We are four weeks away from the 2026 Barrett Media Audio Summit presented by Point to Point Marketing. If you haven’t bought a ticket yet to the biggest industry event of the summer, act now before time runs out. Full details are available through the Summit section up top. iMar Entertainment also has barter opportunities for brands looking to reduce expenses to attend. Go here to learn more.
An action-packed lineup continues to get stronger with the addition of five more accomplished broadcasters. 87 speakers in total are involved in this year’s show and there’s more still to come. Today, I am excited to announce the additions of Josh Pate, Christine Travaglini, Sharon Dastur, Larry O’Connor, and Erick Erickson to our lineup. I’ll share a few more details on each of them in just a moment.
We have a few announcements to make still including news tomorrow of the first recipient of The Scott Shannon Award. By week’s end, we should have the full agenda publicly available. Stay tuned.
Meet the Next Five Speakers
Josh Pate: Josh Pate’s College Football Show is one of the most popular college football shows in America. The program boasts a massive YouTube audience of over 525,000 subscribers. It also regularly delivers millions of audio podcast downloads across platforms like Spotify. Featured across outlets such as ESPN, Yahoo Sports, and On3, Pate has built a deep connection with college football fans by avoiding the standard television debate format. He focuses instead on insider intel, team strategy, and the cultural appreciation of college football. Josh joins us on Wednesday, July 1st alongside the man known as the “Voice of the SEC”, Paul Finebaum.
Christine Travaglini: Christine Travaglini is President of Katz Radio Group, the leading radio sales organization in the country. She drives overall business development and strategy of Katz Radio Group’s 14 regional offices across the country that collectively serve as the national sales partner to over 3,300 radio stations and their digital audio platforms. Under her leadership, Katz has developed and influenced millions of dollars for Katz broadcast clients. Christine is currently Chair for the Alliance for Women in Media, and an executive board member of the Radio Advertising Bureau. She joins us Wednesday, July 1st to discuss the state of audio revenue alongside Audacy’s Michael Spacciapolli and Lotus Communications’ Natalie Marsh.
Sharon Dastur: Considered a forward-thinking and strategic industry pioneer with a passion for music and storytelling, Sharon Dastur has transformed brands, and helped guide the careers of some of the biggest artists in the world. Among them include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, the Jonas Brothers, Ariana Grande and more. Her radio career includes serving as SVP of Programming for Z100 New York for 20 years. She is 1 of only 5 to hold that position, and the only female. In addition, Dastur worked as SVP of Promotion for Republic Records, helping numerous household names. Sharon will serve as moderator of our Hot AC/CHR panel featuring Mark Adams, Steve Salhany, Anna Zap and Sean Copeland.
Larry O’Connor: He’s the Salem Radio Network’s new morning voice but he’s no stranger to the timeslot. Larry O’Connor joined Salem in May 2026, but he’s been waking up Washington D.C. on WMAL since late 2012. In addition, Larry serves as editor of Townhall.com, and appears as a regular guest on Fox News. His career includes prior stops at WABC and WOR in New York, WPHT in Philadelphia, and WLS in Chicago. He has also previously worked as the editor of Breitbart.tv. Larry joins the Summit lineup for a riveting panel alongside Sid Rosenberg, Mark Simone and Erick Erickson.
Erick Erickson: A former elected Republican and lawyer who ran political campaigns across the nation, Erick’s deep knowledge of politics and campaigns and his deep bench of sources allows him to deliver entertaining, informative, and relatable conversations, weekdays from 12p-3p ET to a nationwide audience. Inspired and encouraged by Rush Limbaugh to enter the talk radio world, Erick has been a mainstay on the airwaves since 2012 after succeeding Herman Cain when he sought the presidency. He spent three years as a political contributor with CNN before moving to Fox News for five years. Erick will join Sid Rosenberg, Mark Simone and Larry O’Connor for a passionate discussion on Tuesday, June 30th.
Label Contest and Sponsorships
We’re giving artist managers, label leaders, and music industry pros a chance to win free tickets this week. Label folks interested in supplying artist entertainment for the after party on Thursday, July 2nd, please email Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
Twenty six partners are supporting this year’s conference. Six or seven opportunities remain available. For additional information, contact Stephanie Eads at Stephanie@BarrettMedia.com.
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.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
