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The Return To KNBR I Never Saw Coming

John Lund
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The Return To KNBR I Never Saw Coming

One thing I’ve tried to avoid since I started writing for Barrett Media is making these columns about me. There are enough people in this business who think they’re the story. The story should be about the industry. The people in it. Moreover, the trends shaping where sports media is going. This week, though, I’m making a rare exception because, for better or worse, I became part of the story. There are certain moments in this business you never forget. The one where you get hired. The one where you get fired. And if you stay in sports media long enough, there’s the one where the same station that let you go calls and asks if you’d like to come back. If it were only that simple.

After about eighteen months away, I’m returning to KNBR radio in San Francisco. If you had asked me in November 2024, when I was told my position was being eliminated, whether I’d ever work there again, I would have laughed. Not because I didn’t like being at KNBR. Quite the opposite. I honestly believed that chapter of my career had ended.

That’s one thing this business teaches you quickly. We spend our careers talking about coaches getting fired, players getting traded, and executives getting shown the door. We tell listeners it’s “just business” so often that the phrase almost loses its meaning. Then one day, you’re the one cleaning out your office, explaining to your family what comes next, and suddenly those words don’t sound nearly as simple.

I moved on. I didn’t spend the last year and a half sitting by the phone hoping it would ring. Instead, I started writing this column, started doing a national and local radio show, and earned my real estate license. Also, I launched a YouTube channel, got involved in podcast networks, and found other ways to stay connected to the business I’ve loved for more than thirty years.

Did I miss doing daily radio? Every single day. But I wasn’t waiting for someone to save me. I accepted that chapter had possibly closed and figured life was taking me in a different direction.

Then the phone rang. They wanted me to come back and take over my old time slot.

The Why

Since the news became public, the question I’ve heard more than any other is, “Why would you go back?”

I understand why people ask. The answer is simple. I love radio, sports, and preparing for a show. I love walking into a studio with four hours to fill and no idea where the conversation might take us. The connection with listeners, the breaking news, the debates, the laughs, and even the days when nothing goes according to plan. I love it all.

If you’ve spent more than thirty years doing something you genuinely love, getting another opportunity to do it isn’t something you take lightly.

I can’t wait to reconnect with Bay Area sports fans and do what I’ve loved for more than three decades. Radio has never simply been a job to me. It’s been my life’s work. After everything that’s happened over the last year and a half, I’m genuinely excited to be back in the game.

If that were the whole story, I wouldn’t be writing this column.

Greg Papa

The reason this return has been so emotional has very little to do with radio and everything to do with the voice of the 49ers and my longtime radio partner, Greg Papa. Greg isn’t just the Bay Area’s most iconic sports voice. He’s one of my closest friends.

Right now, he’s fighting the biggest battle of his life. Like so many people who know and love him, I’ve spent the last several months hoping and praying for better news. There are some things infinitely bigger than ratings, time slots, and radio stations.

That’s why this opportunity feels different. Under normal circumstances, I’d simply be writing about how excited I am to return to KNBR. These aren’t normal circumstances. I’m taking over Greg’s time slot. If I could trade this opportunity tomorrow for my friend to be healthy, thriving, back behind a microphone doing what he loves, calling touchdowns and analyzing double-deep zones, I’d make that trade in a heartbeat.

That’s why this return has brought emotions I honestly didn’t know could exist at the same time. I’m genuinely excited, and I’m genuinely sad. Life doesn’t always hand you clean decisions. Sometimes the happiest professional moments of your life arrive wrapped in circumstances you wish were completely different.

A Decision

I’ve seen some of the reactions online. One person told me I should be ashamed. Another questioned whether I had any self-respect. I don’t get angry reading those comments because I understand them. From the outside, people see a headline and think they know the story. The truth is, they know some of it. They’re not supposed to know all of it.

One of the reasons people become frustrated with the media is because we spend so much time explaining everyone else’s decisions. They assume ours should come with the same level of access. They don’t.

Career decisions involve family, friendships, timing and conversations that aren’t meant for public consumption. There are parts of this story that belong to me, and there are parts that belong to other people. Out of respect for those people, they’ll stay there. I’ve reached a place in my life where I don’t feel the need to convince everyone that I’ve made the right decision.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was incredibly simple: You do you. People are entitled to their opinions. I’m the one who must live with mine.

What I can tell you is this all happened fast. There weren’t months of soul-searching or some elaborate comeback plan. One phone call changed everything, and suddenly I found myself trying to process excitement, gratitude, sadness, and hope all at once. I honestly thought I’d experienced everything this profession had to offer. I’ve been hired. Fired. Changed cities. Changed stations. Worked local radio. Worked national radio. Been the boss. Written stories. Done television, podcasts, and digital media.

I figured I’d checked every box this crazy business had.

Sports is full of comeback stories. We celebrate them every day. What we don’t always acknowledge is that comebacks are rarely clean. They come with history, baggage, and relationships. They come with emotions that don’t fit neatly into a headline or a social media post.

That’s where I find myself today. I’m excited to be back in the game, grateful for another opportunity. I’m confident I can earn the trust of Bay Area listeners all over again. More than anything, I’m hopeful my friend Greg Papa wins the only battle that really matters.

After more than thirty years in this crazy business, I honestly thought I’d seen everything.

Turns out, I hadn’t.

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.

20 Brands In 20 Days: Mike Street, WPGC, Washington D.C.

David Hill
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20 Brands In 20 Days: Mike Street, WPGC, Washington D.C.

“You have to be a bit more discerning these days. Every song is not a hit. The talent is the binder, and in a lot of instances, it’s the talent that’s actually the entertainment.”

There’s something you need to know about mainstream hip hop and R&B radio in 2026. The format is drowning in a myth. That myth says if you play everything new, you’ll get ratings. But Mike Street, the Format VP for Mainstream Hip Hop and R&B at WPGC in Washington D.C., is calling that bluff. He’s been in radio long enough to remember when gatekeeping wasn’t a dirty word. Importantly, he’s watched the format deteriorate because everyone forgot what made it matter.

The Gatekeeper Returns

More than 30 years in the business, from college radio at the University of Richmond to the VP chair, Mike Street has seen the industry make every mistake in the playbook. Specifically, he’s worked across multiple ownership changes and watched stations abandon their core audiences. Now, he’s at one of the most legendary stations in radio history — the place where Donnie Simpson built something that actually mattered. WPGC is a destination. Ultimately, Mike Street wants to keep it that way.

Mike started in college radio in 1989 at WDCE. Then he moved to WCDX in Richmond and climbed the ladder the old-fashioned way: music director, program director, eventually programming multiple stations. When Audacy called him to become the Format VP, it wasn’t a jolt. He had already been helping WPGC find its footing for a year and a half.

The biggest misconception about mainstream hip hop and R&B, according to Mike, is exactly what’s killing the format elsewhere. “The main misconception is that you can just play all of the new stuff and get ratings. Every song is not a hit,” he says flatly. “For a while, especially with mainstream hip hop and R&B, if it was new, you could just play it and it worked. But you have to be a bit more discerning these days.”

This matters because the music industry no longer has an FDA. There’s no quality control. Consequently, the gatekeeping that used to separate hits from filler disappeared. That’s good news for independent artists. However, it’s terrible news for radio stations that think quantity equals success.

The Sneaker Store Philosophy

Mike uses a metaphor that perfectly captures his approach. It’s simple, yet it’s a worldview. “I try to treat it like a sneaker store,” he explains. “There’s a reason why all of the Nikes are in the front and all of the Adidas are in the front, and there’s very few off brands in the store because you try to give people what they want.”

That means the foundation is songs you know — songs listeners can actually sing. You hit them with hits. Then you sprinkle in new music from their favorite artists. Additionally, you get clever about research. Mike lives on social media. He watches what’s resonating with his demo. When he sees people in his audience posting music from a particular song, he investigates. That’s not gambling. That’s strategy.

“You’re gonna miss a song here and there,” he says. “But if you see a lot of people who listen to your station putting music from that song on their posts, then you know you have to do some investigation and see if that’s something you might want to add to your arsenal.”

The Talent Arsenal

When you ask Mike about WPGC’s on-air lineup, he lights up. After all, this isn’t a station that cost a fortune to build. This is a station that decided to believe.

Todd B, Sherrell Duncan, and Nori Nori anchor the morning show. Guy Lambert handles news and television work. Poet does middays and lives in the community — at nonprofits, civic organizations, government events. She’s everywhere at once. DJ Flex anchors afternoons. Flex has been at WPGC for 30 years. Thirty years in one city, at one station. That’s not a contract. That’s a commitment. Furthermore, DJ Academics anchors nights and resonates with younger listeners. He’s the bike guy. He connects.

Here’s what matters: the part-timers could fill any of those seats if anything changed. That’s not filler. That’s depth. “The talent is the binder,” Mike says, and he’s not exaggerating. “In a lot of instances, the talent is the entertainment. You’re not going to get any information from the music. It’s the talent that gives you the information. It’s the talent that lets you know what’s going on. It’s the talent that makes you feel welcome.”

Building a Station That Actually Matters

Mike doesn’t do generic promotions. Every contest, every giveaway, every campaign must have a thumbprint on it. When WPGC did a bike fest event locally, it wasn’t just another event. The talent promoted it. The partners showed up on time. Notably, the headliner — Scooby the Godson — wasn’t just an artist getting paid. He was a partner helping carry the brand.

Nationally, Mike pairs the station with massive moments. For instance, a flyaway to Vegas to see Chris Brown and Usher. But notice how he frames it: “We’re not sending you to Vegas to see Chris Brown and Usher. We’re sending you to the entertainment capital of the world to get away. You’re tired of being here. You need this.”

That’s not a promo. That’s empathy.

The Barber Shop Principle

This is where everything connects. Mike talks about wanting to sit in the barber shop or beauty salon with his listeners. Not talking at them. Talking with them. Making it through the day together.

That means the voice guy doesn’t read a script. Instead, he has a conversation. That means the promos sound realistic because they sound like actual human beings. Importantly, when you work at WPGC, you understand that you’re not above your audience. You’re part of your audience.

“You don’t want to sound like you’re sitting up at a podium,” Mike explains. “You’re hanging. You’re just trying to make it through the day together.”

And when he talks about music, he’s clear about what matters now: “Everybody gets it at the exact same time. If you do get it early, it’s embargoed until the exact same time. So it’s making sure that you know your audience well enough to know what songs to play, have a good idea of what new songs they may like, and have a talented enough staff to hold their attention every two or three minutes at a time.”

The Formula That Actually Works

Here’s what Mike Street understands that a lot of radio has forgotten: talent is secondary to nothing. Music is secondary. The people matter. The connection matters. Certainly, you can have the best playlist in the world, but if your talent isn’t strong enough to get listeners to come back when the song isn’t great, you’ve lost.

At WPGC, they’re not chasing trends. They’re not trying to be something they’re not. They’re loaded with talent. Moreover, they have a clear philosophy. And they understand that in a market often treated as disposable, being indispensable means being real.

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.

Spotify’s Skip Ahead Feature Isn’t The Threat Podcasting Thinks It Is

John Mamola
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Spotify’s Skip Ahead Feature Isn’t The Threat Podcasting Thinks It Is

When you think about consumers’ biggest complaints today, what are your top three guesses? While you think about your answers, we’ll take a break for a message from our sponsors. There’s no question that advertisements and commercials are among consumers’ biggest complaints across every form of media. With more people spending more time consuming content live and on demand, there’s more advertising inventory to sell.

In podcasting, survival is largely based on advertising. Monetization depends on impressions, downloads, and audience reach. Now, reports indicate Spotify is working on a skip-ahead feature that would allow users to bypass advertisements in podcasts. After the news surfaced, there was immediate outrage over how the feature could threaten the podcast industry itself. In reality, though, this concept is nothing new in the on-demand audio space.

According to reporting by Podnews, the skip-ahead feature would be available to Premium users in select markets. A button would appear while using the app during sponsored messages, ad breaks, intros and even mentions of premium subscriptions.

To be clear, Spotify has not officially announced the feature. However, the reaction surrounding it has been fascinating.

Things To Know

First, the tool would reportedly only be available to Premium users. That means you have to pay an elevated fee to Spotify for the option to use it. Ask yourself this: How many times have you paid for a premium product that promised an ad-free experience only to discover it still included advertising? It’s happened plenty of times to me.

Name any streaming service you subscribe to. Consumers now expect that even premium subscriptions may include commercials. By adding a skip-ahead option as part of the package I’m already paying for, Spotify is simply giving me the choice to listen through the ads or move past them.

Second, that’s exactly what this is: a choice. According to the reporting, it’s also limited to the Spotify app. Most people aren’t sitting with their phone in hand waiting for an ad break so they can tap a button. The feature simply gives Premium users another option to control their listening experience.

Third, isn’t it common practice to scroll through advertising breaks on most podcast apps anyway? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at the airport and simply scrolled right through the commercials to jump back into the content. There’s no premium account required, just a progress bar and a quick swipe.

However, according to podcast analytics company Bumper, less than 10% of ad breaks are actually skipped. That’s a surprisingly low number and one that should lessen the concern surrounding this feature.

Concern Not Crisis

From a creator’s standpoint, I understand the concern. But it should remain just that: concern, not a full-blown threat. If enough people begin skipping advertisements, those ads become less effective. Advertisers may decide not to return, leading to fewer sponsors and less revenue throughout the podcast industry.

But podcast advertising has never succeeded because listeners couldn’t skip the ads. It has succeeded because of the trust creators have built with the audiences they serve. Podcast sponsorships are often delivered by the hosts themselves and woven naturally into the conversation. They’re recommendations from people listeners have chosen to spend time with episode after episode.

It’s nearly impossible to duplicate that type of one-on-one relationship anywhere else in digital media.

The skip-ahead concept isn’t revolutionary. I skip ads on YouTube all the time, and chances are you’ve done the same. Many people would use a similar feature if given the opportunity. Others will continue listening. Either way, podcasting’s foundation has never been built on forcing people to hear advertisements. It’s built on the relationship between creator and listener.

A Challenge

So yes, there’s going to be plenty of noise about Spotify’s reported skip-ahead feature. There will be predictions that podcast advertising is doomed and concerns that creators will lose the revenue that fuels the industry. But if a single button is enough to break the relationship between a creator and an audience, then that relationship probably wasn’t as strong as we thought.

The best podcasters have never built successful businesses because listeners were forced to hear their ads. They’ve succeeded because they’ve earned trust. They make audiences want to stick around, even through the sponsorships, because those recommendations feel authentic rather than intrusive.

Instead of treating this as a crisis, creators should view it as an opportunity.

Strengthen the connection with your audience. Make sponsorships feel like part of the conversation instead of an interruption. Give listeners another reason to stay engaged. Technology will continue to evolve, and consumers will always have more control over how they consume content. The creators who thrive won’t be the ones fighting those changes. They’ll be the ones building relationships strong enough to outlast them.

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.

38 Years After Rush Limbaugh, Is News/Talk Radio Stuck in the Past?

Pete Mundo
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38 Years After Rush Limbaugh, Is News/Talk Radio Stuck in the Past?

As I was scrolling through Facebook this week, one of those posts from a page I don’t even follow — but that the algorithm fed into my feed — popped up. It noted that it had been 38 years since the late Rush Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated radio show, The Rush Limbaugh Show, debuted on August 1, 1988.

To put this into perspective, that was 23 days before I was born. As I thought about the power Rush had on the radio landscape — and specifically, the news/talk radio format he basically single-handedly created and made mainstream — I couldn’t help but come to a conclusion: the format has done very little to innovate beyond what it’s been for nearly four decades.

Some may interpret my conclusion as a slight against Limbaugh. Actually, it’s the opposite — it’s admiration for what Limbaugh built: a wildly successful format across the country. But at the same time, it feels like there hasn’t been much, if any, evolution over four decades.

A Format Stuck in 1988

There are still successful shows around the country with one mic, one voice, conservative values, national politics, and maybe a kicker topic or two sprinkled in. There’s nothing more powerful than an excellent monologue from a talented host on the big news of the day. But at some point, shouldn’t we ask whether news/talk radio has become too comfortable relying on the same formula?

Think about how dramatically other forms of media have evolved over the last 38 years. Television news looks different. Sports media looks different. Podcasts have exploded into every imaginable niche. Social media has changed how audiences consume information and interact with personalities. Yet much of news/talk radio today would be instantly recognizable to a listener from the early 1990s.

That’s not because Rush got it wrong — it’s actually because he was so right, and so successful, that an entire industry spent decades trying to replicate it.

The challenge is that replication isn’t innovation.

Looking for New Ways to Innovate

What would that look like? I don’t pretend to have all the answers. Maybe it’s more audience interaction beyond phone calls. Maybe it’s hosts who can seamlessly move between politics, culture, sports, and entertainment, because that’s how audiences actually consume content today. That formula seems far more common on podcast and YouTube platforms (i.e., OutKick, Barstool, Stephen A. Smith), where a host leans into a politics/news/sports/culture blend that broadens the topics of a show while still making the host the star and focus of every discussion.

Personality-driven content is king right now, but the modernization of it seems to be happening more frequently on platforms other than radio.

In the meantime, as big music shows continue to fall by the wayside in markets across the country, there may be more opportunity to tap into some of the conversations that have successfully defined music shows for so many years.

How can a host and show incorporate more key voices when necessary and appropriate? What are some new and creative ways to interact with an audience? Phone calls are a great way to get new voices on the show, if the caller brings something to the table. But are there other ways to interact beyond just a text line or social media? If you’re streaming on YouTube, how valuable do those comments become? Can you run social media polls that are discussed on air and engage the audience on any topic of the day?

Whatever the answer is, it probably won’t be discovered by doing the exact same thing we’ve done since August 1988.

Rediscovering Broadcasting’s Broad Appeal

And let’s not forget, podcasting and YouTube have become the home of niche content. That raises an important question for news/talk radio: Is it time to rediscover the value of being broad in broadcasting?

Rush Limbaugh built the blueprint for modern news/talk radio. It’s one of the most remarkable achievements in broadcasting history, and it built careers for hundreds of successful hosts around the nation. But the fact that many are still following nearly the same blueprint almost four decades later raises another question: Are we building on the blueprint, or are we simply preserving it?

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.

Why Layoffs at Cumulus Highlight One of Radio’s Biggest Lies to Employees

Garrett Searight
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Why Layoffs at Cumulus Highlight One of Radio’s Biggest Lies to Employees

Cumulus Media enacted another round of layoffs this week, cutting sales, programming, and podcasting staff across multiple markets while the company waits on FCC approval to close out its Chapter 11 restructuring.

It’s the second gut-punch in as many months. Westwood One, a Cumulus subsidiary, trimmed its own staff last month. Together, the cuts land as the latest reminder that no corner of this industry is safe from the balance sheet.

I’ve watched these announcements roll in for years now, and they never get easier to read. Names attached to real careers, real mortgages, real lives get reduced to a line item. And yet, somewhere in a break room or a Zoom call at a station that hasn’t been hit yet, a manager is probably telling their team, “We’re a family.”

I need you to run the other way when you hear it. Or at minimum, dust off your resume.

We Are Not A Family

We’re not a family. This is a business, and businesses don’t behave like families do.

My maternal grandfather was born during the Great Depression. He was one of eight kids. Do you know how many of his siblings my great-grandparents left on the side of the road because they couldn’t afford to keep them anymore? It’s zero. It never happened. Do you know why? Because when you’re a family, you can’t and don’t cut someone out just because it’s better for the household finances.

Companies don’t operate that way, and radio has proven it again and again. When times get lean, someone gets cut loose — not because they failed, but because the math says so. Cumulus is Exhibit A this week. iHeartMedia and Audacy have already gone through layoffs, and very well could again before the end of the year. That’s how the cycle goes.

So when a manager reaches for “family” language, they’re borrowing warmth from a relationship their employer has no intention of honoring.

Watch What Comes Next

Pay attention to what usually follows that phrase. In my experience, it’s rarely gratitude. It’s an ask. More airshifts, more production, more responsibility covering for a role that got eliminated — often without a raise attached. The “family” talk is emotional cover. It’s designed to make you feel like the ungrateful one if you push back or ask for more money.

That’s not culture-building. That’s a persuasion tactic, and a fairly transparent one once you’ve heard it a few times.

Now, I’ll grant that not every manager who says it is being cynical. Plenty genuinely want a workplace built on loyalty, connection, and shared purpose. Their instincts aren’t malicious. But even well-meaning “family” talk tends to run one direction. Employees get asked to sacrifice. Employees get asked to be team players. Rarely does that same grace flow back when a restructuring plan needs a number to shrink. Or when an employee is in a situation where it needs the company to pick up the slack or look out for them for a time.

This industry calls itself the radio business, the media business, the broadcast industry. Nobody calls it the media family. That’s not an accident. Words get chosen because they’re accurate. “Business” is accurate. It tells you exactly what kind of relationship you’re in, and what kind of decisions will get made when a lender needs its debt reduced or a P&L needs to look better by Q4.

If your company genuinely valued you the way a family would, this week’s headlines out of Cumulus would read differently. They don’t. Longtime hosts, program directors, sales leaders — years of tenure didn’t buy any of them protection this time, and it won’t next time either.

So here’s my advice, plain and simple: keep your resume current, keep your network warm, and don’t mistake a manager’s language for a guarantee. Be a great employee. Work hard. Build real relationships with the people beside you — those are worth protecting. But don’t confuse your employer with your family, because your employer never will.

Businesses cut costs. Families don’t cut members. The moment somebody in leadership blurs that line, believe the business, not the buzzword.

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.

Lynn Barstow: Alternative Radio Programming Legend

Mike Stern
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Lynn Barstow: Alternative Radio Programming Legend

Alternative may be the toughest radio format to program. Since catching fire in the early nineties thanks to the Seattle grunge explosion, stations have had to chase the constantly changing musical preferences of a fickle audience. That challenge has created well-known industry stars and chased people away from the medium. In between those extremes, there are some people who have quietly navigated the format’s quirks since the heyday — like Lynn Barstow, Program Director of Waterloo Media Alternative KROX/Austin.

Barstow started programming Alternative radio in the early nineties at the legendary KNNC/Austin, the market’s first commercial Alternative station. The station’s ratings weren’t great, but there was a reason. “If you go back to 1991, (Alternative stations) were the hottest thing ever. We even got ratings on a station that no one could hear. And by ratings, I mean a two share. But seriously, you couldn’t hear it. I don’t know how we got those numbers unless cows were getting diaries.”

After stopping at Alternative stations in Omaha and Tulsa, Barstow returned to Austin. He took over the station known as 101x over twenty years ago. During that time, he’s witnessed the audience change quite a bit. “The audience used to define themselves by the radio station they listened to,” he says. “Now they’re likely to define themselves by fifty other categories before they get to their favorite radio station. We’ve gone from being hot shots to fighting for share of voice or to even be known at all.”

Meanwhile, he’s not sure current Alternative music — or at least what’s coming from the record industry — is helping. He feels many songs come to the format either because the label isn’t sure it will work at pop or because there’s not a format that really supports current rock music. “It feels like, in those cases, they decide it must be alternative. If we just play what they ask us to play and we don’t clearly define ourselves, then our audience can’t know what we are.”

The Value of Talent

Since the music isn’t sending a clear message, Barstow feels the key to defining a station and garnering attention has shifted to the hosts. “We’re a long way from John Hughes soundtracks, from Seattle and from 120 minutes being a thing,” he says. “Now I think the best thing that we can do is to have personalities that matter. It may be that listeners don’t know what kind of music 101X plays but hopefully they like (KROX morning hosts) Trevin and Sawyer.”

However, between the shifting media landscape and budgetary constraints, that’s not an easy road. “I’ve identified a couple of young people who have big personalities and great social media presences.” They also really talk to people well in public. When he asked them about being on the air, their response amounted to, “I don’t have time for that.”

While 101X is currently building a new morning show with the recent launch of The Morning X with Trevin on the Radio and Sawyer Stull, the station for many years had a dominant morning team with Jason Dick and Deb O’Keefe. Unlike many morning shows on Alternative stations that might be talented but not particularly reflect the format, Barstow says that team was a good fit. “The were an Alternative morning show. They talked about the things that cool people in a cool town talked about and that’s what made it alternative. They reflected the market well.”

Ultimately, the impact of the show stretched beyond their daypart. “They had a bigger than life quality that really elevated the station. All the day parts did better when that show was at its best,” says Barstow. “We’ve had some years since that show’s been gone and the station hasn’t flirted with the success we had when they were here. And even though I probably knew this subconsciously, I didn’t realize how difficult it had been to get to that point and how hard it is to get back there.”

That said, he’s excited about the new show, and it is working with them through some early development challenges. “Neither of them has done a personality-driven show before, not in the way we want the 101X show to be.

Stull was part of the all-talk morning show on sister station KLBJ-FM. Currently, he’s being challenged to keep things more concise. Meanwhile, this is Trevin’s first time in a high-personality daypart. That comes with a few challenges, like not being too cool for the room. “They assume the audience is just like them. But they aren’t because (listeners) have one billion other things to do besides listening to the radio. So, talent have to make their best appeal for attention and then hold it for as long as they can.”

Austin Just Isn’t as Weird

Undoubtedly, an additional hurdle Barstow faces is how Austin has changed. Home of the South by Southwest convention and Austin City Limits, the city used to be incredibly unique. There even used to be a movement predicated on the slogan Keep Austin Weird. But Barstow says things have changed significantly. “There are a lot of newcomers who didn’t grow up with the radio stations in town. And its newcomers of all types: California techies; Houston and Dallas people looking for a somewhat calmer place to live; and a lot of service industry folks.”

Certainly, that diversity is a big departure from the past. The city’s predominant employers used to be the University of Texas and state government. It was a very white-collar city which made it easier to find Alternative fans. “You’d go out and virtually all you would see were government workers, people who worked at the school and college students,” Barstow says. “Now it’s a construction boomtown, and we’ve got a massive automotive fabrication plant here, and a lot of people are doing fabrication jobs for tech companies who don’t need college degrees. They’re not necessarily in the same qualitative profile that alternative rock shot for 20 years ago.”

As for the Keep Austin Weird movement, it’s lost on many newcomers. “That slogan is about thirty years old. I think there are people who don’t know anything about it aside from t-shirts in vintage shops,” he says. “There are a lot of folks who believe that Austin is Anytown USA because they weren’t here before.”

Going Beyond Alternative

Additionally, Barstow does have a long history with the Alternative format. Don’t pigeonhole him as a one-trick pony. Over the years he spent time in pop radio, programmed a Classic Hip Hop station, worked in AAA, and nine months ago he took over legendary Classic Rock KLBJ-FM. The station, which has been playing Rock since 1973, has a lot of latitude with listeners after 53 years. “We can kind of be anything we want to be, which means if we want to try to steal the mantle a little bit from the non-com AAA, we can do that here and there.”

Furthermore, Barstow adds that the station’s roots run deep in Austin’s music history. “We were here with so many important artists dating all the way back to the seventies,” he says. “Those acts were part of the music culture on the station. We’ve got more of a connection to Austin music than 101X could ever have because Stevie Ray Vaughan walked the halls.”

That heritage has amazing power. Additionally, the station finds unique ways to point it out on the air. For example, one produced piece talks about how since 1973 there have been five locations for the legendary bar Antone’s but only one KLBJ. In turn, the audience is responsive to the station that has always been part of their lives. “The KLBJ-FM audience can be mobilized,” Barstow says. “You can get them to do stuff because the station has more of a personal connection. Therefore, if we say you should do this, we can get people off their couches on a Saturday to help at the food bank. So, we take advantage of the fact that the audience is still willing to do that.”

Similarly, like 101X once had, KLBJ-FM has a huge AM drive presence. Thanks to Mornings with Matt and Bob (powered by Chuy), it consistently pulls big ratings. “The station does enjoy top of mind awareness from having that tentpole morning show. It gives us a connection to the audience that just being a music jukebox can’t provide.”

Keys to Programming Success

When asked how he manages to program such a wide range of formats, Barstow shares his philosophy. Essentially, the key is solid fundamentals. “Doing good radio is propping up your talent. It’s making sure that it’s clear what music messages you’re trying to deliver. It’s being able to identify your potential community and appeal directly to them.”

And while he calls it propping up talent, managing people is a big part of success for any programmer and Barstow must be good at it considering that when his contract wasn’t renewed, former 101X morning host Jason Dick’s social post called Barstow “the perfect boss.” He explains that his approach is simple: let talent be talent. “I try to provide them support, because I know that it’s hard to bring your life to the air on a consistent basis. And if (Jason Dick) was saying nice things about me, I think it was because he knew that I respected him.”

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.

How Mark Kaye Turned A Podcast Tool Into An AI Subscription Platform

Garrett Searight
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How Mark Kaye Turned A Podcast Tool Into An AI Subscription Platform

Mark Kaye has spent two decades behind a microphone in Jacksonville, Florida, building a reputation as a conservative talk show host who doesn’t shy away from a fight. Now the host of Mark Kaye Saves the Republic is taking on two new battles at once — one against what he sees as media dishonesty, and another against a sitting congressman.

Kaye recently sat down to discuss both projects: RightPen.AI, an artificial intelligence tool he built to flag what he calls omission-based bias in news coverage, and his primary campaign against Rep. John Rutherford in Florida’s 4th Congressional District. Both, he said, stem from the same frustration with institutions he believes have stopped listening to the people they’re supposed to serve.

The AI tool came first, and it grew out of Kaye’s own on-air fact-checking process.

“Most people know that the media is lying to them all the time, and this AI tool shows them exactly how, and it’s not your traditional lie,” said Kaye. “Because basically what happens is, if somebody lies to you, you can realize it. But if they’re withholding information from you, it’s tough to figure out. You don’t know you’re being lied to if they’re just changing the narrative by not telling you the whole truth.”

From Personal Tool to Consumer App

That gap between outright falsehood and selective storytelling is what RightPen.AI was designed to close. Kaye said the idea didn’t start as a business venture — it started as a way to check his own work before he went on the air.

“I started using it for my own show, for my podcast. I was trying to verify claims. And I would read these articles from CNN or Washington Post and I’d go, this just doesn’t seem right,” Kaye said. “As I realized that, as I was running it through these various different AI platforms, I built myself a tool. And I could just take any article immediately, I could take any headline, I could take any tweet, and I could just instantly see what was wrong.”

What began as a personal shortcut turned into something he opened up to his audience, and the response pushed him to formalize it.

“As I started using it on my show and I started showing people how it worked too, so we turned it into a consumer product and a consumer app,” the Congressional hopeful shared. “Now we’ve got a thousand people plus all over the world using it every day.”

Kaye said building the tool itself was far less complicated than people assume, crediting accessible AI development platforms for cutting his timeline down dramatically. One feature in particular, inspired by a high school memory, became a favorite among users.

“I’ll be honest with you, it took me probably about 48 hours to get it where I wanted it to, and it’s just using simple tools online,” Kaye said. “One of the key features that I love is that when I was in high school, my teacher would always mark up my term paper with a big red marker and correct all the things that were wrong. So we’ve added that. And if you take a headline from the Washington Post or the AP, for example, it’ll actually rewrite it and cross out what’s wrong.”

That feature has already produced a real-world result, according to Kaye, who pointed to a headline correction involving the Associated Press.

“We got the Associated Press to change one of their headlines about the Supreme Court because we posted the RightPen.AI correction online, and within 30 minutes, they updated their headline,” Kaye said.

Beyond fact-checking, Kaye said the tool now powers a lighter feature built directly from listener requests, tapping into the frustrations people face on social media every day.

“We have an online community, a Facebook community, and they say, ‘Hey, can you do this? Hey, can you do that?’ One of the most fun things that we do is called ‘Reply Mode’, because a lot of people were using it for the snarky replies they got on their Facebook feed or the mean tweets and DMs,” Kaye said. “So Reply Mode will give you, in Mark Kaye fashion, true Mark Kaye tone, great replies to use online, and people really enjoy that as well.”

A Primary Fight Rooted in a Single Vote

While RightPen.AI has become part of Kaye’s daily production process, so has AI more broadly, especially when it comes to research and visual content for his two-man operation. Still, he’s drawn a clear line around what the technology touches.

“I’ll use it for research. For example, if I want to quickly find out every vote that a congressman voted on the wrong way, or if I want to find a list of all the senators who are currently up for reelection this year, it’s a great way to quickly get that kind of information on the fly,” Kaye said. “But that’s it. All the words I say are still my own and all the scripts are still my own and all the jokes are still my own.”

Kaye’s decision to challenge Rutherford traces back to a single, specific moment in Congress: the 2023 speaker fight following Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, when Rutherford was among a handful of Republicans who declined to back Jim Jordan.

“Everybody that listened to our show, everyone that was calling in, they all wanted Jim Jordan,” said Kaye. “John Rutherford, in my district, was one of them. I think he was the only one in Florida. So we got him on the phone, and we’re like, ‘Dude, we all want Jim Jordan. What are you doing?’ And he goes, ‘You don’t want Jim Jordan.'”

That exchange, Kaye said, sent him digging into Rutherford’s broader voting record, and what he found convinced him the congressman had lost touch with his district.

“We started to dig around. And we realized he did this a lot, and his votes weren’t vibing with what we thought they were vibing with, and he wasn’t talking to anybody,” Kaye said.

Kaye initially supported a previous challenger before being encouraged to run himself, leaning on two decades of on-air name recognition in the district.

“The only person that could beat this guy is a true conservative with a lot of local name recognition,” Kaye said, recalling the conversation. “I’ve been on the air here for 20 years in Jacksonville. So I did have the name recognition, and I am very conservative, so I challenged him, and it’s been going great.”

Running for office has taught Kaye plenty about the mechanics of a campaign, particularly the gap between what volunteers and donors are willing to give.

“The one thing that I’ve learned is it requires way more money than you could ever think, and that people would rather give you their time than their money,” Kaye said. “Volunteers are easy to get. Money is a little more difficult.”

Should he win the seat, Kaye said the show isn’t going anywhere — if anything, he expects it to improve with a front-row seat in Washington.

“Right now I get everything second hand. I get it off of Fox News or Newsmax or CNN, or somebody texts me and says, hey, did you know this is happening?” the Mark Kaye Saves the Republic host stated. “But if I’m there, it’ll be firsthand. It’s going to be me saying, guess who I bumped into in the hallway? Guess what I overheard in the congressional men’s room.”

For Kaye, both projects trace back to the same core belief: that institutions, whether newsrooms or Congress, have grown too comfortable ignoring the people they answer to.

“Politicians can no longer be quiet, and they can’t ignore social media, and they can’t ignore podcasts, and they can’t pretend like it’s business as usual,” Kaye said. “That’s why you’re seeing a lot more of these new younger tech savvy people pop up. And that’s another one of the reasons why I’m running.”

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.

Rock Station Crisis Management: Lessons From Taco Bell

Keith Cunningham
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Rock Station Crisis Management: Lessons From Taco Bell

I hope you haven’t had to go rounds with Cyclospora, the parasite known to cause cyclosporiasis — loosely nicknamed the Taco Bell virus, which causes… well, you know what it causes.

Unless you’ve been living in never-never land, you’ve heard that Taco Bell found themselves in the middle of a brand-image nightmare — a widespread health panic — after their shredded iceberg lettuce supplier, a company in Mexico, was linked to the cyclosporiasis outbreak across several states.

If you’re wondering what any of this has to do with Rocktnative audio, here’s the connection.

The Taco Bell Scenario

Put yourself in Taco Bell’s shoes. They didn’t grow the lettuce, didn’t clean it, didn’t shred it, and didn’t ship it. Instead, they paid a company to do all of it.

So it’s not really Taco Bell’s fault, right? They didn’t know parasites were on the lettuce. Perhaps they’re guilty-adjacent?

But here’s the reality: it doesn’t matter. No one cares about the details. Brands can share little or even no guilt, but when they get sucked into a vortex of nonstop negative PR, no one is letting facts or nuance get in the way. The damage is already done.

As expected, Taco Bell has seen a recent decline in sales. But don’t cry for them — they’ll be fine. This isn’t the first or last time they’ll be dragged for one reason or another, just like countless other brands. Furthermore, the Wall Street Journal already outlined their plan to win back customers.

What About Your Brand?

What if the CEO gets caught embezzling money? Or, what if the GM gets sloshed at the game and it ends up on the news? And if a staffer gets a DUI with a client? What if a PD accepts gifts for airplay? What if your afternoon show’s comments were taken out of context and the whole cycling world thought they were advocating murder (sorry, I had to get that off my chest)?

These things happen all the time. And unlike Taco Bell, the brand didn’t serve the GM drinks at the game. The brand never asked the staffer to drink and drive. The brand doesn’t allow payola. Neither the brand nor the afternoon show advocated the murder of cyclists.

Even if the brand didn’t light the fuse, it still gets hit by the explosion. Getting burned isn’t unique to radio or Taco Bell — it happens everywhere in our ecosystem.

It Can Even Happen to Bands

When one band member loses it, the ripple effect can cancel shows and halt revenue not just for the band, but also for their crew, label, management, promoters, and venues. All because one person made a mistake. The bassist gets arrested mid-tour. The guitarist melts down on stage. The singer punches a fan. The drummer can’t stay sober.

One person’s mistake becomes everyone’s crisis.

So What Do You Do?

The only thing brands can do is prepare before the crisis hits. Build goodwill now, while the skies are clear and the bassist hasn’t been arrested yet.

Show brand values publicly and live them — not just with slogans, but in how you treat listeners or fans. Be human on-air by answering calls, responding to texts and DMs — real connection builds trust you’ll need when the Chalupa goes bad. Invest in the community through fundraising for the sick, feeding or clothing people in need, and rescuing animals — these create reservoirs of goodwill you can draw from later. Be easy to root for: fun, honest, self-deprecating, self-aware, and neither too corporate nor too cool for the room. Keep the culture tight through expectations, goals, boundaries, accountability, and shared wins. A real team stands up for one another.

When things go sideways — and they eventually always do — you want your audience saying: “Give ’em a break. That brand, those people… they’re solid. They’ll fix this.”

The Taco Bell Effect

That’s what’s happening at Taco Bell. They’ll be fine because people love Taco Bell. They built a massive core audience by doing a lot of what’s noted above. Their fans will let this lettuce fiasco pass and be right back in line for the Luxe Meal Box with a Baja Blast.

Rock/Alternative brands need the same thing in their back pockets. You can’t prevent every mistake, but you can absolutely build a brand strong enough to survive them.

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.

Annie Camp on Authenticity, Motherhood, and Solo Mornings in Country Radio

Bethany Kent
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Annie Camp on Authenticity, Motherhood, and Solo Mornings in Country Radio

Annie Camp grew up watching her father host mornings on WTQR. She caught the radio bug early, but it took years behind her own mic to fully understand what she’d been watching as a kid.

Today Camp is the solo morning show host on Audacy‘s 93.1 The Wolf in Greensboro, NC. I met Camp through social media first and then at the Women in Radio conference held in Atlanta a few years ago. She’s someone who is constantly making me actually LOL on her Instagram. I wouldn’t have pinned Camp as a radio “nepo baby”, but I have always found that whenever I meet someone who has gotten into the business as a second-generation radio peep, they are here for the best reasons. The connection, the authenticity, the community. That’s Annie Camp.

“Part of the reason I fell in love with radio is that I watched my father connect with people, and I always thought it was so cool that my idol could get along with so many folks from all walks of life,” Camp said. “What I didn’t realize or appreciate was how authentic that connection was. My father didn’t have to try; he just did it.”

She’s carried that lesson forward. “Connection cannot be forced, and authenticity cannot be faked,” she said. “Listeners can cut right through your bull.”

Staying “Annie Camp” Instead of Building a Persona

Camp has resisted a manufactured on-air identity from day one. “I was never cocky – just confident in knowing that I knew who I was,” she said. “I understood the toll that being a ‘radio persona’ could take on someone, and I witnessed firsthand growing up around the people in this business that if you weren’t authentically you, it would break you down over time.”

Camp still lives and works in the community she grew up in. “I go to the small-town church, I walk the dog and wave at my neighbors, I scroll the same tiring social media, I drive the same pothole-ridden roads, and I experience every bit of life the same as anyone else,” she said. A former boss gave her advice she still repeats to herself. “‘People know Annie Camp…just be that,’ and as simple as that sounds, it resonated so hard with me.”

The Reality Behind a Solo Morning Show

Camp hosts entirely alone. “It’s literally just me. No producer, no one answering phones, not even an in-house PD,” she said. “I am the sole person representing this radio station locally and live every day.”

I asked her about how she preps for a solo show day in and day out. She tries to know “the biggest things that are happening in the world and [takes] the time to sort through them.” Camp said she will “pick and choose what I think a person on the other end would resonate with and try to spin it so it’s relatable to everyone.”

Camp admits the job rarely feels as smooth as it sounds on air. “Some days I honestly can’t believe I made it through another show alone, and I leave most days feeling like I could’ve done more. So, honey, if it sounds ‘effortless’ and not the hot mess express that I feel like it is, then that’s a blessing in itself.”

Navigating Country Radio as a Woman

Camp doesn’t dodge the double standard she feels as female hosting solo. “I believe many of my fellow women in radio feel they have to walk into work with something to prove because society has made us feel this way,” she said. “No matter how nice you are, no matter how much you try to fly the straight and narrow or keep your head down, you just aren’t always going to be someone’s cup of tea.”

She said the harshest judgment comes from the audience, not her superiors. “I can’t be too loud, I can’t be too opinionated, I can’t talk about myself too much, I can’t be too overweight,” she said. “There have been so many times when I’ve been torn down by the people I’m trying to love, while nothing was ever said about my coworkers, at least not publicly, as I experienced.”

Her response is to lean harder into herself. “I got my job by being exactly who I am – loud, silly, opinionated, personable, and relatable,” she said. “No one is going to dull the sparkle I spent years trying to make shine.”

Mornings With a Six-Month-Old in Tow

Camp is raising two children while working radio’s toughest shift. She says she is “a mom first; that is my most important job,” she said. “I make sure my older child has what he needs for the day, then I pack my six-month-old baby up, and we head into work together. I strap the baby to my chest, and we cut on the mic together.”

Local daycares don’t open early enough for her schedule, so she’s built her own workaround. “My village has changed since I had my first son while working in this business, and daycares aren’t open at 5 am,” she said. “So, I do what I have to do to continue living out my dreams. Six months into this, and we’ve got a good rhythm going now.”

She said motherhood reshaped how she connects on air. “I’ve always been an empath, but there’s a level of understanding and allowing others to feel their feelings that’s just different now that I’m a mom,” she said. “It’s made me a better listener, and in turn, an even better storyteller and person.”

Why Her Social Media Doesn’t Feel Curated

Camp treats her feed the same way she treats her show. “I’ve always said that radio personalities are the original influencers – we have always shared so much with people out loud on a personal level for the world to see and hear long before it was for likes and comments,” she said. “I share my life, but I don’t sugarcoat anything.”

She doesn’t chase approval. “At the end of the day, I’m just going to be Annie Camp,” she said. “I don’t care if you like my loud mouth or not. Sure, I’d love for you to like me or my content or ‘follow’ me for more, but if you don’t, that doesn’t define me. The more unauthentic content people have to scroll through, the more I hope my non-filtered, non-trending self reels them in.”

Building Friendship, Not Just an Audience

Camp wants every interaction to feel personal. “I’d like to think I leave a wide-open space for people to come as they are,” she said. “I want to be someone who makes them feel good about themselves, who reminds them they aren’t alone, and who makes them feel like they can share their thoughts and opinions openly.”

Camp feels the responsibility of setting the tone for her listeners’ mornings. “There is a massive unspoken responsibility as the person who sets the tone for someone’s day,” she said. “If I come in with a bad mood and bring that to the mic, people can feel it.”

Her husband has watched strangers approach her in public, convinced they know her personally. “When they walk off, he’ll say, ‘Who was that?’ and he’s always surprised when I tell him it was a listener, because he thought they were some old friend!” she said. “It’s not just the music or the personalities that make for great radio; it’s the listeners. If they’re not your friend, you’ve got no one.”

Shining a Light on Two Rising Voices

I asked Camp to spotlight some peers she admires in radio. “My co-worker, Maya Brantley, is the do-it-all queen,” she said. “She jumps in wherever needed across 3 of my sister stations (WJMH, WSMW, WQMG), and she’s constantly asked to show up and handle business when others fall short.”

She also praised Alyssa DiTomasso, a co-host on Your Georgia Country, WNGC. “Both of these powerhouse females know what hard work is,” Camp said. “They love this business as much as I do, and it’s something we’ve all wanted to be a part of our whole lives. They’re fighters who will stop at nothing until they’re the ones in the driver’s seat. You can’t fake that kind of drive and passion – we need more authentic women like this fighting for the love of radio and fighting for a seat at the table.”

Looking Ahead: More Responsibility, More Fight

Camp wants influence beyond the mic. “I’d love to have more responsibility outside the mic and more control over what people don’t see” she said. “I’ve had the chance to hold the coveted morning drive seat, and now I want to learn and be part of every aspect of running a 100,000-watt radio station.”

She’s clear-eyed about the extra work that requires. “I’ll never be done – there is always another skill to learn, another milestone to reach, and another opportunity to pursue, but often finding the support to do that is the hardest part. Doors don’t just open for you; you have to be the one to kick the door down.”

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.

680 The Fan Announces New Lineup Featuring John Kincade Beginning August 31

John Mamola
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680 The Fan Announces New Lineup Featuring John Kincade Beginning August 31

680 The Fan’s afternoon lineup is changing with the arrival of John Kincade later this month. Kincade joins Matt Chernoff starting August 31 as Chuck Oliver shifts to other roles with the radio station.

What We Know: Dickey Broadcasting Company confirmed the Kincade & Chernoff Show launches August 31. The pair will air weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sports Radio 680 The Fan. Meanwhile, Chuck Oliver shifts his focus toward growing The Chuck Oliver Show across the Southern Sports Today Network. Oliver still holds a role on The Fan, covering college football through exclusive segments and promotions. Kincade left his morning show position with 97.5 The Fanatic last week.

What They Said: David Dickey, President of Dickey Broadcasting Company: “This is an exciting opportunity for all of our brands. John and Matt are an outstanding combination for afternoon drive, and our listeners should know that Chuck Oliver isn’t going anywhere. Chuck remains a huge part of The Fan and will continue to be our premier voice for college football through regular appearances, features, and promotions, while also expanding the reach of The Chuck Oliver Show across the Southern Sports Today Network. These moves strengthen our commitment to delivering best-in-class sports programming both locally and throughout the Southeast.”

What Remains Unclear: Whether or not any additional changes will be made with production staff for either show is unknown.

What It Means: The shakeup signals a new beginning at a station Kincade helped build over two decades of his career. Kincade and Chernoff give 680 The Fan a proven Atlanta duo. Meanwhile, Oliver’s expanded role reflects growth ambitions across the Southeast. Together, these moves deepen the company’s investment in premium sports content.

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.

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