The second annual Barrett News Media Top 20 series rolls on with a look at News/Talk radio’s best afternoons shows of 2023. Morning and Midday Shows were released on Monday and Tuesday. If you missed them, click here to check out the Top 20 section and access whichever lists you’re interested in. In the meantime, to avoid missing out on anything else, I recommend bookmarking our website, following BNM on X at @BNMStaff or on Facebook at Barrett News Media or you can sign up for our daily newsletter, ‘The Rundown‘ by clicking here.
This year’s series focuses on six categories; Major and Mid market news/talk radio morning, midday, and afternoon shows, program directors, radio stations, and the format’s best national talk shows. Major Markets represent shows, stations, and PDs operating in markets #1-#20. Mid Markets cover markets #21 and below. Not included are NPR brands and shows. Maybe in the future we’ll change that or add an extra category but for now, mainstream news/talk radio outlets are the main focus.
As you review these results, please remember that they represent the collective opinions of fifty four (54) news/talk radio programmers and executives. We try our best to make sure the top shows, hosts, programmers and brands are listed for voting consideration. Industry decision makers are then asked to vote on categories based on where their stations/shows operate. BNM’s role in the voting process is to gather the feedback, add it up, and present the results.
I want to thank Barrett Media’s Digital Director Alex Reynolds for doing an awesome job on this year’s graphics, as well as each PD and executive who participated in this process. We had representation from fourteen companies and forty different cities, which was even better than last year. For those who didn’t vote and were invited to do so, I hope you’ll change your mind next year. It’s good for the format if you’re involved, and depending on the final votes, it can benefit your staff, sales team, and company, and excite your audience and advertisers.
Moving on to the voting, here are a few things I’d like you to be aware of.
#1 – Our executive voters are asked to rank 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 is not a perfect system but it’s the best one we’ve come up with to showcase the industry’s top performers. Having done this for eight years with the sports talk format, we’re going to stick with it until a better option arises.
#2 – The executive panel consisted of program directors and corporate executives from a number of top broadcasting companies including Audacy, iHeart, Cumulus, Hubbard, Cox Media Group, Townsquare Media, Salem Media Group, Radio One, Alpha, Bonneville, FOX News Radio, Westwood One, Federated Media, and Zimmer Communications. We involve a large number of people in this process in order to receive feedback from all parts of the country, and to avoid the results heavily favoring one group. Given the variety of people in this process, it means there’s no guarantee that success last year will be duplicated this year.
#3 – A total of 37 shows appeared on ballots turned in by our executive panel in the Major Market Afternoon News/Talk Shows category. America’s airwaves in PM drive are filled by many top talents, but for this series specifically, only one gets top billing.
The honor this year goes to KFI’s Tim Conway Jr. The voters clearly love and respect KFI as the Los Angeles talk radio station has now claimed the top spot in all three local daypart categories this year. That’s a testament to having great talent, strong results, and a powerful connection with local listeners and clients. BNM congratulates Tim, Robin Bertolucci and the entire KFI staff on the well deserved attention, as well as every show that secured a spot on this year’s list.
Now, here are the full results of “Barrett News Media’s Top 20 Major Market News/Talk Afternoon Shows of 2023!”
Additional Notes:
- Tim Conway won the afternoon category by 31 points over WSB’s The Von Haessler Doctrine. The KFI host finished with a category best four (4) first place votes.
- Spots 21-25 were claimed by Mike Russell, Michelle Durham & Jay Scott Smith, The DeMaio Report, Drive Time w/ DeRusha, and Jason Rantz.
- The closest contests saw PM Rush nip WTOP Afternoon News by 1 point, and Michael Wallace edge Lisa Dent by 3 points.
- Of the 37 shows to receive votes, thirteen (13) received at least one 1st place vote.
Here is the remaining schedule for the BNM Top 20 of 2023.
- Thursday December 14 = BNM’s Top 20 National News/Talk Shows of 2023
- Friday December 15 = BNM’s Top 20 Major/Mid Market News/Talk Program Directors of 2023
- Monday December 18 = BNM’s Top 20 Major/Mid Market News/Talk Radio Stations of 2023
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.
