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.
In the grand scheme of things, the news division of Barrett Media is the middle child.
While the company began in sports in 2015, news launched in 2020 before music coverage was added in 2024.
But that foray into news was a much-needed expansion for the industry. Plenty of publications featured dedicated verticals and reporters to cable news television. But the news/talk radio genre — despite its breadth and depth in the overall radio landscape — rarely received a dedicated lane similar to its cable news brethren.
As the 10th anniversary of the brand’s launch is this month, we spoke with several local news/talk radio talents to discuss what they enjoyed about the coverage, how they utilize Barrett Media, and how they stay connected with what’s happening inside the industry.
At KOA 850 in Denver, host Mandy Connell said that she met Barrett Media President Jason Barrett at an event in 2020 and began following him and the Barrett Media brand at the time.
She joked that she utilizes the website and newsletters “to keep up with old friends and find out how they are doing!”
“He covers the people in the industry I care about so well, as well as the latest industry moves,” she added.
Meanwhile, WRVA host Jeff Katz shared that he’s been a reader of the brand since the early, sports-only days.
“I first became aware of Barrett Media close to a decade ago when it was focused on sports,” he shared. “I’m not really a sports guy, per se, but there were always valuable takeaways. As it grew and Jason focused more on the news/talk arena with the launch of BNM, I found it to be even more useful and informative.”
Katz added that he finds value in the insights shared by the news/talk radio format captains who serve as columnists for Barrett Media.
“What is most useful are the programming insights from folks like Pete Mundo and Peter Thiele,” he said. “They are in the game on a daily basis — like me — and I often am reminded of things that I’ve overlooked or completely forgotten. It is also wonderful to read stories with updates on happenings in our talk space.”
Connell joked that she is “old” and that she doesn’t “care about career or industry development”, but does enjoy reading insights from others like her.
“I love reading the interviews from folks in the industry as well as breaking news and personnel move announcements,” she shared.
Those personnel moves matter to Katz, as well.
“The content which matters most to me, generally speaking, would involve the moves and developments with the leading companies,” he admitted. “It is always so inspiring to see what passionate media evangelists are doing. Folks like Chris Ruddy and John Catsimatidis continue to lead the way in terms of talent development and audience growth as well as reach. Reading about their commitment is continually inspiring.”
WBT afternoon host Brett Winterble, like Katz and Connell, has been an ardent reader and supporter of the Barrett Media brand since its addition of news/talk content. Winterble knows a thing or two about news/talk radio. He spent time working at SiriusXM, and at talk stations in Los Angeles and San Diego. Additionally, he spent nearly a decade working as a producer for Rush Limbaugh.
Winterble noted that he’s a “huge fan” of the work done by Barrett Media’s news/talk arm, sharing that having an outlet that dedicates time and space to the news/talk radio genre is a much-needed publication.
Connell agreed.
“This is a small industry but highly decentralized,” she said. “You never know when you will be canned. This is a great way to maintain industry knowledge!”
“I believe it is essential that an outlet covers the daily happenings of the industry,” Jeff Katz added. “It’s wonderful to get the meat of the matter delivered regularly.”
Ultimately, Katz concluded by noting that he appreciates the opportunity to gain more insight and knowledge about the broadcasting industry by reading Barrett Media. He called that an “essential” mission of the publication.
“Being aware of the thoughts of great programmers and true management leaders is vital,” the WRVA afternoon host said. “Our industry continues to evolve and change just as it has for the 34 years I’ve been part of it.
“That being said, our demise has been greatly overstated,” continued Katz. “The best PD in the history of talk, Ken Charles, shared on our panel (at the BNM Summit), that for three-plus decades we’ve been hearing about how the death of talk radio was imminent. And yet, we’re still alive and kicking. It is still about providing entertaining content, pulling listeners through chunks of time, and super serving our advertisers. Additional platforms and tools are being utilized, but the underlying principles remain the same.”
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.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
