In this “Future in Focus” series, we’re asking industry thought leaders, executives and engineers to comment on top trends of the past year and what they expect for radio in 2026.
Justin Sasso is the president and CEO of the Colorado Broadcasters Association.
Radio World: What do you think is the most important thing that happened in the world of radio in 2025?
Justin Sasso: I think the defining moment in 2025 was the way the industry rallied around the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. For me, that fight has never been just about AM, it was about whether free, local radio keeps its place in the dashboard. Honestly, it probably should’ve been called the “Free Local Radio in Every Vehicle Act.”
What really struck me was the unity. You had big market, mom-and-pop, public broadcasters, everyone pulling in the same direction. In Colorado, it lit a fire under broadcast operators. It reminded lawmakers that this medium is still the heartbeat of every Colorado community.
When a local station warns you about a wildfire, connects you to your neighbors or just keeps a lonely highway from feeling quite so empty, that’s not a relic. That’s essential.
RW: What technology/business/regulatory trend do you think is going to have the greatest impact on radio in 2026?
Sasso: AI, without a doubt. But not in the “replace everybody with robots” way people like to dramatize it.
Where I get excited is using AI to take the grind out of the job. Broadcasters spend a huge amount of time digging for relevant stories, pulling research and trying to figure out where their audience is hanging out online. AI can do the heavy lifting there, scraping, sorting and organizing so real people have more time to do what radio does best: be human and local.
I see AI clearing the runway so talent, newsrooms and sellers have more room to be creative, perform better research and deepen customer relationships. The broadcasters that treat AI as a force multiplier, not a shortcut, are the ones that will pull ahead in 2026.
RW: What will be your main professional goal or project in the coming 12 months?
Sasso: The big push for me is evolving our organization from a pure “broadcasters” association into a broader media association. Our members haven’t been purely “broadcasters” in a long time. They’re creating digital news, podcasts, streaming, social video, newsletters, events and embracing the whole media ecosystem.
My focus is building an organization that matches what’s happening on the ground. That means inviting more of those adjacent local media players into the tent and designing benefits and advocacy that reflect their reality.
We’re not walking away from radio or TV; that’s our foundation. We’re adding more cement to the foundation, so it can support where local media is heading. If we get that right, we’ll be in a much stronger position to protect and grow local media in Colorado.
RW: How do you think our industry will be different in 10 years?
Sasso: I think the metro–rural divide is going to become much more pronounced. In big markets, radio will be one of many players in a crowded space. To win there, stations will have to be hyper-local and very intentional about why they exist. Stations will have to get creative and find a niche that listeners can’t get from a playlist or a syndicated program.
In rural Colorado and similar places, radio’s role is going to be even more critical. You’ve got communities losing their newspapers, struggling with broadband access and still facing wildfires, floods and blizzards. Radio becomes the connective tissue, even more so, for news, information and public safety.
Ten years from now, I don’t think, “Is radio still here?” is the right question. The better question is, “Which stations leaned into their local superpowers and took that to every platform, and which ones tried to out-Spotify Spotify?” The former have a future.
RW: Anything else we should know?
Sasso: Yeah! Don’t underestimate your state broadcast association.
Even if you never go to an event, even if you don’t read every newsletter, your association is out there every day in front of lawmakers, regulators and other industries that would love to steal your spectrum, your ad dollars and your audience. Commercial, non-comm, LPFM, religious, music, sports, talk, everybody is in that conversation whether they realize it or not.
When that advocacy voice goes quiet, the policy decisions don’t stop. They just start tilting in favor of whoever did show up in the room. So, my message is simple: stay connected.
Support your association however you can because, at the end of the day, we’re fighting for the future of free, local media.
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