Indiana broadcaster Kristi Lee will be inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

Lee is the co-host News Director for the nationally syndicated “Bob & Tom Show.” According to Radio Ink, Lee is one of six Hoosier broadcasting icons to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in October.

In a statement, Dave Arland, Executive Director of the Indiana Broadcasters Association, said the 2022 Hall of Fame class served their communities and made them “more informed places to live.” 

“For decades, our newest group of Hall of Famers have provided critical eyes, ears, and voices for listeners and viewers in Indiana and beyond,” he said. “They have told wonderful stories and are each also active members of their communities. We are honored to add our 2022 honorees to the honor roll of the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.”

Lee began her career as one of the first female engineers at WRTV. Then she worked for radio stations WIRE, WNAP, and WENS. She has also covered sports for ESPN and the Indiana Pacers.

Other inductees include Ted Linn served as News Director of WANE-TV in Fort Wayne for 16 of his nearly 40 years in television news before his retirement. Also, Tom Severino, whose 30-year career included two stops in Indianapolis. He managed WIRE, WXTZ, and Network Indiana, then left for stations in Chicago, Detroit, and Cincinnati. 

You can learn more about the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame Class of 2022 by clicking this link. 

Outside of the largest markets, most radio ad revenue comes from local direct ad buyers. So to figure out what local business buyers are buying, Borrell Associates used their survey to help fill that interest. 

From March to May, Borrell surveyed 1,920 direct buyers with average gross revenue of $3.3 million and allocated 5% of their income to advertising. The semi-annual survey found radio, social media, and events/sponsorships top the list of the most used media types. 

Each is bought by 50% of the sample. The average radio buyer invests $42,330 annually in the medium. That was second only to broadcast TV at $109,263. Seven of local buyers’ top 10 most used media were traditional channels. 

The tilt toward traditional is likely due partly to the fact that participants were selected from the rolls of traditional media companies.

Meanwhile, Streaming audio finished dead last among 20 media types studied, with just 9% of local businesses presently buying it with an intermediate annual cost of $16,140. 

Borrell says the lackluster performance is due to the small fraction of local podcasts; most shows target a national audience.

Along with streaming audio, these more assertive advertisers were at least twice as probably to buy content marketing, broadcast TV, and streaming video.

“What this tells us is these big gamblers… are out there with streaming audio and content marketing, and broadcast TV and streaming video and OTT at twice or more the rate of everybody else,” Borrell explained. 

You can read the entire survey from Borrell, which Inside Radio relayed. 

Tragic news has come out of Minnesota as radio personality Drew Lee died unexpectedly over the weekend. Bring Me The News adds that the cause of death is unknown at the moment. 

Lee’s morning co-host at AM 1130 KTLK, Jon Justice, announced Monday from a hospital room at the University of Minnesota as he recuperates from open-heart surgery. 

“This is the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my entire radio career,” Justice, co-host of the “Justice and Drew Show,” said. “He was with his wife at the time. I hopefully will be coming home sometime today, but I had asked that I be the one to make this devastating and tragic announcement to you.”

“Drew was my best friend. He was your friend and I don’t need to tell you how special he was. It goes without saying that I’m devastating and he will be tragically missed,” Justice continued. “Everybody here at iHeart is grieving. We ask for your prayers for Drew’s family as they get through this difficult time.”

Lee recently spoke with Barrett News Media’s Jim Cryns, where he touched on various topics, including their show’s reach as they have listeners outside of the Twin Cities.

“We’ve got listeners all over the country, from New York to California,” Lee said. “I find that amazing. Here we are, this little Minnesota-centric show growing an audience at the national level.”

“I’m excited about where we’re going organically. People seem to be gravitating to our content, telling friends about it. I want to see how far we can take this fun little morning show.”