Those of you who know me, work with me, and/or enjoy reading me, this column is for you. It’s a long one, but as we bring the year to a close and get ready for Summit announcements, and a month of Top 20 results, I thought I’d share my picks for the best of 2024 since I don’t vote in our Top 20 series. Lists are fun but very subjective so feel free to praise or pick apart my choices. Complaints or compliments can be emailed to Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
Dave Greene and I will create a video later to discuss the rationale behind the sports media selections. I’ll be doing one for the news media crowd tomorrow too with Garrett Searight. Before we get to my picks though, first a look back, and a look ahead. Be advised, we have some news to share in the look ahead section.
Reflecting on 2024
2024 ends with record website traffic and advertising support, and strong newsletter growth. My thanks to every advertising partner, consulting client, and reader for continuing to support us. Our strategic decision to re-brand to Barrett Media and add music radio coverage in July has gone well, but we have more to do to create a larger impact. We enter 2025 with a few new partnerships, and hope to add more after upcoming conversations.
The 2024 BSM Summit in New York City was a homerun once again. Our 2025 show takes place in Chicago on May 8-9, 2025. Tickets are discounted through the end of December here. The 2024 BNM Summit in Washington D.C. was also a hit. We had better attendance at our sports summit, but that’s expected since we’ve done it longer. The speaker lineups at both shows were outstanding. Our news media summit was held inside the best venue we’ve ever performed in. The only downside were higher expenses. As we prepare for 2025, creating better financial balance for events is important.
A challenging area for us this year was social media. Facebook and X have hurt publishers, often making content available to less than 10% of a brand’s following. Both platforms used to be among our top referral sources for traffic. Today, not so much.
It’s easy to say ‘do more video or audio podcasts‘ but sharing clips from other outlets for likes and shares is not our business strategy. Those also don’t generate revenue for us as well as our written work. We are a niche content brand for a targeted audience, many who create and are bombarded by audio and video daily. If social media platforms tomorrow embraced print and killed video, would TV outlets stop doing video to write? This is the challenge we’re faced with, and determined to figure out.
Thankfully, we perform well in Google Search, and started building direct connections to our audience via newsletters two years ago. Those two combined with direct accessing of our website have helped us stay top of mind as social media problems persist. I still love and believe strongly in social media, but Zuck and Elon don’t love promotion of written content.
On the staffing front, I didn’t like parting with some PT writers, but as we grow, FT help becomes more important. Derek, Jeff, Garrett, and Dave are the glue that hold this brand together along with myself. Fortunately, our team cranks out quality content daily to meet the demands of our readers. We also retained Perry, Demetri, Dr. Ed, Kevin, Ron, Krystina, Bob, John, Charese, and Robby so we still have great depth and experience. The goal for 2025 is to continue raising the bar.
Looking Ahead to 2025
Hiring: My first order of business is hiring a Music Radio Writer/Reporter, Social Media Coordinator, and Site Manager. The music and social media roles are self explanatory, but the site manager role is more complex. That position involves overseeing our sports, news, and music divisions. Unfortunately a recent addition to our team didn’t work out, so we’re looking for a well rounded leader. Those interested in learning more can visit our Jobs section, and send resumes and writing samples to Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
Advertising: Existing partnerships continue, and new ones have been formed, which is exciting. Our brand is read daily by thousands, and is well respected and connected. That’s supported by millions of impressions and clicks, and an affluent and influential audience that consumes us through newsletters, and attends/speaks at our conferences. Industry businesses looking to grow should be working with us. Reach out to Stephanie at Stephanie@BarrettMedia.com and she’ll explain how we can help.
Members: The Members section was built to help broadcasters. In addition to being listed on our website, members get promoted in our newsletters, and save money on Summit tickets. One hiring manager hearing or watching your work or learning about you from our newsletters could change your career. I believe in this section, but not enough industry people take advantage of it. At $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year, it’s cheaper than alternatives. Moving into 2025, we’ll promote it more to news/talk and music radio folks, not just sports media professionals.
Top 20 Series: Next month marks our first time delivering a Top 20 series on News/Talk radio, Sports Radio, and Music Radio. Assembling these lists is a massive challenge, and so too is gathering industry voters. The music radio process alone is harder than anything I’ve done previously. I’m considering shaking up our voting process next year. I enjoy including radio industry decision makers, but not everyone has the same extensive knowledge of all markets and shows. Making our voting committee stronger is on my to do list. One additional list planned for 2025 is our first ever Top 20 in sports and news television, and digital/social. That’ll come out in December 2025 and recognize the best of 2025.
Strengthening Music: Our commitment to sports and news media remains unchanged. Music radio on the other hand is a work in progress. We’re 5+ months into covering the space so we’re still learning what does and doesn’t work. Elevating the journalism, and featuring more people across the industry is vital. I’ll also be at more events in 2025 where music radio pros are. Stephanie Eads and I will be at CRS in February. Increasing relationships with music radio folks and record labels, and improving our content strategy for music industry readers is high on my priority list.
Originals: From Derek’s piece on Imus-WFAN to Jeff’s story on Q104.3 and Garrett’s new features ‘The Watch’, ‘The Interview’ and ‘Ratings Roundup’, we’re doing more original content. Daily news is still important but quality storytelling packs a bigger punch. We’re putting less focus on quantity, and more emphasis on quality. Last year’s ‘Social Studies‘ series is returning but with a wider focus across sports, news/talk, and music radio. New projects are planned too highlighting agents, AI, advertising, research, and women in media. Day Spent With, 20 Brands in 20 Days, Meet The Podcasters/Leaders, and Behind The Voices are also returning. Lastly, we’ll be launching a weekly sports media video show by the end of Q1. Additional video shows are also being considered.
10-Year Anniversary: In September 2025 we will celebrate 10 years in business. I never expected that when this journey began, and I’m damn proud that we’ve survived this long and continue to grow. Many who have covered the media industry have not been as lucky. We’ve kept the lights on by investing in people, supporting partners, and by not overleveraging our business. Our love, passion, and knowledge of this industry pours on to our pages daily, and I hope that’s felt by those who read us. Look for some writers from the past to contribute guest pieces in August/September, as we reflect on the past decade. If I can ask one favor, please share the content on social media.
Knowing how lucky we are to do this, we plan to give back in September/October. Barrett Media is planning a 10-year anniversary party in New York City. The event will be invite only. Our plan is to host the event either right before or after the 2025 BNM Summit. Yes, that means our news media summit is coming to the big apple for the first time ever in 2025. More to come on that in the next month or so.
Sports and News Media’s Best of 2024
5 Favorite Columns:
Looking back on a year’s worth of columns and picking favorites isn’t easy. Each is written for a different point in time based on what’s happening in the industry at that moment. If choosing was based on traffic, my column on KNBR was the runaway winner. But I don’t enjoy writing columns like that. I’d prefer exploring business issues, and offering perspectives to help people think and learn. After digging through the archives, these below are the 5 that I enjoyed writing most. Hope you enjoyed them.
- – Facebook and X Have Changed the Rules, and Media Brands Must Adapt
- – How Important is Media Industry Coverage to Media Industry Professionals
- – Artificial Intelligence is Going to Change the Media Industry
- – Is Being a Radio Program Director Appealing
- – Lessons in Business From The WWE and World of Professional Wrestling
5 Songs of 2024
I listen to a lot of different types of music, but at my core, I’m a rock guy. Looking back at 2024, these 5 songs below were my favorites this year. Approvals and disagreements can be sent via email to Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
#1 – Hollywood Undead – Hollywood Forever
#2 – Falling in Reverse w/ Jelly Roll – All My Life
#3 – Snoop Dogg w/ Dr. Dre – Thank You
#4 – Beartooth – ATTN
#5 – Jelly Roll – I Am Not Okay
Honorable Mentions: Bad Omens w/ Poppy – V.A.N. – Bring Me The Horizon – Top 10 Statues That Cried Blood, Taylor Swift – Thank You Aimee, Eminem – Houdini, 3 Days Grace – Mayday, Nothing More – Angel Song, Point North – Bring Me Down, MGK w/ Jelly Roll – Lonely Road, Set It Off – Fake Ass Friends, The Funeral Portrait – Suffocate City, A Day to Remember – Feedback, Breaking Benjamin – Awaken, Black Veil Brides – Bleeders – Baby Metal w/ Electric Call Boy – Ratatata.
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.
