The Toast to 10 series presented by Premiere Networks, is a month-long series looking back on 10 years of Barrett Media. Throughout the month, you’ll hear from those who’ve shaped the company, managed and created the content, read the site, and partnered with the brand between 2015-2025 to share how they’ve seen it play a role in covering the media industry and educating, celebrating, and challenging the business.
The role of a program directors in sports radio is one that few ever consider in the beginning of a career. The job requires skill, patience, creativity, and the understanding that leading talent requires different approaches for each. The position is not one for those who desire the spotlight, but for those who have the ambition to work behind the scenes. Pushing talent to elevate their game, and celebrating in their wins as only a good coach does.
As Barrett Media turns ten years old, there have been a number of programmers who have come and gone in that same time. There have been some who have remained, but many more will tell tales of how they used the brand as a resource to improve their game. In the corporate world programmers live within their own walls far too often. It’s rare to find community with your peers outside of those same walls when the day-to-day keeps you keenly focused on the goals of your brand.
Barrett Media changed that for me and for many others. From the humble beginnings of SportsRadioPD.com, the brand has always been focused on celebrating and challenging what sports radio is and what it could also be moving forward.
In that spirit, I reached out to several current programmers who run sports radio stations to gain their insights on the Barrett Media brand. How they found the site, and how often they consume the news on the website. How they use the content provided on it, but also where they see the value in the importance of the brand as it moves into the next decade. Here are their stories.
Mitch Rosen
Mitch Rosen is the vice president of programming for Audacy’s 670 The Score in Chicago. He’s a daily reader of the Barrett Media content and has attended and spoken at several Barrett Sports Media summits across the country. Rosen was the first recipient of the Mark Chernoff Award which recognizes the top programmer of the year based on a criteria of exhibiting strong leadership, vision, creativity, ratings history, and multi-platform excellence.
Rosen is one of the biggest champions for the sports radio format. He’s been recognized in the annual Barrett Media Top 20 and has seen the brand grow with the industry. While he couldn’t recall anything on the site that changed his way of thinking, he uses Barrett Media to ensure he’s kept up to date on trends, stories, and news surrounding the industry. He also says he values how Barrett Media continues to shine a light on those in the industry who excel at great things, content-wise, and continues to call the content “must read” on a daily basis.
Andy Roth
Andy Roth is the director of programming for 680 The Fan in Atlanta, Georgia. He says that he recalls immediately being a reader of the Barrett Media brand from its inception. Roth stated that he always respected Jason Barrett as a fine programmer, and felt the website provided a window in learning from a contemporary while hearing the stories from others in the industry. One aspect that Roth noted he’s seen much more during the past decade is a focus on digital content becoming more presented through the Barrett Media brand.
“As digital elements have become more important in our business, it’s great to see the site cover how different stations across all formats are addressing that need,” said Roth. “What hasn’t changed…and has been incredible…is how Jason and his staff have always made sure to cover the big news across radio, and especially personnel moves.”
Barrett Media has always attempted to tell the stories of those involved in personnel moves across the industry. The stories of people who elevate to new heights, but also the stories of departures as corporations continue to find new avenues to create local content. Roth is a frequent attendee of the Barrett Sports Media summits and hopes those continue for Barrett Media in the future.
“The heavy lifting for media summits for each format must be a ton, but those events are so important to get facetime with people across our business,” Roth stated. “I’m hoping there is a virtual way of doing it to bridge the annual gap and include more of our radio world.”
Brad Carson
Brad Carson is the brand and operations manager for Audacy’s Memphis cluster. As a reader of the Barrett Media brand since its inception, he says that he’s always admired the Barrett Media team for stepping out on a limb to create a business model that advocates for radio stations.
“At its core, Barrett Media centers around broadcast radio and the people who care about their local markets and radio stations,” says Carson.
The annual Barrett Media Top 20 is a smashing success according to Carson, who has been featured numerous times from the mid-market category. He finds that industry insiders will always tell you it’s an honor to be recognized by your peers, as the rankings are voted on by programmers across the country.
Carson also oversees a number of music brands in his market, which is why he was happy to see the Barrett Media brand expand into coverage of music radio.
“I think highlighting music stations that are making a difference in 2025 and giving those out on a case-by-case instance is a solid idea,” said Carson. “It’s notable when music stations do unique local things.”
The Audacy executive also stated the columns he’s most fascinated with on a weekly basis come from Dr. Ed Cohen and Bob Lawrence. He says the depth of those data-driven columns make a world of difference and are unique to the Barrett Media brand.
Scott Shapiro
Scott Shapiro is the senior vice president, FOX Sports Radio and podcasts, for Premiere Radio Networks. A long title for someone who has supported the Barrett Media brand for the entirety of its ten-year existence. Shapiro says the credibility of Jason Barrett is what drew him into following the brand since day one.
“The respect I had for him, I knew that he was on to something and would churn out a quality product,” said Shapiro.
The articles that draw Shapiro’s attention are the ones breaking down audience demographics and how those demos are consuming content. Whether it be radio, television or on digital. Shapiro says those articles are what help Barrett Media stand out from other online publications.
“I get a lot out of the pieces that discuss cross-platform strategies and how to innovate and modernize in these fascinating times in our industry,” Shapiro noted. “The stories in Barrett Media thankfully are relevant every day and are directly in tune with the thought processes leaders in the industry face on a daily basis.”
Shapiro has attended every single Barrett Sports Media conference and has also spoken on a panel at each one as well. He says the continued improvement in depth of topics through the Barrett Media website has led to increased relevancy of the brand over the past ten years.
“The growth and expansion has been evident. With the players involved, I fully expect that growth to continue,” said Shapiro. “I believe that will continue given the Barrett team’s keen insights into the industry and pulse on what’s going on in the marketplace.”
Brian Long
Brian Long is the program director for iHeartMedia’s KFI, AM 570 Sports, and The Patriot KEIB 1150AM. When I reached out to Long about his thoughts of the Barrett Media brand, his first thought pointed to Jason Barrett. Long spoke of Barrett’s skill to nurture and keep great relationships while keeping a keen eye on the industry was a big factor in following his journey with Barrett Media.
“He was a person that you could trust as a source so when you read it, you could believe it,” said Long.
As Long has continued his growth in his career, he noted he’s seen his habits change in the content he consumes through Barrett Media on a daily basis.
“My consumption habits have changed over time,” noted Long. “I gravitate to stories that focus on other formats or areas of industry ex: sales, marketing to stay up on challenges and emerging trends.”
Long says he’s been impressed with the growth of the brand over time how it’s morphed to cover sports, news and most recently music radio. He says there is no doubt that under Jason Barrett’s leadership that the brand will continue to harvest more content and continue to be a valuable asset for the industry in the future.
“I have no doubt the brand will continue to evolve and will identify new areas to expand on,” said Long. “I look forward to watching, reading, and listening to where it goes.”
Chris Kinard
Chris Kinard is the sports format vice president and operations manager for Audacy based out of their Washington D.C. cluster. The 2024 recipient of the Mark Chernoff Award has been following Barrett Media since its launch in 2015 and considers it an honor to bestow the Chernoff Award he was awarded. He says he appreciates how the brand continues to be laser focused on sports radio, but the stories about the future of the industry are what keeps Kinard coming back for more.
“I always appreciate hearing about young programmers and talent and getting fresh perspectives from both established leaders in our industry, and those bringing new and outside thinking to the business,” said Kinard.
Kinard is an active attendee and speaker at the annual Barrett Sports Media summits and finds the opportunity to network as a true benefit to what the event produces.
“The Barrett Sports Media Summit provided an opportunity for me to meet and build relationships and friendships with programmers from across the country who I otherwise probably would not have had the chance to connect with,” said Kinard. “From Bruce Gilbert to Mitch Rosen, Andy Roth, Rod Lakin, and many more. My first time meeting some of the guys I really respect has come at the summit.”
Kevin Shockey
Finally, Kevin Shockey is the program director at Altitude Sports Radio in Colorado. Shockey’s relationship with the Barrett Media brand began before the concept of the brand itself.
“I knew about Jason because he reached out to me when he started the station down in the Bay Area [95.7 The Game]. Watched from afar to see how he built a brand to compete with one of the absolute behemoths in the biz,” said Shockey. “As soon as he started Barrett Media, I jumped on and it has been part of my daily routine.”
Shockey credits the vision of Jason Barrett in identifying a hole in radio industry trades and leaping right in. He credits the vision that Barrett Media has become over the past decade showcasing the stories of the sports radio business while not losing sight on showcasing and celebrating the stories of the people who share a passion for it.
“Nobody else has been writing about this stuff so, for people who love the industry, care about the industry, and work in the industry, it’s an obvious place to stay updated on news,” said Shockey. “It isn’t silly fanboy stuff that you see on a lot of other sites that cover sports media. It’s a ton better than that.”
Having been recognized twice in the annual Barrett Media Top 20, he considers the ranking an honor of a lifetime. Shockey has also attended three Barrett Sports Media summits, and was connected with his current employer by being in attendance.
“Jason introduced me to Dave Fleck, who hired me to run Altitude Sports Radio in Denver. There is no chance Dave would have known who I was without Jason’s introduction. Jason has had a role in connecting many people,” said Shockey. “His role as a go-between had a HUGE effect on my career and I will forever be thankful for that.”
Shockey says he’s looking forward to the next opportunity to hear from people who as he said, “fighting the same battles that I fight every day.”
I echo all the sentiments of the list of esteemed programmers who contributed their time to this piece. Ten years is a lifetime for most small businesses but also should be considered a mark of achievement. While the industry faces many challenges of yesterday and today, Barrett Media has supported those in positions of power to think differently, be recognized, and create community for a better tomorrow.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
