Public radio has an audience size of around 30 million weekly radio listeners with a broader reach exceeding 57 million when including digital platforms. Public Radio engineers play a critical role in building, upgrading, and maintaining the needed facilities and infrastructure. Broadcasters go to the NAB show in Las Vegas to see and hear what’s new in the broadcast and media industries, and the Public Radio Engineering Conference (PREC) is one of the first events surrounding each NAB show. The PREC is public radio's annual get-together for engineers, technologists, leaders and creators of all experience levels. TWiRT is excited to bring you some of the key players - engineers, consultants, and equipment experts.

Show notes:

APRE - The Association of Public Radio Engineers - apre.us

Guests

Alex Hartman - KVSC-FM & Optimized Media GroupJohn George - RF SpecialtiesJim Gray - Optimized media GroupRob Bertrand - Partner at Inrush Broadcast ServicesScott Hanley - General Manager at WZUM Pittsburgh Public Media

Host

Kirk Harnack - Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, Star94.3, Akamai Broadcasting, & South Seas Broadcasting

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The guys start by addressing the report from earlier this week about AEW’s numbers on Max, which were reported to be about 500,000, and discuss how accurate those numbers are.

They also talk about this week’s Dynamite and the build to Sunday’s Dynasty show, and they give their thoughts and predictions on the PPV.

Plus, they cover the latest Wrestlemania news, AEW’s Saturday programming flexibility plan, Miro’s return to WWE, your questions, and more!

Never miss a chance to talk with John Bisset, author of the Workbench column in Radio World magazine. John joins us along with Chris Tarr to reveal useful tricks and techniques that any broadcast engineer will find helpful. See this episode’s Show Notes (on this show’s listing on YouTube and at ThisWeekInRadioTech.com). From an easy way to print cable labels, to saving your knees, to marking combo locks with the little-known resistor color code, John brings us some fun and useful ideas for living a better engineering life.

The guys started by recapping the departures in TNA, including Gale Kim and others, and Delirious taking over creative for that brand. In other contract news, they react to Saraya leaving AEW and Mina Shirakawa coming to AEW from Stardom and how she fits going forward.

They also run through all the latest on the build to WrestleMania, including what the card looks like currently and what events will accompany that weekend, such as The Roast of WrestleMania.

As AEW Dynasty approaches next weekend, the guys review the build to the PPV on this week's Dynamite, including Toni Storm’s unique promo delivery and the Moxley and Swerve Strickland segment.

Plus, WWE’s upcoming schedule, an update on Josh Barnett's Bloodsport, your questions, and more!

Kathy Stieler and Clark Lindstrom, two prominent leaders in the communication tower industry, are discuss best practices and emerging trends in safety within the broadcast tower sector. Kathy, affiliated with NATE (National Association of Tower Erectors), emphasizes the importance of standardized training and certification programs to ensure worker competency and safety compliance. Clark, who oversees safety initiatives at American Tower, highlights the role of technology in identifying hazards and reducing on-site risks. Both guests promote a proactive safety culture, where regular audits, clear communication, and employee empowerment are prioritized. The conversation underscores the industry’s ongoing commitment to evolving safety standards amid increasing demand for reliable broadcast infrastructure.

Andrew and Rich are back with another episode of the Mat Men Podcast, discussing all the latest wrestling news!

The guys discuss the WWE shows at Madison Square Garden this week, including the NXT show at the theater and the ending of Monday Night Raw, where Roman Reigns interrupted the cage match main event between Seth Rollins and CM Punk. They speculate about a three-way match for WrestleMania and also discuss other matches that might take place at WrestleMania.

They recap AEW Revolution, including injuries, and go through Dave Meltzer’s star ratings for the entire show. Plus, they cover this week’s Dynamite, with all the fallout from Revolution.

Additionally, Stephanie’s "Places" episode reveal, Collision’s interesting new start times next week, and a Queen of the Ring apology are discussed.

All this, your questions, and more!

Ya gotta love Dustin Tatro’s journey into and through radio broadcasting. Voicing PSAs at 4 years old got Dustin an early start. Then working as a DJ, along with musical interests, honed his technical and operational skills. Now as a General Manager and Ops Manager, Dustin has demonstrably learned the engineering side of radio broadcasting. Indeed, his SBE certification, CBRE, attests to that. Dustin joins Chris Tarr and Kirk Harnack to discuss AoIP, audio processing, work working nicely, even with competing radio stations. Indeed, he joins us from the KORQ-FM transmitter site.

The guys start by reflecting on last week's big news from the Elimination Chamber and John Cena's heel turn. They then get into some of the news of the week, including AEW adding Amazon Prime as a viewing option for their major pay-per-view events, starting with this week's Revolution show. Is this a temporary fix before they go to Max, or will they do this going forward? They also talk about the latest news from the WWE, including the Natural Disasters being inducted into the Hall of Fame, the rumor of bringing back an all-women's Evolution pay-per-view this summer, and running multiple shows the same weekend AEW is running Double or Nothing. Plus, a full rundown of this week's AEW Dynamite and a preview and predictions of AEW Revolution this coming Sunday.

SD-WAN - Software-Defined Wide-Area Network - is a technology implementation designed to bring better reliability and performance to IP connections over distance. Whether across town, to remote offices, or to remote transmitter sites, SD-WAN technologies are gaining interest among broadcast engineers and IT staff. It turns out there are a lot of features - optional but useful features - that can be deployed alongside basic WAN management and monitoring. Dan Merwin and Reggie Jeffery work in broadcast and other industries to offer appropriate technologies and capabilities, improving our critical IP connections.

The guys start out by talking about the latest rumor of Vince McMahon starting a new wrestling company and explain why it's not possible for several reasons. They also talk about The Rock's appearance on WWE SmackDown and his offer to Cody Rhodes and what this means for Elimination Chamber and going forward into WrestleMania. Also, a preview of The Elimination Chamber PLE taking place Saturday in Toronto. They also break down this week's AEW Dynamite and ask the question of whether the Death Rider storyline needs to be done sooner than later. Plus, the TNA/NXT relationship, thoughts on more events in Saudi Arabia, your questions and more!