As radio’s leaders gather at the Harvard Club of New York City today, it’s easy to admit that 2026 has not taken it easy on radio. We have all witnessed stinging earnings calls, bankruptcies, regulatory questions, and layoffs affecting stations far and wide.
None of that is lost on anyone reading this right now.
Many solutions have been pitched, but ultimately, no single company, format, platform, or speaker is going to solve what radio is facing. This will take all of us, working together. Fortunately, what radio has always had is people who show up, compare notes, and keep working at it.
We have the operators, large and small, who still believe in serving their audiences with free information and entertainment. We have the state broadcasters and trade associations who stand up for radio in every capital. We have stakeholders in syndication, measurement, and technology whose work shapes how radio is created, counted, and delivered.
Every year, Radio Ink invites broadcasting’s leaders to Manhattan in an act of hope and optimism for an industry that is alive and well, more than one hundred years later. And while setting foot in the Harvard Club is a start, it shouldn’t be the end.
Many people have gone looking in the hopes of finding a “magic answer.” The truth is that it has been here all along, and it’s us. It’s the people in this industry, working together, sharing what works, and building a better future for radio one conversation at a time.
Thank you for being part of it, whether you’re sitting in the Harvard Club or not.
Welcome to Forecast 2027.
