Weekly Earful

Another hoorah for AM radio. A new AARP study says AM radio is still rockin’ for those over 50 years old. The study showed over 85% of people 50 or older they asked said they had AM radio in their cars, but listening times and habits varied. 32% said they listened to AM radio while they were driving, but 36% said they didn’t. More than half polled said they felt holding onto AM radio in their vehi...

People are hoping for so many things in these trying times. While I’m writing about school budgets and state budgets, others, unbeknownst to many of us, cannot afford to buy food. They are putting food on their family table sure, but it’s with the help of credit cards, which is not helpful. I count myself as someone who is grateful for the life I have. It’s not always easy, this life I made for my...

My gosh, how many times do we discuss dipping in and out of the news cycle to stay sane? Reporters and anchors on (mainstream) TV news and elsewhere say it’s a whirlwind of stories daily to keep track of, and some also say, that’s the point, so we don’t follow the smaller stories, that are actually huge. One example might be last week’s trip to China. Does anyone else remember a time where a plane...

Many of us have sadly had to deal with some form of sexual harassment at work. Some are traumatizing experiences, and others take the form of dealing with nasty people who don’t like that you are in a position of power. I have not considered myself someone who would complain about this, until I had to. I was only 22 and I caught a male co-worker staring down the back of my jeans at my exposed lowe...

It’s silly and trite, but I’m going for it. MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU. But what I mean to say is, May the FORCE be with you. Is this a Euphemism? Do you know what that is? I thought it meant something else frankly, but then I looked it up, I was shaken. Changing a famous movie line to make people focus on something silly instead, is not a Euphemism, it’s whimsy, it’s being carefree, and it’s giving:...

I was having a hard time coming up with a topic for this blog this week. Then, after a very, bad, awful week, I climbed up out of it and got back to being awake. I was preparing to go out for a morning walk when I was hit up by a client who didn’t receive the content they should have. I immediately sat down with my laptop called my team, emailed the client, solved the thing, and took some breaths....

We cover AI a lot on this blog, rant, or whatever you prefer calling it. A story caught my eye in the Columbia Journalism Review because it showed even careful journalists can be fooled by Artificial Intelligence shortcuts. So, the story goes… a Dutch freelancer, Menno van den Bos has been in touch with the publication, as well as the Tow Center for Digital Journalism. He said he found what he tho...

Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them. Remember Al Franken’s book from 2003? It was a blistering look at Conservative Talk Radio. Al of course, went on to be one of the first Liberal Talk Radio hosts on the old Air America. And, of course, a US Senator from Minnesota who resigned after being accused of sexual harassment during the #metoo movement. But I digress, the book’s title is what I want to...

When news no longer matters and everyone is reporting the same story ad infinitum, we have a problem. When there is one side and only one side, we are robots, or Stepford Spouses and don’t really know what’s going on, do we? Here’s my take on the loss of CBS News Radio. Now we have one network feeding national news that is not regurgitated from television. First though. This is, sad, very, very sa...

We’ve been fighting a while to keep AM on the dial. Especially when you go buy a new car. Some of the newer vehicles don’t even have FM, so you have to pay, no matter what to get radio with human voices. These are generally electric vehicles and are the base level, so they’re going for an entry level consumer, while not allowing that entry level consumer to not pay for the addition of broadcast ra...

A long, long time ago, on a wing and a prayer I started a news network. It wasn’t designed to be a news network, it was a job for a person without a job, in a small town in Montana. After a year, I was anchoring 40 newscasts per day, so I had to hire someone, because I’m also a mom. In 19 years, it may feel to an outsider, as if we’ve hired one new person each year, but actually there have been to...

When I was a young person, in high school, I found journalism. I was a print reporter in high school and college. But I leaned into independent journalism in college. I found regular print reporting to be stodgy, unless it was investigative. After college when I was voice deep into broadcasting, an occasional investigative story would captivate my imagination. I produced a series in the early augh...

I love a good talk show, music program or channel and love an entertaining podcast. Sometimes when we get to overthinking, it’s great to unplug from our daily routine, and plug into audio. An Edison Research study shows women play an important role, tuning into audio as some of the most loyal, engaged, and influential listeners. The group says women are consistent with their listening, while multi...

There’s a new trend online, which isn’t that new, reminding us that it’s okay to lean into boredom. To say that you’re bored, may just be because you are not glued to your phone, computer, television, or even a book. How bad would it be to look out the window and just sit there gazing? Studies show boredom or allowing your mind to wander, is a way to let creativity take over your mind’s eye. Focus...

Obviously, you’ve got to have some fun in you or you wouldn’t want to be on the radio, yes? I was wandering through a retail store a year or so ago and a child was running about, yelling, laughing, skipping and generally showing off their joy. And I thought, why can’t we adults do that? Do you know what would happen if you skipped through TJ Maxx showing joy? People would roll their eyes at you; t...

I had a boss back in the day when I was a brand-new Program Director who gave me zero feedback. I would ask and he would say, “if you did something wrong, I’d tell you”. I am not sure now after so many years if I appreciated that. When we’re younger and cockier, we may think, wow, look at me. When in reality we should be mortified that as a green manager, you actually don’t have that needed suppor...

Is it time to bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich? It is believed that when an ostrich thinks it’s in danger, it will bury its head and may believe its entire body is also hidden. It may feel like a good time to bury ourselves and ignore the many news stories happening around us. Even as a news junkie myself, I would say sometimes we need to not know, but lately there is a must know feeling...

Not everyone can afford satellite radio and free, local radio has always been there for us. A new study behind the economics of that shows free, local radio powers the economy, bringing in $437 billion in annual GDP with nearly 910,000 jobs across the country. A new study by Woods & Poole Economics looked at what local radio and tv contribute financially. Along with BIA Advisory Services the resea...

Another winning story for radio as the fitness industry may be a way of growth for advertisers. The Media Audit ad investment company MCCG Invest reported growth of 8% for audio platforms – with a focus on radio. The research shows advertisers could invest in radio to reap a massive share of health-club users. The research also says people who listen to audio are way more likely to be gym goers. T...

First, they came for Voice of America (VOA), then they took away the funds for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB). However, you may feel about the government putting up money for public assistance, or in this case entertainment and information, as media folks, we should stick our necks out a little more and find ways to entertain and inform the public for free. Voice of America ended las...

It’s been a doozie of an Old Year. Isn’t that what we call the year before the New Year? An old year? Well, if not, it sure felt old, and dreary and, whew, what a whopper! After 2 years of not anchoring news, by choice, not design, I started to get back into the trenches. As a local news anchor, it’s not often you must question if the material you’re working with is true or not. But, in 2025 we ha...

Just when you think you have everything under control at work, some massive news story breaks and you become frazzled. It’s how you handle breaking news, or some catastrophic event that sets you apart from the rest. I remember in my 1st yoga training my teacher, who was a New York City resident (read: hustle and bustle) said “slow is fast”. She recalled being in a hurry to unlock her bike to get t...

Local news still matters! I’ve been screaming this from the rooftops for years now. A new study says audiences “still crave local news”. Sure, print newspapers are struggling, but journalists still want to create stories in their communities and radio stations have been trying to capitalize on localism for years with digital, streaming and podcasting. Heck, they’re even building their own news sit...

As certain new models of cars are totally doing away with FM radio after already dumping AM, broadcasting advocates warn profits are being placed above public safety. All it takes is to remember the Southern California fires earlier this year when cell service was out and radio ruled. In a Blog posted by the Chief of Staff and Executive VP of Public Affairs for the NAB, Michelle Lehman writes “Fre...

I have worked in tiny town America and for a couple of major news networks. I have noticed the people in tiny towns seem to want to be seen more than the people at the major news networks. I mean, I don’t go around announcing my background, and I’m not sure they do either, but I’ve noticed them. I read about a woman a week or so ago in the trades who recently died. She was apparently the first to...