Dan Bongino Is Headed to the FBI. What Does That Mean for Talk Radio?
Just four years after Rush Limbaugh's death, another major shake-up is happening in his old time slot. How will radio cope with it?
On Sunday night, President Donald Trump announced that Dan Bongino, host of one of the biggest podcasts and one of the biggest midday talk radio shows, will leave broadcasting and head to the FBI.
Bongino is set to take over as Deputy Director of the FBI, working under Kash Patel.
Four years ago, the world of radio lost Rush Limbaugh, a man who dominated the midday news/talk slot on radio stations around the country. It was a major loss for talk radio, as Rush’s voice was - whether you agreed with him or not - the most influential in radio.
Just a few years later, Bongino heading to the Trump administration is another major shake-up in the world of radio, and it will lead to some interesting developments in talk.
To be quite honest with you, I kind of suspected something like this was coming. Bongino has been missing virtually every Friday of his show since the beginning of 2025. A lot of us had thought he was going to head up the Secret Service, but that ended up not being the case. Even then, he kept missing Friday shows. I could be completely wrong on this, but my guess had been that he was meeting with Trump’s team about a job. Regardless of whether or not that was the case, he has a job there now.
So, what does this mean for radio?
What Midday National Shows Are Out There?
There are four national shows that come to mind when you look at the national radio landscape right now: Erick Erickson, Dana Loesch, Todd Starnes, and Buck Sexton/Clay Travis.
Buck and Clay were picked by Premiere to take over directly for Limbaugh. Erickson is one of the fastest-growing. Loesch is the only major female voice in that midday slot. Starnes is building his own media empire. All four stand to grow from Bongino’s exit (his last show, announced by his distributor Westwood One, is March 14), and each one appeals to a different audience. I do believe we as an industry have moved beyond one major show dominating the talk radio landscape at the midday spot, and things will diversify a lot more.
I don’t know that Westwood One/Cumulus has a backup plan. I think folks were blindsided by this - perhaps more than they should have been. In a vacuum from them, I see Erickson and Buck/Clay growing the fastest from Bongino’s departure. Loesch will grow, and Starnes might pick up a few stations here and there.
But there is another change on the horizon I see coming, too.
The Rise of Local Radio?
Across the country, several medium and large markets have switched to regional or local programming instead of national shows. They have the money and staff to go as local as possible. Smaller stations, lacking revenue and staffing to cover all their hours, will continue to use local programming.
But another exit from the midday slot opens up more opportunities. I would not be surprised to see a lot of stations announcing popular local talent filling those midday hours.
Advertisers like hearing local talent pitch or endorse their products and services. Moreso than they like hearing a 30- or 60-second spot in the middle of a forgettable spot break. Local hosts can do live reads in the middle of the show when people are still listening, and it makes the ad sound more personal.
As a long-term strategy, looking for local or regional talent with ties to the market would make the most sense for midday programming. But there are some things to consider.
Is that local talent popular enough?
Is that local talent engaging enough?
Is that local talent different enough?
A local talent just trying to replicate what the national guys do is not going to work. There are too many people still trying to be Rush or Hannity or any number of other major names out there. They don’t have enough of their own personality, and the audience will see them as fake.
But a local talent with a distinct voice and perspective is a great asset in that midday slot.
Talk Radio Isn’t Dead
Pete Mundo, who is the VP for News/Talk for Cumulus, recently noted that, if anything, news/talk is very much alive in the radio world.
First, Nielsen noted the strength of the format in the fourth quarter leading up to the 2024 Election. As pointed out by Barrett Media, in the 18+ category, news/talk radio accounted for 11.3% of all listening. That topped the next closest challenger in the demographic, adult contemporary, which earned 8.1%.
Then, when you look inside the 25-54 age demographic, news/talk lost share and was not ranked No. 1, but still came in at No. 2 with a 6.7% share, trailing only AC. This bucks the trend of what many, even in the industry, would probably predict.
On streaming, news/talk radio absolutely dominated. News/Talk was first or second in every category, except for in the 18-34 demographic, where it finished behind AC and sports for third place. In the 35+ audience, more than 25% of all AM/FM radio streaming happened with news/talk. The figure dropped in the 25-54 demo, down to 15.4%, but still tops of all genres in that sector.
This suggests ample opportunity for growth in talk stations across the country, especially those that are about to lose access to Bongino. How they take advantage of this opportunity will impact the medium's future.
It is a very interesting time for talk radio, with potentially seismic shifts coming to middays (and beyond). Bongino moving to the Trump administration means more diversification in the midday slot, from the remaining national voices to the rise of local and regional voices.