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.
Garrett Searight: When you found out that you were receiving the Gold Standard in Broadcasting Award, what was your reaction? What went through your mind?
Mark Simone: I thought it was the greatest honor of all because Barrett is the gold standard of radio publications. Nobody covers the business better.
GS: When you look at the summit coming up, you’re going to be on stage again. You’ve been a regular for years. What is it about having the opportunity to share with the industry that entices you?
MS: It gets the biggest and best of the radio business and the broadcasting business together. Not just talk, but now sports and music. It’s the absolute best of the business and the smartest people we have. To hear all of them and mingle with them, it’s like a graduate course. It’s great every year.
GS: What are the things that you hope to share or discuss at the summit?
MS: There’s this crazy myth that radio is dying. That myth has been around since the 1940s. There are actually more people listening to radio today than 20 years ago. 159 million people every day. I hope we can get that across. Radio has a huge future, and you constantly need to tweak it. I hope we can all get together and figure that out, too.
GS: I’ve always appreciated listening to your show because it’s geared toward today’s radio audience. You’re not trying to stretch for 12 minutes just to get to the break. You’re hitting so many different topics. How important is it for the industry to hear that today, when nobody wants to hear someone drone on, trying to get to the next break?
MS: I think we’re supposed to break at 17 minutes after the hour. I’m lucky if I get there by :21 because I just don’t want to stop. It’s not about my opinions. It’s about giving listeners information, stories, and inside intel on things. We cover a lot of ground, and it’s not just politics. It’s everything. Sometimes I can’t get it all in. That’s why we started doing a bonus segment for the podcast listeners on the weekend, because we ended up with 50 things we never got to. We do them there.
GS: Why is it important for the radio industry to gather and share ideas in a setting like this?
MS: Like I said, you have the smartest broadcasting executives and the greatest air talent. We can all learn from each other. We all borrow from each other. Getting together is a lot like the developers’ conferences in the tech world. That’s what this is. It’s where we come up with ideas and move the business forward.
GS: When you approach being on stage, how much do you plan out what you want to share versus shooting from the hip?
MS: It may look like I’m shooting from the hip, but I do this all the time. I’m always in front of an audience speaking somewhere many days a week, so you hone the message. I know what I want to say when I get up there. Sometimes I just have some notes, keywords, and things to remember. When you see a speaker get up and pull out 16 pages of paper to read, you get a little nauseous. I never do that. No notes.
GS: Mark, congratulations again on the award. It’s much deserved.
MS: Oh, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.
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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.
