Tuesday, June 28, 2022
James Golden is This Week’s Guest on Harrison Podcast. TALKERS founder Michael Harrison describes him as a “radio renaissance man.” James Golden, a.k.a. Bo Snerdley, is this week’s guest on the award-winning PodcastOne series, “The Michael Harrison Interview.” A native of Queens, New York – Golden spent approximately 30 years as the producer of Rush Limbaugh’s historic nationally syndicated radio show. In addition, he played a major role in the program’s many media offshoots from publishing to podcasting. Before that, he was involved in radio as a producer, researcher, programmer and on-air host at such New York outlets as WABC and WWRL, and Talkspot.com. After Rush passed away in February of 2021, Golden produced a multi-episode documentary podcast for iHeartRadio titled, Rush Limbaugh: The Man Behind the Golden EIB Microphone, in addition to writing a critically acclaimed book, Rush On The Radio: A Tribute From His Sidekick of 30 Years. And now, he’s back on Red Apple Media’s WABC with a daily afternoon talk show of his own. To listen to the podcast in its entirety, please click here.
New TALKERS 2022 Video Posted: Today, TALKERS magazine posts the latest in an ongoing series of video presentations from
the
TALKERS 2022 convention held on June 10 at
Hofstra University on Long Island. Today’s video addition features the panel discussion titled “Programming News/Talk Radio in the Digital Era” moderated by
Mike McVay, president,
McVay Media Consulting. Panelists include
Dr. Asa Andrew, CEO/host,
The Doctor Asa Health Network (“Believe”);
Grace Blazer, VP, national NTS brand coordinator, director of news and AM programming Florida region,
iHeartMedia Miami; Phil Boyce, SVP/spoken word format,
Salem Media Group,
Salem Radio Network/operations VP, New York Region; Kevin DeLany, VP, news & talk programming,
Westwood One; and Greg Stocker, program director, WPHT, Philadelphia. The introduction was provided by
Steve Goldstein, CEO,
Amplifi Media. You can watch the video
here.
iHM Jacksonville Boosts Lawrence To Senior VP/Sales. Two-and-a-half-year
iHeartMedia Jacksonville vice president/sales
Stacey Lawrence advances to senior vice president/sales of that Florida cluster. Lawrence will report to iHeartMedia North Florida area president
Paul Rogers, who comments, “When I joined the market [in March 2021], I took a long time to evaluate our team, including our management team. I wanted to learn their values, their work ethic, and observe their commitment to our team, our customers, and to iHeart. Stacey flat-out earned it, and her strong working relationship with vice president/digital sales
Brooke Adams is going to be crucial and what takes us over the top.” Lawrence remarks, “I’m thrilled to step into my new role with this incredible team in Jacksonville. Although I’ve been with iHeartMedia less than three years, it did not take me long to realize this was where I belonged. [It’s] a forward-thinking company that is customer-centric at its core. Jacksonville is exploding and I plan on leading this team to their fullest potential. I look forward to making a difference in our community and helping businesses achieve their marketing goals through our world- class, multi-channel offerings.” Lawrence spent 14 years with
Hibu (formerly
YellowBook USA). She later held sales management positions for two Jacksonville TV stations, including
Graham Media Group’s WJXT-TV. Among the stations in iHM Jacksonville is Spanish news/talk WFXJ “Acción 97.3.”
Moore Becomes MAB’s Main Man. Most recently the vice president of programming for iHeartMedia New Hampshire, Tim Moore is
named president/chief executive officer of the
Maine Association of Broadcasters. Moore succeeds
Suzanne Goucher, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. MAB board chair/WMTW-TV, Portland president/general manager
David Abel states, “The Board was looking for someone with deep experience in Maine broadcasting and extensive relationships throughout the state; Tim stood out among some very qualified candidates. There is much to be done to position the MAB for the future and we are excited to have Tim lead that effort.” According to Moore, “I’ve loved the MAB for years and believe in the mission to advocate for broadcasters on every level. My thanks to David Abel; incoming chair
Corey Garrison; and the entire board of directors for placing their faith and trust in me. I’m beyond excited to lead the MAB into the future and cannot wait to get started.” Moore began his Maine radio career in Bangor at WKSQ. He later went to Portland as operations manager of WHOM and WJBQ. A former MAB board chair, Moore is a member of the
MAB Hall of Fame and was awarded the inaugural (2010) “Broadcast Achievement Award.” The Maine Association of Broadcasters was formed in 1947 to “cultivate a friendly spirit of cooperation in matters of common interest” to radio and television stations throughout the “Pine Tree State.”
Wexler Wins NFPW’s Top Spot For Best Radio Interview. Just hours after
Jim Himes spent a marathon day and night at the U.S. Capitol following the January 6 (2021) riot,
Connoisseur Media Bridgeport news/talk WICC’s
Lisa Wexler interviewed the Connecticut congressman live on her 10:00 am – 12:00 noon show. That January 7 interview enabled Wexler to win first-place for “Best Radio Interview” in the
National Federation of Press Women’s Awards. Wexler comments, “Interviewing congressman Jim Himes after he experienced all that transpired on January 6 felt like history in the making. I urge all to listen to it now, with the benefit of hindsight.” Connoisseur Media senior vice president
Kristin Okesson remarks, “The role of radio is as vital as it’s ever been, and Lisa Wexler is a fantastic example of what makes the medium so critical right now. Lisa has developed a deep connection to her audience through her no-nonsense interview style and down-to-earth storytelling. Through these stormy past few years, Lisa was there to help guide her listeners through. She remains a reassuring voice during an uncomfortable time in our nation and the world. Connecticut and WICC are lucky to have Lisa Wexler behind the microphone.” NFPW is a nationwide organization of women and men pursuing careers across the communications spectrum, including radio, television print, electronic journalism, freelancing, new media, books, public relations, marketing, graphic design, photography, and advertising. Winners from throughout the country were honored this past Saturday (6/25) during the National Federation of Press Women communications contest ceremony in Fargo, North Dakota. Nearly 2,000 entries were judged in a wide variety of categories. Only first-place winning entries at the state level are eligible to enter the national contest. All entries were published or broadcast between January 1 – December 31 (2021). “The Lisa Wexler Show” took first place for the Jim Himes interview at the
Connecticut Press Awards.
“Share Of Ear” Q1 2022 Findings. Among this week’s
Cumulus Media/
Westwood One Audio Active Group blog highlights is that among registered voters, terrestrial radio has a 75% share of ad-supported audio. Meanwhile, AM/FM radio’s audience is 13 times bigger than
Pandora and 19 times that of
Spotify. Trending ad-supported audience shares from Q1 2020 to Q1 2022, terrestrial radio sees little change (78% to 76%). As podcast shares
bump up from 7% to 11%, Pandora’s shares are down 25% (8% to 6%). Also in single-digits are Spotify (4%) and
SiriusXM (3%). Terrestrial radio leads total ad-supported shares among key buying demographics; podcast shares are greater than Spotify and Pandora combined. In the car, AM/FM radio shares have been in the high-80s the last six years. Most Americans only listen to terrestrial radio and never listen to Pandora and Spotify. Over six years, the proportion of terrestrial radio listening occurring through online streaming has nearly doubled (8% to 15%). More radio listening is occurring via stream (15%) than the entire AM dial. With a 43% share, terrestrial radio leads ad-supported listening on the smart speaker.
Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study surveys 4,000 Americans to measure daily reach and time spent for all forms of audio.
TALKERS
News Notes. The first-ever “Black Effect Podcast Festival” is set to take place August 28 at the
Avant Gardner in Brooklyn.
Premiere Networks’ “Breakfast Club” co-host
Charlamagne Tha God will join the festival, along with some of the
Black Effect Podcast Network’s most popular personalities for a day of live podcast tapings and discussions aimed at aspiring podcasters in the black community. According to Charlamagne Tha God, “The Black Effect Podcast Network was created to amplify black voices for new and established content creators and storytellers, giving them a space to showcase their creative vision in the ever-growing podcast game. I’m excited to celebrate the first-ever Black Effect Podcast Festival, where talented black creators and aspiring podcasters will come together for a day to uplift and inspire one another. This festival is for the culture and is one of many events the network will host for the black community.” Launched in
September 2020 and curated by Charlamagne Tha God, the Black Effect Podcast Network has debuted 32 shows. Black Effect Podcast Network partners include
AT&T,
BetterHelp,
Hulu,
Molson Coors,
Nissan and
State Farm … Former
Carolina Panthers linebacker
Luke Kuechly is coming back to the organization to be part of this year’s radio broadcasts on
iHeartMedia Charlotte. A first-round pick by the Panthers in 2012, Kuechly will be in the booth for six home games and
the road trip to his hometown of Cincinnati. He comments, “I just love the Panthers. I want to be attached to the team and the game. I think it could be a lot of fun.” Kuechly played eight seasons in Carolina and retired following the 2019 season. Other members of the Panthers radio team are
Anish Shroff;
Jordan Gross;
Jake Delhomme;
Kristen Balboni; and
Jim Szoke … Among the three specials
ABC Audio will provide to affiliates this July 4
th weekend is
ABC News Radio’s three-hour
Jason Nathanson-hosted “Press Play.” Nathanson and ABC News correspondents venture across the country thrill-seeking and learning new skills.
Podtrac Releases Weekly Podcast Data. Downloads for Podtrac-measured shows (June 20 – 26) are up 1% over the previous week
and gain 70% versus the corresponding period last year. Whereas “Health & Fitness” displays the strongest week-over-week
growth (+9%), “Comedy” registers the weakest week-to-week
loss (-4%). The category with the strongest year-over-year improvement is “Health & Fitness,” climbing 183%. Across all Podtrac-measured podcasts, download growth for the 52-week period (June 21, 2021 – June 26, 2022) was up 70%, while
week-over-week (June 20 – 26, 2022) download advancement was up 1%. Year-to-year download growth was +183% for “Health & Fitness”; +116%, “Comedy”; +87%, “True Crime”; +83%, “Sports”; +64%, “News”; +62%, “Business”; +60%, “Society & Culture”; +47%, “Science”; +44%, “History”; and +12% for “Arts.” Download
week-over-week gains are made by “Health & Fitness” (+9%); “Arts” (+3%); “News” (+3%); “Society & Culture” (+3%); and “Sports” (+2%). “History” remains even, while “Comedy” is -4%; “Science” and “True Crime” are both -3%; and “Business” is -2%.
Tags: ABC News Radio, Anish Shroff, AT&T, Avant Gardner, Bangor, BetterHelp, Black Effect Podcast Festival, Black Effect Podcast Network, Breakfast Club, Bridgeport, Brooke Adams, Brooklyn, Carolina Panthers, Charlamagne Tha God, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Connecticut Press Awards, Connoisseur Media, Corey Garrison, Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group, David Abel, Edison Research, Fargo, Florida, Graham Media Group, Hibu, Hulu, iHeartMedia, Jacksonville, Jake Delhomme, Jason Nathanson, Jim Himes, Jim Szoke, Jordan Gross, Kristen Balboni, Kristin Okesson, Lisa Wexler, Luke Kuechly, MAB Hall of Fame, Maine, Maine Association of Broadcasters, Molson Coors, National Federation of Press Women, New Hampshire, Nissan, North Dakota, Pandora, Paul Rogers, Podtrac, Portland, Premiere Networks, siriusXM, Spotify, Stacey Lawrence, State Farm, Suzanne Goucher, Tim Moore, WFXJ, WHOM, WICC, WJBQ, WJXT-TV, WKSQ, WMTW-TV, YellowBook USA
Category: Front Page News, Industry News