It’s been easy to label me a sports radio guy because I spent most of my radio years working in the sports talk format. I’m proud of those years and still work with many sports brands across the country but make no mistake about it, I am not defined by a format. I am a strategist, publisher, influencer, analyst, content creator, marketer, brand builder, recruiter, and advocate for spoken word programming. My passion for those things trumps my love of sports, news and other forms of entertainment.
I make that point because in September 2020 we took a leap into the News/Talk space and during the past two years we’ve done a lot of work to cover the format and elevate brands and individuals involved in it. I believe that if you know and value the business, understand the subject matter, study the brands and people, build relationships, deliver accurate and timely information, and treat those involved in the space with respect, it’s not hard to earn trust and support even if you previously built your identity in another format.
Next week, Barrett News Media will take another big step in strengthening its position with News/Talk professionals. For seven years, our biggest traffic driver has been the BSM Top 20, a 7-day series highlighting sports radio’s best brands, talent, programmers, and podcasters. It’s a series many in sports radio enjoy and it receives great voting participation from decision makers all across the format. We’ve previously discussed doing the same series for News/Talk given that it’s two and a half times the size of sports/talk, but the timing just wasn’t right.
Well, now, it is.
On Monday, we will officially launch the very first Barrett News Media Top 20 series. The seven day series will recognize the best talent, shows, brands and programming leaders in the News/Talk industry. What makes this series unique is that the results are determined by format program directors and radio industry executives. Each voter is asked to take into account a variety of factors including the quality of show (ear test), originality, ability to entertain-inform-connect across multiple platforms, ratings success, clearance (national shows) and industry buzz.
Listed below is the schedule for each day. Be advised that we split all local categories into Major Markets (#1-#20) and Mid-Markets (#21 and Below) and our Digital category features shows that are created for the audio/video space, not radio shows repurposed and available on-demand. There are plenty of those success stories too, but those get placed in either local or national radio show categories.
As I tell each voter, this is an inexact science. Picking the best host, show, station or PD changes from individual to individual. It’s why I involve a large group of decision makers. I also do that to try and avoid regional and/or company bias. Fortunately, we had participation from fifteen different broadcast groups covering thirty six cities, which is excellent.
Having run a sports media version of this series for years, there are always programmers who are uncomfortable voting. We went through that with this project too. We also had to navigate an IT issue with one radio group. In the end, everything turned out great. I knew a few PD’s would take a wait and see approach since they’re still learning about BNM, but 44 were excited to be part of it, and I greatly appreciate them making time to be part of our inaugural series.
The BNM Top 20 will be released EXCLUSIVELY on this website. We will also promote it in the BNM Rundown newsletter as well as across our BSM and BNM social channels. I want to thank Steve Stone Voiceovers for being our exclusive partner of this series. Those of you who work with Steve know how good of a voice talent he is, and how easy he is to work with. For those of you who don’t, visit StoneVoiceovers.com.
The industry’s collective snapshot of its best and brightest gets announced starting Monday December 12th and it ontinues through Tuesday December 20th. We’ll then make a big announcement on Wednesday December 21st just in time for the holidays. Get ready for the madness!
BNM TOP 20 OF 2022 SCHEDULE:
- MONDAY DECEMBER 12: Top 20 National News/Talk Radio Shows
- TUESDAY DECEMBER 13: Top 20 News/Talk Local Major/Mid Market Morning Shows
- WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 14: Top 20 News/Talk Local Major/Mid Market Midday Shows
- THURSDAY DECEMBER 15: Top 20 News/Talk Local Major/Mid Market Afternoon Shows
- FRIDAY DECEMBER 16: Top 20 News/Talk Local Major/Mid Market Program Directors
- MONDAY DECEMBER 19: Top 20 News/Talk Local Major/Mid Market Radio Stations
- TUESDAY DECEMBER 20: Top 20 News/Talk Original Digital Shows
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
