Tag: June 7

Industry News

Powerful Agenda Being Set for TALKERS 2024: Radio and Beyond

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

imThe forthcoming 27th annual installment of the talk media industry’s longest-running and most important national gathering will be meticulously documented on video for posterity. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison states, “Because the entire agenda of this year’s event will take place on the state of the art television soundstage ‘A’ at Hofstra University’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication and a special staging area for individual interviews will be set up on the adjacent TV soundstage ‘B,’ the opportunity to create an in-depth video time capsule of this remarkably transitional moment in talk media history will be unprecedented.” Harrison adds, “The number of heavyweight players from all ends of the business gathered in one place for one day on a television soundstage will be of tremendous historical significance. We will grab the opportunity to save everything we can for posterity. This conference will be more than just another industry ‘convention.’ It will be a ‘symposium’ for the ages reflecting and preserving a remarkably colorful and historic era in American media and culture. People all over the world and for years to come will bear witness to this ‘happening.’” This power-packed, one-day event will again be presented by TALKERS in association with the prestigious university’s multi-award-winning station WRHU Radio and the school’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. To register for TALKERS 2024 or to obtain sponsorship information, call Barbara Kurland at 413-565-5413. For a look at the full list of speakers, stories about key panel discussions & presentations, as well as a list of nearby hotels, click here.

Industry News TALKERS 2024

Sharon Madison Named 2024 TALKERS Woman of the Year

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Sharon “Sherry” Madison has been selected 2024 “Woman of the Year” by the TALKERS editorial board. She will be presented the Judy Jarvis Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievements in Talk Media by a Woman during TALKERS 2024 on Friday, June 7 at Hofstra University on Long Island. Mrs. Madison served as executive producer for her late husband Joe Madison’s long-running morning drive program on SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s Urban View channel since its debut on the platform in 2008. Prior to that she worked closely with her husband – a Radio Hall of Fame inductee – on his talk shows heard on a number of stations including WOL and WWRC in Washington, DC. The Madisons were married for more than 45 years. Joe Madison succumbed after a bravely fought battle with cancer earlier this year. The “Woman of the Year” award will be presented by legendary radio talk show host Larry Young of WOLB, Baltimore during a TALKERS tribute to Joe Madison at the conference. Upon announcing the choice, TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison stated, “This is a classic case of a great woman behind a great man. This brilliant, distinguished woman has served with skill and steadiness creating a landmark program of utmost importance as one of the truly outstanding producers to ever work in talk radio. In 2024, no one deserves it more.”

Industry News TALKERS 2024

John Catsimatidis Named Recipient of 2024 TALKERS Freedom of Speech Award

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Self-made billionaire businessman, broadcasting entrepreneur, radio talk show host and best-selling author John Catsimatidis (pictured above speaking at last year’s TALKERS 2023) has been selected by the TALKERS editorial board as the 2024 recipient of the highly prestigious Gene Burns Memorial Award for Freedom of Speech. The honor, also commonly referred to as the “TALKERS Freedom of Speech Award,” is presented each year to a talk media practitioner whose work sets an example for the exercise and preservation of the First Amendment. In addition to Catsimatidis’ founding and/or ownership of major enterprises in the fields of grocery chains and the energy industry, he is a long-running radio talk show host who began changing the course of the medium’s history by purchasing heritage radio station WABC, New York in 2019.  Since then, the Greek immigrant born on the island of Nistros in 1948 and who came to the United States with his parents when he was six months old, has made significant progress in repositioning and reinvigorating the legendary talk and music station to its role as a major cultural and political influencer in modern media. This has been accomplished by boldly bringing diverse, high-profile voices to the station’s talent lineup, focusing heavily on local news and public policy issues, eliminating paid weekend programming, adding a dash of music and pop culture to the mix, concentrating the station’s schedule on live shows in real time and investing in community-oriented events. Catsimatidis’ Red Apple Media Group has subsequently expanded the station’s national footprint by acquiring WLIR-FM, Long Island and launching its own syndication arm, Red Apple Audio Networks. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison, upon announcing the selection, stated, “John Catsimatidis is a true New York City legend and former mayoral candidate who has proven to be one of the most positive forces the radio industry has seen in decades. He embodies the spirit of what this award is all about. He joins a remarkable list of broadcasters from all ends of the political spectrum – left, right, middle, and apolitical – who’ve received this honor going back every year to the origins of TALKERS in the late 1980s.” The award will be presented at TALKERS 2024: Radio and Beyond at Hofstra University on Long Island Friday, June 7.