What's Amazon doing in the local advertising space? Beyond offering geotargeted video and display ads on its own massive network, will Amazon make purchasing a radio, TV, or newspaper ad as simple as its "BUY NOW" button? In this episode, Gordon & Corey take their questions to Jennifer Mock Donohue, a former local radio and TV executive now heading up Amazon Local Advertising.

Could a radio company that snubbed digital advertising for two decades wind up with the industry's winning strategy? This episode features an interview with Saga Communications CEO Chris Forgy, who forsees a steep decline in radio advertising and an aggressive digital sales effort aimed at reviving it.

As search engines traffic falls due to the fast-growing popularity of AI search, what will become of SEO? In this episode the hosts address the urgency and timing of what’s happening, and how SEO providers are rushing to deliver an AI-optimization product. The podcast features an interview with Patrick Briggs, CEO of Semify, who describes what he thinks agencies and media companies should be doing to address the issue right now.

The episode features a candid conversation with the key executive of Gannett, owner of the nation’s biggest newspaper chain and operator of the one of the largest news audiences on the Internet. In an interview, Chairman and CEO Mike Reed shares insights on why Gannett is moving away from dependency on search engine traffic, how partnerships with AI platforms might yield a large source of new revenue, and why he continues to see local journalism as the company's biggest competitive advantage.

Where is one of the nation's largest Christian and conservative broadcasters placing its bets on the future? Salem Media CEO Dave Santrella discusses a new financial discipline for the company's radio stations, skyrocketing growth in podcasting, and record revenue for political. He also talks about strong digital performance and whether he considers the Salem a "digital first" company.

Beasley Media's CEO foresees a fast-approaching future for radio companies and believes bold steps and tough decisions will be necessary for those who want to survive it. In an interview, CEO Caroline Beasley becomes the industry's second radio executive to embrace a "digital first" strategy and outlines what that will mean for a 64-year-old company that owns 57 radio stations.

Rob Weisbord, Sinclair's President & COO of Local Media, weighs in on how the nation's second-largest operator of TV stations is investing in the future. The episode kicks off a series of interviews with media executives asking how they intent to compete with the likes of Google, Spotify, Hulu, Facebook, Amazon, and others who annually invest billions in R&D.

Thinking about AI brings back the old drinking-from-a-firehose analogy. But podcast guest Matt Britton, who's just published "Generation AI," has a simple suggestion. Corey & Gordon seize on a single word from the interview that sums what needs to STOP if we want to unlock the potential of AI. Britton's book can be accessed at https://generationai.bot/

The outdoor advertising industry is the only legacy media that's been emboldened by internet, continuing to grow while competing media shrink. Hosts Gordon & Corey explore the possibility that the outdoor advertising industry might leverage its digital signage to compete with the local news industry. They bring on outdoor industry consultant Kevin Gephart to pick his brains what's next for outdoor.

SMBs are becoming more savvy about advertising. That leads Gordon & Corey to predict the rise of DIY platforms and the fliping of the longtime notion that local advertising is sold, not bought. While the prospect seems scary for publishers, business-transformation expert Kiran Paranjpe from Lineup systems offers a unique perspective on how they might actually benefit. In an interview with Gordon, he suggests local media companies should be the ones offering DIY.

Two big things are about to ripple the $150 billion local advertising pond. But Corey & Gordon acknowledge completely ignoring them in their newly released annual missive on the state of local advertising. Was it an oversight, or is there something else behind the omission? The podcast features an interview with Allison Schiff, managing editor of AdExchanger, who offers her thoughts on the speed of one of the approaching comets.

Jeff Warshaw doesn't plan to participate in radio's "race to the bottom." The CEO of Connoisseur Media just bought Alpha Media, expanding Connoisseur from 11 stations to 218. It's a move that bucks the industry trend to lay off people and cut budgets -- particularly because of what Warshaw says about his plans to hire and invest even more. In an interview, Jeff responds to Gordon's question, "Did you miss the news that radio is dying?"

Local broadcasters are pinning hopes on NextGenTV reviving their industry. But more than a decade after the first tests of ATSC 3.0 standards, consumer adoption remains stalled below 10%. Co-hosts Corey and Gordon see a maze of hurdles and take their skepticism to Madeleine Nolan, president of the ATSC: The Broadcast Standards Organization, seeking answers.

Eleven years old and profitable, Patch is reversing the trend of so-called news deserts. And it's using AI to supercharge its expansion efforts to tends of thousands of communities. This episode features an interview with Patch CEO Warren St. John, who describes how Patch has gone from delivering information for 1,900 sites to now offering information to 30,000 more.

In this mythbusters-styled episode, the hosts focus on three oft-stated facts: Many legacy media companies are investing heavily in digital; the unprofitability of digital products is curtailing their sales; and their core strength is tied to large audiences of local consumers. Gordon & Corey are joined by longtime sales expert Jim Brown, who helps dredge up the facts.

Gordon & Corey see signs of Phoenix-style rebirth for a handful of media companies. These survivors have begun generating enough digital growth to completely offset declines in their legacy media businesses. The hosts identify three of them and focus on one -- KSL.com in Salt Lake City, operated by Deseret Digital Media. An interview with its key executive, Nate Hatch, reveals why the operation has been so successful.

With the ebbing of political ad dollars and cable retransmission fees, 2025 will likely be a lean year for TV broadcasters. In this episode, Gordon & Corey review the industry's woes, debate the survival strategies, and seek insights from the co-CEO of one of the nation's biggest local broadcasters, Gray Media.

The hosts profess to know the secret to driving exponential growth in ad sales, but they've also witnessed an ugly problem associated with it: churn. The episode features an expert on the issue, who shares some scary numbers on that percentage of digital ad buyers that sign up, then disappear in short order.

Corey & Gordon uncover surprises from a Q4 survey of local advertisers. They discuss what's hot for 2025, and ponder why one form of print media continues to defy gravity. They look at the good, bad, and just plain ugly -- including how advertisers rate their local ad-sales reps on overall marketing expertise and digital savvy. Spoiler alert: That's the "ugly" part of their discussion.