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.
Rod Lakin is the Brand Manager for Sports Radio 94WIP in Philadelphia. He joined Audacy in 2021 after spending two decades in the spoken-word format. Prior to that, he worked for several brands in Arizona, including 620 KTAR, and served as both executive producer and eventually program director of Arizona Sports for Bonneville.
At Sports Radio 94WIP, Lakin oversees one of the most successful sports radio brands in the country, featuring a deep talent roster and partnerships with the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies. Lakin has been both an attendee and speaker at numerous Barrett Media Sports Summits and will be speaking at this year’s event on July 1. He sat down with Barrett Media from his office in Philadelphia, PA.
*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.*
John Mamola: What are you looking forward to the most later this month at the Barrett Media Summit?
Rod Lakin: I’m always just excited to see the people and get a chance to talk to your contemporaries. I enjoy hearing the discussions on stage and the presentations. I always enjoy the formal aspect of it, but the other part I really like is the informal part.
Where you watch somebody present something, like an event they created for their local market. They’re all great ideas that look fun. Then you have the opportunity to talk to somebody who works in the same building and company. Sometimes they share some added flavor to those presentations in those conversations. A lot of the behind-the-scenes conversations. You get a better idea of how people run their race.
John Mamola: For someone in your position, what value does the summit provide? Not only for yourself, but also what does it provide people who might be attending it for the first time?
Rod Lakin: There’s a couple of different things. One, the summit gives you an idea of the overall health of the business. People are using different ideas because the markets are all different. So, there’s not a ton of generalizable lessons that you can get.
The things that you can do in Philadelphia are not the same things you can do in other cities. Overall, you can take little things away from it.
I just like talking to my colleagues to get an idea of things that are working in their company. What are some of their challenges? How are they overcoming those challenges? Finding the lessons derived from all that.
John Mamola: What do you hope attendees take away from the session you’ll be participating in?
Rod Lakin: Anytime you’re presenting things that you’ve done, such as success stories, you’re hoping to inspire somebody to try a similar thing. Oftentimes you can’t do the same thing, but just getting the idea process moving is big.
If you can have an impact on somebody who takes something from one of your presentations and applies it to whatever they’re doing in their market, that’s a really good thing to have.
John Mamola: The Barrett Media Audio Summit will be featuring a large roster of speakers this year. Is there anyone who stands out that you’re looking forward to seeing in session?
Rod Lakin: I like going in not looking for any specific session. I like to be surprised. Personally, I don’t ever really look ahead and identify ones that I specifically want to sit in on. I just want to sit and watch everything.
John Mamola: Is there a specific topic that you hope is magnified more with the Summit coming up later this month?
Rod Lakin: I’m always excited to see and hear about what the newest digital initiatives are. AI, obviously, has been something that’s been top of mind in the last couple of summits. I’m sure it’ll play a big role in this one coming up.
John Mamola: How have you seen the Barrett Media Audio Summit evolve over time?
Rod Lakin: I mean, everybody just looks older every year. We’re stressed out and getting gray hair, including me. In all seriousness, I take as much enjoyment out of the actual presentations as I do talking to people behind the scenes. Just getting an idea of how everything’s going with them in their individual markets.
John Mamola: What do you think are the biggest opportunities and challenges the industry faces that you hope are addressed at the upcoming summit?
Rod Lakin: There’s so many different content choices right now. You’re competing with a much larger pool of competitors. So, how do people figure out how to deal with that challenge? Ideas are always important. As I’ve learned over the years, you can’t be reliant on the news cycle. You really need to get ahead of it. Have a lot of proactive and creative thinking.
Plus, as I mentioned before, I’m sure there are a lot of people now who are using AI in different ways in the industry. I’m curious to find out the lessons there as well.
John Mamola: Why should talent attend an event like the Barrett Media Audio Summit? What do you think they may get out of an event structured like this?
Rod Lakin: Like anything else, you get a thorough understanding of what your company and your leaders are doing. I think it’ll help you have a better idea of how to accomplish your mission.
It’s a more candid, behind-the-scenes look at what we’re dealing with as program directors. If I’m a talent, I don’t think there’s much downside in knowing that. Whether or not they care, I’m not sure.
That’s the way I would approach it if I were talent.
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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.
