Radio Proved Essential As Hurricane Isaias Moved Ashore

AM/FM radio proved essential during Hurricane Isaias, with audience data showing elevated and resilient listening across Gulf Coast and Atlanta markets as the storm made landfall and moved inland.

The latest blog from the Cumulus/Westwood One Active Audio Group tracks how DTS AutoStage next-day audience measurement captured how drivers and listeners turned to local radio for critical updates during the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season. Isaias came ashore on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday, October 9, placing the Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola and Panama City, Florida, radio markets directly in its path before continuing inland and reaching Atlanta on Saturday, October 10.

In Mobile on landfall day, hour-by-hour in-car AM/FM listening occasions showed residents largely heeded shelter warnings. From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., however, car traffic ran higher than normal as people completed last-minute shopping and moved to safety. By Sunday, October 11, Mobile morning in-car occasions had recovered to 86% of historical levels; from noon to midnight, recovery reached 98%.

Station-level results underscored radio’s role. In Atlanta, News and Talk WSB recorded its highest shares and cumes as Isaias arrived. In Panama City, Christian stations posted strong audience growth for the storm week. The Cumulus Pensacola cluster saw shares double versus a typical day. In Mobile on Friday, the Cumulus cluster share rose 30% compared with a typical day.

The data illustrate how local AM/FM radio maintained and, in several cases, expanded its audience during a major weather event, serving as a primary source of information as conditions deteriorated and then began to stabilize.

NAB Show NYC: Marconi Presentations Tonight

The 2026 Marconi Radio Awards will be presented Tuesday night at New York’s Edison Ballroom, serving as the unofficial kickoff for NAB Show New York, a two-day conference that begins Oct. 21 at the Javits Center.

The event draws leaders from broadcasting, sports, streaming, technology and the creator economy for discussions centered on the business of media and the technologies shaping its future. The National Association of Broadcasters positions the gathering as a radio-focused meeting place following the end of its annual co-produced Radio Show with the Radio Advertising Bureau. This year’s edition again emphasizes technology and a broader, non-traditional approach to radio.

SCOTUS Refuses to Overturn Landmark Termination Rights Ruling

The Supreme Court on Monday basically said it won’t step in to overturn a big ruling that lets musicians take back not just their U.S. copyrights, but the foreign rights too—years after they sold them away. That decision, from a lower court, stands for now.

The justices used an unusual move to turn down an appeal from Universal, Sony, Warner, and BMG. Four of them sat it out, and the rest said they couldn’t get to the case this term. So the earlier win for songwriter Cyril Vetter over his 1963 song “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” stays in place.

Boston Radio: Carter Alan to Retire from WZLX After 47 Years

WZLX's Carter Alan (Boston Globe photo)

Carter Alan, the longtime midday host on Boston’s 100.7 WZLX, will retire after a 47-year career on the city’s airwaves, iHeartMedia Boston announced Monday.

Alan will continue hosting his weekday show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until his final broadcast on Friday, Dec. 18. WZLX program director Chris Tyler will take over the midday slot following his departure.

France Is Burning, Fox News Knows Who's Behind It

A Fox News Digital investigation has identified 54 organizations and movements that organized, supported, or amplified France’s October student protests and the wider wave of riots and unrest that followed, according to a report published Monday.⁠

Of those 54 groups, only 16—roughly one-third—are student or youth organizations. These include communist youth groups and a Muslim student association. The remaining 38 consist of adult-led communist organizations, labor unions, political parties, revolutionary-left groups, advocacy organizations, and international propaganda outlets.

Local MLB Broadcast Rights Are Worth $1.6B Each Year

• Chunk of change: MLB’s local rights are worth $1.6 billion per season by themselves.
• Slice of the pie: The Dodgers and Yankees account for 23% of that revenue, presenting a challenge to a combined regional streaming platform.

MLB’s local TV rights are still worth a lot—about $1.6 billion in 2026, which is 43% of all the money the league makes from broadcasting. National deals add another $2.1 billion on top of that.

The problem is that the value is really uneven. Just the Dodgers and Yankees account for 23% of all that local money. So if MLB tries to roll out one big streaming service for in-market games, those big clubs don’t have much reason to jump in if it means taking less than they’re getting now.

After 43 Years, Christiane Amanpour To Exit CNN

Christiane Amanpour will leave CNN in June 2027 after 43 years with the network, the cable news outlet announced Oct. 19.

The 68-year-old chief international anchor said she reached the decision after “many months of thought and a few sleepless nights.” Her daily CNN and PBS programs will end in December. She will continue hosting a weekly CNN show through May 2027 and assist with the transition through June.

Viewer Engagement Has Stalled For Netflix

Netflix ousted two of its top creative executives in recent days, signaling that co-CEO Ted Sarandos and other leaders believe the company must overhaul its television and movie slate to reverse a slide in U.S. viewer engagement.

Content chief Bela Bajaria was replaced last week, hours after a 1,000-person layoff she helped plan. Film chief Dan Lin was removed yesterday. The moves come as Netflix prepares to report third-quarter earnings today and face Wall Street questions about its content strategy.

Good Morning! The Pulse Has Your Briefing For Tuesday, Oct 20

Radio Broadcasting

Radio's Biggest Night: The 2026 Marconi Radio Awards will be presented Tuesday night at New York’s Edison Ballroom, serving as the unofficial kickoff for NAB Show New York, a two-day conference that begins Oct. 21 at the Javits Center. MORE

Signing Off: Carter Alan, the longtime midday host on Boston’s 100.7 WZLX, will retire after a 47-year career on the city’s airwaves, iHeartMedia Boston announced Monday. MORE

Gone Country: Audacy Has flipped Fromats for WTDY 96.5 In Philadelphia. MORE

KROQ’s Iconic Almost Acoustic Christmas Returns

KROQ-FM, Audacy’s influential alternative rock station in Los Angeles, is bringing one of Southern California’s most enduring music traditions back for its 35th year. KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas returns to the Kia Forum on December 12, featuring performances by Foo Fighters, Weezer, Sublime, Interpol, Joyce Manor, Julia Wolf, Almost Monday and The Linda Lindas.

Radio History: Oct 20

Lee DeForest

➦In 1906...Radio pioneer Dr. Lee DeForest demonstrated the electrical vacuum radio tube. DeForest disliked the term "wireless" and chose a new moniker, "radio."

In 1902 he and his financial backers founded the DeForest Wireless Telegraph Company. In order to dramatize the potential of this new medium of communication, he gave public demonstrations of wireless telegraphy for businessmen, the press, and the military.

A poor businessman and a poorer judge of men, de Forest was defrauded twice by his own business partners. By 1906 his first company was insolvent, and he had been squeezed out of its operation. But in 1907 he patented a much more promising detector (developed in 1906), which he called the Audion; it was capable of more sensitive reception of wireless signals than were the electrolytic and Carborundum types then in use. It was a thermionic grid-triode vacuum tube—a three-element electronic “valve” similar to a two-element device patented by the Englishman Sir John Ambrose Fleming in 1905. In 1907 de Forest was able to broadcast experimentally both speech and music to the general public in the New York City area.

De Forest is credited with the birth of radio broadcasting when on January 12, 1910, he conducted experimental broadcast of part of the live performance of Tosca and, the next day, a performance with the participation of Italian tenor Enrico Caruso from the stage of Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

Arlene Francis

➦In 1908...Arlene Francis was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  Francis became a well-known New York City radio personality, hosting several programs. In 1938 she became the female host of the radio game show "What's My Name?" although several men appeared as co-hosts over the years, Francis was the sole female host throughout the program's long run (on ABC, NBC and Mutual networks) until it ended in 1949.

In 1940, Francis played Betty in Betty and Bob, an early radio soap opera broadcast.

Philly Radio: Audacy Has Gone Country On WTDY 96.5 FM

There’s a new home for country in Philadelphia starting today with the launch of US 96.5, delivering a mix of the biggest country hits and newest releases, including music from top artists such as Morgan Wallen, Ella Langley, Luke Combs and Jelly Roll. 

The new US 96.5 is commercial-free until October 24 and begins its weekday programming on October 26.

Atlanta Radio: Star 94 Lauches New Morning Show

Star 94 (WSTR-FM), an Audacy station in Atlanta, has added The Bret Mega Show co-hosted by Bret Mega and Anna Bohlmann to its weekday lineup. The show can be heard weekday mornings from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET.

Start your mornings out with “The Bret Mega Show.” Bret and AB – a fun, unfiltered on-air family who aren’t afraid to share it all. From personal stories to listener confessions, they bring real talk, big laughs and unforgettable memories.

“Bret and AB bring an authentic, high-energy connection to the airwaves every morning that listeners will instantly resonate with,” said JR Ammons, Brand Manager, Star 94. “I couldn’t be prouder of how ‘The Bret Mega Show’ continues to evolve by bringing their big laughs and real talk to Atlanta mornings. This marks an exciting new chapter for Star 94.”

“The Bret Mega Show” can also be heard on:

• 99.7 The Point (KZPT-FM) in Kansas City: 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. CT X, Facebook and Instagram
• Y98 (KYKY-FM) in St. Louis: 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. CT X, Facebook and Instagram
• 105.3 The Buzz (KFBZ-FM) in Wichita: 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. CT X, Facebook and Instagram

📻Listeners can tune in to Star 94.1 (WSTR-FM) in Atlanta on air and nationwide on the Audacy app and website. Fans can also connect with the station via X, Facebook and Instagram.

Indy Radio: WNTR Mix 107.9 Shuffles Line-Up w/WZPL

Cumulus Media announces that Adult Contemporary station 107.9 The Mix/WNTR-FM in Indianapolis debuts a new local morning show today featuring well-known on-air personalities, Toni DeKeyser and Ryan Swiger as Co-Hosts. "The Morning Mix with Toni & Ryan” can be heard on 107.9 The Mix Monday through Friday from 6:00am-10:00am.

"The Morning Mix with Toni & Ryan" will wake up Indianapolis with positive energy and fun, blending local conversation, real-life experiences, and great music. Together, Toni and Ryan create a show that feels less like radio and more like a conversation around the kitchen table. From local happenings and community events to parenting moments, lifestyle topics, entertainment news, and plenty of laughs, they invite listeners to be part of the conversation every morning. The new show keeps Central Indiana Hoosiers up-to-the-minute with the information they need to know, engaging entertainment, and real community connection - plus a plethora of listener giveaways!

Toni DeKeyser was previously a Producer and Co-Host on Cumulus Media sister Top 40 station 99.5 ZPL/WZPL-FM’s "Smiley Morning Show," as well as Midday Personality on 107.9 The Mix. She will continue to be heard on 99.5 ZPL Monday through Friday as On-Air Host, Middays. "Producer Will" from the “Smiley Morning Show” and Midday Personality on 99.5 ZPL swaps Midday shows with DeKeyser and will host the 10:00am-3:00pm slot on 107.9 The Mix. In addition to his new role on the 107.9 Mix morning show, Ryan Swiger will continue to be heard on 99.5 ZPL weekdays from 3:00-7:00pm as Afternoon Drive Personality “Crash.”

Local Public Media Eligible for New Funding

Public Media Bridge Fund launches Pathways to Sustainability program Tuesday to help local stations build lasting models after federal cuts.

The program, announced as the fund shifts from short-term emergency grants to long-term organizational strength, provides coaching, customized action plans, and implementation funding of up to $150,000 for radio-only stations and up to $250,000 for television or joint licensees. Applications open tomorrow, with the effort aimed at reducing reliance on federal support and improving operations, revenue diversity, and regional partnerships.

The move follows the Knight Foundation’s recent additional $10 million commitment over three years to the fund’s next phase. That investment is part of a broader $38 million fundraising goal to move stations beyond stabilization. To date, the Bridge Fund has raised approximately $87 million from more than 1,500 donors and has already distributed emergency aid that helped stabilize 186 public radio and television stations serving roughly 30 million people.

R.I.P.: Noah Adams, Longtime All Things Considered Host

Noah Adams (1941-2026)

Noah Adams, the longtime host of NPR’s All Things Considered, died Friday at his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He was 84.

Adams hosted the program for 18 years, guiding listeners through major events including Ronald Reagan’s landslide electoral victories, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. Colleagues remembered him most for the softer, observational features he produced after riding trains across the country or spending days in small towns talking to people he met.

“He was always observing,” said Melissa Block, who produced pieces with him for years before hosting All Things Considered herself. “He would have a little reporter’s notebook and he would be taking notes in shorthand. ... Somehow, when we came back, he would capture the character of a place or a person or a town in the most vivid, rich, simple language.”

NAB Show New York Set To Kickoff

NAB Show New York 2026 returns Wednesday and Thursday at the Javits Center, bringing together roughly 250 companies—including at least 37 first-time exhibitors and about 23% international firms—focused on production, AI, streaming, cloud, infrastructure and related tools.

Production remains the largest exhibitor category at about 42%, followed by infrastructure, IT and security solutions at 33%. Asset management, automation and media supply chain technologies each account for roughly 25% of exhibitors. Streaming appears among 66 companies, cloud among 51 and remote production among 42, reflecting growing integration across those areas. At least 33 firms are highlighting AI and machine learning applications.

MRC Pulls Accreditation for PPM Service in Multiple Markets

Nielsen’s Personal Portable Meter (PPM) radio audience measurement service has lost Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation in four major markets—Baltimore, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh—and has been denied accreditation in 18 additional markets that were under review.

Those markets are: