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FeaturesToast to 10

Toast to 10: Our Top 10 Most-Read Stories in Music, News, and Sports Media

"If leaders, talent, and business professionals value the content and respect those writing it, that trumps general interest. I care more about reaching the right audience than the largest audience."

By: Jason Barrett

Date:

The Toast to 10 series, presented by Premiere Networks, is a month-long look back at ten years of Barrett Media. Throughout the month, you’ll hear from those who have shaped the company, managed and created content, read the site, and partnered with the brand between 2015 and 2025, sharing how they’ve seen it play a role in covering the media industry and educating, celebrating, and challenging the business.

One of the fascinating parts of publishing media industry content is learning what generates interest. You’d assume that the stories delivering the most lift feature the biggest names and brands. Sometimes that’s true, but the more attention a story gets, the harder it is for a trade site like ours to stand out. Then you have to factor in where the activity came from, Search, direct accessing of the website, newsletters, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Newsbreak, referral websites, or something else. It’s something I monitor frequently to make sure we’re on the right track.

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Though it’s fun to see a flood of traffic, if the approach needed to attract eyeballs requires gotcha headlines and ruined relationships, I’ll pass. The exception is when I see wrongdoing being done. Those issues are messy and create tension but sometimes bad things have to be called out to make them better. Every writer here puts their name on their opinions. You don’t have to agree or even read the content, but if you do, know that we’re striving to be honest and factual. We’re also accessible to address questions and complaints.

When we launched in 2015, my mantra was that I’d rather reach 100 Bob Iger’s than 1,000 fans. That holds true today. If leaders, talent, and business professionals value the content and respect those writing it, that trumps general interest. I care more about reaching the right audience than the largest audience. I also value why or how something happened more than the fact that it did happen. To celebrate, educate, and challenge industry professionals, you need a crew that knows the subjects inside and out. We’ve had strong advertising partnerships for years, none who have ever bought us based on traffic. It’s about reach and influence, and you can’t earn that trust without knowing the ins and outs of the business.

A great example is the recent attention placed on Wake Up Barstool’s TV ratings on FS1. Numerous sites have preyed on the brand’s poor numbers after two weeks because it generates clicks. Media personalities have a habit of taking the bait and sharing the content on social media anytime you say something good or bad about them. But if you’ve worked in the industry and know how ratings and new shows work, this isn’t a surprise. You’re also aware that Fox isn’t measuring the success or failure of its partnership with Barstool based on FS1 TV ratings. I saw this exact situation last year with Tom Brady and previously with GetUp! and Tony Romo. What separates us, a column like John Mamola’s on Friday that details how it works.

Aside from leaning into experience, daily news is a part of our world too. We produce a LOT of it, in my opinion, too much. Attacking the news cycle doesn’t start here with using 5-10 people’s names to chase clicks. That’s not our business strategy. I’ve actually considered reducing how much attention we place on daily news. I know many rely on us to stay updated on industry news, but it also restricts creativity and storytelling. Most people read 1-3 stories per day, not 8-10. Included in that activity are columns and features, the items we do best. Yet some days we have 12-15 news stories. Breaking news is one thing, that matters a lot, but whether or not we need everything else, is part of a larger internal discussion.

With Barrett Media running this series throughout the month of September, I thought it’d be interesting for readers to learn which ten stories have performed best across music, news, and sports media since 2015. I’m not including company layoffs stories or Top 20 lists, both produce massive attention. Keep in mind that we’ve covered sports media since September 2015, news media since September 2020, and music radio since July 2024. These aren’t necessarily the most important or impactful, they’re just the ones that garnered the most interest. Enjoy!

Sports Media:

James Brown
Courtesy: Derek Futterman, Barrett Sports Media

News Media:

Logo for WISN and a photo of Jay Weber
Photo Courtesy: WISN

Music Radio:

Amanda Dennihy
Photo Credit: New Country 101.Five

The Jimmy Kimmel Saga

I didn’t like Jimmy Kimmel‘s remarks, but to be fair, I don’t watch his show much. I used to love late-night television but find today’s offerings to be less funny. They’re also too quick to embrace political commentary that divides the audience. Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien valued laughs over division. Judging by the ratings, that strategy worked better.

But this is a situation the FCC shouldn’t be sticking its nose in. Ted Cruz called them out for it over the weekend and was spot on. Disney reserves the right to take a talent off the air. Kimmel reportedly planned to double down on his comments on Wednesday’s show, which is just stupid. When Nexstar and Sinclair pull your show and advertising pressure mounts, it’s wiser to quiet the noise than fan the flames.

If nothing else was at stake and Bob Iger and Dana Walden made the call to send Kimmel to the sidelines, I’d support it 100%. However, when the companies involved are known to have other business interests in motion requiring FCC/Political support, why would anyone think those issues aren’t directly connected to this decision? The corporations involved look like they took a stand to protect those interests. Kimmel’s inaccurate comments and lack of decency after a human being has been murdered did him no favors. And Brendan Carr and the FCC come across as a group trying to silence speech they disagree with and influence how media groups operate. I’m not sure that anyone looks good in this situation.

Quick Hits

  • A tip of the cap to Newsmax, Fox News, and NewsNation for airing Charlie Kirk’s funeral. Networks that chose not to show it missed an opportunity to lure new viewers from the other side. I want to applaud Turning Point USA, the Salem Radio Network, and the numerous hosts/networks who’ve worked together the past two weeks to turn an impossible and tragic situation into something positive. Charlie Kirk‘s death has crushed many across the media industry, but seeing so many accomplished people step into his studio to discuss his impact, legacy, and share old stories and clips has reminded us how important he was to the news media industry. Garrett Searight wrote a piece last week which addressed it perfectly.
  • I could be wrong but I don’t remember ever seeing the WWE featured on ESPN.com as the top story. That was the case Saturday night following the company’s premium live event Wrestlepalooza which aired on ESPN’s app. Even more impressive, WWE owned the main page over College Football and other pro sports leagues. The SportsCenter social media accounts were also actively promoting the event. This clip by Omar Raja was my personal favorite. Based on first impressions, ESPN appears to be all-in on the new relationship.
ESPN.com
Photo Credit: ESPN.com Screenshots
  • Fantastic work by the CBS NFL Today team with Sunday’s throwback edition to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary. The open voiced by Brent Musburger and the crew donning wigs was absolutely perfect.
  • Years from now media people who were late to the party are going to look back and wish they had paid more attention to Jesse Cole of the Savannah Bananas. In my opinion, he’s one of the sharpest minds in brand building and marketing. Take ten minutes and watch this interview on CNBC. For those thinking of taking a professional risk, this video is even better.
  • Aerosmith-Yungblud hit a homerun with My Only Angel. Becky Lynch‘s new entrance theme New Lows by The Wonder Years is rapidly growing on me. Avril Lavigne‘s Feel My Pain which features Jelly Roll is strong, so too is Butterflies by All Time Low. Finally, Hardy‘s Dog Years can reduce you to tears if you’re a dog lover. Ask Stephanie Eads, haha.

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.

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