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(By Ryan Wrecker) Some speakers at the Podcast Movement in Chicago are focusing on content creation. Others are focused on monetization. Then there’s some that are just podcast enthusiasts learning how to get into the business. Regardless of what stage you’re at, it’s important to engage your listeners, no matter how few or plentiful they are.

(By Ryan Wrecker) Podcasters have a lot of questions. What’s the best way to get a podcast noticed? How do you monetize a podcast? How do you best market a podcast? At this year’s Podcast Movement in Chicago, my main focus is to connect the talented content craters in radio with successful digital audio practices.

The focus of the new podcast series is on the future of radio in the connected car. It will include backstage interviews recorded at last fall’s DASH Conference by Jacobs Media’s Digital Dot Connector Seth Resler. A new episode will be released every week for the next three months.

Tom Joyner, along with Allstate Insurance, has announced the dates for the 2016 Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion. Labor Day weekend, September 1 – September 5, families from all over the country will join Joyner and his celebrity friends for a weekend filled with concerts, passes to Universal Studios, seminars, and endless activities. The event will be held at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

Start the bidding! More than a hundred items are going on the block for ESPN Radio’s 12th Annual ESPY Day Auction to benefit The V Foundation for Cancer Research. They include tickets to prime sporting events, autographed memorabilia, unique experiences with athletes, celebrities and behind-the-scenes experiences.

It's all about relationships with clients, and apparently more and more clients are not comfortable with the relationships they have with advertising agencies. One of radio's biggest strengths has been the ability to develop strong long-lasting relationships with clients. A new study by a company called Advertiser Perceptions found that 58% of respondents plan to review their agencies in the next year.

Here's an update on radio's largest advertising category. Autodata reports that U.S. light-vehicle sales improved 1.5% year over year to 8.65 million units in the first half of 2016. That's a record. Sales increased 2.5% to 1.5 million units in Jun 2016.

Home Depot, that is. According to the Media Monitors weekly spot chart, The Home Depot aired over 63,000 commercials on radio stations all across the country. GEICO held on to the number two spot with 40,621 spots. AutoZone moved up to third from 10th, airing 35,208 commercials. Rounding out the top five were Lowe's at number four with 31,136 and Burger King with 27,484.

High Plains Radio Network in Plainview, Texas, is expanding into a third state. After acquiring a three-FM station cluster in Mt. Home, Arkansas, Monte Spearman’s High Plains Radio Network is picking up another trio of FMs, this time in Altus, Oklahoma: KEYB-FM, KJOK-FM, and KKRE-FM from Altus FM Inc. The purchase price of $750,000 includes $600,000 for the assets and a $150,000 three-year consulting agreement.

According to The New York Times, Russian intelligence officers searched the office of Russia's most prominent independent radio station. Computer servers were also searched. They were looking for e-mails from Andrei Piontkovsky (pictured), who writes a blog for the station.