News/talk radio has always prided itself on being the format that moves fast. Breaking news, hot takes, callers lighting up the phone lines within minutes of a big story — speed is supposed to be the format’s calling card. So it’s more than a little ironic that when it comes to digital, this format has been one of the slowest to catch up.
Walk through the rosters of major news/talk brands across the country and you’ll find a startling number that still don’t have a real YouTube strategy. Plenty of shows don’t post on-demand audio in any meaningful way, leaving listeners who miss a segment with nowhere to go. And clipping content for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, or TikTok? For too many stations, that’s still treated as a nice-to-have rather than a necessity.
Those days need to be in the past. Like, two years ago. Not today, and certainly not next quarter. The audience has already moved, and the format needs to catch up before it’s left talking to an empty room.
What Fred Jacobs Showed Us
During his session at the 2026 Barrett Media Audio Summit on Tuesday, Jacobs Media’s Fred Jacobs delivered an outstanding presentation, and he shared a data point that should open the eyes of every news/talk program director and brand manager in America.
Among those surveyed by Jacobs Media, 81% said Bluetooth was an important feature for any new car purchase. Meanwhile, 79% said the same about FM radio, and only 40% felt that way about AM radio.
Sit with that for a second. People care more about Bluetooth than they do about FM radio. And they care about Bluetooth more than twice as much as they do about AM.
If you want to live in denial, you could argue consumers just want Bluetooth to take phone calls in the car. But do you honestly believe those same people aren’t streaming their own music, firing up Apple Podcasts, or running apps through their car speakers instead?
If so, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
The Boat Already Left the Dock
The shift to digital isn’t some looming threat anymore — it already happened, and a lot of the format missed the boat. Now stations need to swim to catch up. Getting in the water late still beats standing on the dock, watching the boat sail off, and muttering, “Man, that sure sucks.”
So what does catching up actually look like? Start with your app. Whether it’s a standalone station app or a company-wide platform through Audacy or iHeart, it needs to be fast, intuitive, and genuinely useful, not an afterthought bolted onto a website. Next, get cameras in the studio. Video doesn’t need to be fancy, but it needs to exist, and it needs to be clipped consistently for social platforms where younger and more casual listeners actually spend their time.
From there, prioritize getting full shows, interviews, and bonus content onto Apple Podcasts and Spotify immediately, not whenever someone gets around to it. On-demand audio shouldn’t be an afterthought; it should be as automatic as flipping on the mic. Additionally, every host and program director should treat their digital footprint with the same urgency they’d give a ratings book.
None of this means abandoning AM/FM. Terrestrial radio still reaches massive audiences, and it remains the format’s backbone. However, it can no longer be the entire strategy. Listeners expect to find their favorite hosts wherever they happen to be scrolling, streaming, or driving, and stations that ignore that reality are quietly ceding ground to competitors who don’t.
The format has the talent, the storytelling, and the built-in trust to thrive across every platform. What it hasn’t always had is the urgency to match. That urgency needs to start now, because the digital realm isn’t a side project anymore. You can’t survive on AM/FM radio alone, and if you’re not adapting, you’re losing. Losers don’t prosper.
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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.
