Last week, Premiere Networks announced it had added The Michael Berry Show to its lineup of nationally syndicated news/talk offerings.
For Berry, the move had been a long time coming. Based in Houston at iHeartMedia’s Newsradio 740 KTRH, Berry had previously been regionally syndicated in most Texas and Louisiana markets. But beginning on October 7th, he’ll be available for stations nationally.
And moving to national syndication has been a validating experience for the longtime news/talk radio host.
“I think it says a lot about how media has changed, because no longer must every show have a lack of an accent and an attempt to be all things to all people,” said Berry. “This is the second show out of Houston that Premiere has syndicated in the last couple of years, the other one is my dear friend, Jesse Kelly. And what you’re seeing is on the shelves of the marketplace of entertainment, they’re recognizing — and the audiences are responding — to more different, diverse accents, ideology, backgrounds, and experiences. I think that’s good for listeners.
“I don’t think any one show should be the only show for all people. And so I think that really reflects sort of what cable news did to network news a number of years ago, and then what the digital formats did to cable news. Listeners want different options, and maybe different options at different times, and depending on the mood and depending on the issue or the topic. It’s just fun to get to be part of that mix.”
A self-avowed fan of news/talk radio titan Rush Limbaugh, the idea that he is now joining the network that was once the home of the legendary host isn’t lost on Michael Berry.
“Premiere Networks, and the names of Kraig Kitchin and Julie Talbott and the legends of that business were always something I held in high esteem,” shared Berry. “So when the call came, it was a simple question of how can we make this work because we want to make this work, because it’s good for everybody.”
Michael Berry has found success doing a local show in Houston and another regionally syndicated program. And he doesn’t expect the formula he’s put together, or the content of his show, to change once he’s offered to a national audience in the 6-8 PM ET timeslot.
“I watched an interview with Rush Limbaugh a few months after he went national — and he really changed talk radio and created the modern talk radio. He was doing an interview with just a simple little municipal channel in New Jersey when he had gone on in New York, and they asked him how things had changed now that he was in the big leagues,” Berry began. “And he said, ‘I sit in a studio and I talk through the glass at a producer on the other side. The only difference is now, instead of a few people listening, millions are listening, and the President, and Congress, and every governor is listening, but I’m still doing the exact same show.’
“If you compare that to say baseball, when you were on your high school baseball field, you may have had a few dozen people watching. And in college, a few hundred. In double A, triple A, more. But when you get to the pros and you walk into the big stadium and there’s 30,000 people, it’s still the same bat and the same baseball but you’re on a different field. With radio, you’re still talking into the same microphones across the same glass, it’s just a lot more people listening.”
Michael Berry hopes his story — a former politician turned radio host who has now reached a national platform after more than two decades of trial, error, and paying his dues — will motivate other radio professionals.
“I think it’s important for people to understand there is still a lot of opportunity in traditional media, like radio. You can come up through the ranks, or you can create your own show. You can be different. And you don’t need to be the most coached talent in the industry. The knock on me almost 20 years ago was we weren’t like we weren’t following the formats. We weren’t doing what were supposed to,” Berry admitted.
“And I think, sort of like a Jimmy Buffet, we created our own lane, in our own genre, and that’s worked out well for me. And I would encourage other hosts — whether you’re sports or talk or news or whatever that may be — find your true voice and be that. And present that and have confidence in that. Eventually, you’ll build an audience and then you can enjoy what you’re doing, instead of being something that a program director told you to be.”
The Michael Berry Show will officially join the Premiere Networks lineup on Monday, October 7th. The show airs live from 6-8 PM ET.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
I’m very glad for this news, Michael Berry is unlike any other Raido person out here and I heard most since Rush started.
I tell people all the time on his podcast and they need to listen to a completely different man, one who knows scripture but isn’t a religious fake, one who sees real life but addresses it and doesn’t run from it, one who helps others and encourages others openly.
The most polite interviewer of others and entertaining of anyone out there.
Rush was good at it, but could have learned from Michael Berry.
None can top the realistic level of Michael Berrys show.
Music and side notes, like me not a conspiracy theorist but not so sure anymore.
I’d love MB to be on 2-5 central time nationally, he would double Rushes 20 million.
I can’t say enough about his talent, one day I’d love to meet him and I’d say keep it up, cause he’s good at it.