I hope everyone in talk radio land had a great holiday and hopefully you are reading this in your bed or on your couch around 10 a.m. after a long slumber, made even better by not having to work the next day. Then there’s the rest of us who see December 26 as just the day after Christmas and another day to get some work done.
In our line of work, we know ‘the show must go on’ although generally with the B or C team as many talk shows take a couple weeks off this time of year and we will hear them again come January 6.
As the new year approaches, I thought back on the year that was and started to put together a list of things I hope news talk radio and sports talk radio received for the holidays…
For both formats, I hope there was a box under the tree that had a magic wizard in it, or even just a younger, fresh thinker who comes from outside of the ‘radio business.’ Someone or something which can give the industry the desperately needed ideas to have it get out ahead of whatever is coming next. These two formats especially missed out on podcasting. They should have owned the podcasting space and the millions or billions of ad dollars that moved that direction. We were supposed to be the leaders in audio entertainment and information and most of us quickly found out we were not.
What can talk radio do in 2025 and beyond that will help the sales teams not have to start conversations by spending the first 20 minutes defending the industry and giving the reasons why it is not yet dead?
For News/Talk Radio I hope there was the gift of new material. Never has a format, and this goes for radio and television, become so centered around so few actual topics. And most of them lead all to one place – ‘why my side is better than your side’. Or some may prefer to put it, ‘why your side is a bunch of idiots and why everything my side likes and says is perfect’.
It’s gotten old. Like the format and most of the hosts.
What can be done in 2025 to freshen things up, to play the hits while not smashing people over the head over and over again with them? If you are not trying new ways to pull in younger listeners or new ways to keep the listeners that you have, each year is just going to get tougher and tougher. It will be a slow, painful death.
If you have not yet read about what KDKA in Pittsburgh is doing with their KDKA Next Take program, click on that link and read Garrett Searight’s story on it. This is an example of something being done that is completely different and is designed to drive reach and younger audiences. Yes, I said there is an actual idea being done right now in news talk radio in a big market, which any station could replicate, that is designed to drive reach and younger audiences. If you don’t think this idea is something you could implement where you are, what is your idea that will drive reach and younger audiences? What did you try last year? What are you trying this year?
For sports talk radio it would be great if the industry was gifted shackles to keep some of the talent from leaving. I think this actually all ties together with what I wrote above for news talk radio. Not only do some of the talent leave because they see the bright lights of television or one of their buddies got fired and is now much happier on their own doing digital content, but also because they don’t see the future with their company or the industry.
They assume leadership will come up with some strong ideas to be ahead of whatever is coming next. They want to see that the industry won’t just be reactionary to what happens elsewhere, then go spend a bunch of money trying to play catchup while also trying to cut corners – instead of developing something that makes local talk radio and its content creators really matter and makes other industries want to follow what it is doing.
I thought about this a lot recently when doing an eavesdropping feature on the ESPN Radio morning show, Unsportsmanlike with Evan, Canty and Michelle. I think Chris Canty is tremendous – but could he be too good? Especially at ESPN where there is a very easy transition to full time television. I hate the fact that the whole time I was thinking about how good he was on radio, I was thinking that probably means it won’t be too long before he moves on.
We are in tough times in radio overall. Over here on the talk side of things we are much better off than our brethren on the music side. That being said, we have got to get new thinkers, new ideas, new creators, new leaders who can really focus on how the talent that is in the space can grow their listener bases and consistently engage with them so they truly own that relationship. The talent we have need to be the ones people of all ages think of when they want to be entertained or informed.
And if that is not who you have on your roster…you might want to find some new players for your team.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
