Morning Show Boot Camp Hits All the Right Notes

My first trip to Morning Show Boot Camp was a memorable one, but for different reasons. First, the bad news. I lost my voice on Thursday night. That made Friday and Saturday challenging. I had vocal cord surgery in 2020 and have been fine since then. Last week though was the worst it’s been in five years. I’m now on vocal rest this week per doctor’s orders.

There were a few people I wanted to chat with but due to vocal limitations that wasn’t possible. To those I missed, we’ll connect at the next one.

Now for the good news, and there was plenty of it.

MSBC showcased the best of what makes radio special, the people and passion. A few hundred attended, and the energy throughout the Austin Marriott and Waterloo Ballroom was excellent. The conversations and segments were more fun and insightful and centered around talent than hard hitting and business driven, and everything ran on time, which kept the event from feeling like it was losing momentum. Networking opportunities were available everywhere, giving everyone a chance to build or extend relationships.

I was glad to see Audacy, iHeart and a few other groups support the event. Conferences that highlight the industry and unite professionals need and deserve support.

Rather than go through each session, I’m going to list the things that stood out most from the show.

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Don Anthony: MSBC is a success because of Don Anthony. What a gem of a human being. Don and I have known each other for years but had never met in person. I’m glad we changed that. Stephanie Eads and I were welcomed with open arms by Don, and had multiple conversations about hosting events, publishing, and the state of the industry as if we were long lost friends. I’ve been to other shows where hosts act as if I’ve committed a crime by showing up. As long as I’m breathing and covering the business, I’ll be rooting for Don and MSBC, and encouraging folks to support the show. He’s first class all the way.

Venue: The Austin Marriott Downtown was an excellent choice. The ballroom was bright and spacious, the sound inside the room was clean, and the access to the bar, pool, and elevators to get back to your room was great. The hotel had enough to do that you could stay inside and avoid the Texas heat.

Radio Roundtable: The session led by Mike McVay featuring Jill Strada, Katie Neal, Jim Ryan, Greg Strassell and Jeff Sottolano was important for talent in the room to hear. It’s great to love radio, be creative, and appreciate your audience, but business is vital to everything we do. Jim Ryan and Jill Strada offered great advice on managing and motivating talent, Katie Neal reminded the room about radio being declared dead since ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ was played. However, the points that stuck most with me were shared by Sottolano and Strassell.

Jeff Sottolano told the room that the economic challenges facing radio are real, and programming has to do more to help sales. His message about doing the work, tuning out the noise, and opportunities to win being more available than ever struck the right tone.

Greg Strassell also raised an important point that while it’s fashionable to bitch about Nielsen, great shows produce numbers. Blaming the system is easier than examining why a show isn’t performing. Greg also shared that he wished more salespeople were in the room to discover the magic and passion, but since they’re not, we need to go to them.

That made me wonder, ‘why aren’t sellers and advertisers in these rooms’? I see the same thing at our Summits. How much better would our sales performance be if those responsible for selling understood the product, passion and performers better? If programming and sales are supposed to be in unison, shouldn’t sales be in the same locations that programming professionals are? It’s hard to argue they wouldn’t benefit from it.

Battle of the Bits: The Monolith by Hawkeye was brilliant and absolutely deserved the win. Miguel and Holly did an awesome job hosting the session and kept it moving, even when one contestant tried to hijack it and read off 150 names involved in his bit. Overall, a lot of fun, and a showcase of how different personalities, shows and markets approach being creative.

Shawn Tempesta: The conference kicked off with Trivia, which was fun, simple, and a great way to get everyone engaged. Shawn was the perfect host for it. He had great command, and kept the session light and moving. Rob Mack’s knowledge of call letters was especially impressive. The fact that the game show included a Shitty Radio Jock (he was there) reference, and ended with four call letters (KGMZ) which I had a hand in creating made it even more fun.

Yung Joc: His authenticity, honesty, and humor on stage was a hit. I laughed my ass off at the friendly exchanges between Joc and Fred when he asked for ways white people talk about money. His personal story of deciding how to handle going on the air after his brother lost three of his kids in a house fire was emotional, gut wrenching, and a reminder of what comes with putting your life on the airwaves.

JohnJay & Rich: The backstory of how they got on the air, the banter between them, and the passion they have for serving affiliates and saving dogs stood out. They were also hilarious, taking friendly jabs at Paul Castronovo any chance they got for his going over his allotted time earlier in the day. Very funny.

Meetups: I enjoyed connecting with Dave Farra of Dave & Mahoney, Greg, Dave and Ryan at TM Studios, iHeart’s Brad Hardin and Maynard, Hubbard Radio’s Greg Strassell, Tommy Mattern, Rizzuto, and Chris Eagan, Premiere Networks’ Woody, JohnJay & Rich, and Peter Tripi, and Dave Richards, Jeff Sottolano and Nikki Nite from Audacy. I also crossed paths with Joel Denver, John McConnell, Tim McCarthy, Bruce Gilbert, Dana Cortez, Bo Matthews, Corey Dylan, Bret and Hannah from the Bret Mega Show, Riggs, Katelyn and Erica, Kramer and Jess, Miguel and Holly, Trevor from the Jim Kerr Show, Tim Bronsil, Steve Reynolds, Shawn Tempesta, Kevin Rolston, Austin Huff, Loper, Lauren Ingridson, Jen Brown, Lisa Dollinger, and June Colbert.

In addition, I really enjoyed talking shop with Dennis Clark on Wednesday night. What a fantastic human being. His track record in the industry speaks for itself. The shout out he gave Stephanie and I from the stage was unexpected, and first class. Being able to break away from the noise to enjoy a quiet dinner on Friday night with our good friends, Mike McVay and Heather Cohen, put a nice stamp on a great week.

Women’s Brunch: Corey Dylan did a nice job hosting the Saturday morning brunch, and Heather Cohen and Mike McVay informed attendees of how the Alliance for Women in Media serves the industry and why it’s important to get involved.

After Heather and Mike spoke, an audio message from Dana Cortez played (she was at MSBC earlier in the week) where she talked about paying her own way to the show over the years, and why it’s necessary to invest in your career. Amen! So many talent, programmers, and behind the scenes people expect their company to foot the bill for them to grow their skills and relationships. It doesn’t work that way, folks. Investing in yourself is a necessity if you want to maximize your potential.

Anne Hudson also took the mic and spoke about social media monetization, opening a few eyes in the process. She shared that 12.5 million views of a viral video of hers on TikTok produced $54, and 500K views on IG led to $233, which was a healthy reminder that although it’s great to attract attention, social media doesn’t always pay as well as your radio station does. Her advice for creating content around products you use, and not overthinking production value (use your phone) was smart. Too many don’t create content because of those reasons.

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Beasley Media Layoffs

I keep up on the economic challenges facing the industry and know most executives would prefer not to lose talented employees. But late last week, Beasley Media parted ways with some talented people in Boston, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.

Because of the recurring changes in Philadelphia, I wasn’t surprised to see Mike Missanelli let go. I was stunned though to see Beasley cut ties with 105.5 WDHA PD and host Terrie Carr. Terrie’s heart and passion was felt across every part of that brand. She is very good at what she does and spent over thirty years there. When a brand loses its soul, it’s difficult to sell the public and advertising community on better days ahead. The reaction to her social post alone suggests a second look might be wise.

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The Howard Stern, SiriusXM Contract Saga

Some industry folks consider Howard Stern the greatest entertainer in radio history. Others feel he’s a shell of who he once was. Regardless of your perspective, let’s be honest about one thing. If Howard and SiriusXM separate at the end of his deal it won’t be because he went woke. This is all about money, nothing else.

It might create clicks or views suggesting his politics are behind the potential cancellation of his show, but it’s not accurate. This story was leaked to an international outlet to create noise and get Howard’s fans prepared for radio life without the ’King of Media’, and to put Stern on notice that future paydays would look different. If you read the original report it said “SiriusXM does not expect Stern to agree to their offer.” That indicates an interest in continuing the relationship but not at the current terms.

At this stage of his life, Stern doesn’t need to work. If he signed off tomorrow, he goes down in history as one of the most important and influential talents ever. IF a deal can’t be reached with SiriusXM, would Stern take one last swing with terrestrial radio? Would Spotify, Netflix or YouTube throw a ton of cash at him to get him on their platform? It’s hard to picture Stern not doing anything in media after 2025.

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Quick Hits:

• We are having a one-week sale on tickets to the 2025 BNM Summit THIS WEEK. I’m announcing additional speakers this week too, including another top personality who I’m excited to add to the show. Speakers, awards recipients, and sponsorships will be finalized by next week, and then we will release our final schedule. A reminder, you can secure tickets via barter through iMar Entertainment by clicking here. All BNM Summit attendees receive an invite to the Barrett Bash on Thursday night September 4th.

• Speaking of the Summit, we held an email ticket contest last week. Congrats to Josh Lang, Chris Hayes, Andy Denemark, Elizabeth Hamma, Michael Demarest, Daniel McDonald, Andy Grimshaw, Jeff McKay, Jeremy Caldwell, and Andrew Flores on being our 10 winners.

• Have you started following Barrett Media on TikTok, IG, YouTube, Rumble, Threads or Bluesky? We’re on nine platforms now, and are posting a lot more video and visual content. Hopefully by now you’ve had a chance to check out the new Barrett Media Minute, which Dylan Barrett edits and posts weeknights at 7pm.

• Dan Patrick caught heat last week for questioning ESPN’s journalistic integrity as a result of its new deal with the NFL. I was surprised that some took exception to his remarks. Did they think nobody would mention it? I saw videos last week of WWE execs and talent on ESPN shows promoting the new partnership between the two parties, and nobody was put on the hotseat over Brock Lesnar’s legal situation or the WWE’s decision to cancel press conferences. Nor did I expect them to be. If Pablo Torre or Ariel Helwani were hosting, I’d have different expectations. I don’t think ESPN will stop reporting on the NFL but how aggressively will they pursue stories that can damage the NFL the way the CTE expose did? That’s a fair question to ask.

• Circa and VSiN hit a home-run turning the Circa Survivor contest into a docuseries. I watched the first five episodes of Season 2 this past weekend. Congrats to Derek Stevens and all involved on an excellent production. The pot for the 2025 contest is up to 15 million dollars.

• Being an NFL, NBA or MLB Insider seems glamorous but there are a lot of sacrifices that have to be made to do the job well. Jeremy Schapp‘s conversation with Shams Charania, Adam Schefter, and Jeff Passan is worth your time if it’s a position you’re interested in.

• Rick Rubin had a two-hour chat with iHeartmedia CEO Bob Pittman. Click here to check it out. Appreciate JohnJay & Rich providing the plug for it at MSBC.

• And here are four new tunes worth checking out. I’m especially a fan of the new Falling in Reverse hit All My Women which includes an appearance by Hardy. I’d also take a listen to Bad Omens Specter, MGK‘s Outlaw Overture, Bailey Zimmerman‘s Lost, and Blackgold‘s Wake Up.

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