It was a big week last week for those in sports radio with the announcement of the 2023 Barrett Sports Media Top 20 lists. Congratulations to all of the people who found themselves on the lists. You are the best of the best in an industry where there is a lot of talent and you should be proud. It’s always great to see so many people I know and those that I have worked with make these lists.
The work you do has been recognized by people in the know. So, now what?
Next steps really differ by what position you hold, however, the one thing you absolutely cannot do is stay silent about it. After all, if you don’t promote your accomplishments, who in the heck else is going to?
This has been one of the problems radio has had for years, a lack of real promotion. Often times the only place radio is promoting itself is to the listeners who are already tuning in to a particular station. Heck, remember when it was taboo to even mention another station in your building?
Radio needs all the help it can get in promoting the talent working the airwaves. So, when lists like the Barrett Sports Media Top 20 come out, those who get chosen and the companies they work for need to take full advantage. What exactly you should do can differ by position.
If you are air talent, the first thing you need to do is run down to the sales department. Make sure everyone in the sales pit is aware of your accomplishment. Make sure they know about the recognition you have received and explain to them how the BSM Top 20’s are decided. This isn’t a popularity contest or Jason Barrett sitting in his basement deciding which of his radio buddies he is going to feature. This is a big deal!
Don’t forget, as air talent, you also need to make sure you have recognized your producer and those that help make your show what it is. This is a team award, be sure to celebrate it as such. As good as you may feel for earning the recognition, make sure those around you that help make your job easier also feel the love. Perhaps even reward them in some way if you can with a small gift or a nice meal out together, similar to what a quarterback would do for his offensive line.
Talent undoubtedly will take note of where they finished this year versus past years, but they should also do the same for the other shows in their category. If you see one that has consistently been on top or which has climbed up year after year, those might be shows you want to pay attention to. I know this is going to sound crazy, but another idea would be to actually take a listen to these shows. Find out what they are doing that your show is not doing or what it is that makes them special.
As a program director, you may have been recognized, your talent may have been recognized or both. If you were recognized, just like the air talent, you also need to celebrate this as both an individual and a team award. Share your accomplishment with the enitre programming department and use it as an opportunity to make your staff feel good about the success. You know what a grind it is each day for everyone to be on top of their game and also know even the smallest recognition can make a world of difference for those working for you.
Personally, make sure your recognition hits your social media and certainly your LinkedIn profile. Out of all the people doing your job, you were chosen as one of the elite. A social post thanking your team and the listeners of your station is a great way to make people aware of what has happened and to pat yourself on the back for a job well done without being too braggadocious.
If talent under you watch, or your station as a whole, get announced as one of the Top 20, make it a big, big deal. Everything from social posts to interoffice memos, to celebrations toasting the winners to airing promotional announcements. Do it all. Again, nobody else is going to do it and as an industry, any recognition should be documented and celebrated.
And to our friends in upper management and the C-suite, what a great opportunity you now have to shine a light on your employees who have been recognized by peers of yours. In order for your companies to survive and thrive, you must have great content to offer. The shows making the Barrett Sports Media Top 20 lists are the best of the best and you should go out of your way to recognize thier achievements. Again, from the simple gestures of a mention in a company email or conference call to personal phone calls or emails from top executives all the way to celebrations, something formal like a plaque or maybe even a little monetary bonus. Any of it would go a long way.
No matter which position you have, find a way to use this recognition to the fullest. Help the sales team pitch you and your show, use it in your leadership position to make your team feel good about the hard work they put in, pump up your own individual profile or be the company who shows that it celebrates its best of the best.
You have earned the recognition. Celebrate it and then do what KISS said: “Shout it, shout it, shout it, shout it out loud.”
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The Best Thing I Heard This Week
What took place this week on Boomer and Gio with their producer, Al Dukes, accidentally booking the wrong Randy Moss was not just the best thing I heard this week, it will also most likely be in the running for the best thing I hear this year. Sometimes the best part about live radio is that it is live and anything can happen. I am very grateful there is not only the audio, but the video as well. To see the look on Al’s face as he learns from the guys about “the other Randy Moss” is priceless.
You can see it all happen here:
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In Case You Missed It
I have two pieces from Barrett Sports Media I want to recommend you check out if you have not already. The first is Ryan Brown’s column on the NFL’s TV ratings blowing every other sport out of the water. “The margin by which the NFL dominates everything else TV has to offer is borderline embarrassing to the TV world,” Ryan wrote. Other sports are no longer competing with the NFL because they can’t, it is in a stratosphere all by itself.
You can read Ryan’s column by clicking here.
The second is Derek Futterman’s feature on Kurt Warner who was part of Westwood One’s Super Bowl broadcast over the weekend. I will admit I am a bit biased here. I live in St. Louis and covered the Rams for sports radio during some of the “Greatest Show on Turf” years. As anyone who spent any time around Warner knows, he is as genuine as they come. No athlete has ever respected the media more than Kurt Warner. “I’ll always attack a problem, but I’ll never attack a person,” Warner told Futterman.
You can read the entire feature by clicking here.
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
