Pictured above:  The “Gaining Traction in a Noisy Digital World” panel at TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter. Appearing l-r: Moderator Mike McVay, president McVay Media Consulting; Sherry Goldman, founder, Goldman Communications Group; Heather Cohen, president, The Weiss Agency; Rob Carson, host, Newsmax Radio; Ryan McCormick, co-founder, Goldman McCormick PR; and Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo, host, “The Joe Pags Show,” Compass Media Networks.

The 28th annual edition of the talk media industry’s longest running and most important national gathering – TALKERS 2026: Radio’s Next Chapter – took place at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication on the Long Island, NY campus of Hofstra University last Friday (6/5). It was produced in conjunction with Hofstra’s multi-Marconi Award winning campus radio station, WRHU-FM. The vibrant, sold-out gathering presented 65 speakers and 338 registered attendees engaged in the sharing of perspectives, advice, and ideas within the fertile environment of dynamic collegial networking.

Pictured above: “The State of Sports Talk Radio” one-on-one session featuring (l-r) facilitator, Harry Hurley, morning host, WPG, Atlantic City, NJ; and special guest, Ryan Hurley, brand manager, WFAN, New York, NY. NOTE: The Hurleys are not related.

The main themes of the 14-hour conference included an intense focus on the future of radio and talk media in the multi-platform digital world of the second quarter of the 21st century.  These included exploration of such existential questions as how to gain profile traction in a noisy world; how to regain the public’s trust in the media; how to meet the challenge of generating revenue in a fractured and challenging economy; what entrepreneurial opportunities exist for individuals and independent companies in this new environment; how to expand programming options; how to recruit new talent; how to attract younger demos; how to deal with the enormous unforgiving power of algorithms in scoring the game; how to effectively control and exploit AI; how to make a living in this business; and so much more.

Speakers and attendees included a cross-section of talk media professionals from the worlds of talent, management, ownership, syndication, journalism, engineering, politics, sports, the law, academia, and music – even pro-wrestling!

Beginning next week, TALKERS will provide in-depth photo, video, and story coverage of the historic event.  Stand by!