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.
Garrett Searight: You’re going to be speaking at our Summit. Why is that something that interests you, and why is it something you want to do?
Sid Rosenberg: I’m looking forward to it. Look, I make no bones about it. You and Jason (Barrett) are friends of mine. You’re both friends of mine, and I respect the job that you do immensely. You guys, I believe at this point — I mean sincerely — are the industry standard. I think everybody knows. Every host, every station owner, every program director, every sales manager, every talent knows about Barrett Media. You guys have done a tremendous job, and you’ve got some great people coming, including my friend Stephen A. Smith. You guys have become the industry standard. And for what it’s worth, you’ve been good to me in the (Top 20) rankings. So I’m very excited about speaking at your event coming up. I’m looking forward to it.
GS: When you think about the things that you want to share or teach to the news/talk industry, what’s on that list of things that you want to get off your chest and share with the industry?
SR: You’ve got to have fun. Look, I’m not doing news. I’m not 1010 WINS. And one thing about me is I never look to be the smartest guy in the world. Now, truth is, I’m really smart. And I conduct interviews with the biggest — from the president, who loves me, to Congressmen, to senators, to you name it. And I conduct a pretty damn good interview. I’m a very, very smart guy, but that’s not what I’m looking to convey when I do my show.
My show is about fun and entertainment. It just is. Whether it’s the president on — we could talk about Iran for a second, and then I was the first to ask President Trump about the Knicks when they beat Philadelphia a month ago. Everybody comes on and has a laugh, everybody. And that’s what my show is about. I consider myself more of an entertainer.
GS: Does being more of an “entertainer” mean more to you than being a “journalist”?
SR: I’m not a journalist. Do I break news? I do. Why? Because I bring on very important people and I ask the right questions. But unlike most of the people in my business, I don’t take myself that seriously. You’ve got to hear these people — it’s like they created this thing. I don’t care, man. I make mistakes. My facts aren’t always 100%. But when you listen to my show for four hours, first of all, there’s no more diverse show in the country. In fact, nothing comes close. Let’s be honest. This is like Imus and Stern on political steroids.
GS: How much does having a great conversation matter to the success of a news/talk radio show?
SR: That’s what I try to do every day — talk about the news, but talk about sports, talk about music, talk about TV, talk about lifestyle, my children, my daughter in college, my son going to college. That’s my show. So I don’t take myself nearly as seriously as 99% of the folks in my business do. And in the end, that’s why I’m successful — because people know when they tune in they’re going to be entertained. I think people lose sight of that. It’s still entertainment. It’s like a baseball game. They get paid millions of dollars, now almost a billion, and they’re supposed to win. There’s a final score.
So yes, there’s a competitive factor to it, but don’t confuse the issue. It is still entertainment. I want to win. I get the best ratings. That counts. I get ratings. But whether it’s baseball or radio, my job is to provoke thought, be compelling and entertaining. And damn it, I do that four hours a day, every day. People come to my show. They know what’s the best show on the market, and something is the best show in the country.
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