Recently, Clay Travis caught my attention when he spoke on his nationally syndicated radio show, Clay & Buck, about how he was unable to secure an interview with Spencer Pratt ahead of Tuesday’s Los Angeles mayoral election. Pratt has been getting enormous attention for his campaign to be mayor through interviews, online ads, and more.
Travis noted on his show, “There are a lot of people that just don’t realize how big this show is. And I think that’s true for a lot of people that maybe are non-traditional in the political universe. I understand it, because it’s challenging. This show has 600 affiliates. Most of the Republican Party side gets it. But I think Spencer Pratt is a political novice. He DM’d me and said he’s gonna come on. We’ve emailed with his team. I think when he becomes a finalist, and the campaign continues, I’m confident we’ll get him.”
Now think about that. If a show with 600 affiliates — with millions of daily listeners across all its platforms — can have a problem booking guests who may not understand the show’s power, what does that mean for you on the local level?
Perception Is Reality
We can complain about it, or we can do something about it. And while I hate to use a cliché, “perception can be reality.” You get the point.
The radio medium certainly has its challenges, like all of traditional media in recent years, but it’s still an enormous driver with a consistent audience. It’s not a medium that relies on the right algorithm hit from YouTube to determine whether a video gets 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 views. The audience is fiercely loyal to its stations and hosts, and in news/talk land, it drives guaranteed voters.
The next part of this column is about how to combat the perception of being an “old” medium. Of course, the irony is that Clay & Buck are doing all of the right things. They’re streaming on multiple platforms, they have a visual element to the show, their social game is strong — and yet they still struggle to book guests who should be shoe-ins.
Building Your Local Profile
So for local markets, make that perception reality in terms of being widely known as the can’t-miss show in your community. You have to be podcasting in 2026, because if nothing else, it helps you book guests who then know they can share the interview with their immediate circle. You need to promote them on social media channels with pre-promotion, post-production, graphics, and more.
This snowball effect in your community will lead power players in politics, business, sports, and more to see their peers visiting with you, which will raise your credibility in the market. The average guest will care much more about exposure across multiple platforms than they do your latest 25-54 AQH. You can’t afford not to do these things. And while many stations are doing them, they can always be done better and more effectively.
Now, considering Spencer Pratt flew 3,000 miles across the country to do multiple in-studio appearances on Fox News last week, I could make a pretty strong case that a 10-to-15-minute interview with Clay & Buck — from whatever location he’s at in the country — would have been a wise decision. But that gets back to industry perception.
As an industry, we need to realize that a rising tide lifts all boats. Many shows and stations are where they need to be with their digital game, but many are still well behind the curve.
The better we all get, the better the industry gets. Booking guests will then be less of a hurdle for Clay & Buck, and for your local show as well.
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Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
