Talk Radio Network Enterprises CEO Mark Masters (r) and National Hispanic Media Coalition CEO Alex Nogales were the central focus of a spirited opening panel at the 2009 R&R Talk Radio Seminar.

ABC News Radio correspondent Alex Stone (r) interviewed best-selling author Marcus Buckingham, who provided suggestions for career survival in these challenging times.

Morning Shows Inc. founder Jack Silver (r) gets a smile from former NBA star and aspiring talk show host John Salley. Silver received the panel's Most Bitter Award for his candid take on the state of the radio industry.

Pictured here are (l-r) Greg Moceri of Moceri Media, Ron Rodrigues of Arbitron and Chris Stigall of KCMO/Kansas City looking on as Kirk Tanter of Syndication One makes a point at the "Did You Hear That" panel about listening to your station effectively.

Congressman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) (l) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) took part in a heated debate about the Fairness Doctrine and government regulation of radio.

Providing the other side of the argument at the Fairness Doctrine panel were (l-r) hosts Thom Hartmann and Stephanie Miller with Media Syndication Services president Paul Woodhull.

Host of the syndicated "CEO Show" Robert Reiss (c) shares what he's learned about leadership from interviewing the CEOs of many top companies. Looking no less intense are ABC Radio Networks syndicated host Curtis Sliwa (l) and Citadel/San Francisco VP/GM Mickey Luckoff.

Helping attendees with suggestions for monetizing their interactive efforts are moderator Ruth Presslaff of Presslaff Interactive Revenue, R&R News/Talk/Sports Editor Mike Stern, Borrell and Associates' Colby Atwood, Mercury Radio Arts' Chris Balfe, Associated Press' Thom Callahan, Ando Media's Paul Krasinski and Hitviews' Caitlin Hill.

Gabe Hobbs received a spontaneous standing ovation from the crowd when he was named News/Talk/Sports Radio Executive of the Year for 2008 following his shocking release from Clear Channel late in the year.

Clear Channel talk KFI/Los Angeles morning host Bill Handel immediately stepped in to take full credit for Robin Bertolucci winning the award for PD of the Year.

Legendary radio and television host Larry King tells stories about his amazing career after receiving the 2009 R&R Career Achievement Award.

The crowd cheered as R&R paid tribute to Paul Harvey, showing his acceptance speech from when he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2003 seminar.

Bonneville senior VP Joel Oxley (c) poses with R&R's Cyndee Maxwell and Mike Stern after all-news WTOP/Washington was named the winner of the Best Web site category. That category and two others were new additions to the awards this year.

Surrounding surprise guest celebrity attendee Suzanne Sommers are Chris Stigall from KCMO/Kansas City and Talk Radio Network Enterprises Mark Masters.

Coleman Insights chairman and CEO John Coleman debuted their study "Beyond the Rhetoric: The Truth About the PPM Performances of Spoken-Word Formats," which shows talk stations, especially all-news and sports, performing very well in PPM.

The winner of GM of the Year, Tom Langmyer from Tribune talk WGN/Chicago, poses with R&R's Cyndee Maxwell and Mike Stern.

This year's awards lunch included celebrity presenters like Clear Channel talk KOGO/San Diego PD Cliff Albert.

Larry King Of The Dial

R&R Career Excellence Recipient
By Jeffrey Yorke

It's been nearly 52 years since Larry Zeiger sat down in the air chair for the first time at WAHR (now WMBM) in Miami. Minutes before he cracked open the mic, the station's GM told him "Zeiger" was too ethnic and that he needed a new name.

>FULL STORY

TRS '09: Fight Over Fairness Doctrine

By Jeffrey Yorke

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. -- After the yelling, the name-calling, the rolling of the eyes, and the profound frowning, the air cleared and one thing was clear: no one wants to see the Fairness Doctrine return.

>FULL STORY

TRS '09: Finding New Talent In Hard Times

By Jeffrey Yorke

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. -- Robin Bertolucci has a reputation for being a straight shooter and she reinforced it Friday morning (March 13) during a session on discovering new talent in talk radio during Radio & Records' 14th annual Talk Radio Seminar when the KFI/Los Angeles PD acknowledged “PDs are chicken shits about trying new things."

>FULL STORY

TRS '09: Coleman Sees Higher PPM Spoken Word Shares

By Mike Boyle

A new Coleman Insights study released Friday (March 13) reveals that the average spoken word-formatted radio station achieves a larger audience share under Arbitron's PPM than it did when its market was measured by Arbitron's diary service.

>FULL STORY

TRS '09: Radio: It's The Audio Content Business

By Jeffrey Yorke

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. -- Years ago, the story goes, railroad executives failed to realize that they were not in the railroad business as much as they were in the railroad freight business.

>FULL STORY

TRS '09: Radio’s Balancing Act

By Jeffrey Yorke

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. – Alex Nogales came to Radio & Records' 14th annual Talk Radio Seminar in this Los Angeles suburb with an edge, angry with the way he believes Hispanics are treated by conservative Talk radio hosts.

>FULL STORY