News, Talk, and Sports

This chapter examines the popular news/talk/sports radio station format. Although music is the most cited reason for listening to radio, news/talk/sports is also extremely high on the list. In fact, the news/talk/information format is the most listened to format on radio, beating out pop contemporary hit radio, adult contemporary, all-sports, and even country music. There are more millennials listening to news/talk/sports than ever before, too. In addition to being the most listened-to format on radio, WTOP, an all-news radio station in Washington, D.C., is the top revenue grossing station in the nation. Listeners turn to the news/talk/sports format for updates on traffic, weather, and breaking news. Unlike on all-news stations, on all-sports and all-talk stations listeners expect to hear casual and opinionated discussions. The news director is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day news coverage, quality control, training, and management of those who work in the newsroom. This chapter examines the popular news, talk, sports radio station format. Although music is the most cited reason for listening to radio, news/talk/sports are also extremely high on the list. Radio station websites are the primary places that stations post job openings, but networking is important to secure the next job. Scheld says: All of our jobs are posted on our websites but the importance of networking cannot be overemphasized. As television succeeded radio as the mainstay for entertainment programming in the 1950s and 1960s, the networks concentrated their efforts on supplying affiliates with news and information feeds. The wire services, networks, and Internet are the primary source for sports news at local stations. On the other hand, information about the outcome of local games, such as high school football and so forth, must be acquired firsthand. This usually entails a call to the team's coach or a direct report from a stringer or reporter.