I wrote last April that Artificial intelligence (AI) would change the game. I’m even more convinced of that today. The scary part, many media professionals hear the warnings about AI but they’re nowhere near ready for the tsunami that’s about to hit them. This isn’t just a writing assistant to help you create better spots and liners. It’s a tool that is going to disrupt the entire industry across revenue, content, marketing, staffing, management, engineering, and more.
In an interview last month with The Wrap, iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman shared something you may have missed. Pittman said, “We remain committed to identifying opportunities across our organization to operate more efficiently and take advantage of new and evolving technologies like programmatic and AI, which are critical to delivering short-term results and long-term growth even during periods of economic uncertainty. Much of how we use AI is in mining data to better understand our audience, the consumer. We are also using technology and AI to hit our target of $150 million in net savings in 2025.
Guess where that savings is going to come from? Here’s a hint, it’s not going to be software updates or studio repairs.
In a recent Axios article, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that AI could wipe out HALF of all white collar jobs. Does that mean corporate execs, GMs and PDs are eliminated? Engineers? Traffic and HR managers, researchers, copy editors, marketers? Before you finish this article, watch the video down below. Axios CEO Jim VandeHei shared a lot of great insight during a recent appearance on MSNBC.
If you’re like me, you’re curious and concerned about AI. Most folks that I’ve talked to are doing basic testing with ChatGPT. They’re not experts on prompts or utilizing other AI platforms. They see AI as an extra tool in their tool kit failing to realize that this tool kit makes the need for others less necessary.
I watched a video recently of Gary Vaynerchuk talking about the hypocrisy that exists with people. He pointed out that adults tell kids how important it is to be educated yet put their heads in the sand with AI. Vaynerchuk reminded people that he’s just under 50 years old. The reason he’s built to thrive in the AI era is because he puts in the time to learn whereas others are too lazy to try.
In the past few months, Search has been massively disrupted by AI. AI Overviews on Google have increased impressions but click-through rates are taking a beating. Between May 2024 and 2025, the number of news searches on the web that result in no click-throughs has grown from 56% to nearly 69%. Organic traffic has dropped from over 2.3 billion visits at its peak in mid-2024 to under 1.7 billion. It’s expected to be worse in 2026 and beyond once AI Mode becomes the go-to destination for searchers.
Since 2022, the Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal have reportedly lost 50% or more of their traffic. As traffic declines, so does advertising revenue. Publishers are so upset with Google that the tech giant recently launched a service called Offerwall to allow groups to experiment with other means of monetization beyond traffic-dependent options like ads. It’s unfortunately the equivalent of putting a band aid on a wound that requires surgery.
If brand’s are struggling to have their content appear in Search, you’d assume they’d prioritize their social media strategy, right? Log on to X or Facebook and go look at how many local media brands rely on heavily pushing articles. That approach is equal to hiring a research company to gather feedback from your audience and then ignoring all of it. It’s exactly what social media platforms tell brands not to do.
Using the wrong strategy and tactics may keep you active but it won’t grow your business or traffic. It also shows a lack of understanding of how the digital landscape works in 2025. I say this as a publisher who has done the same thing and learned the hard way. Recently, I hired my son to take the reins of our social media strategy to start moving us in a new direction. You’ll begin seeing some of those changes in August. The platforms own the space, we just rent it. If you don’t take care of their property how they’ve asked you to, you get evicted or hidden.
Facebook released a report recently which showed that 97.3% of content viewed in the US during Q1 2025 did not include a link to a source outside of Facebook. For the 2.7% of views that did include a link, they mostly came from a Page the person followed. The same thing is happening on X. Elon Musk acknowledged it in response to a thread by Jesse Colombo which highlighted how links have been suppressed on the platform.
Yet how many media professionals started today by scheduling their brand’s social media content using the wrong approach? I’m all for saving jobs and investing in people over machines. However, if the people hired to create the strategy and produce results fail, and my business lost a ton of revenue and 50% of its traffic in 3 years, and technology existed that could solve my problems, why on earth would I not use it?
Content Creation
AI tools already automate different parts of video production. Editing broadcasts, removing/adding segments based on trending topics and social media buzz, and rapidly turning around clips for social media are all done instantly. The speed in which these projects are completed can’t be matched by human beings. Products like Chat GPT, Opus, Swell, Descript, ElevenLabs, Speechify, Movio, Invideo, Sora, Hedra, Veo3, Answer the Public and others are elevating content ideas and processes quickly. If you’re not aware of them and haven’t explored what they can do, start. Knowing how to utilize prompts to get the best information and generate the best creative is what the game is all about.
Search social media and look at how many pieces of content are already touched by AI. You may hate being bombarded by content such as Arnold Schwarzenegger singing, Mr. Professor turning heavy metal songs into Yacht Rock, fake press conferences or videos like the two pigeons talking about Randy Johnson’s pitching and flying down for a closer peak, but more people are tapping into their creativity and that’s a positive. The best content still requires humans and original, thought and vision, but AI generated content has value when used properly. Fox Sports showed how that can be done with its powerful Jimmy Johnson tribute and Harry Caray hologram.
If you’re a talent, producer or programmer you may think non-human content isn’t a threat because it’s not a local media outlet. That is a mistake. Anything that has the power to steal your audience’s time, attention and potentially your advertising dollars is a competitive threat. For decades media shows have needed hours of production time to create prank calls, parody songs, production montages, etc.. Now, better stuff is spit out in seconds, and if promoted correctly, can reach millions across social media within minutes.
Imagine if TV viewers could interact with characters in their favorite shows or movies, influencing the storyline’s future direction based on their decisions or preferences. With AI, that type of content is closer to reality than ever before. It can enhance the viewing experience through real-time data integration, such as live statistics during a sports broadcast, or dynamically adjusting camera angles based on viewer preferences.
The possibilities for AI’s influence on audio and video production, online articles, commercials, and custom voiceovers (ex: Imagine Morgan Freeman voicing your R&B radio station) are endless. Even turning existing content around and distributing it in different languages to various outlets is now possible. I watched Ice Cube’s conversation with Gunz where he voiced his objections to it. Though I understand his points, I don’t think it’s a case of ‘AI or human’. Both are essential and will be working together more moving forward.
Where AI doesn’t shine and won’t anytime soon is in the opinion space. Demetri Ravanos wrote a piece last week which touched on the importance of being authentic and original when presenting commentary. He’s spot on. If you can’t do the homework and create unique thoughts, you shouldn’t be trusted to deliver them on a company’s platform.
While the opinion space may be safe, the same can’t be said for other industry roles. AI can write headlines, website articles, imaging and sales copy, schedule social media, build websites and newsletters, edit video/audio, analyze ratings, schedule music, dissect competitor strengths and weaknesses, create presentations, voice track air shifts, write and deliver a news or sports update and perform other functions. Just because it can’t host a great talk show doesn’t mean it can’t add value. Some folks don’t want to hear this because they fear jobs being lost but if the duties being performed can be done better, faster and cheaper by machines, the next few years will be very uncomfortable for many.
Automating Broadcast Operations
Broadcasting involves a myriad of operational tasks that are both time-consuming and tedious. AI can help automate these processes, reducing human error, and freeing up staff to focus on more creative and high-value tasks.
What if music scheduling could be done perfectly for an entire cluster of stations by one person in less than an hour? Imagine social media creative produced and posts written and scheduled for brands within minutes. Even content monitoring (ex: Sports PD tells his staff not to talk about politics on the air and within seconds uses AI to examine each second of air time from the past month to learn if the staff is following direction) and automatic detection and flagging of content that violates broadcast standards or inserting ads into exact moments during a broadcast, helping to optimize revenue, is now possible.
Smart systems can also track and analyze radio/TV/digital ratings, adjust programming strategies, create sales playbooks, and offer insights into audience behavior that would have been difficult to gather manually.
Future of Media Advertising
Advertising is the lifeblood of the broadcast industry, and AI is revolutionizing this space too. I expect we’ll see a rise in hyper-targeted, real-time advertising in the next few years that adapts to an individual’s viewing or listening habits. Expect AI to help advertisers create dynamic ads that change based on a viewer’s behavior, location or even the content they’re watching. Personalization should make ads more relevant, improving the overall user experience and delivering higher returns on investment for advertisers.
Additionally, AI will improve the creative process. In fact, it’s already happening. Check out how this dentist in Los Angeles used artificial intelligence to grow interest in his business. Using Google’s Veo3, video views spiked from 5K per video to over 800K with this creative ad. Think that might grow his business?
AI can take anything you imagine and turn it into real time opportunity. Want Snoop Dogg voicing your commercial? Done. Thinking of creating a talking whale for video endorsements for a local client’s restaurant? Done. Need custom music created or a special voice in promos to make a commercial memorable? Done. Combine that with the ability to optimize ad placement and ensure that spots are inserted at the most opportune moments to maximize impact and you can see why this is a game changer.
An argument can be made that the AI dentist ad would’ve made more sense for a beer brand, but that will be the next area examined. How does the creative stand out amongst a more creative field? Which brands use it best to turn leads into sales? With machine learning, broadcasters can improve creativity and predict which audiences are most likely to engage with a particular type of ad or piece of content, optimizing both the timing and placement. That’s a benefit to the advertiser.
Conclusion
AI is both exciting and scary. Trying to teach old dogs new tricks is hard, but many industry roles will change or become obsolete in the near future so learning it is imperative for media professionals. This is no different than what print editors, columnists, reporters and newsrooms faced in the 1990’s and 2000’s when the internet arrived. Those who resisted change learned the hard way, technology doesn’t slow down for anyone.
I read a column by Axios CEO Jim VandeHei which touched on how his company is preparing for the AI tsunami. VandeHei requires most of his staff to spend 10% or more of their day using AI to find ways to double their performance by the end of the year. Are you doing that today in your place of business? This is a priority for Barrett Media too. We use AI to improve process, speed, knowledge, and creativity to best serve our readers and clients. What we don’t use it for are opinions, reporting/features, conferences, etc., things that depend on human connection. The question isn’t whether or not you should be using it, it’s how are you using it?
By no means is AI perfect. I worry about the future job market, data privacy, repurposing of content without proper attribution, and content overload. These things must be addressed. I also take issue with information being created by people on behalf of brands and then used by AI-powered companies without compensation or attribution. Machines are taking our work, summarizing it, and making it available to users while tossing the original content aside. AI companies are becoming the publisher/creator without doing the actual work.
It may be imperfect and frustrating, and require government involvement down the line, but that doesn’t change the fact that media professionals who adapt and embrace it will be better equipped than those who don’t. If this is the landline era of AI, the iPhone era is just around the corner. If a machine can do your job 10x better and faster, and provide significant savings to your company, how do you think this story ends?
As the old saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Whether you like AI and how technology is disrupting the world or not, it’s happening. Future-proofing your business and career is vital, so don’t make the mistake of ignoring it. It’s better to stand with those who evolved and learned how to use it to their advantage than with those who resisted the change and got left behind.
The Barrett Bash
Invitations went out in June to over 1,000 media industry professionals for the first-ever ‘Barrett Bash‘. Our invite-only event is being held on Thursday September 4th from 5p-8p at 1604 Broadway in NYC to celebrate 10 years in business. We can’t accommodate everyone so if you received the invite and plan to attend, RSVP as soon as possible. It’s first-come first-served. Normally people wait until a month before to commit but over 100 people have already confirmed their attendance. We expect a few hundred more to join us from across the sports, news, music, and advertising industries.
I plan to add a host for the event. We already have a DJ and I’m starting the process of talking with record label contacts about having an artist play a short acoustic-set at the event. Additional surprises are planned as well. Those interested in hosting or providing entertainment can email me at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
Quick Hits:
- Kudos to the Radio Hall of Fame. They nailed it with the Class of 2025. Mike McVay, Julie Talbott, and Colin Cowherd are three of my favorite people in the business. Seeing Martha Quinn, Mojo, Alice Cooper, Bob & Sheri and others earn respect for their contributions makes a great class even greater. Tickets to the ceremony in Chicago are now on-sale here. Stephanie Eads and I will be in attendance.
- Thank you, Ozzy Osborne. I watched tons of clips over the weekend from Ozzy and Black Sabbath’s final show. The emotion from the crowd as he sang Mama, I’m Coming Home especially stood out. Tom Morello and Sharon Osborne organized an amazing farewell for the Prince of Darkness’. The different combinations of musicians playing covers, Ozzy songs, and just jamming was awesome. If you haven’t done so, go down a rabbit hole on X and search Ozzy Osborne. It’s worth an hour of your time.
- Speaking of going down a rabbit hole on X, do the same searching Oasis. The band returned after a 16-year break and sounded outstanding. Their first show back took place in Cardiff Wales at Principality Stadium. Seeing them on tour this summer is high on my to-do list.
- Another band which made a mark this weekend was The All-American Rejects. AAR showed up at the Savannah Bananas game at Fenway Park playing a short set. The clips on social were popping up everywhere, which coincidentally is what AAR does these days. Very cool.
- I watched Colin Cowherd‘s July 4th video and thought it was awesome. We most certainly are living in the greatest time as sports fans. Sometimes we forget that due to the nature of how sports media works.
- Kirk Herbstreit shared an awesome story on the Net Positive Podcast, which has since gone viral. Herbie explained that ESPN budget cuts were about to affect multiple crews and Pat McAfee heard about it, and said he’d absorb the costs to avoid having key people lost. Management caught wind of Pat’s plans and decided to adjust. That’s what leadership is all about. Well done, Pat.
- Whoever came up with the idea to insert WWE superstar Seth Rollins into the All My Friends video for A Day to Remember, give them a raise. The band, song, and Rollins are a perfect match.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
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.
A lot to think about in this piece.
Very helpful!!
Appreciate it, Pete.