Radio doesn’t need people with answers. It needs people willing to ask uncomfortable questions.
We’re living through the largest disruptive period in media history. Artificial intelligence has changed how content is created. Furthermore, streaming has conditioned listeners to expect personalization. In addition, podcasts expanded the definition of spoken-word audio. Meanwhile, social media creators are building audiences larger than local radio stations.
The Changing Media Landscape
Even the dashboard — the place radio once owned — is now crowded with nearly unlimited choices. Consider this: renting a car on vacation revealed this shift. It took us nearly three minutes to find the radio in our 2026 Volkswagen Atlas. Therefore, the question becomes: has our thinking changed with our industry?
For years, radio has celebrated its ability to survive technological threats. Television didn’t kill us. Subsequently, satellite radio, MP3 players, and streaming didn’t either. Neither did podcasts. However, radio has an impressive track record.
Survival isn’t the same as growth. We spend time defending the way we’ve done things when we should be questioning what makes sense. Notably, conventional thinking produces conventional results. Innovation begins with curiosity.
Three Critical Questions for Radio Professionals
Here are three hard questions you should be asking:
Will I have a radio job in five years?
This depends on what you want to do. If you’re in a market where you’re the leader, stay there. It’s hard now to introduce a new personality brand to a community. Twenty years ago, a morning show was considered mature after at least two years of consistent marketing. Today, that bridge is tougher than ever to cross.
Am I indispensable now?
To the majority of readers of this column, the answer is no. You are dispensable. The latest round of layoffs echoed this reality. Plenty of talented personalities left the industry. However, the ones who carry audience and revenue remain. When ESPN stripped away dozens of employees this year while inflating salaries for Stephen A. Jackson and Pat McAfee, the industry protested. Yet talented professionals joined the unemployment line. Notably, Jackson and McAfee are the only two people at that network who are indispensable. If Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham left the WNBA as rumored, the league would collapse. That’s what indispensable means. Make yourself indispensable.
What does selling look like in the AI age?
Unless you have solid relationships with your clients, AI will be filling your orders by next year. Do you know your clients well? Furthermore, do you know their birthdays, anniversaries, children’s birthdays, their industry, and favorite ice cream? Get to know your clients like family. They would rather talk to someone they trust than a computer screen.
Challenging Conventional Wisdom
Every meaningful improvement in radio started because someone challenged an accepted truth. Someone asked, “Why not?” when everyone else was comfortable saying, “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it.” So the next time someone — especially someone who has spent decades in the business like myself — starts a sentence with “We’ve always,” don’t automatically nod. Ask a question. And then ask another one.
Consider these questions:
- Why do we still assume listeners only discover music through radio when millions find songs every day on TikTok, YouTube, Spotify playlists, gaming platforms, and creator videos? Shouldn’t our music discovery process be just as diverse?
- Why do we continue treating our websites and apps like digital brochures instead of actual destinations people want to visit?
- Why do we spend hours debating music rotations but only minutes discussing the stories, conversations, and personalities that no algorithm can duplicate?
- Why do we keep saying, “We don’t have the budget,” before we’ve exhausted the creative opportunities within our own building?
- Perhaps the biggest question of all is this: Why are we trying so hard to sound like every other radio station when our greatest competitive advantage has always been sounding different?
Radio’s Irreplaceable Superpower
Artificial intelligence can write a weather forecast. Spotify can recommend another song. YouTube can serve up endless entertainment. However, none of those platforms consistently delivers a trusted local personality who understands the community. Additionally, they lack the ability to react to what’s happening today. Most importantly, they cannot make listeners feel like they’re spending time with a friend. That’s radio’s superpower.
The best programmers I’ve ever known weren’t the ones who believed they had all the answers. Rather, they were the ones who never stopped asking questions. They questioned clocks. They questioned benchmarks. They questioned promotions. Furthermore, they questioned research. Most importantly, they questioned themselves.
Questions challenge assumptions. Questions expose opportunities. Consequently, questions inspire creativity. Questions lead to innovation. Therefore, innovation — not nostalgia — will determine which radio stations thrive over the next decade. Respect tradition and learn from it. But never let it prevent you from asking, “Why?” Because the future belongs to those who never stop chasing the next great question.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein
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.
Kevin Robinson is a passionate award-winning programmer, consultant and coach – with multi-formats success all over the country. He has advised numerous companies including Audacy (formerly Entercom Communications), Beasley Broadcast Group, Westwood One, Midwest Communications, Townsquare Media, Midwest Family Broadcasting Group, EG Media Group, Federated Media, Kensington Media, mediaBrew Communications, Starved Rock Media, and more. He specializes in strategic radio cluster alignment, building lean-forward tactics and talent coaching – legacy and entry-level – personalities.
Known largely as a trusted talent coach, Kevin is the only personality mentor who’s coached three different morning shows on three different brands in the same major market to the #1 position. His efforts have been recognized by The World Wide Radio Summit, Radio & Records, NAB’s Marconi, and he has coached CMA, ACM and Marconi Award-winning talent. He is also in The Zionsville High School Hall of Fame as part of the 2008 inaugural class. Kevin is an Indiana native – living near Zionsville with his wife of 39 years, Monica and can be reached at kevin@robinsonmedia.fm.