NEPA Radio: Robert Hawk Named New Morning Co-Host At KRZ

Robert Hawk will join Audacy contemporary hit radio stations 98.5 WKRZ (WB/Scranton) and 107.9 WKRF (Stroudsburg) as morning co-host beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8. 

Hawk will pair with incumbent morning host Lissa Krahnke on the weekday show airing 5:30–10 a.m. He hire fills the co-host seat most recently held by Justin Scheman. 

Hawk is returning home; he is a native of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. Hawk arrives from afternoon drive at Midwest Communications’ country station KTWB “Big Country 92.5” in Sioux Falls, S.D. In a public statement, he said he grew up listening to KRZ and called the move “surreal.” He and his family are relocating to the Scranton area and plan to update listeners on the transition during his first week. 

Krahnke has been part of the WKRZ morning show since 2010, first as a producer and then as co-host beginning in 2012. WKRZ, a long-running CHR brand in Northeastern Pennsylvania, had been searching for a morning partner for Krahnke earlier this year. 

Hawk’s bio described him as a personality who grew up mimicking local morning radio on cassette tapes in Scranton and later built a career around music, humor, and on-air conversation. He has cited family life with his wife, Dakota, and son, Milo, as part of the move back east.

Audacy is the largest commercial radio group in Wilkes-Barre–Scranton by published Nielsen audience, led by CHR 98.5 WKRZ. The market is a mid-sized diary metro (about No. 79, ~701,500 persons 12+). Shares below are AQH 12+, Mon–Sun 6 a.m.–midnight from the July 2026 trend (posted Aug. 24, 2026). 

July 2026 reported owners:

• Audacy — 21.1 (WKRZ 10.9, WGGY 5.7, WILK 2.5, WLMZ 2.0)
• Times-Shamrock — 12.8 (classic rock WEZX 9.2, classic hits WQFM 3.1, sports WEJL 0.5)
• Bold Gold — 6.7 (classic hits WWRR 3.5, talk WTRW 2.5, oldies WICK 0.7)

Country Music Owned the Summer of 2026

For the first time in Billboard Hot 100 history, five country songs occupied the entire top five—an unprecedented takeover that no previous country boom, including the 1990s Garth Brooks/Shania Twain era, had achieved.

Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” was the season’s defining record. It spent much of the summer at No. 1 on the Hot 100, led Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart every week from Memorial Day onward, and set records as the longest-running Hot 100 No. 1 by a solo female country artist and one of the longest Hot Country Songs reigns by a woman. 

Her follow-up “Be Her” and her duet with Morgan Wallen, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” also lived in the upper ranks. The historic top-five week in early August typically featured Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” Wallen’s “Been By Now,” Taylor Swift’s country return “I Knew It, I Knew You” (from the Toy Story 5 soundtrack), the Langley-Wallen duet, and newcomer Stella Lefty’s breakout “Boston.” 

Swift’s track briefly interrupted Langley’s No. 1 run in June before the latter reclaimed the summit. Lefty’s arrival added a fresh face to a moment already stacked with established and rising names. 

The dominance was not limited to one week. Country titles repeatedly filled most of the Hot 100’s top five across the summer, and Langley’s music ranked among the year’s most-streamed tracks across all genres. Women were especially visible: Langley, Lefty, and others rode a wave that also included strong showings from established acts. 

Live music matched the charts. CMA Fest, Stagecoach, Country Thunder, WE Fest, Rock the Country stops, and packed arena runs by Wallen, Langley, Riley Green, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, and others kept the genre in front of huge crowds. New and forthcoming albums—including Luke Bryan’s Signs and Riley Green’s That’s Just Me—kept the pipeline full heading into fall.

Labor Day: Gas Prices May Be More Expensive

Americans are closing out summer with Labor Day getaways despite higher travel costs and expected traffic delays. AAA booking data shows strong demand for destinations across the U.S. with Seattle, and Orlando among the most popular choices. Travelers face higher fuel, airfare, and hotel costs this year, while domestic cruise prices trend lower.

"Labor Day has long been a popular time for a final summer getaway, and travelers continue to prioritize vacations with family and friends," said Nick Jarmusz, director of public affairs for AAA – The Auto Club Group. "Whether it's a cruise, a national park adventure, or an international trip, travelers are eager to make the most of the holiday weekend."

Top Labor Day Travel Destinations for 2026

1. Seattle, WA
2. Orlando, FL
3. Boston, MA
4. Denver, CO
5. New York, NY
6. Chicago, IL
7. Anaheim/Los Angeles, CA
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. Anchorage, AK
10. Atlanta, GA

Gas Prices May Be More Expensive Than Last Labor Day

While it's too early to know what gas prices will be on Labor Day weekend, current market trends suggest motorists could pay more than they did a year ago. The national average price of gasoline on Labor Day 2025 was $3.19 per gallon and in Wisconsin it was $2.99 per gallon.

Crude oil, which accounts for roughly half the price consumers pay for gasoline, remains more expensive than it was a year ago. Energy analysts also point to strong refinery demand and relatively low crude oil inventories as factors that continue to support higher fuel prices.

For travelers planning a road trip, fuel costs are likely to be another expense to factor into their holiday vacation budget.

Weekly Ratings: Fox Beats CBS During Weekday Primetime

FOX News Channel (FNC) ended the week of August 24th with 2.4 million weekday primetime viewers and 205,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo, surpassing CBS (2.3 million viewers), according to Nielsen Media Research Big Data + Panel. 

In Monday – Sunday primetime, FNC garnered 2 million viewers, and in Monday – Sunday total day, FNC drew nearly 1.3 million viewers. FNC also saw week-to-week growth during Monday – Sunday primetime, up 1% in total viewers and 3% in the 18-49 demo. Notably, CBS Evening News posted its fourth consecutive week with under four million total viewers, with the latest week delivering 3.9 million viewers.

Ratings Graphic Courtesy of RoadMN

The Five led cable news with total viewers, averaging 3.3 million viewers and 295,000 in the 25-54 demo. During the 6 PM/ET hour, Special Report with Bret Baier notched 2.3 million viewers and 180,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 7 PM/ET, The Ingraham Angle nabbed 2.2 million viewers and 162,000 in the 25-54 demo. During the 8 PM/ET hour, Jesse Watters Primetime clinched 2.9 million viewers and 259,000 in the 25-54 demo. At 9 PM/ET, Hannity drew 2.3 million viewers and 193,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo.

Monthly Ratings: FOX News Channel Dominates Summer Ratings

FOX News Channel (FNC) closed August continuing to exert its dominance in television this summer (June-August), beating broadcast networks NBC, ABC and CBS in weekday primetime for the second consecutive summer and topping ABC and CBS throughout the month, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. FNC delivered the top 147 cable news telecasts for the month with viewers and was number one in cable among Asians, Hispanics and upscale viewers throughout total day.

Since the start of summer, FNC’s reign over broadcast networks NBC, ABC and CBS marked it as the second highest-rated network in all of television, averaging 2.56 million viewers in weekday primetime. The network led NBC (2.5 million viewers), ABC (2.3 million viewers) and CBS (2 million viewers), which delivered its lowest-rated August on record. 

During the month, the network also outpaced ABC (2.3 million viewers), which posted its lowest-rated month in weekday primetime, averaging 368,000 viewers among the 25-54 demo. In total day, FNC drew 1.4 million viewers. FNC commanded nearly 60% of the cable news share with viewers across total day and primetime.

Throughout the month, ABC and CBS posted historic lows across key dayparts. ABC recorded its lowest-rated primetime month this century among adults 25-54, averaging just 344,000 viewers. CBS delivered its lowest-rated August weekday primetime ever with under 2.1 million viewers. CBS Mornings also hit its second-lowest month ever, averaging 1.6 million viewers, while CBS Evening News remained under 4 million viewers for the fifth straight month.

TV Ratings ABC's WNT Leads Broadcast, Cable Programs

For the 20th consecutive week, “World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked as the No. 1 program in Total Viewers (8.731 million) on all of broadcast and cable (excluding sports) during the week of Aug 24, 2026, based on Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

Ratings Graphic Courtesy of RoadMN

• “World News Tonight with David Muir” stood as the No. 1 newscast in all of broadcast and cable in Total Viewers (8.731 million), Adults 25-54 (1.219 million) and Adults 18-49 (876,000).
• “World News Tonight” outperformed “NBC Nightly News” (7.052 million, 1.070 million and 800,000, respectively) by double digits in Total Viewers (+24%/+1.679 million), Adults 25-54 (+14%/+149,000) and Adults 18-49 (+10%/+76,000).

Voice Actors Clash Over AI Clones

Hollywood voice actors are split over artificial intelligence, with established stars licensing clones for large payouts while many working performers say jobs are disappearing and they are being asked to train the systems that could replace them.AI-generated voices are already in commercial use. A licensed clone of Michael Caine narrates a 13-hour audiobook of the Odyssey. Matthew McConaughey has used ElevenLabs technology for a Spanish-language version of his newsletter. \

The company’s marketplace offers paid licenses for clones of living and deceased figures, from Judy Garland and Richard Feynman to characters such as Mr. Potato Head. Well-known actors can earn millions to let their voices become digital assistants, according to David Lawrence XVII, a veteran performer on SAG-AFTRA’s audiobook steering committee.

Start Your Day With The Pulse For Thurs Sep 3

Radio Broadcasting

Judge Questions Nielsen: A U.S. district judge pressed Nielsen on how Cumulus Media’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy should affect the companies’ fight over national radio ratings, as she weighed whether Nielsen is complying with an antitrust injunction that bars it from charging a commercially unreasonable standalone price. 

Cumulus Sells 2 FLA Stations: Cumulus Media is selling its Melbourne, Florida, cluster — Top 40 “107.1 A1A” WAOA, Classic Rock “95.9 The Rocket” WROK-FM and Country “102.7 The Hitkicker” WHKR — to Roger Holler’s MARC Media for $2.073 million, exiting that Space Coast market as the company works through a Chapter 11 reorganization.  An LMA took effect Tuesday, Sept. 1, so MARC is already operating the three FMs. 

Clay, Buck Extend: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton have signed a renewed and expanded deal with Premiere Networks and iHeartMedia, locking in The Clay & Buck Show as a long-term weekday fixture and a core piece of the company’s talk-radio lineup.

Judge Presses Nielsen About Cumulus Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

A U.S. district judge pressed Nielsen on how Cumulus Media’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy should affect the companies’ fight over national radio ratings, as she weighed whether Nielsen is complying with an antitrust injunction that bars it from charging a commercially unreasonable standalone price. 

U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas of the Southern District of New York convened an evidentiary hearing on Cumulus’s motion to enforce her December 30, 2025, preliminary injunction. The order blocks Nielsen from enforcing its “Network Policy,” which ties access to complete Nationwide ratings to purchases of local ratings, and from pricing the Nationwide report as a standalone product at a commercially unreasonable rate. 

A rate at or below the highest 2026 Nationwide price Nielsen charges any other broadcaster is treated as presumptively reasonable. The hearing arrives as Cumulus’s current access to Nationwide is set to lapse around Sept. 10. Nielsen told the court it considered extending that access through the end of September but concluded an extension is not “commercially practicable.” 

Vargas ordered Nielsen to submit a sealed declaration explaining that claim and to produce pricing data covering 2024 through 2026, not just the current year. Nielsen has argued that Cumulus’s March Chapter 11 filing undercuts the broadcaster’s claim of irreparable harm and should limit or reshape injunctive relief. 

Meet The Press Is No.1 Among Younger Audiences for Another Month

Meet the Press with Kristen Welker was ranked the #1 Sunday public affairs show among younger audiences in August, winning both key A25-54 and A18-49 demo viewers, according to Nielsen.

In addition to the month’s win, Meet the Press ranked #1 among total viewers and in the key A25-54 demo for this past Sunday, August 30. Meet the Press averaged 2.612 million total viewers, leading ABC by +114,000 (+5%). Also this Sunday, Meet the Press averaged 404,000 A25-54 viewers, leading ABC by +56,000 (+16%) and outperforming ABC for five of the last six weeks.

U-S Open Coverage On ESPN Starts Strong

ESPN’s opening-day coverage of the 2026 U.S. Open drew the network’s largest first-day audience on record, peaking at 1.3 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC as unseeded Mariano Navone stunned No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic in a five-set marathon. 

Sunday’s first-round action averaged 914,000 viewers on those networks, a 13 percent increase from last year. ABC alone averaged 1.25 million viewers, up 7 percent. In 2025, opening day aired only on ABC and ESPN2. 

The primetime centerpiece was Navone’s 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over the 24-time Grand Slam champion on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The four-hour, 36-minute match averaged 958,000 viewers on ESPN, up 10 percent from the comparable window a year earlier, and peaked at 1.3 million between 9:45 and 10 p.m. ET. 

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Extend With Premiere Networks

Clay Travis has signed a renewed and expanded deal with Premiere Networks and iHeartMedia, locking in The Clay & Buck Show as a long-term weekday fixture and a core piece of the company’s talk-radio lineup.

The program, co-hosted with Buck Sexton from 12 noon to 3p.m. Eastern, is Premiere’s formal successor to Rush Limbaugh’s long-running show. After Limbaugh’s death, his audience fragmented across multiple hosts; The Clay & Buck Show remains the designated anchor and is not expected to change in composition.

Julie Talbott, president of Premiere Networks, called Travis “one of the most dynamic and influential voices in Talk radio” and said the company was “thrilled to continue our long-term partnership.” 

She cited his ability to engage audiences, drive conversation, and deliver results for stations and advertisers.

Edison Research: True Crime Now Top Podcast Genre

True Crime has become the most popular podcast topic among weekly U.S. listeners, surpassing Comedy for the first time since Edison Research began tracking the category in 2019, according to Q2 2026 Edison Podcast Metrics data. 

In the first half of 2026, True Crime edged ahead of Comedy, which had held the top spot every year of the survey. The finding comes from Edison’s ongoing question to weekly podcast consumers ages 13 and older about which topics they ever listen to from a long list of options. 

NAB Has Warning For FCC On EAS Plans

Radio stations kept emergency alerts on the air for days or weeks after cellular networks failed in recent disasters, and the National Association of Broadcasters is using that record to warn the FCC that parts of its Emergency Alert System modernization plan could weaken the very backup the public relies on when phones go dark. 

In comments filed Aug. 29, NAB responded to a June Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that followed a Report and Order imposing new EAS cybersecurity rules, including a Sept. 29 deadline for stronger passwords and firewalls. The new filing targets proposals still under review, not the cybersecurity mandates already adopted. NAB supports letting stations run EAS in software instead of dedicated hardware boxes — a change it first petitioned for in March 2025 — but only if that software comes from “a trusted source running on curated hardware.” 

ESPN Radio’s College Football Campus Tour Returns

ESPN Radio and Good Karma Sports today announced the return of ESPN Radio’s College Football Campus Tour. This year, the tour is powered by Bloom Energy and brought to fans by Manscaped, Monster Energy and SiriusXM. Leading directly into the featured ESPN Radio game of the week, the Campus Tour brings a national pregame broadcast and interactive Fan Zone experience to some of the biggest college football matchups of the 2026 season.

The tour will make 10 campus stops across the country, beginning Saturday, Sept. 5, in Baton Rouge, La., when Clemson takes on LSU. Additional stops throughout the season include College Station, Texas; Louisville, Ky.; State College, Pa.; Gainesville, Fla.; Austin, Texas; Oxford, Miss.; and a return to Baton Rouge, with additional tour locations and matchups to be announced.

At each stop, ESPN Radio hosts Jonathan Zaslow and Amber Wilson will broadcast live for at least two hours leading up to kickoff. The show will air nationally across most ESPN Radio stations, SiriusXM Channel 80, the ESPN App and ESPN streaming platforms. Fans can also listen live on ESPN Radio.

Highlighted by the live broadcast, ESPN Radio’s College Football Campus Tour powered by Bloom Energy will feature an interactive Fan Zone designed to create a vibrant game-day destination where fans can experience the excitement of college football through interactive activities, music, giveaways, special guests and opportunities to celebrate each school’s traditions and spirit.

Good Karma Sports, in partnership with ESPN Audio, will lead event operations and execution for the tour, bringing together its expertise across experiential marketing, live events, media, content and fan engagement to create a unique experience at each stop.

“College football Saturdays are defined by the energy, traditions, rivalries and community that make every campus unique,” said Justin Craig, Vice President, Audio Production, ESPN. “Having ESPN Radio’s College Football Campus Tour serve as the lead-in to each week’s premium game presentation on ESPN Radio gives us an opportunity to bring that experience to our passionate fans while creating memorable moments at each stop throughout the season.”

“ESPN selecting Good Karma Sports to execute the College Football Campus Tour reflects the trust we’ve built through our longstanding relationship along with the strength and capabilities of our team,” said Steve Politziner, President of Good Karma Sports. “We’re excited to bring our expertise across experiential marketing, live events, media and fan engagement to college football campuses across the country.”

SiriusXM Unveils NFL Coverage Plans

SiriusXM will carry every 2026 NFL game live — regular season through the Super Bowl — and add Hall of Famer Drew Brees plus several current and former players to SiriusXM NFL Radio, the company said Wednesday.

Kickoff is Sept. 9 at 8:20 p.m. ET, when the defending champion Seattle Seahawks face the New England Patriots in a rematch of last February’s Super Bowl. 

The next night, Sept. 10 at 8:35 p.m. ET, 2025 NFL MVP Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams play the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, the league’s first game there. Subscribers can hear every matchup in vehicles and on the SiriusXM app. 

Radio History: Sep 3

➦In 1913...actor Alan Ladd was born in Hot Springs Arkansas.  His career began in radio in 1935 and he went on to star in films, of which Shane was the highlight.  When his short stature caused his movie career to wind-down he returned to radio.

He had short term stints at MGM and RKO, but got regular professional acting work only when he turned to radio. Ladd's rich, deep voice was ideal for that medium and in 1936 he ended up being signed by station KFWB as its sole radio actor. He stayed for three years at KFWB, working as many as twenty shows a week.

Depression and alcoholism contributed to his early death Jan. 29 1964 at age 50.

➦In 1939…Two days after Germany invaded Poland, England's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced that Britain and France had declared war on Germany.

➦In 1954...“The Lone Ranger” aired a new episode for the final time on ABC Radio Network. It premiered on WXYZ, Detroit, Michigan, on January 30, 1933. Repeat episodes were aired by ABC in 1955 and on NBC in 1956.

➦In 1965... Los Angeles radio personality Gary Owens (right) KMPC 710 AM was signed to be the voice of Roger Ramjet, humorous super hero of a new animated TV series.

Owens performed several other voices on the show in addition to the leading character. Roger Ramjet is a super astronaut who fights assorted evildoers with the help of a high- powered “proton” energy pill.

➦In 1966...the final “Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet” TV show (co-starring son Rick Nelson) aired on ABC.  The show launched October 8, 1944 on CBS, it moved to NBC in October 1948, then made a late-season switch back to CBS in April 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949 to June 18, 1954.

Just Out: US Newspaper PRINT Circulations 2026

Only one of the 50 largest audited U.S. newspapers increased average daily print circulation year on year in the six months to March 2026, according to Alliance for Audited Media figures supplied exclusively to Press Gazette.

The top 50 titles by combined print and digital circulation posted a collective average year-on-year print decline of 15%. Together they circulated 1.99 million copies a day on average in the period — only about 250,000 more than the 25 papers included in the previous six-month analysis to September, despite twice as many titles being counted.

AAM cautioned that its figures do not capture all digital newspaper subscriptions. 

The organization introduced new digital reporting rules in February 2026. Some newspapers that might belong in a U.S. top 50 list also may not report data to AAM. The group typically provides figures for 25 papers; this year it supplied 50.The only gainer was Florida’s Villages Daily Sun, up 1.7% to 54,900.