Radio Hall of Fame Reveals 2026 Inductees

The Radio Hall of Fame is gearing up to welcome a new class. The Museum of Broadcast Communications has announced the selection of eight new inductees into the Radio Hall of Fame.

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Boomer Esiason, Dennis Green, Shotgun Tom Kelly, Helen Little, Bob Pittman, Rickey Smiley, Charlie Van Dyke, and Fred Winston make up the class of 2026.

Esiason, a former NFL player and current football analyst, works for WFAN-AM/FM in New York City.

Green, the co-chairman of the Radio Hall of Fame, is the COO of Sun & Fun Media/Key Networks. Meanwhile, Kelly found success on SiriusXM’s 60’s on 6.

Elsewhere, Little is associated with WLTW-FM in New York City. As for Pittman, he is the CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc. Smiley, meanwhile, is with Urban One/Reach Media.

For his part, Van Dyke is a former DJ at major-market Top 40 radio stations. Round out the list is Winston, a well-known player in Chicago Top 40 radio.

A panel made up of nearly 1,000 industry professionals selected Esiason, Kelly, Little, Smiley, Van Dyke, and Winston. They did so from a list of 24 nominees.

Green and Pittman, meanwhile, were voted on by the organization’s 2026 nominating committee.

Radio Hall of Fame Co-Chairman Praises 2026 Class

“Our congratulations to each of our 2026 Inductees on this well-deserved recognition,” Kraig Kitchin, co-chair of the Radio Hall of Fame, told Billboard in a statement. “Each of these inductees has performed at the highest levels for a sustained period of time to make our industry that much more impactful to listeners and advertisers as a result.”

“I’m thrilled to see them properly recognized by this announcement and the forthcoming Induction ceremony this October,” he added. “Thank you to our 2026 Nominating Committee and to the hundreds of voting panel participants for confirming our 2026 Class of Inductees.”

The Radio Hall of Fame will honor the inductees at Chicago’s Fairmont Hotel on Thursday, October 8, 2026. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Museum of Broadcast Communications. The museum is the home of the Radio Hall of Fame, and is dedicated to preserving the history and future of broadcasting.

Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Radio Hall of Fame