The Prince of Darkness lives on — digitally. The Osbourne family is bringing Ozzyback through artificial intelligence.
What We Know: The Osbourne family partnered with tech company Hyperreal to build an AI-powered version of the late rock legend. Jack and Sharon Osbourne revealed the project at Licensing Expo 2026 in Las Vegas this week. Hyperreal previously created a similar AI avatar of Stan Lee for Los Angeles Comic Con. The digital Ozzy will replicate his voice, image, and movement.
What They Said: Sharon Osbourne made the vision crystal clear. “You can ask Ozzy anything, and he will answer you in his own voice,” she said. “We’re going to take it all around the world. People can talk to him and he will talk back.” Those words carry serious weight for millions of fans globally.
What Remains Unclear: Notably, specific launch dates and pricing remain unannounced. Furthermore, no details exist yet about which markets receive access first. The ethical conversation around AI recreations of deceased artists also continues to grow louder across the entertainment industry. Fans and critics alike will watch this rollout closely.
What It Means: Ozzy isn’t alone in this space. KISS, ABBA, Paul McCartney, and the Notorious B.I.G. have all entered the AI avatar world before him. The Osbourne family is simply taking a proven blueprint and making it global. The line between tribute and technology keeps getting thinner.
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Eddie Scozzare officially signed off as the longtime producer of morning drive at Audacy’s WFAN on Friday. The longtime producer wrapped up a 37-year career Friday morning in front of fans, colleagues, and cameras.
What We Know:WFAN celebrated Scozzare at Audacy’s annual Kick Off To Summer live broadcast in Belmar, NJ. The station gifted him a brand-new Ford Bronco, among other tributes. Additionally, longtime listeners showed up in person to thank him face to face. Meanwhile, social media was flooded with congratulatory messages following the broadcast and week of tributes from current and former WFAN staff. Many fans and colleagues across the industry flooded timelines with tributes honoring his remarkable run.
What They Said: WFAN morning host Boomer Esiason: “I just want to say on behalf of everybody at WFAN, and especially our show here this morning, Eddie, that we’re going to miss you. We love you.”
WFAN morning host Gregg Giannotti: “Of course, this is a tough day for us. But a happy day for all of us as well. None of us would be the employees and the people that we are today without you. That is a true statement, and that’s not bullcrap. I would not be standing here. I would not have had the success without the help that you gave me, and the guidance, and the friendship, and the colleague that you’ve been. They don’t hear this a lot when people retire. There will never be another you. There will never be anybody like it, and that’s what you have to take into your retirement. One of a kind, and an all-time great.”
What Remains Unclear: Still, no details have emerged publicly about Scozzare’s post-retirement plans. Beyond that, the full scope of the social media response continues to grow, with more tributes still rolling in across platforms into the early parts of the Memorial Day weekend.
What It Means: Scozzare’s exit marks the end of a defining era at one of sports radio’s most storied stations. Consequently, WFAN now faces the challenge of replacing not just a producer, but a culture-builder. Nevertheless, the send-off itself spoke volumes — a Ford Bronco, a shoreline crowd, and tears on live radio. That is not a goodbye. That is a legacy. Wishing Eddie nothing but the best in retirement.
Good luck to one of the great guys in our business. Eddie was always so easy to work with and a joy to be around. Best of health and happiness to THE Eddie Scozzare. https://t.co/st9MdlDmAv
Many of us including me owe the start of our career to Eddie.
I wasn’t some Syracuse or Fordham media graduate, I barely passed community college. I was more than happy just seeing WFAN for an internship Interview. But Eddie took the chance on me and so many others. THANK YOU! https://t.co/XyzgXDOJyL
Eddie changed so many lives at WFAN running the internship program and the newsroom. The best human. I’ll forever be grateful. #TheEddieScozzarehttps://t.co/miP8Nsg4nT
Although I didn’t start as an intern, Eddie always treated me like one of his guys. Advice, strategy, listening to a bit and offering criticism to make it funnier. Eddie was everyone’s big brother at WFAN. He’s an inspiration and a true legend in the business Thank you Eddie 🙏 https://t.co/rQM06lqPU1
It is fitting he loves dogs, as much like a dog, he can make you want to murder him but then five seconds later you feel incredibly guilty about it. https://t.co/nZZZLBtnm2
Eddie is a really good fellow. He looked out for me & always offered great advice during my internship at @WFAN660 & when I worked for the station in both Astoria & NYC. Wishing Eddie all the best in retirement! 🚩 https://t.co/qqldpRsU3S
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Audacy was one of the major players in the CBS News Radio network. As the network ends today, the company has shifted its stations to ABC News Radio.
What We Know: CBS News Radio ends on Friday evening after nearly 100 years. Many of the current Audacy news/talk and all-news stations were previously CBS Radio stations. However, many of the stations began airing ABC News newscasts on Thursday afternoon. WBBM was the first station to begin airing ABC News, doing so during the 1:00 PM CT hour on Thursday. Other stations like WCCO, KNX, and KCBS followed suit later in the day.
What’s At Stake: After picking up hundreds of affiliates after CBS News Radio‘s announcement, ABC News Radio has to be thrilled with the additions of the Audacy stations. Major brands like 1010 WINS, WBBM, 830 WCCO, KNX News, and KCBS, among others, provide major market access to the network.
What Remains Unclear: Which stations are still in need of launching the changes. An Audacy spokesperson confirmed to Barrett Media that all stations will be airing ABC News by Saturday morning. It is also unclear which Audacy stations, if any, will carry the final CBS News Radio broadcast at 11:30 PM ET on Friday evening.
What It Means: It’s the end of an era on many of the most venerable stations in the format. CBS News Radio was synonymous with many of the Audacy brands. With the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, it appears as if many of the stations began airing ABC News newscasts to ensure a smooth transition before hard-launching the switch on a holiday or weekend.
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WKKT Charlotte is reshuffling again. This marks the second major weekday lineup change at the iHeartMedia country station in 2026.
What We Know: Graham Bunnreturns to mornings, hosting “Graham in the Morning” from 6-10am. The move comes just four months after the station shifted him to middays. Sarah Lee Owensby transitions from mornings to the 10am-2pm slot. Eddie Foxx remains in afternoons, The Bobby Bones Show holds evenings, and Ashley Wilson adds a new 11pm music hour.
What They Said: Trevor Morini, iHeartMedia Charlotte and Raleigh’s SVP of Programming, addressed the changes directly. “Harnessing the power and influence of our locally established talent across multiple dayparts allows for greater community engagement and an enhanced listener experience,” he said.
What Remains Unclear: The rationale behind Bunn’s quick return to mornings hasn’t been publicly detailed. Additionally, it’s uncertain whether the original Sarah Lee and Graham morning partnership simply ran its course or underperformed. Bunn joined WKKT in April 2025, replacing the void left by Paul Schadt’s retirement after an impressive 27-year run.
What It Means: Two major lineup changes in six months reflect a station still finding its footing. iHeartMedia Charlotte appears increasingly focused on building local talent across key dayparts. Stability is clearly becoming a growing priority for the market. How this current configuration performs over time will be the real measure of success.
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60 Minutes has long been the most-watched news program. That continued during the 2025-2026 season.
What We Know: The most recent season of the show marked the 52nd consecutive season that 60 Minutes was the top news program. It was the 58th season of the program. The success comes after Tanya Simon replaced Bill Owens as Executive Producer of the program. Owens departed over clashes with management and ownership over editorial control over the program.
What the Numbers Show: The news magazine averaged 9.1 million viewers throughout the season. That marks a 9% increase compared to the 8.3 million it averaged last season. Additionally, the network saw a 5% increase in the key Adults 25-54 demographic compared to last season. Digitally, 60 Minutes saw 2.5 billion views across its major platforms. Views on TikTok rose 85% year-over-year.
What Remains Unclear: What changes will come to 60 Minutes. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi has alluded to her contract situation as stating it’s likely she won’t return to the show. Anderson Cooper, who spent 20 years working on the program, will not return. Reports have suggested that CBS News chief Bari Weiss is unhappy with the direction of the show and hopes for major changes.
What It Means: The power of the 60 Minutes brand is still on display. Despite the internal turmoil, including the widely publicized issues with the CECOT story, the show still performed well. Does a strong NFL lead-in help 60 Minutes during the early season? Undeniably. Has it been helped by the changes in Nielsen measurement? Probably. But it is clear it still has a dedicated and loyal audience.
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Thank you all for being here today. We gather to mourn the loss of a true giant. CBS News Radio, one of the most storied institutions in the history of American journalism, is gone.
It didn’t die with a bang. It faded, quietly, the victim of decisions made by people who never quite understood what they had. We’re here to honor what it was, grieve what’s been lost, and reckon honestly with how it happened.
Take a seat. This one deserves a proper goodbye.
Pull out whatever you’ve got — a handkerchief, a bar napkin, the sleeve of your sport coat. You’re going to need it. Because what we’re burying today isn’t just a radio network. It’s a standard-bearer for what broadcast journalism could be, and — at its best — what it was.
The Dash
On a gravestone, the numbers will read 1927 – 2026. But honestly, don’t focus on the numbers. The important thing in that etching is the dash. CBS News Radio had one hell of a dash.
This network pioneered the very idea of radio news. It literally changed the game during World War II — bringing the reality of war into American living rooms through voices that crackled with urgency and truth. It carried the nation through 9/11. CBS News Radio informed a frightened public through the early, uncertain fog of COVID-19. Through all of it, the mission never wavered. CBS News Radio existed to deliver the most accurate journalism possible, to as many people as possible.
The home of Murrow, Cronkite, Osgood, and Rather is no more. That’s a crying shame.
Think about what those names represent. Think about the standard they set. Those weren’t just broadcasters — they were the conscience of a nation, delivered through a speaker. And CBS News Radio was the house they built.
Death by Malpractice
Here’s the hard truth: CBS News Radio didn’t die of natural causes. It died of malpractice. A fundamental misunderstanding of its value — and its role in the greater media ecosystem — is what killed it.
Someone, somewhere, looked at a balance sheet and failed to see what wasn’t on it. They couldn’t quantify trust built over nearly a century. They couldn’t put a dollar figure on institutional credibility. So they treated CBS News Radio like overhead instead of infrastructure — and now it’s gone. The network didn’t bring in new subscribers, hoping to watch the next episode of Yellowstone or Big Brother.
Despite featuring a daily audience roughly the same size as an NFL broadcast, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. That should tell you all you need to know about the decision to end the outlet.
Like all deaths, it came too soon. It always does. No matter how long there is to process a loss like this, it’s still difficult to understand how something so venerable, so large, so important simply isn’t here anymore.
What Comes Next
I can’t help but think there will come a day — likely in the not-so-distant future — when those who had a hand in killing CBS News Radio feel at least a little bit of regret. Maybe not right away. Maybe not until the next major crisis hits, and the infrastructure that would’ve handled it with precision and poise simply doesn’t exist anymore. When the TV network could use a strong promotional lift that millions of people could provide. That’s when it’ll sting.
The radio industry loses something real when networks like this disappear. It’s not just about affiliates losing programming. It’s about the erosion of a shared standard. CBS News Radio represented a commitment to getting it right, to serving the public, to showing up every day with rigor and purpose. That’s harder to replace than a content deal.
So thank you for coming to the funeral today. Thank you for paying your respects to this once-great institution. Just because it’s gone doesn’t mean its legacy will diminish — not if we refuse to let it. The memories will remain. So will the spirit. The spirit of what CBS News Radio represented still lives in those who fight for accuracy over speed, truth over traffic, and for people over profits.
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Netflix has made no secret about it. The streaming giant wants live event content. Over the past several years, the company has invested in live events involving boxing, MMA, WWE, MLB, the NFL, and others. They even backed a production centered on a man climbing a skyscraper in Taiwan. Now, the company is entering a new content vertical: live radio programming.
Yesterday, Netflix and iHeartMedia expanded their current podcasting agreement by licensing the live video presentation of The Breakfast Club on Netflix beginning June 1. For Netflix, this marks its first venture into live weekday programming. For a company positioning itself heavily in the live event space while adding live weekday content to its platform, could Pat McAfee be next on Netflix’s target list?
Despite the headlines McAfee creates on and off the screen, his persona commands attention.
The former Colts punter has turned himself into one of sports media’s most dynamic and versatile personalities. He helped College GameDay transition away from Lee Corso and elevated WWE’s profile with ESPN. He has also curried favor with nearly every commissioner and athlete imaginable, making his program destination viewing that leagues and personalities battle to appear on.
When McAfee signed his agreement in 2023, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro called his show one of the most engaging programs in sports and all of media. He wasn’t wrong. Everything McAfee touches seems to draw more attention than almost anything else in sports. I recall speaking with ESPN NFL analyst Peter Schrager about the McAfee effect on sports.
“The genius of Pat McAfee is taking something that feels very serious, urgent, and newsworthy and making it fun,” said Schrager.
Connecting The Dots
McAfee’s contract with ESPN runs through 2028. That’s now less than two years away, with McAfee positioned to cash in again if he chooses. That’s why Netflix’s announcement involving The Breakfast Club feels like just the first step in what could become a larger pursuit of McAfee by the streaming giant.
A couple of factors are worth considering.
Netflix already has live event agreements with several companies. One of those companies is TKO Holdings, which owns WWE, UFC, and Zuffa Boxing, among others. Ari Emanuel serves as CEO of TKO Holdings and helped architect TKO’s agreement with Netflix for WWE Raw back in 2025.
It just so happens that Emanuel also represents McAfee as his agent. Put those pieces together, and you have yourself quite a story.
However, Netflix had not tested the live weekday programming model until now.
Benefits To Both?
McAfee signed with ESPN for a reported $85 million over five years. According to Yahoo Sports, the show generated one billion total social media views in September 2025 alone, while averaging 447,000 live viewers per episode. That represented an 18% year-over-year increase and pushed the show to its most-watched year on ESPN.
McAfee’s show is a juggernaut of content, attention, reach, and engagement that no other ESPN program comes close to matching. In 2025, ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus acknowledged that reality.
“Every commissioner wants to be on his show. Every athlete wants to be on the show. There’s a cool factor, a relevance factor. It’s fun and funny and entertaining. As we sit here today, I could not imagine our daytime schedule without his show,” said Magnus.
From the ThunderDome to Pittsburgh, @PatMcAfeeShow & the boys capped off a memorable month across ESPN & YouTube in April '26
Netflix’s announcement on Thursday may have just increased McAfee’s chances of departing ESPN when his agreement expires in 2028. But can ESPN retain McAfee’s services beyond that point?
It would be difficult to argue that ESPN’s budget could compete with Netflix’s financial power in a bidding war for McAfee and his program. Netflix could easily outbid ESPN and Disney while also making McAfee’s show more global in reach through the audience the platform commands.
Teaming with Netflix could also create additional opportunities for McAfee in Hollywood. With Netflix funding major motion picture productions, McAfee would almost certainly become a candidate for entertainment roles that ESPN simply cannot provide. Emanuel has even stated that he envisions McAfee as the next Sylvester Stallone. A move to Netflix would likely create more avenues for that vision to materialize.
Would McAfee’s guest list become more limited with a move to Netflix? Since the streaming platform already does business with MLB and the NFL, probably not. The likelihood of ESPN talent appearing at a moment’s notice could change. But it’s difficult to imagine personalities such as Adam Schefter or Shams Charania disappearing entirely from the program.
A move to Netflix could even strengthen McAfee’s relationship with WWE, one of his personal passions. Could there be more WWE content involving McAfee’s production company? Or perhaps an expanded role with TKO Holdings based on the business relationships McAfee has helped cultivate between ESPN and Netflix?
Can ESPN Retain McAfee?
Make no mistake, this may become the single biggest challenge facing new ESPN EVP, Executive Editor, Sports News and Entertainment Mike Foss during the early stages of his tenure. While Foss won’t be alone in any discussions with McAfee, his new role will certainly be heavily involved in it. Mike Foss has played a key role in overseeing The Pat McAfee Show since its ESPN debut nearly three years ago. By all accounts, Foss has built a strong working relationship with Pat McAfee. He has done so by trusting McAfee’s instincts, offering feedback, and helping navigate criticism and controversy.
Now that the contract has entered its final two-year window, the next several months could become very interesting for ESPN and Pat McAfee. If Netflix’s live arrangement with The Breakfast Club succeeds like its podcast partnership has, the streaming giant will almost certainly pursue more opportunities in the space.
There is no daily studio show or sports radio program that commands more attention than Pat McAfee’s platform. The connections involved are substantial enough that a move to Netflix makes legitimate sense for both McAfee and the company.
That’s why Netflix entering the live daily programming space matters so much.
The company is no longer simply chasing events. It is chasing habit-forming personalities that audiences build their days around. Pat McAfee checks every box. He delivers sports, entertainment, controversy, virality, and cultural relevance in one package. Exactly the type of talent streaming platforms covet as they continue redefining television.
Whether McAfee ultimately stays with ESPN or eventually jumps to Netflix, one thing already feels certain.
Thursday’s announcement involving The Breakfast Club was not just about adding another program to Netflix’s library. It was a test case for something much bigger. And if the experiment succeeds, don’t be surprised if the most important personality in sports media suddenly becomes the face of Netflix’s live daytime future.
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The NBA spent years turning awards into television events. Shams Charania spent years turning himself into the fastest man in sports media. Last weekend, those two things finally crashed into each other.
The league and Amazon Prime had a plan. Build suspense, stretch out the drama and reveal Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as NBA MVP during Amazon’s playoff coverage tied to Game 7 between Cleveland and Detroit. Instead, ESPN’s Charania dropped the news hours earlier because that’s what he does. He reports news first. Suddenly, sports media had its latest civil war.
Amazon’s studio crew openly mocked Charania on-air. Blake Griffin fired the funniest shot of the night, telling him, “What are we doing man? It’s Sunday Shams, go to brunch you nerd.” Taylor Rooks added that she didn’t remember “Shams spoiling it” back in the Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki MVP days.
Here’s the problem with everybody yelling at Charania: he’s right.
If Shams Charania knows who won MVP, his job is to report who won MVP. Period. He’s not employed by the NBA marketing department or on Amazon’s payroll. He’s a reporter in a hyper-competitive information business where being second means losing. He has sources to protect, relationships to maintain and an audience conditioned to expect instant information.
Charania defended himself by saying, “When I get news, I’ve vetted it,” adding, “That’s my responsibility.”
This is the sports media ecosystem leagues helped create. Networks want insiders because insiders drive engagement 24 hours a day. Breaking news dominates algorithms. Fans claim they hate spoilers, but they also refresh Twitter/X every 15 seconds. Why? Hopes of somebody spoiling something before the television reveal.
Shams didn’t break the system. He mastered it.
Which is why the other sports media beef this week felt strangely connected, even though it involved a completely different style of media star.
The Attention Game
Enter Stephen A. Smith versus Jaylen Brown.
Brown unloaded on Smith during a Twitch stream and podcast appearance, calling the ESPN star “the face of clickbait media.” Brown accused Smith of prioritizing attention over journalism. Frustrated after Boston’s playoff collapse and Smith’s criticism on First Take, Brown told Smith to retire and mocked him with, “F— Stephen A. Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C.”
Brown isn’t wrong.
Modern sports media absolutely rewards heat over nuance. Volume over detail. Outrage over context. A five-minute breakdown loses to a 22-second screaming clip almost every time now.
ESPN knows it. FS1 knows it. YouTube knows it. Everybody knows it.
I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I grew up in a sports media world where reporters sounded like reporters and debate didn’t feel like professional wrestling.
I don’t love what sports television has become. Too often, how you say something matters more than what you say. Facts become secondary to performance. Still, if you’re going to play the modern media game, Stephen A. Smith is sports television’s Michael Jordan.
That doesn’t mean I agree with everything he does. Far from it. I respect the commitment. If you’re going to do something, go all in and become the absolute best at it.
Stephen A. did exactly that.
Different Ways To Play the Game
ESPN reportedly handed Smith a five-year contract worth at least $100 million, roughly $20 million annually, making him one of the highest-paid personalities in sports media. After all, networks do not hand out nine-figure contracts because somebody annoys Twitter for fun. Instead, the currency today isn’t necessarily trust or subtlety. Rather, the currency is attention, whether that comes through ratings, viral debates, or trending clips. And whether critics like it or not, Stephen A. Smith consistently produces all of it at a superstar level.
Smith responded to Brown exactly the way modern sports television rewards personalities for responding: publicly and loudly. He warned Brown to “be careful what you wish for.” Hinting he could begin discussing behind-the-scenes league and locker room opinions about Brown if he wanted to escalate things further.
That’s where this whole week in sports media ties together.
Shams Charania and Stephen A. Smith are doing completely different jobs. But they’re ultimately monetizing the same thing: attention.
Charania monetizes speed and access. His millions of followers on X don’t follow him because he waits politely for made-for-TV reveals. They follow him because he beats everybody else to the story. Stephen A. monetizes reaction. Agreement isn’t required anymore. Engagement is. Outrage works. Debate works. Clips work.
In modern sports media, emotional reaction is often more valuable than consensus.
Both men work at ESPN because there’s no bigger stage left for this kind of sports media stardom. ESPN doesn’t merely tolerate these personalities. The network needs them, and it’s too late to turn back now. Live rights keep exploding financially. Debate clips dominate social media. Breaking news drives constant engagement. Personal brands now matter almost as much as network brands.
Tough Game To Win
Maybe that’s the disconnect for some of us who came up in older sports media. We were taught to build stories, develop conversations and create real moments. Reaction was real, not rehearsed. Modern media is like a pitcher with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and no thought about how to set up the hitter or keep him off balance.
No craft, plan, or second pitch. Constantly. Relentlessly. Sometimes exhaustingly. Same speed, same volume. Hit it if you can.
Audiences keep rewarding it.
That’s the part sports fans don’t always want to admit. They complain about clickbait while sharing the clips. Many complain about spoilers while refreshing social media for breaking news. Moreover, they complain about hot takes while turning hot-take artists into stars.
So, when Jaylen Brown rolls his eyes at Stephen A. Smith, or Amazon talent groans at Shams Charania, they’re really arguing with the economics of modern sports media itself.
Whether you love it, hate it or feel conflicted about it like I do after three decades in this business. Stephen A. Smith and Shams Charania have figured out the same thing: In 2026, attention is the only fuel that churns the engine.
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Middle ground. Common ground. Can’t we all just get along? That’s been radio’s strategy since PPM arrived.
“One man’s trash is another’s treasure.” I’ve said it 2,000 times, but it explains a lot.
Listener A thinks “On A Plain” is Nirvana’s best song
Listener B says it’s “In Bloom”
Listener C doesn’t know “On A Plain” but loves “Come As You Are”
Listener D thinks Nirvana is overrated and wants Linkin Park
That’s the reality radio faces every three and a half minutes when one song leads to another. And it’s the root of the most common complaints: predictable, too safe, too repetitious. Understandably, radio tries to please everyone all the time — avoid all the trash, offer nothing but treasure. And that leads to sounding like the “same old, same old.”
It’s a noble effort — serving only the treasure — but it’s also impossible.
When listeners A, B, C, and D walk into a bar, no one leaves truly happy. Someone’s changing channels or flipping to their “treasure playlist” before Cobain screams, “I’m on a plain.”
So radio sticks to the middle ground: safe songs, smaller playlists, nothing but researched hits above the mean — whatever the aggregated spreadsheet says.
It wasn’t always like this. PPM was the tipping point — the moment the industry shifted from programming to P1s to programming almost exclusively for cume. “Don’t rock the boat. Find that ultra-common ground. Avoid tune-out like it’s the Hantavirus.”
PPM changed everything — music, talk, stopsets, promos, imaging length. Evolution is good. Data is good. Doing what you think is best for the audience is good. But every year, even with all the “best practices” in place, listenership declines a bit more and those complaints get a little louder.
Why? Because the audience isn’t noticing meaningful change, and industry structures aren’t built to create much of it.
Meaningful change isn’t easy. PDs and GMs are stretched thin — logs, airshifts, proposals, reports, staffing shortages, HR headaches, budget pressures. So you keep your head down, do the best you can, and live to fight again tomorrow. There’s no shame in that. That’s reality.
But programmers deserve defending. What are they supposed to do? Put “On A Plain” in power just because Listener A loves it? Listener C might not care, and D wants another band entirely.
And yes, it’s easy to dump on Nielsen. PPM absolutely drove the gold rush to the middle — it also pushed RockTernative to be more gold-based. But it’s still the industry’s report card. Flawed, but important.
A few Nielsen reminders:
It’s not a census — it’s a panel, an estimate
Less than 1% of the market population is in the panel, and only a fraction of that listens to your station
One heavy P1 going to Hawaii for 10 days can wreck the monthly
Panelists can stay in for up to three years — 1,000+ days of happy hour shots if it leans your way, or a long road of misery if it doesn’t
So how does programming create meaningful change?
First, there won’t ever be a day without complaints. You can stop playing RHCP today and still get told you play RHCP too much two weeks from now.
Second, rocketing spins for “On A Plain” aren’t the magic fix. This comes down to something simpler, but harder.
Stop programming scared. Stop living only in the middle. This is more important at RockTernative than any other format. Rock audiences are different from CHR and Hot AC — more artist-based, more passion, more lanes, different expectations, different tolerance levels.
PPM pushed the industry to the middle. But for RockTernative, the middle isn’t where loyalty or passion grow. “All middle all the time” or “40 minutes of non-stop middle” — that’s how brands become forgotten, wallpaper, replaceable, disposable.
But the middle isn’t an arch enemy — it’s important — the magic happens when you navigate to the outer edges and back. Because the stations that win over the next several years won’t be the ones trying to please everyone all the time. They’ll be willing to stand for something — the ones who make listeners feel something… even if someone else complains.
Some brands do this naturally — or strategically — already:
91X is famous for finding ways to drift away from the middle to create identity
KUPD, WJJO, and KILO stay louder, heavier, and unapologetically themselves
KROQ has a Latin show, KLOS has Whiplash, Live 105 has local
RockTernative can’t live full-time in the middle. It never has. The real treasure that brings identity, passion, and loyalty — that’s found on the edges, and by not being afraid of the PPM shadow.
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Andrew Boris, host of The Boris Show on Townsquare Classic Rock WPDH/Poughkeepsie, knows a thing or two about local radio. Being local is a slippery concept in radio. Generally, everyone agrees that a local radio show is stronger than a nationally syndicated one. That is unless the local show isn’t entertaining or fails to take advantage of being local by focusing on the local community. But the challenge is putting a finger on what really defines being local. Some shows talk about news and events taking place in the area. Others focus on stories from the hosts’ lives which, naturally, take place in the local community. And there’s always the opportunity to get involved with charitable causes to make a show more ingrained in the city.
If you want to find a show that does all of that and more, the role model for being a truly local morning radio show must be The Boris Show. “The show is hyper local,” says Boris, “We are a conduit for information about the Hudson Valley. If it’s something that’s happening in the area we are talking about it, commenting on it, and taking calls on it.”
Boris has been hosting mornings in the area for a long time. Before taking over the show on WPDH with then co-host Robyn Taylor, he was on in the same daypart on sister station WRRV. He’s seen a lot of change in how information flows, which played a big role in the hyper focus on being local. “Back in the day it was easy to rip a story off the AP wire and be the first to tell listeners what was going on with George Clooney,” he remembers. “Now, by the time people come to us they know everything that’s going on in the world. The only thing we can truly offer is the local angle, on everything.”
While many shows want to embrace a local approach like Boris has, they often have a hard time finding content to talk about. He says the problem could be that they are accidentally dismissing topics that are great for radio. “If it’s something I care about, the listeners probably care about it too,” Boris says. “And I’ve found I really care about things like whether or not that parking lot is going to be closed next week or whether I get utensils with my order from the fast food place.”
He didn’t always see that type of topic as show worthy. “Those are things I would discount in the past as not really being for the air but if you care and you have a good conversation about it, people will want to chime in and talk about it. There really is no topic that’s too small, but that can be a hard thing to get into your head in the beginning.”
Regardless of how big or small, there is a process for bringing any topic to the air and it starts with Boris. “I work out in my head ahead of time what my take on the topic is going to be or what would be a funny take. Then I present it to my co-host during the show. I don’t prepare them ahead of time because their reaction wouldn’t be spontaneous.”
After his long-time co-host Robyn Taylor had to step away from the show for personal reasons — she has since rejoined in a scaled back role — Boris and news person Bobby Welber were joined by a new second chair, Jana Deak, a former TV anchor from Albany. Despite not being from the area, Boris says Deak’s arrival has reinvigorated the local approach to the show. “It breathes life into the show,” Boris exclaims. “There’s all these things we’ve been talking about for the last fifteen years on the show that I can revisit because I now have someone new to introduce them to. It’s like the show started from zero all over again.”
Another big part of the show that helps drive the local feel is the number of guests Boris has on. While many hosts prefer not to bring in guests, Boris welcomes people regularly. “I love guests, especially people who’ve never been on the radio before. I like talking to the kid who can do a Rubik’s Cube with his feet and just got the record or a group that came up with some crazy fundraiser idea.”
With years of practice, he says the process is generally smooth. And if the interview starts to get off track, Boris is ready. “I have no problem politely interrupting people if I can tell they’re going the wrong way.” The result is a tight piece of local content, rarely longer than three or four minutes, and a happy guest. “We always get all the information out and the guests always say ‘that was easy. I didn’t even feel like I was on the radio.'” Boris adds that Jana’s addition has been great for interviews because she has a background in television news. “She knows exactly what questions to ask and when to ask them to keep the conversation going.”
Also bringing the show closer to the local community is their involvement with local veterans’ charities. It started with Tommy Zurhellen, a local vet who walked across the country from California back to his home in the Hudson Valley to raise awareness of veteran suicide issues. “He walked 23 miles a day because that’s the number of veterans who take their lives every day.” It started with Zurhellen calling in during his journey and grew into a commitment to support veterans’ charities in the area, including segueing an annual toy drive into collecting gift cards for veterans at the holidays. “We also do a monthly Vets Than Rock program with $500 going to a different veteran’s-related charity every month.”
While WPDH is in the process of celebrating fifty years on the air, Boris says he’s not very nostalgic and prefers looking forward to and talking about the future of radio. “I don’t think anyone knows exactly what radio will look like in the future, but I do know that local content will be something that becomes even more important as there’s even more clutter out there.” He feels that stations in small and mid-sized markets have a decided advantage, as there are already a lot of people dissecting what’s going on in large cities like New York and Los Angeles. “There’s nothing left to talk about. But here in Poughkeepsie we’re the only ones talking about what’s going on.”
But most importantly, Boris says he plans to keep making radio — in whatever form or fashion it takes — for one exceptionally good reason. “It’s still fun,” he says, which in today’s climate isn’t always easy to remember. So, he works hard to maintain his perspective. “It’s really important to remember that this is a cool, fun job. There’s so much extra stuff I have to do now, but I do it so I can be on the air.” And that’s when it’s all worth it. “When I’m on the air I try to stay focused and in the moment because I know it won’t last forever. I’m just enjoying every minute of it.”
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