One of the best parts of the BSM Summit is the annual awards ceremony presented by Premiere Networks. For years, we’ve highlighted the best in the sports media industry by recognizing their contributions in various areas of the business. The ceremony features four awards, The Jeff Smulyan Award (top media executive), The Mark Chernoff Award (top sports radio programmer), The Lifetime Achievement Award (legendary figure who’s made a lasting impact), and The Champions Award.
Different this year than in prior years, the awards ceremony will close the show on day 2. We will present all four awards on Friday May 9, 2025 between 12p-1250p CT. Jeff Smulyan and Mark Chernoff will also be on hand to present their awards to their 2025 recipients.
Our first announcement for this year’s awards begins with The Champions Award. This award is given annually to a sports media industry professional who has used their platform to make a difference. Past winners of the award include Jay Glazer, Adam Schefter, and Keith Murphy & Andy Fales.
What makes this award special is that it highlights the amazing work done by individuals and brands to make a difference beyond content. It also reminds our attendees of what truly matters in life. Sports media may be a competitive business, but there’s much more that warrants recognition beyond ratings and revenue wins. Those who make a difference are truly the game changers in our business.
Which brings me to our 2025 announcement for The Champions Award. It is my pleasure to share that Danny Parkins of Fox Sports 1 has been named our 2025 recipient of the honor. Danny will join us in Chicago on Friday May 9th to accept the honor and address the room.
In recent years, Danny has led the charge in Chicago to raise funds for multiple causes. One that is especially important to him is the battle against cancer. In fact, his final day on the air at 670 The Score before heading to New York to work for FS1 saw him spend 24-hours on the air raising money for Cubs For a Cure. Last year’s radiothon generated over a million dollars with Parkins spearheading the effort across The Score’s airwaves.
Having lost his brother Brad to brain cancer in April 2023, Danny is doing his part to help raise awareness and funds for the fight against this deadly disease. He may now have a key role now on sports television at FS1, but the cause was so important to him that he worked out an arrangement to be able to return to Chicago to continue hosting the 24-hour radiothon on The Score, which he’ll do again later this summer.
Last year during the radiothon, Cubs great and baseball hall of famer Ryne Sandberg broke the news that he had beaten cancer while speaking in-studio with Parkins, Laurence Holmes and Leila Rahimi. It was one of the most powerful on-air moments to date. Take a moment to watch if you haven’t seen it before.
As we do each year, Barrett Media will make a $1,000 donation on Danny’s behalf at the Summit to show our support for the work he’s doing to battle cancer. If you’d like to offer support too, you can do so by clicking here.
Tickets for the 2025 BSM Summit are available at BSMSummit.com. Full details of this year’s agenda will be posted closer to the event. Hotel rooms are available at a special rate through April 9th. If you haven’t booked yours yet, don’t wait until the last minute and risk paying higher prices.
We hope to see you in Chicago in May!
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.
