The diversity of podcasting – both in its creators and the content – were on full display Thursday night as the third annual iHeartRadio Podcast Awards celebrated the industry’s best. The top prize went to Earwolf’s Office Ladies, which was selected by listeners as Podcast of the Year. Honors for best hosts went to Conan O’Brien and Nicole Byer. There was even a winner of a new show pitch. Here’s a rundown of all of the 2021 winners. Read more

The National Association of Broadcasters lobbies on a wide array of subjects, from big issues like attempts to curb drug or political advertising, to less pressing issues such as whether daylight savings time should be done away with. But as the 117th session of Congress gets underway and a new President takes office, the NAB has laid out seven areas that will be its top priorities in Washington. Read more

To bridge the gap between perceived radio listening and actual listening during the pandemic, the Colorado Broadcasters Association partnered with Nielsen for its annual “Power of Broadcast in Colorado” study. Nielsen data from the report reveals that radio gained audience at the height of the pandemic. “The public has confidence that their live and local broadcasters are going to deliver accurate and relevant information,” says CBA President/CEO Justin Sasso. Read more

National Public Radio President/CEO John Lansing concludes the search for a lead for the public media group’s legal team as Elizabeth Allen joins as Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel & Secretary, effective Feb. 16. It’s the latest in a series of executive appointments Lansing has made since coming to the group in September 2019. Read more

The Delmarva Educational Association has filed a $110,000 deal to buy sports “106.5 The Ticket” WTOD Toledo from the Mainstay Station Trust, which was created by Cumulus Media to spin-off four FMs to get its 2018 bankruptcy reorganization approved by the FCC. WTOD was the final station in the original trust. Read more

Cadence13 is joining the daily news podcast ranks with a partnership with Punchbowl News. The result is The Daily Punch, a podcast that will be hosted by political journalists Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer, the former writers of Politico’s daily Playbook newsletter. Read more

Ray Appleton will return to KMJ-AM/FM Fresno Monday after serving his suspension… Westwood One will carry play-by-play coverage of this Sunday’s AFC and NFC Championship Games… WNOW-FM Indianapolis to move Tino Cochino to mornings… Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern named the recipient of the 2020 CRB President’s Award… Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire had $65 million in revenue in 2020. Read more

There’s more evidence that smart speakers are growing as a device used by Americans to consume AM/FM radio programming. The portion of listening to U.S. AM/FM streams that occurs on smart speakers climbed to 22% in December 2020, up from 19% in December 2019 and 17% in December 2018. That represents a 29% increase in two years. The growth isn’t coming at the expense of listening taking place on mobile devices. Read more

This is a week of change in Washington as President Biden is sworn-in and Democrats take control of the Federal Communications Commission and the Senate. But with the scale of the changes, and bigger challenges facing the new administration, it may be a while before the impact on radio is clear. “It’s going to be months, possibly this whole year before we start to see more clearly how this is all going to play out,” said broadcast attorney David Oxenford. Read more