2024 was a good year for The Erick Erickson Show. While it stayed at the top of the Atlanta radio ratings with 95.5 WSB, it also added dozens of national affiliates through its distribution with Compass Media Networks.
Erickson saw his list of affiliates grow exponentially during the calendar year. In total, nearly 60 stations now carry his show which airs live from 12-3 PM ET.
That increased distribution comes with an increased commitment to stations around the country. Extra guest appearances on local shows, liners, and sponsor meetings dot the nationally syndicated host’s calendar.
But the performance of The Erick Erickson Show hasn’t slipped. Especially in Atlanta, where the show finished the year as the top midday show — not the top news/talk midday show, the top midday show — in the key demographic for the final six months of the year.
Has the adjustment of the increased national presence been an adjustment for Erickson? Certainly. But he believes there’s a key to making it all work.
“It really is time management. It’s kind of my life. And my wife and kids understand it,” Erickson admitted. “I mean, during the week, I’m talking to program directors or advertisers in local markets and trying to be as local a presence for everybody. With radio economics now, it’s really hard for a lot of local stations to have local voices. A lot of them rely on national voices, and if I can help them sound a little more local — even though I’m not where they are — it’s one of the things I’ve been willing to do for everybody.”
In the case of Atlanta and 95.5 WSB, the attachment to the station comes from a place of loyalty for Erickson.
“I started there, was there for 10 years as a local voice, even when I was guest hosting for Rush (Limbaugh) or Herman Cain,” he said. “Herman was from Atlanta, too. It is my home market.”
That commitment to building a national audience also includes the commitment to being engrained in the fabric of a heritage brand like 95.5 WSB. The station’s program director — Ken Charles — said it is not difficult to manage someone like Erickson who is as committed to being a part of the station’s everyday happenings.
“There probably are some people that their ego would get in the way of doing that. Erick’s not that guy,” said Charles. “Erick is the guy that I have to say ‘No, it’s ok, just focus on your national show. We’re good.’ Because if it were up to Erick, he’d be doing two or three hours just for WSB every day if I could find a way to do it.
“Erick’s a really easy talent when it comes to that because he is dedicated and committed to WSB and doing his radio show. And because he has that commitment, it’s a really easy partnership to navigate,” concluded Charles.
Erick Erickson added that he tries to keep his finger on the pulse of the local markets airing his show as best as possible, adhering to the “all politics is local” mantra so many others hold dear.
“I keep an RSS feed of all of my markets and if there’s a big story in Sacramento or in Hartford that I think I can use to tell a national story, I talk about those local stories from a national level. I do the same in Atlanta which has been helpful. In 2024, it was the center of the political universe. So I could talk about those stories and relate them nationally.”
However, there are times — like this past weekend when a winter storm struck the Georgia capital — that Erickson will devote extra time and attention to the 95.5 WSB audience.
“There will be times where I will record a segment for my Atlanta audience that I don’t think the national audience would care about, but I know the local audience would,” Erickson shared. “So it sounds like my show currently, but it’s specifically focused on Atlanta, and you give them some special content … I do a lot of local extra coverage in Atlanta. Now, I’ve told other markets I’m always happy to if they need me to pitch in during a hurricane or something, but no one’s ever taken me up on it, but I’d be happy to do it for them, too. I just like local radio.”
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
