A new face in the White House, the country's ongoing economic woes, the winter school closing season and other issues drove radio listeners to news sources. Local news and talk formats may have benefited from that perfect storm.

News/talk KDKA-AM moved back to the No. 1 spot among total listeners in the Winter 2009 Arbitron ratings, after gaining ground over the past year. Long the dominant station in the market, it had been edged out to second place by rock station WDVE-FM since the Fall 2005 Arbitron book.

During the survey period, KDKA also shuffled its lineup, adding more news coverage and bringing back former KDKA host Mike Pintek to its lineup.

"The latest numbers are a real testament to the hard work of the voices you hear on the air, as well as the producers and promotions team behind the scenes," said KDKA program director Marshall Adams. "Besides the new lineup, the Super Bowl gave us a tremendous boost. KDKA Radio sent five staffers to Tampa and offered Steeler updates every 10 minutes the week prior to the Super Bowl."

Talk station WPGB-FM moved to third place, compared to fifth place a year ago.

Other than that, the face of the market didn't change much, compared to Winter '08. But the margins narrowed, with four stations in two-way ties: one between contemporary hits WKST-FM and classic hits WWSW-FM, and another between urban contemporary WAMO-FM and nostalgia WJAS-AM.