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Kristen McQueary is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. She writes about state and local politics and says she depends on local radio in Chicago. She listens to and from work, she streams radio at her home and she listens on podcasts to catch up on what she might have missed.

Those are the words of iHeart CEO Bob Pittman in a very positive report on the car radio from CBS TV. Radio Historian Donna Halper is also in the story and says, "When I was sitting in the car listening to those songs, it was the DJ that really spoke to me." The report also checks in with Cousin Brucie, now 83 years old, who's been on radio for over 50 years.

NAB CEO Gordon Smith opened up the NAB Show in Las Vegas by recognizing the loss of former Bonneville and Hubbard leader Bruce Reese. He called Reese a wonderful family man and an inspirational leader. Reese died last week at the age of 70. Then Smith went after the big tech companies.

The union has taken their contract negotiations public by issuing a press release highlighting their "disappointment" with how talks are going between Entercom and union workers in six markets. Entercom has responded.

FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly spoke at the NAB's annual State Leadership Conference Tuesday and encouraged radio executives to be active participants in the debate over how ownership rules are reformed as the Commission does a review of those rules.

Late Monday Cumulus released preliminary operating results for the fourth quarter of 2018 and the full year. In Q4 Cumulus generated just under $310 million in revenue, an increase of about 5%. The company will report actual earnings on March 18.

Amanda White, Local Sales Manager for the Impact Radio Group, is always on the lookout for salespeople. She has a staff of eight to handle the seven-station cluster based in Boise, Idaho. She tells Radio Ink you always have to keep an eye out for the next great salesperson.

That could change if the industry as a whole stops ignoring the demo that's playing a big role in how their parents listen to music. Edison Research made a presentation at the Country Radio Seminar, Thursday, that should have every PD, manager and owner very concerned.

Last month Radio Ink conducted a series of interviews with brokers to see whether or not they thought iHeart or Cumulus would sell stations now that their balance sheets were cleaner. Across the board, the answer was no. Turns out they were wrong on that question, as Cumulus pulled the trigger on a very big deal this week. Here are the details... 

Kentucky-based Forcht Broadcasting is seeing returns from developing its digital presence in the small markets it serves. CEO Mike Tartar is pleasantly surprised by the response from advertisers in the nine-market, 25-station group, broadcasting in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.