Friday was a crazy day in the radio business. It started with Damon Amendolara announcing his exit from SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio. 104.3 The Score in Chicago was next, revealing changes just before our 5pm newsletter dropped. Then, after dinner, I received an email that Pat Paxton was leaving Saga Communications. All three of those stories appeared first on this website. Some didn’t like that we broke the news.
I realize that when we publish a story, news gets amplified. It creates more attention and reaction to a brand’s decision. But unless our information is wrong, we’re going to stand by what we report. You may not love that answer, but our responsibility is to keep the industry informed. We don’t play favorites, we stick to reporting the facts. Company leaders become nervous when decisions are made. They expect the details to remain quiet. But once news is shared with others, leaders should assume it’s going to get out. It always does.
And that brings me to a key part of this column.
The media industry uses its airwaves to share news, opinion, and comedic banter about the lives and daily happenings surrounding teams, athletes, political figures, actors, musicians, celebrities, comedians, and others in the public spotlight. We expect those high profile folks to just deal with it when they’re the center of attention, but when broadcasters become the news, there’s a code of silence expected from industry trades. Some outlets even comply to protect friends.
Sorry folks, but that memo never reached my inbox. If it did, I’d press delete. Ignoring decisions that affect brands, companies, individuals, and those doing business with them is an unrealistic expectation. To ask for or expect that type of treatment is professionally insulting.
When Cumulus Media recently cut ties with Greg Papa as he was battling cancer, few industry outlets offered opinion or deeper coverage of the story. Some simply wrote two sentences about the news. In my opinion, that’s weak. That’s not covering the news, it’s hiding the news. I expressed my disappointment with how the situation was managed, and called on Cumulus Media CEO Mary Berner to address it. She still hasn’t said a word. Neither has Andy Hobson, Elizabeth Abrams, Deborah Farrington, David Tolley, Steven Galbraith or Carol Flaton. Those are Cumulus Media’s Board of Directors.
When a company’s top brass stands idly by during a mess like this, it suggests they support it. If any of them don’t, they should say so. But leaders often dodge these issues because industry outlets protect them and mainstream newspapers don’t care. I don’t enjoy the additional conversations and headaches that come from elevating sensitive issues but someone has to call balls and strikes. If it can happen to Greg Papa, it can happen to you too.
Having said that, if Cumulus has a strong quarter, promoted someone internally or delivered a ratings win or promotional success, we’d report that too. Depending on the news, I might even write a complimentary column on it. I can be critical of one decision, and complimentary of the next. It’s rarely personal for me, unless someone makes it so. Sometimes you’ll love my commentary. Sometimes you won’t. But if two recognized groups do the same thing, we try to treat them with the same amount of attention. Consistency matters.
Fortunately, hundreds of thousands of people read us each month. Our videos recently eclipsed one million views in a month. Our newsletters reach nearly 50,000 people every morning and evening. Those subscribers include thousands across the world of advertising, TV and streaming companies, radio, podcasting, schools, political offices, sports teams, tech companies, and many others invested in the media business. We have to be fair to everyone. If you don’t want negative news reported, don’t create it. If you want more positive stories told, produce them.
Our mantra is to celebrate, educate and challenge the media business. Whether we’re celebrating, educating or challenging though, depends on the news. I’ve shared opinions many times that folks I’ve done business with would prefer I avoid. Those are the hardest pieces to write. I don’t want to lose friendships or business with folks I like, trust and respect but I won’t have our brand controlled and influenced or our editorial decisions decided by folks outside of our walls. When you own the company and cover the expenses required to run it, you can do that. Until then, I’ll make the final call.
Whether you love my decisions or don’t, I don’t force you or charge you to read our content. You choose to click on it. I’m hoping that’s because you respect our team enough to read the information and absorb our perspectives. If you read us regularly, I’m confident you’ll find the coverage to be honest, accurate, fair, and consistent. I love this business enough to praise its best and call out its worst. If you want us to look away when business malpractice is committed, you’ve come to the wrong place. We won’t do that, so don’t ask. I don’t tell you how to run your business, so please respect how we choose to run ours.
If radio industry leaders can’t be transparent, honest and accessible to an outlet that champions its value, what’s going to happen when they’re facing questions from groups who’d love to see their business collapse?
A Shitty Question
I was in Florida, Ohio, Missouri and California during the past month. While traveling, I was asked if I was involved with the Shitty PD and Shitty Radio Jock accounts on Instagram. The question surprised me, but I answered it emphatically, no.
I’ve run Barrett Media since 2015. Those accounts according to Google launched sometime after 2020-2021. I’ve never run from putting my name on my opinions regardless of the subject. The Shitty accounts can be entertaining, but they are not mine. We have run two pieces on the site previously submitted by the Shitty account, but I don’t have the time, energy or interest in creating content under an alias. Whether you like my style or not, my work always displays under my name.
Quick Hits
- Barrett Media is releasing its first Top 20 in Advertising the week of October 5-9. My thanks to the Locked On Podcast Network for signing on as our presenting sponsor of the series. Decision makers, sales managers, and advertising professionals, keep an eye on your inbox for details this week.
- The Jason Barrett Podcast is returning in mid/late October. I’m looking forward to getting back behind the microphone and talking with a number of talented people. We’ll start recording conversations in mid/late September to make sure the rollout is strong.
- Damon Amendolara is too talented of a host to be on the sidelines. Mad Dog Sports Radio has a different vision for where it wants to go. That’s OK. This isn’t about whether or not they made a good or bad move. I’ve watched D.A.’s career and previously tried to hire him. There are just some people who you know are going to continue evolving and creating impact. Whether he does it on is own or for someone else is the only question.
- Saga Communications is losing a talented executive. Pat Paxton is exiting after three-years with the company. Pat was a straight shooter who was passionate about the business. I worked with him for 4-years in San Francisco building 95.7 The Game for Entercom and what I appreciated most, is that even when we disagreed, he encouraged you to take a swing. He had my back often and removed the headaches and interference when things were standing in the way of progress. It allowed me to do some of the best work of my career. Forty plus years in this business is an eternity. Congrats Pat on an outstanding career!
- The ‘radio is dead‘ crowd may not want to look at the social media reactions to the 104.3 The Score changes. It kills their narrative pretty quickly. There’s no shortage of passion and interest in The Score’s decision to move on from Mike Mulligan and Marshall Harris.
Aditi Kinkhabwala did an outstanding job interviewing Shedeur Sanders during the Browns-Bills preseason game this past weekend. She was well prepared, listened, asked short questions and moved the conversation forward. Her approach resulted in Sanders offering a ton of insight into his role, mindset, and competition with DeShaun Watson. Preseason football is often a snooze fest with little offered on the sidelines. Kinkhabwala’s exceptional work is ann outlier.
- I loved this clip from The Breakfast Club last week. The group talked about YouTube stepping up to secure exclusive content after Netflix began luring popular brands and personalities away from the platform. Charlamagne Tha God sought a thank you for creating a more competitive landscape. It’s hard to argue against him. The show’s move to Netflix definitely made YouTube adjust.
- On the flipside, the NABJ‘s decision to give a thumbs down to Stephen A. Smith felt politically motivated. You can disagree with Stephen A.’s opinions and style, but his impact in print, television, radio and digital has benefitted black broadcasters and journalists for decades. He has also done a lot to help the NABJ including taking First Take on the road to HBCU’s. The NABJ said Smith has a recurring public pattern of disparaging public commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports and media. Stephen A. offered a rebuttal on his show, adding that he felt blindsided by the decision. He has every right to be pissed.
A shout out to Alissa Pollack, who was recently promoted to President of MediaBase. Alissa and her husband Robert checked off a bucket list item, spending a week on the road with Shinedown. They traveled with the band from city to city on their tour bus. The highlight was Robert joining the band on stage to play Monsters in Spokane, WA. Talk about an amazing life experience. The videos shared on Instagram were awesome. Well done by Shinedown and Team Pollack.
- If you’re not following Bobby Bones on Instagram, start. His videos on content creation are absolutely fantastic. Industry pros will appreciate the reminders, but those in school or teaching the next generation should especially be paying attention. He’s providing great content to use with your next crop of students.
- Props to WDAE in Tampa for a clever social post two weeks ago. As the Jayden Daniels #5 saga spilled out everywhere, the Tampa sports station got in on the fun, removing the #5 from their logo on Facebook Well done, fellas.
- Condolences to the friends and family of Billy Ray Smith. The former Chargers Linebacker and former drive time co-host on The Mighty 1090 passed away in late-July. Billy Ray and Scott Kaplan formed a dynamic duo and enjoyed a lot of success together during their lengthy run in the market. A celebration of Smith’s life took place this past weekend.
- The Associated Press is laying off 20 members of its U.S. based video production staff, moving their jobs to a new hub in India. Angela Fu of Poynter reported the news. Bloomberg is also expanding its presence in India, growing its staff by 30% there in the past three years. iHeart and Cumulus also previously outsourced traffic and billing operations internationally. If the quality of work remains unchanged, it’s hard to argue against the decision. Should the lack of familiarity with the U.S. result in headaches though, expect more negative attention. Time will tell if these groups have made wise choices or not.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in 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.