As has been written about and discussed plenty on Barrett Media and elsewhere this week regarding the sports radio wars between the “old school” and “new school” hosts and program directors around the country, I was thinking about the back-and-forth from the lens of News/Talk radio.
I realized I wish more of the old school were out there knocking the new school. Frankly, it’s a compliment when this happens. And it’s been happening since the beginning of mankind. Every generation gets older and thinks it did it better than the up-and-coming generation. It doesn’t matter if it’s a job, parenting, walking to school uphill both ways, or talk radio. Every generation has a general belief that it was better than the one coming up behind it.
That’s human nature.
But in News/Talk, it’s unlikely that there’s as much of that going on. And is it because, in too many instances and at too many stations, we are stuck doing it like it’s still 1996 instead of 2026?
Can you even really find a bunch of retired, prominent News/Talk hosts who would knock today’s version of the format? Or would they nod along and agree that the format sounds great? No offense to those who have hung up their cleats, but if the answer is the latter, then the industry hasn’t done a good job of developing and adjusting to the next generation.
Is it possible that this is part of the reason that the format continues to deal with age issues within its listener demographic?
This isn’t meant to knock any of the legendary hosts who spent decades behind the microphone with a local or national audience. However, if you’re not growing and adapting, you’re dying. Every generation has different interests and approaches shaped by what the world looked like during their formative years. We can argue whether that’s better or worse, but it doesn’t matter. It’s more about adapting to the next generation’s expectations.
So, as I’ve watched the likes of Angelo Cataldi, Joe Benigno, Spike Eskin, and others go back and forth, I got jealous. Who is knocking us on the News/Talk side? Anyone? Bueller? And maybe that just means that as an industry, we are doing it too much like it’s 1996 and not enough like it’s 2026.
Everything from the variety of topics to how the hosts approach and deliver them, to news updates, traffic reports, liners, imaging, promos, and more — are we doing our part to make our content appealing to a new generation? And while there’s no doubt that our content is naturally more likely to be of interest to a slightly older demographic than sports, it doesn’t necessarily need to have the perception gap that exists between the two formats.
And while there are plenty of stations around the country taking the format into the next generation, many are falling behind. As a result, perception becomes reality. And that perception hurts all of us.
As for what’s next, it seems like an opportunity to do a self-check on how — and if — we’re positioning ourselves for not just demos like 55+, 45-64, or 35-64, but even a strong 25-54 showing as the format moves forward.
And then maybe one day, we too can have our own war of words between generations. There are plenty of opinion-makers in our format who would enjoy and thrive off the sparring as well!
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Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
