Howard Stern, HBO Max, and SiriusXM just gave the media industry a rare thing: a deal where nobody has to squint to find the upside. Stern’s production company struck an agreement with HBO Max to turn his weekly SiriusXM broadcast into a condensed streaming series, and once you look past the headline, it’s clear all three parties come out ahead.
The mechanics are simple enough. Stern returns to SiriusXM on September 14th with one live show a week, down from the two-show pace he’d kept for years. HBO Max then adapts that broadcast into a streamable episode, releasing new installments every Thursday starting September 17, alongside periodic extras. It’s a tidy hand-off — radio first, television second — and it doesn’t ask Stern to do much more than he’s already doing.
Timing matters here, too. Stern re-signed with SiriusXM through 2028 back in December, quieting months of retirement chatter and a prank about Andy Cohen taking his seat. That renewal set the table for this next step, and it tells you plenty about how both companies view his remaining shelf life. Nobody hands a 72-year-old host a three-year extension and a streaming deal unless they still believe in the audience.
Stern Silences the “Does He Still Have It” Crowd
For years, a quiet question has followed Stern: is the King of All Media still must-listen, or is he coasting on reputation? This deal answers that. HBO Max doesn’t sign talent it considers a fading brand, and it certainly doesn’t build a weekly series around someone it thinks is winding down. Landing a spot on a top-tier streamer is the kind of validation ratings alone can’t provide.
It also gives Stern something SiriusXM never fully offered — a visual home for his “best of” material. Fans have caught glimpses of the studio through short clips for years, but a proper HBO Max show finally lets viewers see what they’ve only heard. That shift matters more than it might seem.
Audio built Stern’s legend, yet television extends it to a generation that discovers shows through streaming platforms rather than satellite dials.
A Streaming Win and a Sirius Case for Subscriptions
HBO Max benefits just as clearly. Warner Bros. Discovery gets a built-in, proven audience willing to follow Stern wherever he lands, and that’s a rare asset in a crowded streaming market. If HBO Max uses Stern’s show as a discovery vehicle — steering his viewers toward other originals on the platform — it would be foolish not to lean into that. Few hosts carry an audience this loyal into a new format.
SiriusXM’s angle takes a bit more explaining, but it holds up. On the surface, giving away a taste of Stern’s show on a rival platform sounds risky. In practice, it’s a funnel. Someone who watches the HBO Max cut and wants the live, unfiltered version has exactly one place to get it. That’s a compelling pitch, and SiriusXM would be smart to market it directly to HBO Max’s subscriber base.
Ultimately, this deal works because each side gets something it couldn’t easily get alone. Stern gets reach and relevance, HBO Max gets a built-in fanbase, and SiriusXM gets a subscription pitch handed to millions of new eyeballs. That’s not a compromise — it’s a genuine triple win, and it’s hard to see how any of the three parties walks away disappointed.
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Allen Power is stepping away from Salem Media after a career spanning exactly five decades in radio. The company’s President of Broadcast Media will retire at the end of the month, timing his exit to coincide with his 50th anniversary in the business.
His departure caps 26 years with Salem Media, following decades spent building his reputation in local radio markets like Atlanta and Greenville, South Carolina.
Power didn’t arrive at this decision overnight. He and his wife, Susan, weighed the timing carefully, and several factors converged to make retirement feel right. Crossing the 50-year threshold carried weight, and entering his mid-60s pushed him to think harder about legacy, family, and the causes closest to his heart.
That reflection eventually led him to a peaceful conclusion, one he describes in spiritual terms.
“To be very spiritual about it, we just felt like the Lord confirmed that to us,” said Power. “That it’s the right time. So that’s kind of where we are, and we’re excited about it.”
Few in the industry can claim a career quite like his.
“I’ve worked since I was 14 years old,” Power shared. “I worked through high school and college, so it’s going to be very different.”
Five Decades of Technological Change
Power’s tenure has coincided with radio’s most dramatic technological shift, and he doesn’t take that transformation lightly. Broadcasting equipment that once filled entire rooms now fits into a single microphone setup, and he still marvels at what that shrinkage has made possible.
“I’m still fascinated by technology, how technology has changed, and what we can do,” said Power. “You’re sitting there talking into a Rode Pod mic and sounding like you have this whole rack of equipment behind you and processing and so forth — that’s fascinating to me.”
Despite all that progress, Power insists one thing has stayed constant throughout his career.
“What hasn’t changed is the magic of broadcasting,” the longtime Salem Media executive said. “What hasn’t changed is the magic of that one-to-one. We call it broadcasting, but it really is one-to-one.”
A mentor shaped Power’s early understanding of that magic. The general manager who gave him his first job in Greenville later handed him the reins after 40 years in the chair, and his advice has stuck with Power ever since.
“He said I should keep a journal, because this is the most interesting job,” said Power. “I did not keep a journal, by the way, but he was right. It’s been so interesting.”
Looking Ahead to What’s Next
Retirement doesn’t mean Power plans to disappear from public life. Instead, he’s approaching this next chapter the same deliberate way he approached his decision to step down, and he’s already mapped out his first move.
“My plan is to take a three-month — well, I’m calling it a sabbatical,” Power shared. “I’ll continue to do some things I’m already committed to, and obviously all the family stuff, but just to think and to pray and to size up where my next opportunity is to make a difference.”
Full-time work isn’t part of that plan, but Power hasn’t closed the door on staying involved.
“I’m not looking for a full-time job, as my wife reminds me,” said Power. “But I’m open to great organizations if I can be of help to them on a less-than-full-time basis, including in our industry.”
Leaving still carries mixed emotions, and Power doesn’t pretend otherwise. Virtual meetings have connected him daily with colleagues across the country, and losing that rhythm will take some adjustment.
“It’s bittersweet,” the longtime Salem Media executive said. “What I will do is just be grateful. I’ll be grateful for the 26 years with Salem, and the 50 years in the business, and the wonderful people that I’ve worked with.”
Radio’s business model has changed considerably since Power entered the industry, and he acknowledges those pressures head-on. Advertising challenges persist, and the financial landscape keeps shifting beneath broadcasters’ feet. Even so, Power remains convinced the medium’s core appeal hasn’t gone anywhere.
“Radio’s reach is still tremendous, and the audience that radio reaches every week is incredible,” said Power. “Radio has been able to adapt in so many different chapters where we were going out of business, and we’ve adapted, and so that resilience is still there.”
A chance encounter recently reinforced that belief for him. Power stumbled onto a podcast hosted by the daughter of a former Greenville radio personality, and her description of growing up as a broadcaster’s kid stayed with him.
“They felt like, I know him, I know all about him, he’s my friend,” Power shared, recounting her words. “That’s the relationship that listeners have, and we’re seeing it now developing with podcasters, but we certainly still have that with radio.”
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Sports media is the finest form of entertainment that surrounds the game. From shoulder programming surrounding play-by-play to sports radio programs, columnists, podcasts and network studio shows, there are more options than ever for fans to find content surrounding their favorite teams. There are also more opinions and predictions that come along with them. Then there’s Fred Segal, the founder of the social media account Freezing Cold Takes. A lawyer by trade, but a fan at heart.
For the last decade, Freezing Cold Takes has operated on a simple premise: take the opinions and predictions made across sports media and expose them for how wrong they were. The goal was simple — celebrate how incorrect the experts were about the biggest games, players and storylines surrounding sports.
“I was never interested in doing this in the first place,” says Segal about the founding of Freezing Cold Takes. “But it picked up fast, but I was only going to use it to mess with people. I did not plan on it being big at all. But it lends to what I do, which is find stuff. And because it’s sports, it makes it that much better for me.”
Since 2015, Segal has chronicled sports predictions posted to social media. The Freezing Cold Takes accounts on X and Instagram feature quotes and predictions from sports media personalities and fans that aged poorly.
Why College Football?
The results have built a massive following online, where sports fans love seeing hot takes that went cold. That success has resulted in Segal publishing two books centered on his passion for exposing the worst takes in sports history. His latest book, Freezing Cold Takes: College Football: An Incomplete History of the Game’s Most Inaccurate Statements and Predictions, examines some of the most ill-fated college football predictions ever made, including those from before the invention of social media.
For Segal, the details are what make chronicling those takes possible. He admits the system he uses is not as organized as many might believe.
“It’s pretty disorganized, but I have a system in place. I’m good at deleting bookmarks for stuff, because I’m pretty good with bookmarking,” explained Segal. “Once a week, I’ll clean my bookmarks to see if it’s still something I can use. But a lot of the times, people are sending me stuff. I get so many tags and direct messages too, which helps me a lot.”
Segal says there’s an added layer of searching when news breaks. He’ll search for predictions made before a hire or signing, bringing forgotten takes back into the spotlight. In the end, finding the coldest takes isn’t a daily ritual of spending every waking hour online searching for material.
Instead, much of Segal’s time over the past two years has gone toward his latest book, which examines some of the coldest takes in college football history.
“College football is the sport I’m most passionate about. But the sport lends to bad predictions more than any sport there is,” notes Segal. “There’s so many teams, players, coaches, and more. There’s so many elements that you can select from. Everyone is so attached to their teams. That’s why college football is a gold mine for reactions.”
While Segal has many passions of his own, one he thoroughly enjoys is reading old newspapers. It allows him to step into a time machine and see what people were saying about the news and personalities of the past. Based on the success of Freezing Cold Takes online, he felt elevating that approach to a book could enhance the experience, even when examining sports stories from before the beginning of social media.
However, not everything Segal wanted to target made the final cut. In fact, he explained that the criteria he established for Freezing Cold Takes became an even bigger challenge when writing a book about college football.
“The standard had to be someone who was notable. Not just a fan. Also, it had to be something where they’re grossly wrong, or overconfident about being right,” explains Segal. “There were a lot of things I left on the cutting room floor for this latest book. That happened a lot. There just wasn’t that much direct criticism back then of coaching hires. But also, there wasn’t a lot of provocative language or criticism about game predictions either.”
Challenges Of Social Media
“you gonna cry to your mommy and daddy and go Nick Saban was supposed to be our savior…” pic.twitter.com/roqgEOJTuw
At its core, Freezing Cold Takes is one of the most popular social media accounts in sports media. It’s also no stranger to the changing algorithms and challenges creators and publishers face when using the platforms.
Segal continues to focus his bookmarking strategy on finding potential targets for Freezing Cold Takes on Instagram and X. Other platforms haven’t proved as effective for the way he discovers content.
But when it comes to discovery, reach and engagement, Segal has been a victim of the changing social-media landscape, not unlike anyone else.
“I like to post screenshots of things with no captions. That’s hurt me generally speaking. I don’t get as much engagement anymore because of it,” said Segal. “It’s hard for me to change. The ways the algorithms have changed have hurt. I don’t get as much engagement as I used to get, it’s not even close. That’s where it’s affected the feed the most, especially on Instagram. I get maybe a quarter of what I used to get.”
Because of those changes, Segal admits he’s at times considered pulling back from the Freezing Cold Takes feed.
“Unless you can handle it [social media] monetarily and you love it, it’s really hard. You must love it. It’s really hard to figure out social media. But I’ve never had so much work where I’ve thought about [fully walking away]. It was great when it first started, but I’m not planning on changing the feed anytime soon,” said Segal.
While Segal stays away from accepting advertising dollars from gambling companies, he has created revenue streams through merchandise sales, book sales and occasionally running other companies’ social media feeds.
Now more than a decade into Freezing Cold Takes, the former lawyer remains an avid sports fan committed to providing entertaining content online. His brand has grown from satire into a badge of honor in some cases for sports media pundits and fans.
“Sometimes talent will tag me on social media to their take,” said Segal about the evolution of accepting a nod from Freezing Cold Takes. “It’s gotten to a point now where talent will do segments on where they got their takes wrong as content for their audience.”
Although he amplifies the worst takes in sports history on social media, Segal is no stranger to making a few of his own. The difference, he noted, is that he never says them to a viewing or listening audience outside his own family and circle of friends.
“I have plenty of them, but the one that stands out is my cold take on Jimbo Fisher. I’m a UF graduate. When Fisher came on with Florida State, I was laughing about the hire. I didn’t think he’d amount to anything, and he crushed the Gators in everything and had a great run,” admitted Segal. “Thankfully for me, social media wasn’t a big thing at the time Bobby Bowden left.”
Segal does have his all-time favorites when it comes to the coldest takes in sports history. They include Ian O’Connor saying the New England Patriots would regret hiring Bill Belichick, Jeff Schultz blasting Alabama for signing Nick Saban to an eight-year contract and Jason Whitlock crushing “The Big Three” with the Miami Heat after the team lost in the NBA Finals for the first time and demanding the formula be broken up.
Over the past decade and into the next, Segal doesn’t think he’ll ever run short on potential targets for Freezing Cold Takes.
In the end, that may be the ultimate appeal of Freezing Cold Takes. Sports never stop producing opinions, predictions or people willing to put their confidence on display. Some will be prove to be right. Others will become tomorrow’s punchline.
Perhaps that is why Freezing Cold Takes has lasted for more than a decade. In a sports media landscape that continues to expand, change and move faster than ever, there will always be another prediction to uncover, another opinion to revisit and another take waiting to go cold.
Segal may have started Freezing Cold Takes to mess with people. More than a decade later, he has turned being wrong into its own form of sports entertainment — one bad prediction at a time.
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The numbers tell you what people feel. They don’t tell you what they’ll remember. Dolly Parton’s catalog hit 2,222 percent in U.S. streams within 24 hours of her death. Her most-streamed song, “Jolene,” pulled 2.7 million on-demand plays on Tuesday alone — that’s a 1,276 percent spike. Notably, four of her tracks landed in the top 10. Digital and physical product sales jumped 7,739 percent. All of that happened because fans needed to be close to her music. That impulse is genuine and beautiful, but it’s also fleeting.
This is where the industry’s evolved into something interesting — something I’d call an art form, honestly. Converting that 48-hour sympathy surge into a lasting legacy isn’t automatic. It takes real strategy, real care, and genuine understanding of what happens to a catalog when grief walks into the streaming data.
Here’s what that 2,222 percent bump actually means: people are re-engaging. They already owned these songs. “Jolene” hit the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973. Everyone knows “9 to 5.” These aren’t discoveries — they’re returns. Significantly, the algorithm doesn’t distinguish between hearing a song for the first time and needing to feel it again after losing the person who created it. Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music — they’re all measuring activity, not impact.
The data is real. The feeling behind it is real, but confusing the two? That’s where legacy strategies fall apart. The industry figured this out around 2009-2016 when major deaths started creating massive but temporary data events. Prince’s 42,000 percent album-sales jump evaporated by fall. Michael Jackson’s sustained for years. David Bowie’s stayed steady. Why the difference? It wasn’t the initial spike. Rather, it was what happened after. The artists and estates who planned for the conversation after the spike are the ones whose catalogs stayed relevant. Everyone else watched the numbers plateau back toward normal.
Here’s the harder truth: some artists’ catalogs come back to earth. They get a beautiful week or two. Then the algorithms adjust, the news cycle moves, and streams normalize to a new baseline — which is sometimes higher than before, but often settles into a different rhythm. Consequently, the difference between a lasting bump and a fleeting one comes down to story. Dolly’s got a built-in story: she was a songwriter’s songwriter. She’s a philanthropy icon. She wrote the blueprint for American reinvention. When someone digs into “Jolene” now, they don’t just hear a sad song — they hear a 1973 debut on the Hot 100. They learn she’s influenced everyone from Beyoncé to The Chicks. Indeed, the ecosystem around her work — interviews, profiles, documentaries, covers — all of that amplifies the catalog’s relevance. That’s not organic. That’s orchestrated.
The Playlist Becomes the Vessel
Curated playlists are where this art lives now. They’re not just collections of songs anymore. They’re arguments about what matters. When Spotify puts Dolly’s music in “RIP” playlists, sure. But the real legacy work happens when her songs move into playlists about songwriting, about women in country, about cultural influence. That’s context. That’s what converts a spike into staying power. Importantly, the managers and estates who understand this — who work with streaming platforms to tell the right story, who coordinate with radio and editorial partners, who release archival material or new recordings at exactly the right moment — those are the ones building legacies that last past the news cycle.
Back to the Data
Dolly will almost certainly see a sustained uptick in baseline streams compared to last year. That matters. That means she gained new listeners. Importantly, that means people who came back for grief stayed for the music. But here’s where the industry’s learned to differentiate between mourning and legacy. Are there archive releases planned? Will her estate coordinate with platforms on contextual playlists — not just “RIP Dolly” but “Women Songwriters Who Changed Country Music”? Will radio stations add deep cuts? Then, will younger artists use her catalog as a reference point in the next two years? Will documentaries or biopics happen? What if Beyoncé or Taylor Swift cover her songs on albums or in interviews? Will Dolly’s songwriting influence become an educational angle?
Jackson’s team asked all those questions. Bowie’s team prepared for them. Prince’s team didn’t anticipate the streaming limitation. Ultimately, Dolly’s team — and she left behind a management structure ready for this — will know the difference between a week of spikes and a decade of staying relevant. The real metric nobody tracks is this: which songs moved to which contexts? Which playlists did she enter? And, which younger artists will cite her as influence in interviews over the next two years? Which covers will hit because radio wants to keep her in the conversation? That’s where legacy lives. Not in the spike. In what comes after.
The Irreplaceable Part
Here’s what can’t be manufactured: the genuine shock of losing someone whose voice shaped your entire life. That can’t be planned. That’s real. But honoring that moment — making sure the work survives the grief, that the songs stay in circulation not as nostalgia but as current — that takes intention. That takes people who understand that streaming data is just another language for storytelling. Dolly’s catalog will hold a place. The question the industry’s learned to ask now isn’t “How high will this spike?” It’s “How do we keep this story alive?” That shift — from measuring the moment to stewarding the legacy — that’s the art form.
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It’s September — the most critical time for radio programmers. Summer vacations are done, and school is back in session or will be next week. People are beginning to get set in their new routines. Parents who slept later all summer are up earlier now to get kids off to school. Therefore, music morning shows need their best material. In sports radio, there is no bigger game than football. For some markets, it’s the college game; other cities are dreaming of a Super Bowl. There are places where great revenue and listenership come from high school football. Meanwhile, even though baseball is over for 60% of the teams, there’s a race to the World Series from Tampa to LA. Additionally, news radio is alive with the upcoming mid-term elections. No matter the format, you have the potential to have more listeners right now, so let’s get them.
As someone who programmed in New York for many years, September always saw a substantial increase in PUMM (persons using measured media). If we had a budget, it was the time for outside marketing, our best contests, and great content from all the talent. From now until December, your team needs to be as focused as those hitting the gridiron this month. This is also the perfect opportunity to examine all the basics on the air.
Refresh Your Imaging and Promotion Strategy
No matter the format, start with your imaging and promos. Is it fresh, or are you running the same stuff since January? You need to think of September as a “new season” and get your most compelling production on the air. Don’t change your signature lines, but get them redone to stand out. Z100’s “from the T-T-T-Top of the Empire State Building” will always live in the minds of New Yorkers, but over the years it was produced differently. If you have programming elements sponsored and have been running the same tag since the start of the year, check with the sales rep to make sure it still applies.
Your produced promos should create FOMO, and you should run them in high rotation. If you’re in music radio, your cume may have forgotten over the summer when your signature benchmarks air. Hopefully, you have a contest to promote and can hook in those with PPM meters who play contests. Keywords and call-ins are fine for big money. However, contests for smaller prizes should be games to appeal to those non-contest players who make up the majority of your audience. Sports radio has an all-new football season and, in some cases, a pennant race. Lots of promos are needed to make sure the audience knows when they need to tune in. Create those most-listen appointments. Moreover, remember that all radio stations have audience turnover as people’s habits and tastes change. This is the perfect time to sell the benefits of your station.
Optimize Your Music Selections
If you’re in music radio and don’t have a new library test for fall, do a re-sort. Go into Mediabase and run a most-played report on successful stations similar to yours. Create a combined panel of a half dozen playlists and look for titles you could add to your rotations. Additionally, look for songs that you are playing too much or too little. Check out songs that you may have played upon release and moved to recurrent, assuming they were hits. You could very well find a song that you’re alone playing 20 times a week that everyone else has dropped. When in doubt, leave it out. Consider a tighter list for the next few months; nobody ever complained about hearing their favorite song too much. Local research is always best, but when you don’t have it, look to the stations who do. It’s very safe to assume the iHeart stations in the biggest markets are always testing their music. Thanks for that, Bob, Rich, and Tom!
Align Your Team and Strengthen Content
This is also a great time to connect with your talent and make sure everyone is on the same page. Everyone should know the exact target audience of your station and which benefits are important to be selling. There’s nothing worse than listening to a station and hearing different positioning from midday to afternoons to the night show. Consistency is key. Furthermore, your content dayparts need to have their best material. If the morning show hit a home run with a bit in July, they could rerun it in a different hour. Remember, most of your listeners don’t hear more than 90 minutes of your morning show each week.
This is the time to view your radio station the same way NFL coaches look at their rosters on Sunday. Cut everything that will impede your path to success. Also, it’s the time to think about the upcoming holidays; we dive into that next week. Welcome to September!
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
Dan McClain returns to WDRM Huntsville after six years away. He’ll host afternoons starting this week.
What We Know: McClain hosted WDRM mornings from 1992 until April 2020. Now he returns for the 1-3pm slot following Spencer Graves’ exit. Blair Davis also returns to the Huntsville market, hosting 9am-1pm at WDRM and 12-3pm at WQRV. Additionally, Bobby Bones Show debuted in mornings on both WDRM and WDXB this week.
What They Said:Blair Davisexpressed genuine excitement about these changes. She emphasized being local means “talking about our community, our people, our businesses.” This opportunity, she noted, gives her “a chance to do that in an even bigger way.” Regarding McClain: “I TRULY couldn’t be more grateful” to work alongside the legend who gave her first on-air break in 2014.
What Remains Unclear: No one knows how long McClain plans to stay. Nobody yet knows if more programming changes are coming to Huntsville. Furthermore, the station hasn’t shared details about other daypart adjustments. Time will tell what competitive impact these moves will have on ratings.
What It Means: This marks WDRM’s significant rebuild following June’s company-wide cuts. McClain’s return signals confidence in local radio’s future viability. The mentorship dynamic between Davis and McClain suggests intentional succession planning. Most importantly, Huntsville gets back established personalities who deeply understand community radio.
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Steve Sanchez is leaving K-DAWN for AM 670 KMZQ as the Las Vegas news/talk station reshuffles its lineup. The longtime host will launch his new weekday show Tuesday, September 1st, from 9 AM to Noon PT.
What We Know: Steve Sanchez will move to AM 670 KMZQ, where he’ll host from 9 AM to Noon PT each weekday. His new show debuts Tuesday, September 1st, on the Kemp Broadcasting news/talk station. Sanchez’s move comes as K-DAWN makes lineup changes tied to the impending end of 840 KXNT. That station will cease operations Monday, with some programming shifting to K-DAWN.
What They Said: “After 11 years on K-DAWN, there’s no question that leaving is bittersweet. That station has been a major part of my career and my life for more than a decade. But I’m incredibly excited about what comes next. The opportunity with Kemp Broadcasting and AM 670 KMZQ gives us a true conservative home, three hours every weekday and an opportunity to take this show to another level.” -Steve Sanchez
What Remains Unclear: The broader K-DAWN lineup remains in flux as the station absorbs programming previously heard on KXNT. It’s unclear whether additional changes will follow Sanchez’s departure. Kemp Broadcasting also hasn’t detailed how the moves will affect the station’s overall weekday schedule beyond the announced changes.
What It Means: Sanchez’s move gives AM 670 KMZQ a familiar Las Vegas radio voice while establishing a dedicated three-hour weekday platform. Meanwhile, K-DAWN faces a significant programming transition as it incorporates shows from a station that’s ending operations. For Sanchez, the move provides a new home after 11 years at K-DAWN. It also gives Kemp Broadcasting an established host to anchor its weekday lineup.
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106.3 The Rader KTJK in Abilene, Texas relaunches its morning show September 7. Chad Ray‘s fiancée Lauren joins him as co-host.
What We Know:Chad Ray has hosted mornings solo since March 2025. Before that, he worked as a public address announcer for the Abilene Flying Bison. He also provided play-by-play for McMurry University War Hawks football. Additionally, Ray spent time at KPOS in Post, Texas. Meanwhile, Lauren brings nursing experience to the microphone. Both have deep roots in the Abilene community.
What They Said: Dustin Tatro, the station’s general manager, expressed strong confidence in the pairing. “Raider Mornings with Chad Ray & Lauren is destined not just to top this region,” Tatro said. He noted Ray’s strong Autostage numbers specifically. “We’ve known the pair personally, around town, and around the station off-air for some time,” he continued. “When Lauren – a long-time hospital-based nurse – piped up at this year’s TAB Convention to say, ‘I think doing radio every day could be fun!’ we were a bit shocked but not necessarily surprised. This whole thing has come together in less than a month. You know what they say about how fast destiny can move at times.”
What Remains Unclear: The station hasn’t yet detailed the show’s specific format or direction. Lauren’s previous radio experience, if any, awaits clarification. Furthermore, how audiences will respond to the co-hosting arrangement remains to be seen.
What It Means: This launch reflects a growing radio trend across the industry. Stations increasingly tap personalities already rooted in their communities. The move also signals strong confidence in Ray’s morning appeal. Likewise, Lauren’s career pivot highlights radio’s continued draw for talented newcomers seeking fresh challenges.
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Jeff Katz has signed a contract extension with WRVA, keeping the longtime Richmond afternoon host behind the microphone. Katz has spent 14 years at the Audacy station and brings 35 years of talk radio experience.
What We Know: Jeff Katz will continue hosting afternoons on WRVA as part of his new contract extension. Katz joined the Richmond news/talk station 14 years ago and has established himself as one of its key voices. He’s also spent 35 years in talk radio, giving him one of the longer tenures among today’s prominent hosts. Additionally, Katz makes regular appearances on Newsmax, expanding his presence beyond the Richmond market. For the past four years, Barrett Media has recognized Katz among the Top 5 mid-market afternoon hosts in our annual Top 20 series.
What’s At Stake: Katz’s extension gives WRVA stability in a competitive news/talk market. The station will retain a veteran host who has built a long-standing relationship with Richmond listeners. Meanwhile, Katz’s continued presence provides consistency during afternoon drive, an important part of the station’s daily lineup. His national exposure through Newsmax also gives WRVA a host with visibility beyond the local market.
What Remains Unclear: The station and company didn’t disclose the length of Katz’s extension.
What It Means: Katz’s extension gives WRVA stability in an increasingly competitive news/talk landscape. Moreover, retaining a host with 35 years of experience provides the station with a proven commodity in afternoon drive. Katz’s consistent recognition in Barrett Media’s mid-market rankings also underscores his standing within the format. As a result, WRVA can continue building around a familiar personality who has developed a strong connection with Richmond listeners.
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MS NOW is adding a new weekend program as Antonia Hylton moves into her first solo anchoring role. The Assignment with Antonia Hylton will bring deeply reported political and cultural coverage to viewers each weekend.
What We Know: Beginning Saturday, September 12th, The Assignment with Antonia Hylton will air Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 PM ET on MS NOW. Hylton, a Murrow, Peabody, and two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, will anchor the program from New York. Meanwhile, the show will focus on the latest political and cultural headlines, along with discussions featuring lawmakers and changemakers. Hylton will also draw on her field reporting to provide additional context behind the biggest stories. Most recently, she reported on the impact of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics through MS NOW’s “Cities Under Siege” series.
What’s At Stake: Hylton’s promotion gives MS NOW another recognizable journalist in a competitive weekend news environment. Additionally, The Assignment allows the network to build a program around Hylton’s people-first reporting style. The move could help MS NOW strengthen its weekend schedule while developing Hylton as a more prominent on-air personality. Furthermore, the program gives the network another opportunity to distinguish its coverage through enterprise reporting and deeper conversations.
What Remains Unclear: MS NOW hasn’t detailed the program’s full list of regular contributors or recurring segments. Likewise, it remains unclear how MS NOW will measure the show’s performance against established weekend programming.
What It Means: Hylton joined MS NOW in April 2025 as a reporter and co-anchor of The Weekend: Primetime. Now, her first solo anchoring role gives the network an opportunity to showcase her journalism across a larger platform. Her previous work includes the podcast Southlake, which earned major journalism honors, and Grapevine, which received an Edward R. Murrow Award. She also authored the New York Times bestseller MADNESS: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum.
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