With the clock ticking down to election day, both presidential candidates are turning to radio to raise their profiles and bring in the remaining undecided voters. VP Kamala Harris and former President Trump visited two major syndicated stars on Tuesday with more AM/FM ads in the works.
Premiere Networks’ The Glenn Beck Program recently featured an exclusive interview with former President Trump, where the Republican candidate called in to discuss a wide range of issues pertaining to the 2024 election. When addressing national security, Trump expressed concern about the risk of nuclear war and border security, which he believes is the top issue for voters.
So far the 41-minute interview has amassed more than 158,000 views on YouTube. Beck also joined Trump at his rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona, on October 13, where he delivered a speech urging Americans to vote.
Elsewhere that day, VP Harris spoke with The Breakfast Club‘s Charlamagne the God in Detroit, which was aired across more than 130 iHeartMedia stations.
Harris was asked about criticisms of her being overly scripted and sticking to talking points, to which she responded by highlighting the importance of repetition to ensure people understand her stance on key issues. She also addressed her opponent’s policies, including Trump’s COVID response, the controversial sending of COVID tests to Russia, and his past targeting of Black voters with misinformation.
Harris responded to controversial topics, including a caller’s question about sending aid to other countries while addressing domestic issues like homelessness and her record as a prosecutor, particularly related to Black men and marijuana.
The hour-long town hall has gained more than 300,000 views on YouTube.
Meanwhile, the Harris-Walz campaign is continuing to use radio ads to reach niche voters in key battleground states. A new spot airing in Michigan highlights the rural upbringing of Democratic vice-presidential nominee and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. In Michigan, the campaign plans to air the ad on 70 rural radio stations, aiming to reach over 300,000 likely voters in areas outside of the major cities and suburban counties of Lower Michigan. They started a similar radio campaign in Pennsylvania in September.
They also started running commercials for Arizona’s indigenous communities on tribal media outlets this week, aimed at mobilizing Native voters in the state.
Harris outspent Trump between July and early October, investing $456.3 million compared to Trump’s $204.3 million, with a larger emphasis on radio buys.
My children attended Chicago’s M.U.I school for three years. Yet, we are Christians. Trust me, Minister Farrakhan is a major influencer of the 18-34 demographic more so than The Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club is more palatable to main stream – it will not be revered decades from now – and less invested in the improvement of the black community which made it a perfect landing spot for V. P. Harris to spin political rhetoric.
I am not a fan of either main stream candidate for POTUS. My comments are mine own objective thoughts from this person deeply worried about this country.
Anyway, radio is benefitting from the politics – albeit skewed coverage – which is great because I am a fan of radio!
We know free media works and these numbers provide impressive factual support. The question is how do we get dollars into radio? Georgia is an important swing state where some large market stations, Spanish Language stations and Urban formats are doing well. The remainder of our stations are pacing significantly behind the past two election cycles. Some that received election dollars in recent elections have no national candidate or PAC dollars at all. It is not too late to salvage the last two weeks of the campaign
I would have respected V.P. Harris more if she had spoken with Nation of Islam’s (NOI) journalists in print and by radio, facilitated by Breakfast Club, in her disingenuous efforts to galvanize black male voters. NOI holds more credibility and respectability amongst black voters, particularly black males, than does The Breakfast Club.
As to Glenn Beck his reach to a narrow audience of voters, of whom most hold derogate, racially divisive beliefs, will not effectively influence undecided voters towards Trump, IMO.
Yes, it is laudable that radio ratings and money benefit from political races. I support that as I am a huge fan of radio! But, many radio hosts such as Charlamagne and Beck are entertainment fodder with some, not much, but some sway over listeners, in my opinion.
It’s interesting that you mention the NOI. 30 years ago the NOI and Minister Farrakhan were front page news. Yesterday (October 16) was the 29th anniversary of the Million Man March, an event that this year generated almost no media coverage. I live in a region with a long legacy of Black activism but couldn’t tell you where I could find a copy of the Final Call; at one time programs from the NOI could be heard on over the air radio; today NOI broadcasts are not on any radio stations where I live.
I was at the press party for the Democratic Convention in
Chicago, which is the home of the NOI where I ran into several top representatives of the NOI’s media empire, including a key editor of the Final Call newspaper. These folks had a lot to say about politics but did not want to do an on the record radio interview. Tavis, Roland Martin, the Black Newspaper Association and several other Black media outlets had a presence on Media Row, the NOI was not there.
Harris reached out to the Breakfast Club because Charlamagne is an influencer to millions of Black people in the critical 18-34 age demographic and his views toward the political process and candidates can determine how people in that group vote or if they stay home. Farrakhan was a major influencer in 1995, particularly among Black men, he is not today.
My children attended Chicago’s M.U.I school for three years. Yet, we are Christians. Trust me, Minister Farrakhan is a major influencer of the 18-34 demographic more so than The Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club is more palatable to main stream – it will not be revered decades from now – and less invested in the improvement of the black community which made it a perfect landing spot for V. P. Harris to spin political rhetoric.
I am not a fan of either main stream candidate for POTUS. My comments are mine own objective thoughts from this person deeply worried about this country.
Anyway, radio is benefitting from the politics – albeit skewed coverage – which is great because I am a fan of radio