: Blanche Confirmation Hearings ICE Killings Trump’s Election Integrity Address U.S.-Iran War Canadian Wildfire Smoke Blankets Northeast & Midwest Share this with your network

Nielsen issues the results of data from an analysis of consumers’ consumption of podcasts. The study finds that while more people are seeing video-enabled podcasts, audio remains the absolute foundation of the ecosystem, with 90% of all monthly podcast consumers choosing to listen, while 62% engage by watching.

As it gets easier to connect to the internet from one’s vehicle, more people are doing just that and are using Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to listen to digital audio. Edison Research says that according to its Share of Ear study, in 2019 18% of those ages 13+ owned an in-car infotainment system, and 40% own one today.