The voting has been completed, and the inductees have been announced by the Chicago Museum of Broadcast Communications for the Radio Hall of Fame class of 2026.
Six of the inductees were chosen by a panel consisting of almost 1,000 industry professionals, including previous recipients, while two were chosen by the nominating committee itself.
I find it weirdly ironic that the committee selected iHeart Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman as one of their choices, the other being Sun & Fun Media and Key Networks COO Dennis Green.
Green, I know little about, but the selection of Pittman is, in my opinion, bizarre, at best, for a group supposedly recognizing the best in radio. Previous recipients include the likes of Bob Hope and Jack Benny, Rick Dees, Fred Allen, Casey Kasem, and Dr. Demento … those who helped build up radio.
In my opinion, Pittman is one of many who are ruining it.
Regardless, the voting panel selected some truly deserving people, including one of my all-time favorite DJs: “Shotgun” Tom Kelly, who I first heard on KCBQ/San Diego in the early 1970s. You may remember him from KRTH (101.1 FM), where he hosted the afternoon drive from 1997 to 2015. He can now be found weekday afternoons on SiriusXM’s ‘60s Channel … sounding as great as ever.
Another of my all-time favorites is being inducted as well: Charlie Van Dyke, who is one of the early Bill Drake Boss Jocks. Van Dyke was heard first in California at KFRC/San Francisco before being selected for our own KHJ (930 AM), eventually becoming the program director in the early-mid 1970s. Like Kelly, you may also remember him for his work on KRTH (101.1 FM) … hosting mornings in 1998-2000 after the passing of Robert W. Morgan, and acting as the longtime “voice” of KRTH. His voiceover work spans many radio stations across the country.
The rest of the Class of 2026 includes Boomer Esiason from WFAN/New York; Helen Little from WLTW/New York; longtime WLS/Chicago top-40 DJ Feed Winston; and Rickey Smiley, syndicated host at Reach Media.
Congratulations to the Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Well, except for Pittman. Still don’t understand that one.
The Fan Makes Its Debut
KNX-FM (97.1) broke off the simulcast with sister all-news station KNX (1070 AM) on May 18. The launch included first-day jitters that frankly surprised me — dead air due to late-starting commercials being the most common. I heard four mistakes in the span of about 15 minutes. The programming, however, is live and local from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; “best of” programming starts at 6 p.m.
I found the programming … typical. But I am not the target demographic. Not only am I too old, but I don’t care enough about professional or even college athletics to talk about them with friends, let alone listen to others do the same.
My wife, Jean, on the other hand, says she’s been enjoying it. “We have arguably the best baseball team in Major League Baseball — The Dodgers — along with one of the better NFL teams — The Rams — and the improving Lakers,” she said. “Add in the Kings and the local colleges, and we have some of the best teams in the country, right here. I don’t know if I’ll listen long-term, but for now I am liking the local focus … there is a lot to talk about.”
In the early morning, at least for now, KNX-FM is still simulcasting AM sister KNX, and KNX provides hourly news updates for The Fan.
Goodbye CBS News
CBS News Radio shut down last Friday night, with the final newscast at 11:30 p.m. Eastern/8:30 p.m. Pacific. Most Audacy stations, including our own KNX, already switched to ABC for hourly news updates on May 21st; KNX had aired CBS News since 1937.
As a slight irony, the switch means that KCBS/San Francisco is airing ABC News. Who would have guessed that would ever happen?
The change means that national network news continues on KNX, which is a good thing.
A really nice retrospective can be found at wtop.com/lifestyle/2026/05/cbs-news-radio-looks-back-on-its-99-year-history/. Called Good Night and Good Luck, it covers the earliest years along with major stories, and even a look at the famous CBS news “sounder” that marked the beginning of each newscast.
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com.