Radio News Weekly: Sept. 21–25, 2026

Radio broadcasting this week mixed Washington pressure, station-group dealmaking, sports-rights consolidation, and fresh audience data that again put young in-car listening at the center of the industry argument.

🗼Policy and Regulation. The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act remained the top Capitol Hill story. The House passed the bill last week; this week Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO) told broadcasters to keep calling senators so the Senate companion (S. 315) reaches the floor before the midterm recess window closes. 

🗼Stations Faced Hard Thursday Deadline: FCC FY 2026 regulatory fees were due by 11:59 p.m. ET, with late payments triggering a 25% penalty after two years of fee relief for AM and FM stations ended. 

🗼Court Fight Ends:  The Trump administration’s attempt to cut NPR and PBS funding quietly ended, leaving in place a First Amendment ruling that blocked key parts of the order—even as Congress had already rescinded CPB appropriations and the corporation moved toward dissolution. Measurement and legal fights. 

🗼SCOTUS Appeal: Nielsen asked the Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit ruling that kept an antitrust injunction in place in its ratings dispute with Cumulus Media. A related enforcement fight continues, with Nielsen’s next brief due Sept. 30. Nielsen also postponed a planned Sept. 25 reissue of three ratings reports, now expected by the end of next week. Cumulus stations remain absent from public PPM lists while the contract fight continues. 

🗼Audience Research: Edison Research’s latest Share of Ear cut landed as a warning shot: among 13- to 34-year-olds in the car, smartphones now account for 46% of listening time versus 43% for a radio receiver, the first time mobile has led that demo. Radio still dominates ad-supported in-car time in the same age group, which is why sellers and skeptics both claimed the data. 

🗼Political advertising:  Kinetiq said radio has already booked about $73.5 million, nearly double its 2024 pace, with a large pool of October linear dollars still uncommitted. 

🗼Deals and Sports Rights: Station trading stayed active at smaller price tags. Riverfront Broadcasting closed on six South Dakota stations from Connoisseur Media. Magnum Communications agreed to buy four western Wisconsin outlets...Civic Media’s Cedar Basin Media moved to acquire NRG Media stations in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, including news/talk KXEL...K-Love adding a second Toledo FM, Connoisseur spinning Minnesota stations...3 Towers buying an Indiana AM...On the sports side, the Cleveland Cavaliers went all-iHeartMedia on a 19-station network with WTAM and WMMS remaining flagships, while the Chicago Bulls kept Audacy’s WSCR as radio flagship. 

Race Taylor

🗼Programming and People: Race Taylor exited mornings at Audacy New York’s WCBS-FM (101.1) after about a year, leaving the shift open...iHeart named Ben Marcotte PD of Rock 105.3 KIOZ and heritage KGB in San Diego...K-Love appointed Debashree “Dee” Sethmajhi CTO...Zack Bennett became permanent host of syndicated Pure American Country...Premiere Networks president Julie Talbott was named a 2026 Gracies Leadership honoree...The 16th iHeartRadio Music Festival wrapped in Las Vegas on Sept. 18–19...In Baltimore, iHeart’s Black Information Network outlet was flipped to FOX Sports...NRB’s Troy Miller used the week to argue that Christian radio’s analog, human voice still matters in an AI era of deepfakes and chatbot trust.

In Week ahead, Watch for... (Sept. 27–Oct. 3)

• Senate clock on AM in cars. Leadership has a short window before October recess. If S. 315 does not move, the bill likely sits until after the Nov. 3 midterms.
• Ratings and court paper. Watch for Nielsen’s delayed reissued books and the Sept. 30 Nielsen brief in the Cumulus enforcement appeal. Fall survey changes (including South Bend-Elkhart becoming a two-book average market) start to matter for sellers.
• Political inventory and deal filings. October is the heavy political-buy month. FCC applications tied to this week’s Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Indiana deals should surface. Stations also need to prep ETRS Form One (due Oct. 30) for the Nov. 17 nationwide EAS test, the first since 2023.

On the calendar: NABA’s Cyber University 2.0 is Oct. 20 in New York; NAB Show New York follows Oct. 21–22 at the Javits Center. Forecast 2027, focused on the post-election “political cliff,” is Nov. 12 in New York.

Radio History: Sep 27

➦In 1920...William Conrad born (Died from heart failure at age 73. – February 11, 1994). His  career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he starred in the detective series Cannon (1971–1976).

Conrad estimated that he played more than 7,500 roles during his radio career.

William Conrad

Most prominently, Conrad's deep, resonant voice was heard in the role of Marshal Matt Dillon on CBS Radio's gritty Western series Gunsmoke (April 26, 1952 – June 18, 1961). The producers originally rejected him for the part because of his ubiquitous presence on so many radio dramas and the familiarity of his voice, but his impressive audition could not be dismissed, and he became the obvious choice for the role. Conrad voiced Dillon for the show's nine-year run, and he wrote the June 1953 episode "Sundown." When Gunsmoke was adapted for television in 1955, executives at CBS did not cast Conrad or his radio costars despite a campaign to get them to change their minds.

In January 1956, Conrad was the announcer on the debut broadcast of The CBS Radio Workshop.

➦In 1933..."Waltz Time" debuted. It remained on the NBC Radio network until 1948. The show features Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957) and his band, which was popular from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including Your Hit Parade.

➦In 1938...Comedian Bob Hope introduced a new song, "Thanks For The Memory".  It was introduced in the 1938 film The Big Broadcast of 1938 by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross. In the film, Ross and Hope's characters are a divorced couple who encounter each other aboard a ship. Near the film's end, they poignantly sing one of the many versions of this song, recalling the ups and downs of their relationship (then they decide to get back together).

➦In 1985...The Howard Stern Show aired for the last time on 66 WNBC NYC.

The show developed in 1979 when Stern landed his first morning shift at WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut, four years into his professional radio career. He continued as a morning personality at WWWW in Detroit, Michigan in 1980, and was paired with Quivers in 1981 at WWDC in Washington, D.C. In 1982, Stern's success in Washington led to a spot at WNBC in New York City, where he hosted the city's top afternoon show until his firing.

That year, the show began a 20-year run at WXRK in New York City where it aired on a total of 60 markets across the United States and Canada and gained an audience of 20 million listeners at its peak. In the New York area, the show was the highest-rated morning program consecutively between 1994 and 2001.

➦In 1995...Radio personality Alison Steele died (Born Ceil Loman - January 26, 1937). She was also known by her air name, The Nightbird. She amassed a large and loyal following on her night shifts on WNEW 102.7 FM in New York City during the late 1960s and 1970s. Her show featured progressive rock and artists associated with the counterculture of the time, combined with listeners' calls and Steele's own unique brand of mellow DJ patter, peppered with poetry and mysticism. Her original Nightbird show ran from 1968 to 1979.

TWH Bars CNN From Travelling With Trump on Air Force One

The White House blocked CNN from accompanying President Trump on a Saturday trip to Tennessee, a network spokeswoman confirmed Friday night, the latest escalation in a weeklong standoff with the Washington press corps.

The decision immediately raised whether the television pool would cover the trip. The rotating group of networks that film the president’s daily activities had boycotted those duties this week after Trump first barred CNN from the pool.

A Friday night White House email laying out Saturday logistics listed no primary television pool representative. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Associated Press is reporting CNN was replaced by Real America’s Voice News, a conservative network, for the president’s trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to White House guidance. Trump is scheduled to attend a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas at midday Saturday.

The news came just after journalists from CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, which Trump banned last week from the White House grounds, returned to the executive complex with TV cameras in hand after a judge handed the organizations a reprieve.

The dispute began last Friday when Trump posted on Truth Social that he was banning three outlets from the White House for “constantly” writing negatively about his administration.

On Thursday a federal judge ordered the White House to restore the journalists’ credentials “immediately.” On Friday the White House allowed CNN to film Trump and Xi at an event at the National Archives in Washington; the TV pool then resumed coverage.

The outlets’ lawsuit asked the White House to restore the access they had before the ban. 

TWH Press Ban: It's Not Over, Until The Judge Says It's Over

President Donald Trump's administration complied on Thursday with a judge's order to restore White House access to three media ​outlets he had banned last week — CNN, Politico, and MS NOW — but litigation over the ban is not over yet.

Here is what ‌to know about the next steps in the lawsuit filed by the three media outlets. according to Reuters.

DID THE JUDGE ISSUE A FINAL RULING?

No. The judge assigned to the case, US District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington, issued a temporary order that reinstated the outlets’ access for 14 days while their legal challenge proceeded.

In his ruling, Kelly said legal precedents make clear that once White House press credentials ​are issued to journalists, they have a right to "notice and an opportunity to be heard" before those credentials are revoked.

Get Smart...Get An App for Your Station

Younger listeners now use their phones more than the dashboard radio in the car. Edison Research’s latest Share of Ear data shows Americans ages 13–34 spend 46% of in-car audio time on a mobile device and 43% on a traditional AM/FM receiver, the first time phones have taken the lead in that age group. 

The crossover did not happen overnight. In 2015, radio receivers held a 47-point advantage in the car among 13- to 34-year-olds, 66% to 19%. Radio’s share fell to 58% by 2018 and 46% by 2021 as mobile climbed to 38%. The lines crossed in 2025, when mobile edged ahead 44% to 43%, and the gap has widened slightly since. 

The finding measures the device, not the content. Some of that phone time is still AM/FM — streamed through a station app, CarPlay, or Android Auto. That distinction matters: Edison recently found AM/FM still accounts for 70% of ad-supported in-car listening among the same 13–34 group, far ahead of podcasts and ad-supported streaming music. Radio content is not disappearing. The tuner is. 

That is the strategic warning. If the industry treated “app-first” as a slogan instead of a product standard, it is now paying for the delay. The audience radio most needs to replace older listeners already treats the phone as the default audio remote, including behind the wheel.

Where Things Stand: AM Drive At NYC's Classic Hits WCBS-FM

Longtime New York radio personality Race Taylor told listeners Friday morning he would be leaving the morning show at Audacy Classic Hits 101.1 WCBS-FM. The station has not announced who will take over the 6–10 a.m. slot.

Whoever hosts next, chances are the WCBS-FM will continue its strategy to maintain its position in the market.

WCBS-FM’s morning strategy has been consistent even as the hosts have changed: protect a heritage classic-hits brand in New York’s most expensive daypart by putting a familiar local voice in front of the music, then handing the later morning to a long commercial-free music sweep that competes with playlists and iHM's WLTW Lite FM. 

That approach sits on three pillars.

Brendan Carr 'Deeply Concerned' About Parental Rights

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said he is “deeply concerned” that more than 60 House Democrats are opposing what he described as parents’ right to know when children’s television shows include gender-identity themes. 

In a Sept. 22 letter responding to lawmakers led by Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., Carr wrote that the Democrats’ stance would leave families “in the dark” about programming rated as suitable for young children. He called the position “extreme” and said it comes amid what he characterized as a surge of children’s shows that include transgender or nonbinary themes without disclosure. 

“I am deeply concerned by the position that you and over 60 of your Democrat colleagues in the House of Representatives are taking regarding the right of parents to know whether their sons or daughters are being exposed to controversial gender identity ideologies including the promotion of transgender and gender non-binary programming, in television shows that are rated as appropriate for young children,” Carr wrote. 

He added that the lawmakers “come out swinging against both transparency and common sense.” The dispute traces to an April 2026 FCC public notice asking whether the voluntary TV Parental Guidelines should flag “gender identity themes” in programs rated TV-Y, TV-Y7, or TV-G. The agency said some parents had complained that industry ratings treat such content as appropriate for young children without telling families it is present. 

It Was The Week That Was for Media Unity

Media outlets staged a rare show of unity this week against the Trump administration, with TV pools refusing to air footage of the president’s events and CNN’s Brian Stelter even citing Fox News as an ally.

The Columbia Journalism Review’s Susie Banikarim, writing in Laurels and Darts, was not convinced the solidarity would force the White House to back down. “Whether this incredible display of fellowship will force the White House to stand down remains to be seen,” she wrote. A cynic, she added, might conclude the effort had “less to do with principle and more to do with a recognition that appeasement buys no protection from the Trump administration.”

CJR still awarded a laurel to “everybody who showed up to support their colleagues this week.” Banikarim expressed hope that “the show of unity won’t be needed again soon.”

Townhall and Salem Radio Network host Larry Elder took the opposite view of Trump’s press restrictions. “What took so long?” he asked. Elder said Trump is “angry at the blatantly biased and Trump-despising legacy media,” blames them for poor poll numbers, and that “his bitterness is more than justified.” Even with “a lot of good news” about the administration, Elder argued, legacy coverage “stands in stark contrast with the breathless drum-beating coverage of the Russia-Trump collusion hoax.”

Whether this week’s episode has lasting effect is unclear. The Trump news cycle moves quickly; by next week the media ban may already feel like old news.

Cleveland Radio: iHM Super Sizes NBA Cavs Broadcast Deal

The Cleveland Cavaliers have named iHeartMedia Cleveland their official exclusive radio partner Friday, ensuring every game airs only on iHeart-owned stations and keeping the NBA team on heritage News/Talk WTAM 1100 AM/106.9 FM and Rock station 100.7 WMMS. 

For the first time, all 82 regular-season games, preseason contests and playoff games will be broadcast live exclusively across a 19-station Rock Entertainment Sports Network serving Ohio and nearby markets, including Akron, Canton, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Youngstown, Erie, Pa., and Parkersburg, W.Va. Fans can also stream games through the Cavs App and the iHeartRadio app. Cavaliers EVP and Chief Marketing Officer Chris Kaiser said the deal delivers “the most accessible broadcast we’ve had in years,” pairing wider reach with an enhanced product. 

iHeart Area Senior Vice President of Programming Keith Kennedy said the company is excited to bring every game to one of the NBA’s most passionate fan bases “from Cleveland to communities across the state.” 

Play-by-play announcer Tim Alcorn returns for his eighth season on every game, joined on select national broadcasts by Cavaliers reporter Serena Winters. Studio host Mike Snyder is back for his 35th year on pregame, halftime and postgame coverage; analyst Brad Sellers enters his 17th season on the postgame show.  Each broadcast opens with Snyder’s “Tip-off Show” 30 minutes before tipoff. 

Baltimore Radio: Fox Sports Net Replaces BIN News On WQLL-AM

FOX Sports Radio has launched on 1370 AM in Baltimore, bringing a nationally syndicated sports-talk lineup to WQLL-AM and giving the market another around-the-clock sports option. 

WCBM Maryland Inc. flipped the Pikesville-licensed station to “FOX Sports 1370 AM” this week, replacing iHeartMedia’s Black Information Network after a five-year run. 

The weekday schedule now features “Two Pros and a Cup of Joe” with LaVar Arrington, Brady Quinn and Jonas Knox from 6 to 9 a.m., followed by “The Dan Patrick Show” until noon, “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” until 3 p.m., “Stugotz & Company LIVE” from 3 to 5 p.m., and “Covino & Rich” from 5 to 7 p.m. VSiN sports-betting programming fills nights, overnights and weekends. 

Additional weeknight and weekend details have not yet been announced, and the station has no local shows at launch. 

WNBA Ratings: Best Regular Season Ever For ESPN

ESPN delivered its most-watched WNBA regular season ever in 2026, as the league celebrates its 30th season. It also marks the third straight year ESPN has delivered its most-viewed WNBA regular season on record.

Across 29 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.37M viewers, up 17% year-over-year and ranking as ESPN networks’ most-viewed WNBA regular season on record. ESPN presented 17 games this season, averaging 1.24M viewers, up 32% year-over-year, while 12 games on ABC averaged 1.56M viewers, up 9% year-over-year.

Non-Indiana games averaged 984K viewers, up 24% year-over-year. WNBA Countdown averaged 595K viewers, up 27% year-over-year.

The record-setting season was highlighted by five games averaging more than 2M viewers.

Radio History: Sep 26

➦In 1887…Inventor Emile Berliner was granted his first patent for what he called the "Gramophone". The patent described recording sound using horizontal modulation of a stylus as it traced a line on a rotating cylindrical surface coated with an unresisting opaque material such as lampblack, subsequently fixed with varnish and used to photoengrave a corresponding groove into the surface of a metal playback cylinder.

In practice, Berliner opted for the disc format, which made the photoengraving step much less difficult and offered the prospect of making multiple copies of the result by some simpler process such as electrotyping, molding or stamping. Soon Berliner was using a more direct recording method, in which the stylus traced a line through a very thin coating of wax on a zinc disc, which was then etched in acid to convert the line of bared metal into a playable groove.

Ted Weems band on set of Fibber McGee & Molly - 1937

➦In 1901...Bandleader Ted Weems born in Pitcairen, PA (Died at age 61 - May 6, 1963). His work in music was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Weems moved to Chicago with his band around 1928. The Ted Weems Orchestra had chart success in 1929 with the novelty song "Piccolo Pete", which rewarded him with his second Gold Record, and the #1 hit "The Man from the South". The band gained popularity in the 1930s, making regular radio broadcasts. These included Jack Benny's Canada Dry program on CBS and NBC during the early 1930s, and the Fibber McGee & Molly program in the late 1930s.

In 1936, the Ted Weems Orchestra gave singer Perry Como his first national exposure; Como recorded with the band (on Decca Records), beginning his long and successful career.

The first season of the Beat the Band radio show on the NBC Red Network (1940–1941) included Weems and his orchestra as part of the cast.

In 1940, Weems and his orchestra were featured on Beat the Band on the NBC-Red radio network.

➦In 1908...Saturday Evening Post ad for a Victor 'talking machine'.

➦In 1919...Actress Barbara Britton born Barbara Maurine Brantingham (Died from pancreatic cancer at age 60 – January 17, 1980). She is best known for her Western film roles opposite Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Gene Autry and for her two-year tenure as inquisitive amateur sleuth Pam North on the television and radio series Mr. and Mrs. North.

➦In 1960…John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debates in American history. The debates were staged at the studios of WBBM-TV in Chicago. The Kennedy-Nixon debates not only had a major impact on the election’s outcome, but ushered in a new era in which crafting a public image and taking advantage of media exposure became essential ingredients of a successful political campaign. They also heralded the central role television has continued to play in the democratic process.