While some news organizations are pulling back from radio, ABC News Radio is doubling down.
The network has spent the last year making a deliberate, structural commitment to the format — one that’s already paying off.
Katie den Daas, Senior Vice President of Newsgathering for ABC News, says the move was anything but accidental.
“We have what is a very unique setup at ABC right now and a very intentional setup,” said Den Daas. “It really shows our unwavering commitment to radio. Over the last year, we have moved radio to this physical center of our newsroom and to the nucleus of ABC News by putting it under newsgathering, so Jon and his team sit side by side with our 24/7 operation, fully a part of that. We’ve essentially taken radio and woven it into the fabric of our global newsgathering machine.”
The network has created what it’s labeled as the Super Desk. It has put the radio division in the center of its newsroom. That structural shift has real consequences for how the team operates day to day. Jon Newman, Managing Editor of ABC News Services, works directly from the Super Desk alongside the broader newsgathering team — a change from years past.
“We used to have our own building. Then we were on a different floor. Now we’re helping make the decisions and decide what that news budget is for the day, what’s going to work for radio,” Newman said. “Katie alluded to the two-ways — that is valuable information we get back from our stations to get a sense of what’s important to them, and we can then bring that as decisions are being made for coverage, or what to focus on.”
For den Daas, those two-ways aren’t just logistical tools — they’re a window into the country. She’s from Oklahoma, and keeping a finger on the pulse of Americans outside major media markets has long been a priority.
“Those radio two-ways are a great way for us to get a pulse on how Americans are feeling, and it’s how we can stay straightforward and not get sucked into I-95 corridor thinking,” den Daas shared. “The whole world does not stop and end on I-95.”
The news cycle has made that mission both more urgent and more demanding.
“Since January 2, we haven’t stopped,” stated den Daas. And she’s right. ABC News Radio has provided more than 300 status reports, whether it be about the War in Iran, government shutdowns, or the Artemis mission. She added that she’s grateful for the dedication provided by the network’s group of journalists covering an ever-evolving news cycle.
Yet opportunity lives alongside that challenge. ABC News Radio has signed 20 partnership agreements in just the last few weeks, and the momentum isn’t slowing.
“We’re signing basically four to five agreements a day,” added den Daas. “We’re connected to well over 200 stations and counting, who are looking at different forms of partnerships. We’ve got a lot of stations who are looking for a partner to help provide that domestic and international news that complements so well their local news.”
That includes a notable deal with Bloomberg Radio for 1130 WBBR-AM in New York and 99.1 WDCH-FM in Washington, D.C.
The offering extends well beyond top-of-hour newscasts, too. Newman says the breadth of the toolkit surprises people.
“We offer so many things,” Newman shared. “Just the toolkit any station could use to build out their own programming — from our news call, which is 300 to 400 cuts a day, digital content. We have the sports reports that we do with our partners at ESPN. We’re one-stop shopping for that.”
Still, it’s the newscast that anchors everything. “It’s like having World News Tonight every hour,” said Newman. “It shapes everything.”
den Daas points to the Murrow Award-winning podcast Start Here as another example of how content can travel. The team transformed it into Start Here Weekend, now available to affiliates across the country. “Good reporting is good reporting regardless of what platform it starts on,” added den Daas. “One of our stations airs it six to nine times on the weekend because their audiences love it.”
Cross-platform reach also strengthens the radio product. Correspondents that news consumers might know from television also appear across ABC’s full ecosystem — and radio benefits directly.
“Radio is part of newsgathering, so we are contributing to that number one rating every day, and the reporters are cross-pollinating,” den Daas said. “I was talking to one correspondent who was not only in communication with the President about everything going on in Iran, but was also in communication with one of the astronauts on Artemis at the same time. It just speaks volumes to the power of this news division and who is powering ABC Radio.”
With 1,400-plus affiliates and a weekly listenership of roughly 80 million, the foundation is strong. But den Daas isn’t satisfied.
“We want to take a larger slice of that pie — and not because we’re greedy,” she stated. “We want to take a larger slice so that we can provide what we believe is truly the most straightforward, fair reporting in this really consequential time for our country and for our world.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
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.
