Urban Insite

The Problem With Radio Isn’t the Audience. It’s the Strategy

Dave Van Dyke, BridgeRatings After this week’s discussion about radio’s future—especially its powerful position in the car—it’s clear the industry isn’t disappearing. It’s evolving. Radio’s future will belong to stations that combine what they’ve always done well—local connection, trusted personalities, and immediacy—with the digital tools audiences now expect. This bears repeating. Here’s a practical 7-point plan

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Fear Has No Place At The Polls

To The Urban Radio Family Every voter deserves to enter the polls without fear. Yet families across the country are scanning parking lots, wondering who’s watching, and calculating risk before exercising their constitutional right. Even the acting ICE chief, Todd Lyons, has said federal officers have “no reason” to be at polling locations. But the

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iHeartMedia Launches TikTok Radio

iHeartMedia and TikTok have partnered to launch TikTok Radio from iHeart, a new music and culture station that blends trending songs with the creators and viral moments driving discovery on TikTok. The fast-paced format will debut March 13 on the free iHeartRadio app and across 28 stations nationwide in markets including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta,

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LRN Acquires Radio Workflow

Local Radio Networks (LRN) has acquired Radio Workflow (RWF), combining programming and operational technology into a single platform aimed at streamlining radio station operations. The deal brings together LRN’s 24/7 music programming services with Radio Workflow’s cloud-based management system, which includes tools for traffic, billing, sales, production and analytics. The combined offering is positioned as

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Radio’s Talent Problem

Dave Van Dyke, BridgeRatings Does the radio industry know that its future depends on great air talent? There’s just one problem. We’re not producing much of it anymore. Radio research shows that personality is radio’s real competitive advantage. Not algorithms. Not massive music libraries. Not technology. What radio does better than almost any other medium is create companionship

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Radio Weekly Reach Holds Strong

Radio continues to maintain a dominant and stable position in the audio landscape, according to new findings from the 2026 FMR/Eastlan Ratings National Radio Listening Survey. The study shows that 84% of adults ages 25-64 listen to AM/FM radio each week, a level that has remained remarkably consistent over the past five years. The report

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Final Seats: Women In Radio Tour In Atlanta

Hey Women In Radio Family, Yesterday, we proudly announced Drea Nicole and Lex P of the Pour Minds podcast as our honorees for the Atlanta stop of the Women In Radio 2026 National Tour, and the excitement has been incredible to see. Now the countdown is officially on. We are 10 days away from our dinner

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Cumulus/Westwood One Covering The 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

Cumulus Media’s Westwood One, one of America’s largest audio networks and the official network audio broadcast partner of the NCAA, will once again be home to every bounce, basket, and buzzer beater of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Westwood One’s coverage will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET prior to the First Four® on Tuesday, March 17 and continue with play-by-play

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NAB Calls For Modernized Broadcast Ownership

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is urging policymakers to modernize federal broadcast ownership regulations, arguing that outdated rules could threaten the ability of local stations to keep live sports free and widely accessible. In a recent blog post, NAB Director of Communications and Social Media Grace Whaley pointed to growing concerns about how live

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