Professionals like Kristina Koppeser play a key role in leading traditional media outlets into the digital age in today’s rapidly changing media and journalism industry. With a unique background that includes working at Twitter, now known as X, Koppeser brings a fresh perspective to her job as Brand Manager at KYW Newsradio. 

Koppeser is passionate about the future of the journalism business, and she talked about KYW Newsradio’s Newstudies program, which has been running for over 60 years. The program allows local and regional high school students to gain hands-on experience at the station.

Kristina Koppeser stressed the importance of adapting to the multimedia landscape, recognizing that aspiring journalists need to have a versatile skill set in the age of social media and constant connectivity.

Having previously worked at a tech company, Koppeser understands the significance of branding in journalism. She emphasizes that journalists, like on-air personalities, must establish a solid online presence and recognize that audiences seek information across various platforms. This viewpoint aligns with her belief that being present on platforms like Instagram Reels and staying on top of breaking news is essential in today’s media landscape.

Reflecting on her journey as a young brand manager at a heritage station like KYW Newsradio, Kristina Koppeser acknowledges the challenge of learning the intricacies of radio after a background in tech, digital news, and television. However, she sees this as an opportunity to blend forward-thinking, pioneering knowledge with the institution’s wisdom, ensuring a holistic approach to managing the brand.

Koppeser’s leadership philosophy is based on trust and learning. She values trusting her team to excel in their roles while actively seeking knowledge in areas where she may be less experienced. Her openness to learning from the experienced team at KYW Newsradio reflects her commitment to continuous growth and improvement.

Regarding the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) in reporting or writing, Kristina Koppeser views AI as an intriguing efficiency tool. While acknowledging the need for caution and thorough vetting, she sees AI’s potential to save time in tasks like event coverage, provided it is used with proper parameters and awareness of its strengths and weaknesses.

The interview also discussed the dynamics of KYW Newsradio within Audacy’s larger corporate structure. Koppeser expressed her desire for the corporate office to recognize and appreciate the station’s excellence, emphasizing the benefit of being in the same city as Audacy’s corporate offices.

Ryan Hedrick: What is KYW Newsradio doing to attract young journalists to the industry?

Kristina Koppeser: I am very passionate about the future of the business and getting young minds interested in broadcast media. We are just wrapping up our Newstudies program. We’ve been doing this program for over 60 years, with local and regional high school students, sophomores, juniors, and seniors interested in broadcast. They come into the station and use our recording equipment if they want to. They learn from our award-winning journalists who are instructors and volunteer their time to do this. These students write and record a piece for air that airs on KYW Newsradio throughout November and December.

RH: What excites you as a brand manager about the positive trends you see from young, aspiring journalists?

KK: I see many people interested in multimedia production, which is smart because it’s 2023, and everybody has a device that they look at hundreds of times a day. Young people are coming out of college knowing full well that you can’t just be one thing. You have to learn how to create a presence on whatever the app of the month is.

When you are trying to become a journalist in this multimedia landscape, they are conscious of your Instagram Reels and broadcast content and making sure that they are on top of breaking news.

I used to work at Twitter, now called X, and working at a platform, I see that branding is important for everyone, not just on-air personalities but journalists. People look to you for information, and they will get it wherever they can find you. Being in those spaces is important.

RH: What challenges have you faced as a young brand manager rising through the ranks of a heritage station like KYW Newsradio?

KK: I have only been here for two years, so one of the challenges was learning the space. I came up through tech, digital news, and then television, so I worked at Hearst Television for five years. Before this, one of the biggest challenges was learning radio because that was the one thing I had not had experience with on a professional level, but I also think that that’s a benefit.

Our Assistant Brand Manager, Tom Rickert, has been here for a long time and has all the institutional knowledge. I can think more about the big picture and toward the future and lean on him when I don’t know something or want to learn how the board works. I have learned a lot in the last two years, especially the last year since I was promoted. And I am learning the broadcast side, taking my forward-thinking, pioneering knowledge, and marrying those two things.

RH: As the Brand Manager at KYW Newsradio, what is the most important thing you’ve learned?

KK: To trust people to do the job that they know how to do well. That’s important. We have an amazing group here. They are so smart and dedicated. One of my biggest superpowers is knowing what I don’t know, so when I don’t know something, I want to learn it actively, seek it out, and understand. I have 60 people in the newsroom that I can go to and find an expert.

RH: As a radio station, are you open to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for reporting or writing?

KK: AI is a really interesting efficiency tool. It can cut corners in a way. I have played around with it myself, both personally and professionally. One interesting thing about it is that it will do the searching for you, and of course, with anything unvetted, like AI, you have to be careful. You have to treat it like you would with any source, fact-check it, and do all of those things. It saves time is one of the biggest places I find useful.

If you’re looking at doing things like events coverage, you can ask it to spit out a list, and of course, you will have to check that list, but it’s doing some of that work for you. Whether or not I give it an OK, like anything else, I would put parameters on it and ensure everybody knew its strengths, weaknesses, and the best way to use it. The jury is still out. I would have to do more investigative work to ensure I am comfortable with it, but it could be a helpful tool.

RH: Do Audacy’s corporate offices in the same city as KYW Newsradio make executives pay closer attention to the radio station?

KK: I don’t know about that. I want our corporate office to have us on in the morning when they are driving into the office as I am. It is also a benefit. When I was at Hearst, we had 26 stations there, and if one were in New York I would have felt very lucky. I want to be recognized, and I want our station to be recognized for its excellence.

RH: Where do you look to for inspiration outside of your building? 

KK: I look to digital audiences. I look to friends and family. Because I come from a curation background, I am always thinking about whether this makes sense to everyone. At the end of the day, we as journalists, our job is to inform and educate, and I want to make sure we are doing that on any given day. I do look to people and I also look to other stations because I think of some of the work that other Audacy stations do. I lean on my colleagues. And I look to some of the other brand managers, like at WINS and KRLD. 

It’s been an interesting stretch in local journalism. Late last week, The Wall Street Journal published a piece about the dozens of newspapers across the country that exist but don’t even employ a single full-time reporter. That can’t be good. Some talk radio stations may have a similar setup, featuring a nationally syndicated lineup. That also isn’t good.

Let’s face it though, we all sort of felt that anyway, and having a newspaper with a few freelancers is better than no paper at all.

Then, here in Connecticut, Hearst Media, the state’s most powerful newsgroup, snatched up a handful of small-town papers, giving it more than two dozen publications, including eight daily newspapers.

Nationally, it has a network of print, digital, and broadcasting entities.

Oh, and as an aside, a recently defunct newspaper was brought back to life by a publishing company that doesn’t even have any newspapers in its largely magazine portfolio.

The message may not be entirely new, but it is clear: To make money in anything involving local media, you absolutely have to have scale, business efficiency, and production synergies. It’s pretty much binary these days; either go out of business or be part of some massive media group.

Lost in that whole matrix, of course, is a truly hyper-local focus, although to be honest, the Hearst endeavor is trying to flood the zone by aggregating all of its news brands into one central website, CTInsider.

At the same time, it actually feels like radio has succeeded in filling some of the void, especially over the last month or so.

One town had a massive pushback on a taxation issue. It absolutely dominated the radio airwaves, and the entire town leadership was voted out. Afterward, more than a few citizens thought the momentum began on the radio.

Right after the election, a new story came to the fore: Electric vehicles. The Governor here committed to following California and formalizing the effort to ban all sales of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

It’s a big deal.

The cars are expensive. The infrastructure isn’t there. Appetite for the vehicles has stalled. And all of this would need to change in a short and expensive period of time.

Pressure was brought to bear. Legislators buckled before the vote. The Governor pulled the plug on the committee before what could have been an embarrassing vote that would have shown bi-partisan support for tabling the mandate.

Why am I telling you all this stuff that, perhaps, only people in Connecticut care about?

Good question.

Radio.

Talk radio may not be the sole reason the issue took a dramatic turn, but it certainly seemed to play a role. Hosts took up the issue, and it lit a fire under the audience. I know that several shows on my station talked about it nearly all day, every day. That clamor was heard loud and clear as a huge swath of the listening population seemed to truly reflect the larger population and didn’t seem to like a mandate that essentially would be codified by a committee of 14 state senators.

“There are certain issues that are visceral,” said Todd Feinberg, who hosts the afternoon drive show on my station, WTIC 1080. “We still have expectations that certain decisions should come from the people.”

The banning of new gas car sales in little more than a decade seemed to be one of those decisions.

As Feinberg sees it, the remaining written journalism doesn’t pack much of a punch – it’s devoid of opinion, but more importantly, to him, it’s all sort of generic. Radio can still have the nuts and bolts of that generic reporting, but it also has opinion, analysis, and passion.

“Radio fills a void, but we’re not doing reporting, and newspapers aren’t doing reporting, either,” Feinberg said. “Opinion is the only way to hear opposing ideas because media is so uniform in the stories it presents.

“Opinion is really powerful because you can have a conversation and explore ideas. At least the listener can hear an issue to get fleshed out.”

I can’t find a quantitative throughline that definitively proves radio directly influenced the dramatic political shift on this issue. But when an overwhelmingly popular Governor – Ned Lamont is in the top 10 for most popular Governors in the latest Morning Consult poll — loses some votes in his own party over a rather important issue, where else is the public getting the debate?

Not in the newspapers, that’s for sure.

Despite a competitive night on television and despite the absence of its party’s frontrunner, a Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle was still able to be the most-watched telecast of its prime time (the 8-11 p.m. window) based on live plus same-day data. The third GOP debate aired on NBC on Nov. 8 from 8-10 PM ET and drew 6.863 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

It squeaked by ABC’s CMA Awards (6.84 million) on the night, although the awards overtook the debate when delayed viewing is included; in live plus seven-day, “CMA” 7.84 million, debate on NBC 7.156 million.

It also picked up an additional 650,000 viewers (bringing the night’s tally to 7.51 million) when including the debate’s other available platforms NBC News Now, NBCNews.com, Peacock, Sky News, Universo, NoticiasTelemundo.com, and Noticias Telemundo’s social platforms.

Within the key 25-54 key demographic, the GOP debate posted 1.312 million; nearly evenly split among male (687,000) and female (625,000) viewers for NBC. (CMA Awards did top it in the demo with 1.669 million adults 25-54.)

Moderated by NBC Nightly News host Lester Holt, Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker and talk radio host Hugh Hewitt, the third GOP debate was held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami. It featured five candidates: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Unsurprisingly, the third Republican presidential debate lagged behind each of its two predecessors from Aug. 23 (13 million viewers, 2.82 million adults 25-54) and Sep. 27 (9.32 million viewers, 2 million adults 25-54).

NBC’s one-hour post-debate analysis at 10-11 PM ET delivered 3.195 million viewers. This represented a 46.5 percent retention from the debate which was slightly less than the 47 retained on Fox News (a special edition of Hannity following the debate posted 3.14 million viewers) back on Sep. 27. 

Back on Aug. 23; Fox News’ post-debate had drawn 4.39 million, out of the 11.06 million viewers; thus, then retaining 40 percent.

Once again, MSNBC and CNN offered their own post-debate coverages and each saw increases from its previous hour, as also had occurred in the recent past:

August 23, 2023

• MSNBC 10-11 p.m.: 1.922 million viewers
• MSNBC 11 p.m.-midnight: 2.720 million viewers (+41.5 percent)

• CNN 10-11 p.m.: 0.736 million viewers
• CNN 11 p.m.-midnight: 1.516 million viewers (+105.97 percent)

September 27, 2023

• MSNBC 10-11 p.m.: 1.676 million viewers
• MSNBC 11 p.m.-midnight: 2.203 million viewers (+31.4 percent)

• CNN 10-11 p.m.: 0.529 million viewers
• CNN 11 p.m.-midnight: 0.778 million viewers (+47.1 percent)

November 8, 2023

• MSNBC 9-10 p.m.: 1.490 million viewers
• MSNBC 10-11 p.m. 2.348 million viewers (+57.6 percent)

• CNN 9-10 p.m.: 0.642 million viewers
• CNN 10 p.m.-midnight: 0.853 million viewers (+32.9 percent)

On this Nov. 8 evening, so did Fox News Channel as the 10 p.m. “Gutfeld!” (1.971 million viewers, 317,000 adults 25-54) grew out of 9 p.m. “Hannity” (1.811 million viewers, 215,000 adults 25-54), although “Gutfeld!” rising in 25-54 from “Hannity” is a common occurrence.

As counter-programming to NBC’s debate, Newsmax televised a Donald Trump rally from the Miami Florida suburb of Hialeah. From 8:30-9:45 p.m. eastern, it posted 828,000 viewers and 87,000 within the key 25-54 demo; post-rally coverage from 9:45-11 p.m. drew 434,000 viewers and 49,000 adults 25-54.

One night earlier (Nov. 7), it was Election Night in the U.S. Among the key results were a ballot measure preserving abortion rights passing in the state of Ohio, Democrat Andy Beshear held onto his governorship In Arkansas, Democrats won a majority in the Virginia State Senate, former Biden White House aide Gabe Amo was elected as the first Black member of Congress representing the state of Rhode Island and Democrat Cherelle Parker was elected as Philadelphia’s first female mayor.

Due to election night coverage, CNN delivered a rare prime time win among adults 25-54 over its cable news competition with an average of 389,000 from 8-11 p.m. Fox News (335,000) was close behind with MSNBC (252,000) also potent; all three major cable news outlets drew well above its normal weeknight demo deliveries.

In total viewers in prime time on Nov. 7, usual cable leader Fox News (2.561 million) remained so, while MSNBC (2.042 million) and CNN (1.32 million) were each above-average.

Cable news averages for November 6-12, 2023:

Total Day (Nov. 6-12 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

• Fox News Channel: 1.262 million viewers; 148,000 adults 25-54
• MSNBC: 0.904 million viewers; 97,000 adults 25-54
• CNN: 0.532 million viewers; 114,000 adults 25-54
• Newsmax: 0.153 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
• HLN: 0.144 million viewers; 42,000 adults 25-54
• CNBC: 0.117 million viewers; 28,000 adults 25-54
• Fox Business Network: 0.114 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
• NewsNation: 0.074 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54
• The Weather Channel: 0.072 million viewers; 14,000 adults 25-54
• Court TV: 0.046 million viewers; 13,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (Nov. 6-11 @ 8-11 p.m.; Nov. 12 @ 7-11 p.m.)

• Fox News Channel: 1.877 million viewers; 230,000 adults 25-54
• MSNBC: 1.353 million viewers; 141,000 adults 25-54
• CNN: 0.684 million viewers; 169,000 adults 25-54
• Newsmax: 0.266 million viewers; 23,000 adults 25-54
• NewsNation: 0.091 million viewers; 15,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 11/7/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.048 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 11/6/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.046 million viewers

3. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 11/7/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.027 million viewers

4. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 11/9/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.018 million viewers

5. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 11/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.782 million viewers

6. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 11/10/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.724 million viewers

7. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 11/6/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.657 million viewers

8. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 11/9/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.632 million viewers

9. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 11/7/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.499 million viewers

10. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 11/6/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.454 million viewers

101. Election Night In America (CNN, Tue. 11/7/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.380 million viewers

194. Trump Rally (NMX, Wed. 11/8/2023 8:30 PM, 75 min.) 0.828 million viewers

221. Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 11/10/2023 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.741 million viewers

311. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 11/12/2023 11:00 PM, 39 min.) 0.502 million viewers

402. The Daily Show “Nov 6, 23 – Sarah Silverman” (CMDY, Mon. 11/6/2023 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.345 million viewers

411. Forensic Files (HLN, late Sat. 11/11/2023 1:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.327 million viewers

437. Varney & Company (FBN, Mon. 11/6/2023 9:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.294 million viewers

462. Fast Money Halftime Report (CNBC, Wed. 11/8/2023 12:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.279 million viewers

703. Cuomo (NWSN, Fri. 11/10/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.162 million viewers

741. Top 10 Amazing Moments “Spec68” (TWC, Sat. 11/11/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.144 million viewers

834. FBI Files (COURT TV, Sun. 11/12/2023 11:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.114 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top  programs of other outlets with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:

1. Election Night In America (CNN, Tue. 11/7/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.419 million adults 25-54

2. Election Night In America (CNN, Tue. 11/7/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.406 million adults 25-54

3. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 11/7/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.366 million adults 25-54

4. Election Night In America (CNN, Tue. 11/7/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.342 million adults 25-54

5. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Tue. 11/7/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.327 million adults 25-54

6. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 11/9/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.324 million adults 25-54

7. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Wed. 11/8/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.317 million adults 25-54

8. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 11/7/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.313 million adults 25-54

9. Gutfeld! (FOXNC, Thu. 11/9/2023 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.310 million adults 25-54

10. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 11/6/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.306 million adults 25-54

11. Alex Wagner Tonight “Election Day 2023” (MSNBC, Tue. 11/7/2023 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.290 million adults 25-54

126. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 11/12/2023 11:00 PM, 39 min.) 0.153 million adults 25-54

160. The Daily Show “Nov 9, 23 – Sarah Silverman” (CMDY, Thu. 11/9/2023 11:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.135 million adults 25-54

179. Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO, Fri. 11/10/2023 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.129 million adults 25-54

219. Forensic Files (HLN, late Fri. 11/10/2023 3:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.110 million adults 25-54

322. Trump Rally (NMX, Wed. 11/8/2023 8:30 PM, 75 min.) 0.087 million adults 25-54

471. Fast Money (CNBC, Wed. 11/8/2023 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.061 million adults 25-54

540. America’s Morning Headquarters (TWC, Wed. 11/8/2023 8:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.048 million adults 25-54

584. Cuomo (NWSN, Fri. 11/10/2023 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.042 million adults 25-54

682. Murderous Affairs (COURT TV, late Sat. 11/11/2023 5:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.030 million adults 25-54

751. Mornings with Maria Bartiromo (FBN, Mon. 11/6/2023 7:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.023 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research