Welcome to day three of our inaugural BNM Top 20 series presented by Steve Stone Voiceovers. So far, we’ve released the results of the News/Talk radio format’s top National Shows and Major and Mid Market Morning Shows, and now it’s time to find out who cracked the list among the industry’s top midday programs.
A reminder that this series runs a total of seven days. It is designed to highlight News/Talk radio’s top shows, hosts, brands and programmers for the 2022 calendar year. To stay informed on each day’s results please bookmark our website, follow BNM on Twitter at @BNMStaff, visit us on Facebook at Barrett News Media or sign up for our daily newsletter, ‘The Rundown‘ by clicking here. The support is greatly appreciated.
The seven categories we are featuring include the industry’s top national and original digital shows, as well as the best morning, midday and afternoon shows, and the best stations and programmers in both Major (#1-#20) and Mid-Sized (#21-Below) markets. We separate large and mid-sized markets since the opportunities and challenges they face are different. Not included in our lists are NPR brands and shows. Maybe down the line we’ll change that or add an extra category but for now, terrestrial outlets are our main focus.
As a format, News/Talk radio is delivered on over two thousand stations. Only the country format is larger in size. We try our best to make sure the top shows, hosts, programmers and brands are listed for voting consideration but also allow room for our voters to add nominees if for some reason someone isn’t listed on our document. Additionally, though we triple check everything before publishing the list and hope to present a perfect layout, sometimes things slip through the cracks. If you notice an error, please let us know. We want to shine the light on the format’s best brands and shows in a way that makes them feel proud to be recognized, not frustrated by an incorrect detail.
As you review these results, please keep in mind that they represent the collective opinions of forty four industry programmers and executives. If your show didn’t make the list, it doesn’t mean your program isn’t successful, important or profitable. In other words, don’t beat yourself up over it. Though it’s cool to be recognized, there are way more good shows out there than there are slots.
I want to thank everyone who took the time to participate in our voting process. This was a very lengthy process and I appreciate the time those overseeing brands invested in being a part of it. Altogether we had representation from fifteen companies and thirty six different cities, which was outstanding.
As it pertains to the voting, here are a few key things to be aware of.
#1 – Our executive voters were asked to pick their Top 20 selections for each category based on a few key factors; quality of show (ear test), originality, ability to entertain-inform-connect across multiple platforms, ratings success, clearance (national shows) and industry buzz. Remember, our voters live in different cities, have different tastes, work for different groups, and value certain factors higher than others. This isn’t a perfect system but it’s the best one we’ve been able to create to showcase the industry’s best. Having done this for seven years for the sports talk format, we’re going to stick with it until another approach makes more sense.
#2 – Our executive panel consists of program directors and corporate executives from a number of top broadcasting companies including Audacy, iHeart, Cumulus, Beasley, Hubbard, Good Karma Brands, Cox Media Group, Radio One, Alpha, Bonneville, FOX News Radio, Hearst, Federated Media, Zimmer Communications, and Westwood One. We involve a large number of people in order to receive feedback from all parts of the country, and to avoid the results heavily favoring one company.
#3 – A total of 55 shows received voting consideration in the Mid Market N/T Midday Shows category.
Which brings us to today’s category – Mid Market News/Talk Midday Shows. There were many great shows to vote for but our voting committee was sold on WLW’s Bill Cunningham. This marks two wins in a row for WLW in this year’s Top 20 results. BNM congratulates Bill, DJ Hodge, Scott Reinhardt, and the entire WLW team on their well deserved honor, as well as every other show which earned a spot on this year’s list.
Now, here are the full results of “BNM’s Top 20 Mid Market News/Talk Midday Shows of 2022!”
Additional Notes:
- Bill Cunningham won the midday category by an impressive ninety (90) points. He picked up the most first place votes among all shows with ten (10).
- Spots 21-25 belonged to Derek Hunter, The Big Show, Dan O’Donnell, Ray Appleton, and Joyce Kaufman.
- The closest contests saw Tony & Dwight finish 1 point in front of Dennis & Judi and David Bellavia hold off Jeff Wagner by 4 points.
- Of the 55 shows to appear on submitted ballots, nine (9) received at least one 1st place vote.
*** KMOX’s The Show featuring Kevin Wheeler, Chris Rongey and Amy Marxkors recently switched to a two-person show. Wheeler has since moved to afternoons alongside drive time host Dave Glover.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BNM Top 20 of 2022.
- Thursday December 15 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market N/T Radio Afternoon Shows of 2022
- Friday December 16 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market N/T Radio Program Directors of 2022
- Monday December 19 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market N/T Radio Stations of 2022
- Tuesday December 20 = The Top 20 Original N/T Digital Shows of 2022
A reminder, BNM will have a big announcement following the Top 20 series on Wednesday December 21st. Make sure to visit the website that day to learn what else we’re up to.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
