Approaching The Summit is a series of special interviews created in partnership with Point to Point Marketing featuring speakers at the upcoming 2026 Barrett Media Audio Summit in New York City. Follow along with this series as prominent names surrounding the event June 30-July 2 share their insights and expectations for what’s to come in the big apple. The Summit takes place at the SVA Theatre on West 23rd Street. For tickets and hotel room reservations, click here or visit the Summit section at the top of the website.
Matt Moscona is the program director of 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge and has also hosts his afternoon show, After Further Review, in the marketplace since 2010. Moscona has attended and spoke at the Barrett Media Audio Summit over the past two years, and recently recognized on the BSM Top 20 list for mid-market program directors.
Moscona will be speaking at the event later this month. He sat down with Barrett Media from his office in Baton Rouge, LA.
*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.*
John Mamola: What are most excited about in attending and speaking at the Barrett Media Audio Summit later this month?
Matt Moscona: I always go to the summit with the idea of hopefully bringing two or three actionable items back to our radio media group. One thing that I’m be very curious about, which I’m sure will be a focus, is how different groups are using AI. Which is something we implement every day. But I’m just certain there’s got to be people who are doing it better than we are. I’ll be very excited to learn how people are using AI.
A great example, there was one group who used an AI song making app to make a song about Shedeur Sanders falling in the draft. It was awesome. So, I went and downloaded that app and started doing something similar throughout the course of the year. That’s just one example.
As our program director, revenue always interests me. Non-traditional revenue opportunities are something I’m always interested to learn more about.
John Mamola: As someone who has attended in the past, what value does attending the Barrett Media Audio Summit provide someone who hasn’t attended before?
Matt Moscona: The networking aspect is huge. Not only if you’re thinking about different career opportunities in the future. It could be that.
But it’s more so you’re creating a network of like-minded professionals that you can share ideas with throughout the year and lean on each other if and when you need resources. We are trying to implement something similar to Ticketstock in Dallas. The team there in Dallas have been super generous to us. They invited us to come and shadow the whole event. Those are the types of things you wouldn’t have unless if you were at the summit and made those connections.
The networking component is massive. I also think it’s so important to learn what other people are doing successfully. A couple of years ago, I presented our YouTube approach. I still get people that reach out to me that ask me for help on YouTube strategy. Which I’m more than happy to help with.
Similarly, I have learned a lot at that summit from other people who are outstanding at what they do, who I’ve been able to lean on for advice.
I’ll go for as long as they keep having the summit. I feel like I leave for a couple of days every year with a notebook full of actionable items. It’s not similar to a rah-rah event. There’s meat on the bone where I take things that I can bring back to our media group and implement.
John Mamola: What do you hope that people walk away with when you’re on stage participating in the panels?
Matt Moscona: I can speak specifically to the YouTube presentation specifically. I went into that hoping to help people reframe how they thought about YouTube. As far as actually having a strategy and understanding, most importantly, that your YouTube audience is not your radio audience displaced. You are addressing a completely different market that many times does not even know your radio product exists. That was the whole point that I was making.
We post produce 10 hours of radio content every day on YouTube, yet people come up to me, and call me the Saints’ YouTube guy. They have no concept that what they’re watching is a radio show clipped for YouTube.
I’m in a position that’s not altogether unique. It is different that I’m not only our afternoon drive host, but I’m also our program director and publisher of our websites. We now written work component of what we do. I have to not only be a content creator every day. I also have to be thinking strategically about how our company and brand continues to not only exist, but thrive in the digital era.
A lot of the things I’ve learned through a lot of shared ideas from other brilliant people around the country. But what we’ve been able to successfully implement, hopefully I’m able to share some of those ideas with the people in attendance. If you’re an on-air personality, hopefully I can share something that’s worked well for me.
If you’re a programmer or manager, hopefully I can share something that you can take to your home market and implement. Something that’ll help your company thrive a digital era that maybe had considered before.
John Mamola: This year’s summit will be a first for Barrett Media. With three straight days catering to all three different formats of the industry that we cover. Is your plan to sit in on the other two days and see if there’s some nuggets of information that you can apply to your brand in Baton Rouge?
Matt Moscona: My plan currently is to attend the sports day. As I think about it, we do have a news talk format in our cluster which is the only news talk station in our market. It would benefit from learning more about how to gain more market share, but I’m not directly involved with our news talk station.
I’ll be sticking to sports this time, but I can definitely see the value for those who fit both formats. I am open-minded both personally and in my managerial style. I will always try new things, because I never want to be left behind.
So, I certainly think there are things that news talk and music radio do that could be beneficial for me. I’ll be curious to see how this edition plays out. I think the way that this setup is this year is probably a better idea than having it all at one time in one place. Maybe the short side part on my end was not planning to attend all three days. We’ll see how it goes this year, and maybe adjust the future.
John Mamola: You mentioned AI. That likely will be a big topic for a lot of brands on all three days of the summit. What are some other challenges or topics that you hope are a focus during the summit?
Matt Moscona: When I think of some of the presentations that stood out in the past. Ones that have been really impactful for me and our team.
Jason [Barrett] did a presentation last year on the art of interviewing, and that was so impactful. I don’t think many on-air personalities even realize how many critical mistakes they make interviewing, and how much you have hone that skill. That was awesome.
Bruce Gilbert had a presentation a couple of years ago, and he just went rapid fire with items to keep in mind that make a great radio show. There’s always something like that which really resonates with me as a host that I can use. But also as a manager that I can share with the rest of our on-air talent.
I’ll be looking for that presentation this year.
John Mamola: If you had to share a piece of advice for first time attendees to the summit, what would it be?
Matt Moscona: Take notes and ask questions.
I leave every year with a full notebook. You’ll be surprised, but I will continue to reference that throughout the year. Things that I’ve written down. Even things as simple as someone mentioning software, a website, or an app that in the moment sounds really good.
But you’re not sitting there deep diving on that in that moment. Then when you leave you might forget. Absolutely take notes is one. With AI, you can record it and have AI transcribe it plus give you a summary.
Also, I try to sit in the front and my hand is always in the air. I’m surprised by how many people go and maybe don’t want to ask a question. The reason we’re there is to use all of each other as a resource.
So, ask very selfish questions that maybe aren’t good for the whole room, but are good for your group back home. I can’t tell you how many times after a presentation, if something sparks with me and I don’t have the option to ask a question. I’ll run downstairs or catch the presenter backstage to ask my question.
I remember a couple years ago running down Omar Raja who founded House of Highlights. I went and cornered him for like twenty minutes backstage. Then, I pulled out our station’s Instagram and asked him to help me. What do you like? What do you not like? Is that good? What is bad?
We’ve implemented a lot of things from that conversation backstage, which I would never have the opportunity to have if I wasn’t there. Be eager to ask questions. Take notes, ask questions.
Purchase your tickets to the 2026 BSM Summit here, and for more information 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.
John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
