Ken Johnson

37 POSTS
Ken Johnson is an Urban/Hip-Hop columnist for Barrett Media. Born and raised in Washington DC, his career experiences include serving as VP of Urban formats for Cumulus Media, holding the Director of Urban Programming post at ABC Radio Networks, and programming stations in Birmingham, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. He has also managed affiliate relations for the Nick Cannon show, and worked as the Executive Producer of The Hughley Truth Podcast hosted by comedian DL Hughley. Ken currently runs Mean Ole Lion Media, a content creation company and podcast network. He can be reached by email at ken@kenjohnsonmedia.com.

Reflecting on Radio, Accountability, and Change As I Sign Off

Columns Ken Johnson Ken Johnson -
"Outside of the use of AI, there is almost nothing truly new in all radio and music."

Christmas in Focus: What Radio Programmers Should Know About Serving Black Audiences

Columns Ken Johnson Ken Johnson -
"You don’t want to have your station's head in the sand."

Urban Radio Stations Can’t Ignore the Most Important Issues Affecting Their Communities

Columns Ken Johnson Ken Johnson -
"I’m not advocating for turning your music station into a talk station. However, you can’t keep your head in the sand and ignore the elephant in the community."

What Urban Radio Listeners Should Expect From The Format’s Best

Columns Ken Johnson Ken Johnson -
I’m comfortable making an educated guess about what listeners want from their adult urban station. But what they expect and what they deserve are not necessarily the same thing.

AI Music in Urban Radio Lacks Passion and Soul

Columns Ken Johnson Ken Johnson -
In case you missed my disclaimer in last week’s article, let me say it again: that piece was written entirely by AI. Its purpose...
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Breaking

Clay Travis: NFL Placing 87% Of Games On Free TV Means They’re “Violating The Law” 13% Of The Time

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"You guys have an important responsibility and an opportunity to apply the law fairly freely and help fans everywhere across the entire nation pay less and get more."

NBA Finals Game Three Viewership Highest Since 1998

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"Game 3 averaged 23.8 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, a 159% jump from last year's Game 3. The audience peaked at 26.3 million viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET."

CBS News Earned $362 Million From 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News, Others in 2025

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"Halfway through this year, CBS is still at 22% of the dollar share."

NAB President Curtis LeGeyt: Congress Must “Reaffirm The Scope” Of Sports Broadcasting Act Of 1961 With All Leagues

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"We're not here to scrutinize the NFL's business practices. We're here to affirm that if they want to take advantage of an antitrust exemption granted to them by this body, that there are certain public interest obligations that went along with that."