Few hosts in the news/talk genre are as experienced as Salem Radio Network host Mike Gallagher.
The Ohio native has spent decades in the format, honing his craft at both the local level — in markets like Greenville/Spartanburg to New York City — and at the national level with Salem Radio Network.
And in that long career, Mike Gallagher said as much as things change in the format, they stay the same.
“Oddly enough, there’s such a constant that hasn’t changed — and I know it’s cliche — but content is everything,” said Gallagher. “So the only thing that has changed is the platforms and the environments where we are heard.”
Gallagher did note, however, that show prep and topic selection have changed dramatically during his career.
“With the advent of social media, it’s a lot easier to develop program content than it used to be,” he shared. “Back in the day, we used to have to find topics. We’d scour the newspapers and magazines to come up with a good talk topic. Now, all the talk topics find us. And these days it’s a matter of just getting all of it into a three-hour show.
“But it’s still the same formula. It’s still the same process. We still have to deliver exceptional content. Not only has that not changed, but it never will.”
The advent of social media, when it comes to the news/talk radio format, hasn’t been all positive, Mike Gallagher admitted.
“It helps the genre but hurts our mental well-being,” he said. “It’s the proverbial firehose coming at you 24/7. You never can get a break. It’s relentless. You go to bed glued to your phone or laptop. You wake up — my routine is to get up at 6:30 and go through all the sites that I use to prepare the show. It didn’t used to be that way.”
Despite the feeling of needing to be “on” at all times, Mike Gallagher said the expanded interaction opportunities have been great for getting a feel for what the audience expects from his Salem Radio Network show.
“It’s definitely helped,” he said. “It gives the audience way more variety, much more of a content-rich environment than it used to be. We just have to utilize all the tools. There’s just so much coming at you that you have to decide what works for your show and what doesn’t. I’m sure my formula isn’t the same as everybody else’s, but we all have to utilize the resources the best we can.”
Social and digital media now make news virtually instantaneous. Gone are the days of waiting for the morning newspaper and reading about the headlines from across the globe. That was put on display over the weekend with photos of U.S. military leaders circulated, showing the group had searched the term “Venezuela” on the X platform to see if the surprise nature of their mission to capture the nation’s president — Nicolas Maduro — had been compromised.
And while Gallagher said he didn’t prefer the current state of having all of the information in the world available at your fingertips, he did note the sheer difference in how the facet has changed since he first signed on the air.
“You had to see good talk topics. Now, we’re all pretty much talking about the same stuff,” he said of his fellow news/talk radio hosts. “There isn’t any discernment anymore. So, there’s these different challenges. Back then, you had to be creative. You had to find platforms that gave you good, compelling content. Now it’s just, how much can you absorb at one time? So, it’s just different. It’s a different skill set. It’s a different process.”
He admitted, however, that the process can be grating.
“I will say that I’m more tired than I’ve ever been,” The Mike Gallagher Show host shared. “I get worn out. And I find myself when I get off the air sometimes — in the early afternoon or even early evening — staring at the wall, just kind of decompressing, because I’m exhausted. It’s a nice problem to have. It beats digging ditches. But it’s certainly a challenge. It’s depressing because you can’t ever escape it. But look, it’s definitely a first-world problem.”
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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.
