John Curley to Receive 2024 Humanitarian of the Year Award
The TALKERS editorial board has announced the selection of colorful radio talk show host John Curley of KIRO “Newsradio 97.3 FM,” Seattle as the 2024 recipient of the publication’s Sharon L. Harrison Memorial Award for Outstanding Community Service. Curley will be presented the honor at the forthcoming TALKERS 2024: Radio and Beyond conference on Friday, June 7 at Hofstra University on Long Island, NY. Curley has co-hosted 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm afternoon drive on the Bonneville-owned news/talker for the past several years after serving in various time slots during the past decade, including
mornings and late nights at the heritage station. Prior to that he served for 15 years as the local host of the evening magazine program on Seattle’s KING5 NBC. During his career on KIRO, Curley has spearheaded a number of extremely creative and high-profile charitable promotions in addition to operating an independent business as a fund-raising auctioneer for charitable causes and organizations across the nation. He raises an average of $80 million per year with this endeavor. In making the announcement, TALKERS founder Michael Harrison stated, “John Curley is a true on- and off-air original… iconoclastic, candid, and smart. His charity work as a radio personality over the years has been creative, entertaining, and effective. However, it is his remarkable skill and productivity as an auctioneer for non-profits around America that is absolutely stunning. When John gets on that stage, he raises auctioneering to a heart pounding art form and drags every ounce of generosity out of his spellbound audiences. His patter is song and his moves are dance.” To see John Curley in action click here. Curley will be one of 60 industry leaders speaking at TALKERS 2024: Radio and Beyond. For more information about the conference click here. (EDITOR’S NOTE: There were several personnel changes at KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM this week including in the afternoon drive co-host position. See story below for more details.)
as well as conservative talk KTTH-AM morning drive host Bryan Suits. The report indicates that evening host Jake Skorheim moves to PM drive to co-host the 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm “John & Jake” show with John Curley. The evening daypart will be filled by CBS Audio’s “John Batchelor Show.” Taking over the KTTH-AM morning drive daypart from Suits is the syndicated “Armstrong & Getty” show. 
to about 7% of its workforce. Reports of who has been let go are just trickling in but so far some of the people who’ve been let go include (
of $3.5 million for the same period in 2023, “primarily due to the $6 million gain on the sale of an investment in BMI holdings and lower interest expense.” Company CEO Caroline Beasley states, “Beasley continues to advance our core initiatives, which are focused on driving revenue and cash flow, including our digital transformation, revenue diversification and expense management initiatives. We expect digital to account for between 20% and 25% of total revenue in 2024, driven by the ongoing growth and success of our premium content creation and digital services. On the new business front, our dedicated sales teams are leveraging the tremendous audience reach and engagement of our platform to attract new advertisers. In summary, Beasley’s underlying fundamentals – mainly, our local audio and digital platforms and audience engagement – remain strong. We are proud of our teams’ steadfast commitment to delivering exceptional content and services to our listeners, advertisers, online users and sports fans, and remain confident that the actions we are taking to transform our company and strengthen our balance sheet, are laying the foundation for future growth and success.”
(5/11) airing from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm ET. Good Karma Brands founder Craig Karmazin comments, “We are so proud of the work Aaron and Emmett have put in to earn the opportunity for a new national show. Fans are familiar with their voices locally in Cleveland and nationally with their fill-in hosting work. They are a great representation of Good Karma Brands and Cleveland, and their contributions will continue to put the city on the national stage.” The program will also air on “ESPN Cleveland,” ESPNCleveland.com, TheLandOnDemand.com, and the ESPN and The Land on Demand apps. 
with Westwood One Sports. Eaby joined Westwood One as an editor after graduating from college in 1997. He has been an on-site producer for the NFL on Westwood One for 25 years, including 16 Super Bowls and 23 AFC/NFC Championship Games. Eaby has also served as an on-site producer for the network’s NCAA March Madness basketball tournament broadcasts for 23 years. WWO president and Cumulus EVP, corporate strategy & development Collin Jones says, “Our listeners, advertisers, and league partners turn to Westwood One Sports because we deliver consistently outstanding audio broadcasts. With Mike’s experience, passion, and vision, I’m confident he is the perfect person to quarterback Westwood One Sports into its next era.” 
Rogers and producing Olympic-specific episodes from some of iHeart’s existing podcasts. NBCU’s coverage on iHeartRadio’s channels is expected to include Team USA men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, and volleyball, as well as swimming, gymnastics, track & field, and more. iHeartMedia president of business development and strategic partnerships Michael Biondo comments, “We are thrilled to partner with NBCU on coverage of the Paris Olympics this summer and heighten the excitement around this year’s games. As the leading sports audio destination, it’s an honor to be able to provide our platform and our massive reach to bring further awareness and up-to-the minute coverage of NBCU’s broadcast of this year’s Olympics.”
moves of note for radio-related shows include FOX Audio Network’s “FOX News Hourly Update” rising four places to the #8 rank; The Daily Wire’s “The Ben Shapiro Show” falls two places to the #9 rank, and Cumulus Podcast Network’s “The Dan Bongino Show” steady at #10. 
“Walter has demonstrated the importance of the late-night talk radio with his Sunday night nationally syndicated program and has welcomed his listeners, who he refers to as ‘friends on the radio,’ to unpack their day-to-day lives. He’s made strides at ‘Talk Radio 1210 WPHT’ for a decade, and we’re ecstatic to finally bring his entertaining brand to the Delaware Valley five nights a week.” Sterling, who as Walter Sabo operates the Sabo Media Partners consultancy, comments, “Late-night radio is golden media time for a live program. It’s a one-on-one stage for lighter conversations, serving as morning drive for late-shift doctors, nurses, bus drivers, hotel managers, security staff and more. Thank you, David Yadgaroff, Greg Stocker, Jeff Sottolano and the incredible programming and engineering teams at Audacy. Over the years, I’ve made strong connections with Talk Radio 1210 WPHT listeners and look forward to building them as I join weeknights!”
determined that granting a limited waiver deferring its foreign ownership review to facilitate a licensee’s prompt emergence from bankruptcy is consistent with the Communications Act.” Further, Audacy says, “According to the MRC, Audacy is attempting to employ an ‘entirely new’ and ‘vague and undefined’ special warrant process’ to delay the Commission review of Audacy’s proposed foreign ownership until ‘sometime down the road’ when the company ‘may choose’ to file a petition for declaratory ruling seeking such review. This specious claim not only mischaracterizes the company’s waiver request detailed in the Application, but completely ignores longstanding precedent establishing the Commission-approved special warrant process used in a number of prior transactions to allow licensees to emerge from bankruptcy promptly, while affording the Commission sufficient opportunity to review foreign ownership issues post-emergence.” Separately, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to Congressman Nicolas Langworthy (R-NY) and Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX), who both wrote to her implying that the Commission is not going through “its normal, statutorily required process” and voiced concern over Soros Fund Management’s acquisition of Audacy debt. Langworthy wrote that Audacy being “owned by a deeply partisan individual [George Soros], could have a fundamental impact on the nature of local radio and potentially silence political viewpoints.” Rosenworcel’s response indicates she believes the Commission is handling the matter appropriately, saying, “The Bureau staff will review the record and decide if the transfer is in the public interest pursuant to Section 310(d) of the Communications Act.”
lawmen, exploring law versus crime and hero versus villain, ultimately revealing the rugged path that led to the rise of modern law enforcement. FOX Nation president Lauren Petterson says, “Viewers will feel as if they’ve teleported back to the Wild West as Sean Hannity masterfully bridges the past and the present, highlighting this fascinating era of time.” Hannity will use the true stories of the outlaws and lawmen of America’s past to track the evolution of law enforcement from the Wild West to today. From Butch Cassidy to Bass Reeves to Billy the Kid, Hannity details the men of both honor and infamy, bringing life to the myths, legends, and truths of the time. Hannity comments, “As our viewers know, I am a strong supporter of our men and women in law enforcement and I look forward to spotlighting a period of time that is pivotal in their origin.”
rock WBCN-FM and then on sports talk WBZ-FM, “98.5 The Sports Hub,” will be back on the Boston airwaves “soon.” Shertenlieb exited WBZ-FM last November after his professional relationship with partner Fred Toucher fell apart and Toucher re-upped with Beasley to continue hosting the “98.5 The Sports Hub” morning show. Now, iHeartMedia cuts ties with the classic rock WZLX-FM, Boston morning team of Pete McKenzie and Heather Ford and installs “The Rich Shertenlieb Show.”
showroom on Thursday (5/9) from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Talk show host Alan Stock and afternoon host Sam Mirejovsky will moderate the event that will be free to the public. KXNT brand manager Mark Bonilla states, “As the premier talk radio station in Las Vegas, ‘News Talk Radio 840 AM’ is dedicated to providing a platform for informed discussion and debate by offering voters the opportunity to hear directly from the leading candidates about their visions for the future of the city.”
Audio advantage.” The guide provides data to counter prevailing myths that marketers often believe. Some examples include: 1) the notion that “apps have all the audience” is not true as “ad-supported platforms are key to marketer’s winning and Audacy’s 200 million+ is miles above Spotify (48.6M) and Pandora (41.2M)”; 2) “young people don’t listen to audio” isn’t true as 96% of Gen Z listen to audio daily – with 44% being daily radio users; and 3) “I can’t measure audio” is also false because marketers can “track, measure and analyze 
There is something about 40.