The first week of our inaugural BNM Top 20 of 2022 series presented by Steve Stone Voiceovers comes to an end with a look at the News/Talk radio format’s top program directors. Next week we wrap up the entire series with a look at the top News/Talk stations and Original Digital Shows. Those get revealed on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a big announcement from Barrett Media President Jason Barrett on Wednesday.
If this is your first time checking out our website and you missed the prior announcements, be sure to get caught up on the top National Shows, Major and Mid Market Morning Shows, Major and Mid Market midday shows, and Major and Mid Market Afternoon Shows. The results represent the collective input shared by 44 radio industry programmers and executives from 15 companies in 36 cities. We thank them for making time to be part of this process.
The seven categories we’re examining during this year’s series include the industry’s top national and original digital shows, the best morning, midday and afternoon shows, and the top stations and programmers in both Major (#1-#20) and Mid-Sized (#21-Below) markets. We separate large and mid-sized cities 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.
For those who are unaware, the News/Talk radio format is offered on over two thousand stations. The only larger format is country. We try our best to make sure the top shows, hosts, programmers and brands from the News/Talk world are listed for voting consideration on our ballots but we also allow room for our voters to add nominees if for some reason someone isn’t listed. Additionally, though we triple check everything before publishing the lists and hope to present a perfect layout, sometimes mistakes happen. 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 it pertains to the voting, here are a few 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 40 program directors appeared on ballots turned in by our executive panel.
Which brings us to today’s category – Major Market News/Talk Program Directors. The men and women charged with guiding America’s top brands and personalities may earn respect and admiration inside the hallways of their respective employers but far too often they fly under the radar in the public eye. So, we’re changing that. One thing to address in advance, some of these folks may hold titles such as Vice President of News/Talk, Director of Operations, etc.. Rather than making it complicated, we’re sticking with Program Directors since they all play key roles in managing programming departments.
Our winner in this category is KFI’s Robin Bertolucci. Robin’s leadership of KFI has helped the Los Angeles brand become one of iHeart’s top stations for billing, streaming, and radio listening. This week alone, KFI has finished 1st in every single category of the BNM Top 20 of 2022. That’s a testament to the great work she and her team deliver on a consistent basis. BNM congratulates Robin on a well deserved honor, as well as every other brand leader who earned a spot on this year’s list.
Now, here are the full results of “BNM’s Top 20 Major Market News/Talk Program Directors of 2022!”
Additional Notes:
- Robin Bertolucci won this category by 39 points ahead of WTOP’s Julie Ziegler. Robin also received the most first place votes with ten (10).
- Spots 21-25 belonged to Bryan Buckalew, Kristina Koppeser, Chuck Tyler, Dave Tepper and John Mamola.
- We had our first tie in this year’s series. It was for 20th place between Greg Stocker and Stephanie Tichenor. Additionally, the race for spots 7-9 was very tight. Bruce Collins, Grace Blazer and Tom Cuddy were all separated by one (1) point.
- Of the 40 programmers to earn votes from our panel, eight (8) received at least one 1st place vote.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BNM Top 20 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 Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
