Police in Salem, Oregon are investigating a situation at KSLM, the conservative news/talk radio station in the city, after its windows were shattered on Saturday morning.
At around 1:45 AM, three of the windows in front of the station’s studios were smashed by a yet-to-be-identified assailant.
Ian Carlson, an engineer at the station, was in the building when the incident happened. He shared that glass went as far as 30 feet down the station’s hallway after the windows were busted.
“It was absolutely terrifying, and I think it was intended to terrify,” Carlson told the Salem Reporter.
The studios for KSLM are located in a lot with several other businesses. None of the other storefronts or marketplaces were vandalized.
“From our perspective, it wasn’t vandalism. It was a targeted attack,” KSLM General Manager Jaci Smith said.
Smith added that while many in the area may not be in lockstep with the conservative programming on the station, the brand has been a pillar in the Salem community.
“Politics in general are divisive, but we have worked really, really hard in trying to bridge that gap,” she said.
The vandalism comes after several other incidents have taken place in the Oregon state capital. Last week, a man was charged after he threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of the Tesla dealership.
KSLM boasts a lineup mainly of nationally syndicated shows like The Mike Gallagher Show, The Dan Bongino Show, The Sean Hannity Show, The Mark Levin Show, The Dana Show, The Erick Erickson Show, and The Ramsey Show.
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UFC 313 was quite an event in the octagon, as Magomed Ankalaev secured a victory in the main event over Alex Pereira to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion on Saturday night. However, in the aftermath of the event, much of the discussion centered around the viewer experience on ESPN+, where users encountered frustrating buffering and purchasing issues.
Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White did not hold back in expressing his disappointment with the streaming distributor during his post-event comments.
“Yeah, there were problems buying [the pay-per-view] on ESPN+,” White said. “I don’t know what happened with their platform tonight, but yeah, there are a lot of pissed-off people.”
In response to the issues, ESPN+ took the step of making the UFC 313 event available for free via replay to all ESPN+ subscribers, rather than limiting access to those who had purchased the pay-per-view. Additionally, the network released a statement addressing the technical difficulties that disrupted the event.
“Unfortunately, we experienced a technical issue that impacted purchases of the UFC PPV on ESPN+ shortly after 10 p.m. ET [Saturday],” ESPN stated. “Our teams identified and resolved the issue, restoring full functionality ahead of the main event. We apologize for the inconvenience and are taking steps to ensure a better experience in the future.”
Despite these efforts, those who originally purchased the pay-per-view event were not issued refunds, as ESPN+ had managed to resolve the issue before the event concluded.
Looking ahead, the UFC is currently in the final year of its five-year, $1.5 billion domestic media rights agreement with ESPN. Notably, the exclusive negotiating window is set to close on April 15. Once that date passes, the UFC will have the freedom to explore agreements with other networks.
Furthermore, the UFC is owned by TKO Group Holdings, which also owns World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Notably, WWE recently secured a ten-year, $5 billion agreement that went into effect this past January. Meanwhile, Dana White was actively involved in last week’s TKO boxing venture, which came together with support from Saudi Arabia-based entities.
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Cat Country 96 WTCO Allentown, PA has made moves to expand its reach by launching simulcasts on the former NASH 93.7 FM WSJR and the former Hot 97.3 WBHD in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
With the expansion, Cat Country 96 now covers all of eastern Pennsylvania and the Poconos to the south of Binghamton, NY, and into the northern Philadelphia metro.
“This is an exciting day for all of us,” said Jerry Padden, Operations Manager, Cat Country 96. “We are thrilled to bring the Cat Country brand to Northeast PA, making our listener community and station bigger and better than ever. We can’t wait to hear from our new listeners!”
The Cat Country lineup features Sam Malone in the mornings, Kristy O’Brien in middays, and Jerry Padden in the afternoons.
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InfoWars founder Alex Jones has revealed that one of the outlet’s reporters, Jamie White, was murdered in Austin, Texas on Sunday evening.
To begin his program on Monday evening, Jones shared that staffers from the outlet became concerned about White when he did not show up to work on time. When dispatched to his apartment complex, they found a crime scene set up with police confirming a life had been taken.
“Jamie was murdered last night outside of his home, just a few miles away from our studios,” said Jones. “We sent some people over this morning when he didn’t answer the phone because he’s always here early — loves to work, loves to fight tyranny, loves to promote freedom — and when they got to the apartment complex there was yellow tape everywhere, blood all over the parking lot.”
On social media, Jones shared “We pledge that Jamie’s tragic death will not be in vain, and those responsible for this senseless violence will be brought to justice.”
We are deeply saddened to inform you that InfoWars Reporter Jamie White was brutally murdered around midnight Sunday night due, in part, to the policies of the Soros Austin, TX D.A. Jose Garza.
We pledge that Jamie’s tragic death will not be in vain, and those responsible for… pic.twitter.com/2BKQQLrQpK
Alex Jones shared his admiration for the employee that Jame White was during his monologue on the situation.
“I’ll just say it: Jamie was our best writer and reporter,” Jones shared. “They’re all great, but they all said he was the best. There are others that are almost as good, but not as good as Jamie. He wrote six, seven articles yesterday. Posted all this news and all this great research, gave us, the show, all this great information.”
The InfoWars founder concluded his statements by sharing his sympathies with White’s family.
“My condolences go to the family,” Jones said. “Your son was and is an amazing person and we’re so proud of the work that Jamie did.”
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FOX Sports has been a broadcast partner of Major League Baseball since 1996, but the landscape surrounding the media distribution of games has been altered significantly since that time. As the company works on bringing a proprietary direct-to-consumer product to market later in the year, it continues to look at its sports portfolio that features baseball, along with rights to the NFL, Big Ten Conference, NASCAR and FIFA World Cup.
The enterprise recently added broadcast rights for MotoGP, IndyCar and LIV Golf to its sports oeuvre as well, further broadening its offerings for consumers. On top of that, FOX Sports just attained record viewership for its broadcast of Super Bowl LIX, averaging 127.7 million viewers on FOX, FOX Deportes, Telemundo and NFL digital platforms to claim the all-time U.S. television record.
John Nallen, the president and chief operating officer of Fox Corporation, expressed during an appearance at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference that there were not many sports rights available at the moment. With that being said though, the company is ostensibly keeping its options open with the MLB regular-season slate of games approaching, referencing a mutual opt-out between the league and ESPN that terminates their broadcast agreement following the 2025 campaign.
“I think what will come to market in some form will be some baseball product, particularly after baseball and ESPN announced that after the season their relationship would change,” Nallen said. “So baseball has been a great product for us, and we’ll probably look at that and look at it in the context of how it makes sense to us overall. But absent that from a product standpoint, there’s not a lot out there that we’d be attracted to at this point.”
Nallen also discussed the ability for the NFL to opt out of its national television media rights deals after the 2029 season. The company is currently in the midst of an 11-year agreement with the league for which it pays a reported $2.25 billion per annum. Having recently completed its 31st season broadcasting games, Nalle recognizes the product offered by the league while also recognizing the potential for the opt out to be invoked following the Super Bowl broadcast to conclude the 2029 season.
“I have no idea whether the NFL will invoke that termination right or change the character, change the games, whatever,” Nallen said. “At this moment, I have no idea, but what I do know is that in any negotiation we’ve had with the NFL, the discussion around it happens well before the termination date. So in prior pre-contracts we’ve had with the NFL, the discussion is two years ahead of time or 18 months ahead of time.”
Nallen emphasized that revenue at FOX is split evenly between advertising and affiliates, functioning as drivers that support nearly all of the businesses within the media conglomerate. Advertising has particular importance for its sports contracts in the NFL, and he articulated that it “will be an important element” in the evaluation as the league works with eight different platforms to present games across broadcast, cable and streaming television. FOX Sports attained an average of 18.4 million viewers for NFL game broadcasts during the 2024 regular-season slate of games, which is down 3.1% from the previous season.
“Look, the NFL is vitally important to us,” Nallen said. “We provide them with great production quality, the ability to do national and regional games. We give them the reach for broadcast that they can’t get elsewhere.”
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As hockey fans across the globe prepare for history in the making, Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is set to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals scored record. In response to this monumental moment, Monumental Sports Network is expanding its coverage to ensure fans don’t miss a second of the action. The network announced on Tuesday that, as the exclusive local broadcasting rights holder of the Capitals, it will air 14 of the remaining 18 Capitals games. Additionally, it is enhancing its coverage by providing shoulder programming for the four exclusive national telecasts.
Furthermore, through a special agreement with the NHL, MNMT will produce its own broadcast of the four nationally exclusive games for archival purposes. As part of this initiative, MNMT will record its own local call of the games on April 6 (at New York Islanders), April 10 (vs. Carolina Hurricanes), April 12 (at Columbus Blue Jackets), and April 15 (at New York Islanders). These broadcasts will be aired in full exactly 24 hours after the national telecasts.
“We are immensely grateful to the NHL for their collaboration in ensuring that Capitals fans will hear Alex Ovechkin’s historic moments called by Joe Beninati and our incredible Monumental Sports Network on-air talent,” said Zach Leonsis, President of Media & New Enterprises for Monumental Sports & Entertainment.
As a result of this agreement, Capitals fans will now have the opportunity to experience a local call of this record-breaking moment. The broadcast will feature Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati, along with expert analysis from the entire MNMT roster, if the game in question is one of the exclusive national telecasts listed.
“Having the chance to call this exceptional moment in hockey history is a profound honor for me and our entire live game crew,” said Joe Beninati, Capitals play-by-play announcer on MNMT. “We have had the pleasure of describing and documenting almost all of Alex’s goals throughout his career, and capturing his pursuit of the all-time goal-scoring record is a privilege few get to experience. We can’t wait to share this incredible milestone with our viewers and celebrate the legacy of an all-time great.”
Moreover, this agreement ensures that MNMT will not miss an opportunity to provide a local call of a defining moment in both Capitals and NHL history, even though the broadcast will officially air one full day after the game.
In addition to live game coverage, MNMT has also announced an array of Ovechkin-related programming, including special game-day shows dedicated to his chase for “The Great One.” The network has confirmed that every remaining Capitals game broadcast—whether aired on MNMT or a national network—will include live pregame and postgame shows, Capitals Pregame Live and Capitals Postgame Live, on MNMT. Additionally, special editions of Caps Rink Report will be available for streaming on the Monumental+ app.
“I’d also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Capitals fans,” said Leonsis. “Your passion and dedication inspire us every day, and our network could not be more excited to bring you unparalleled coverage of this incredible journey as we celebrate greatness together.”
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The iHeartPodcast Awards were handed out last night at the Moody Theater as SXSW is once again taking hold of Austin, TX. This annual event celebrates excellence in podcasting, and among the honorees was Sarah Spain, host of the Good Game podcast. She received the prestigious Social Impact Award for her compelling coverage of women’s sports, highlighting stories about equal pay for female athletes and more.
While emphasizing the thrilling rise in attention on women’s sports, Spain accepted the 2025 Social Impact Award with a lighthearted remark, joking that she expected to win because they had told her ahead of time that she would be the honoree.
“An Icon Award usually goes to someone that’s kind of old, but I won’t take offense to that,” joked Spain. “I have been at the women’s sports game for quite some time. And while it took a couple extra years—a couple extra decades, actually—than most of us were hoping for, it’s still really thrilling to see the interest in women’s sports explode.”
Spain, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist, teamed up with iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports & Entertainment to produce the Good Game podcast. This show is a key part of iHeartMedia’s Women’s Sports Audio Network, which houses several podcasts on the iHeartRadio app and produces women’s sports updates aired on iHeartRadio stations nationwide.
During her acceptance speech, Spain expressed gratitude for the platform she has been given. “I’m so glad that iHeart trusted my veteran voice in this space to host the first and only daily women’s sports podcast on any major platform,” she noted. “I want to thank iHeart for diving into the women’s sports space with more than just my show, Good Game with Sarah Spain, but also with an entire iHeart Women’s Sports Audio Network, and by putting my thrice-daily women’s sports updates on every single one of their 500 radio stations nationwide. Because ‘sports, weather, and traffic’ means women’s sports, too.”
Since the inception of her podcast, Spain has expressed hope that it would create a space where women’s sports fans feel welcomed and included in the broader sports community. Historically, sports conversations have largely centered around men’s competitions. In reflecting on the award, she encouraged even more people to embrace and engage with women’s sports.
“I promise, once you dive in and you learn the stars, states, stats, and stories of women’s sports just like we know them in men’s sports, you are going to be hooked,” said Spain. “We will just tell you to hop on the bandwagon now and become an orange slice—which is part of our community—and join us. Because even though we’ve been here for a long time, I’m pretty sure we’re still just getting started.”
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The layoff leveled by radio giant Audacy last week wasn’t a real stunner as we’ve normalized big radio layoffs for decades.
Audacy arrived here with Entercom Communications as a base, acquiring Jefferson – Pilot Communications in 2006, Lincoln Financial Group in 2015, and the big acquisition of CBS Radio in 2017, then rebranding as Audacy in 2021.
Radio has seen brutal mass layoffs over the years, dating back nearly 20 years with the July 2006 layoffs of hundreds of radio pros via CBS Radio.
Since radio has survived Clear Channel 2009 cuts (Now iHeartMedia) trimming 1,800+ jobs, Cumulus Media mass firings in July 2019, iHeartMedia’s January 2020 bloodbath, Cumulus Media letting go of hundreds in March 2020 and January 2023’s Audacy layoffs over Covid-19 concerns.
The thought came as to ‘who is left to read daily and weekly columns at Barrett Media’?
Having published over 1,000 columns since 2006, left me with another thought – ‘what’s still relevant to put pen to paper? Like watching an old movie where you see a typewriter, phone booth or cassette player, what has been written that’s no longer ‘relevant’?
Looking back through files, here are a few:
The Ice Cream Truck(April 2008)
In this piece, we examined how radio station mobile units were like Ice Cream Trucks, gathering screaming crowds as they rolled through neighborhoods.
Inside that rolling swag wagon were prizes and logoed gear fans begged to own, often paying for station wearables. Today, radio struggles to buy staff jerseys, let alone find someone to man a truck to deliver unaffordable station gear.
Alliances(November 2016)
This missive covered the opportunity to strike partnerships with other local businesses for cross–marketing.
Place talent at parades, festivals, and civic events for exposure, or own a station–themed grocery aisle. Who is available to post at these positions today, let alone create those relationships?
Service – (February 2019)
With Trader Joe’s as an example of great customer service, I encouraged readers to adopt the same principles in and around their radio brand.
Those values included calling a short list of listeners each week and thanking them for being loyal Listeners, developing a digital or virtual Listener Panel from your database, and giving every station visitor a custom tour of your facility.
Still great standards to adapt if there’s manpower to consistently execute. If you’re inside this crazy business or outside looking in, there’s still plenty of opportunity – if you evolve.
ev-o-lu-tion – the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was an accomplished vocalist and pianist, having studied at the highly regarded New York’s Tisch School of the Arts. Being good in a sea of ‘good’ left her largely unnoticed. SHE developed an IDEA – to evolve.
Lady Gaga hosted her second Saturday Night Live just last weekend.
Ready to evolve?
Learn AI—Instead of ignoring or running away from AI, embrace it to up your organization’s game. AI can assist in content ideation, developing copy, and even Voice-over generation.
Learn I.T. – Station Engineer is one of the toughest positions to fill in radio. Since the vast majority of stations are digital, there’s an opportunity here to stretch your career. We have engineers in our clusters that also do air work.
Learn Sales—Our industry’s Radio Advertising Bureau (R.A.B.) offers online training courses specifically for radio. Sales Managers often welcome air talent to carry a few clients or a small list.
Good news.
In America there are over 10,000 FM radio stations and 4,000 AM outlets. Audacy owns just over 200. Bad news will come our way again.
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.
Radio is dead. Or it will die. Or maybe it is dying.
I guess it depends on who you talk to, but you have no doubt heard these words before. The medium is archaic and there is only one way this whole thing ends, right?
There was a time, not too long ago, where I was really careful not to say that. I understood the sentiment – radio has some serious problems. But the wording, it’s “dying” wreaks of bitterness, as if the people that made these declarations needed to see justice brought to the business that wronged them.
When I say not long ago, by the way, I REALLY mean not that long ago. I expressed this sentiment as recently as last Tuesday on a phone call with JB. Then Audacy eliminated a bunch of jobs, something the company does a lot these days. They aren’t alone of course. iHeart blew out a bunch of talented people late last year. So did Cumulus.
Now, instead of insisting that radio isn’t dying, I think it’s time to be a little more sober and a little more somber.
Radio the medium isn’t dying. The means of distributing information to a local market in real time has too much value. Radio the business is a different story. I don’t know if the radio business is dying or not, but I know the current reality suggests we’re closer to the former than the latter.
How did we get here? There are a lot of reasons, but I think they all fall into one of three main categories: actions betraying words, taking action to validate reaction, and insisting the rest of the world is wrong.
ACTIONS BETRAYING WORDS
The biggest companies and their leaders do a lot of talking and betray all of their words with their actions.
Pick a major radio conglomerate. You can no doubt find an interview with one of their c-level executives or a speech they have delivered at an industry event where they insist that they value talent. They have no doubt said that “local content matters” because “every market is unique”.
Words are nice, but they don’t mean anything if they are not backed up by actions. Talk stations, both news and sports, replace local hosts with syndication all of the time. Some would never even consider a live and local voice on the air outside of one of the two drive times. Others may never consider using local talent at all.
Music stations aren’t off the hook. In fact, anyone that works in music radio might tell you those stations are even more guilty of betraying their bosses’ insistence that local content matters. There are so many more options for not hiring actual human beings. Automation, voice-tracking, and AI DJs are now at corporate’s disposal.
This isn’t complicated. How a person or a company spends its money is the ultimate sign of what it values. If our industry’s biggest names are trying to figure out ways to spend less money on local content, it’s because they don’t value local content. If they don’t value local content, they do not see each market as unique and worth being served.
TAKING ACTION TO VALIDATE REACTION
Contrary to the messages you see on motivational posters, not every proactive business is successful and not every reactive business is a failure. Reactions are usually based on feedback from the marketplace. If they are implemented with a strategy, how is that not good business?
It’s hard to implement reactionary changes in a smart way in radio, because the mandate given to so many managers isn’t to succeed. It’s to not fail. How can you build anything without knowing you will be given the support and patience it needs to grow to a place where it can sustain success? How can you comfortably pivot away from a strategy that is showing signs of faltering if you are always worried that adaptation will be seen as admitting failure?
That sounds like a losing atmosphere. It’s not only a recipe for defeat, but a structure without any kind of foundation. If there’s no foundation, how do you build?
In radio’s case, the industry is fighting on an uneven battlefield. Spotify, YouTube and other digital platforms give the audience the ability to choose the exact entertainment they want the second they want it. Radio is still saying “trust us” to the audience. Don’t like this song? The next one will be better. Trust us! Feel like it’s been a while since you’ve heard any actual content? This spot break will be over soon. Trust us!
A station and its leadership have to build a brand that the audience has faith in. That requires a lot of faith and leeway that local leaders don’t always get from their corporate bosses. They need to have a vision for what can be. If they need to have faith that they will get there and not abandon a well-researched strategy at the first sign of resistance. They also need to be able to see alternative paths to the same destination, so that they can account for unforeseen obstacles and respond to them intelligently.
Do local leaders in radio have faith they will receive that kind of grace right now or are the biggest companies in the industry too paralyzed by the fear of current expenses to invest in a future payoff? Operating that way will put businesses in any industry behind the proverbial eight ball.
RADIO: INSISTING THE REST OF THE WORLD IS WRONG
I was driving from Charlotte back to Raleigh recently and was having a conversation with a friend about the way the public uses Spotify. He said that he has always thought of it as the record store – you go to it with something in mind and if you deviate from it, its because the algorithm has recognized something else you might like based on that initial choice.
But research says a lot of people are using it like a 21st century radio. They aren’t searching for artists or songs. They are searching for terms, finding a three hour playlist and just putting it on.
Even when young people are choosing to trust someone else’s music selections, they aren’t turning to traditional broadcast radio. I have a thirteen year old son and a fifteen year old daughter. They even look at satellite radio as archaic.
Radio the business has to divorce itself from radio the medium. Maybe “divorce” is too strong of a word.
The medium is the platform on which the business was built, but the business has needs the medium cannot meet. Maybe radio the business needs to have an open marriage with radio the medium.
Everyone in the radio business has heard about how important social media is, worked on a strategy to maximize their footprint and then been told that there isn’t enough profit in social media to justify the necessary effort or investment to be great at it. Radio is a rare business. In most cases, of course companies want every sector to be profitable, but in radio’s case survival takes precedence. If my teenagers look at radio as archaic in 2025, there’s no reason to think that in 2035 or 2045 that they are going to have changed their minds.
The industry’s problem with young people isn’t that they aren’t part of our audience yet. It’s that they will never be part of our audience if we don’t find ways to get our content where they are right now. “There’s not enough money in it” is not an excuse if you want to set your brand up for the future.
Radio is using the wrong people and the wrong strategies to monetize its digital assets and insisting the problem is that the task is impossible. Barstool, Wave, Outkick – they all exist solely online and they all make money. The digital space and broadcast radio are two different things. They require different sales approaches, but equal levels of knowledge and commitment to the product. “It can’t be done” is an attitude that leads to extinction.
Is radio dying? Is it already dead? I don’t know, but I see why people might think it is.
Who should we blame? Well, there’s no one single person or company to blame because we didn’t get here as the result of one single action or decision. It was a serious of self-inflicted wounds by companies that grew too big to support all of their properties and let those properties lose too much value to justify selling.
Radio the medium won’t die. It has too much value to local communities. Radio the business, though? It’s on shaky ground and we can’t pretend to be mystified or offended by the people that point that out.
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.
Freddie Coleman has been the elder statesman of ESPN Radio as he nears wrapping up his 21st year on the radio network. Coleman has been the reliable fixture of the weekday programming lineup over his time on the network. He’s worked with a wide range of co-hosts during his time as lead host of ESPN Gamenight, as well as a seven-year run on Freddie and Fitzsimmons with co-host Ian Fitzsimmons. In September of 2023, ESPN Radio named Coleman, along with former NFL pro Harry Douglas, as the station’s new afternoon drive program entitled Freddie and Harry.
Coleman’s radio roots date back to 1999 when he became the first African American program director of Oldies 97 WCZX in Poughkeepsie, NY. From his humble beginnings in radio, he has served in both management and talent roles to play-by-play and beyond. A 1987 graduate of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, Coleman currently is one member of a very diverse weekday lineup on ESPN Radio, which is one issue the sports radio format continues to struggle with—how to tackle the issue of diversity, which continues to lack overall in the format.
“What are you afraid of?” questioned Coleman when asked how he would advise broadcasting leaders about how to approach the issue of diversity in sports radio. “I use this a lot when it comes to not just minorities in broadcasting, but even women in broadcasting. What are you afraid of? Because if somebody is really talented, their skin color or their gender shouldn’t matter.”
ESPN Radio’s current weekday lineup showcases representation of different voices from white to African American to female in every daypart. A true example of how a national sports radio brand has evolved with the times where inclusion is not only warranted, but it’s expected of the product. The distinction between what ESPN Radio has crafted versus the greater majority of local sports radio brands is evident to many who work in the field, including Coleman.
“If you’re worrying somebody of color can’t entertain somebody, then that’s just really silly,” said Coleman. “Just read a history book once in a while to see how Black people, women, Asian people, Hispanic people have been good. They’ve done extremely well in the entertainment field.”
This past February, the annual Barrett Media Top 20 series returned, and once again the results showed a lack of minority and female representation, most notably at the program director level. Of the top twenty major market program directors, only one female (Amanda Brown – Denver Sports 104.3) and no person of color made the list. Of the top twenty mid-market program directors, no female was represented and only one person of color made the list (Q Myers – ESPN 1100/Raider Nation Radio 920). The issue of incorporating diversity into a local sports radio brands begins at the leadership level, the decision-maker if you will—something which Coleman noted in his previous experience as a programmer beginning his career.
“I’m speaking from my perspective of being the first Black program director in the history of Hudson Valley radio,” said Coleman. “They didn’t hire me to prove a point. They believed I was the best candidate for the job, and they weren’t worried about how that reaction was going to be. Because they put me in a position where I was going to succeed and not fail, and I wound up succeeding because they took a chance on me.”
Coleman has been the beneficiary of people continuing to take a chance on him his entire career, leading to new opportunities throughout his nearly two decades at ESPN Radio. When the opportunity came for the network to choose a new afternoon show following a lineup change ending Canty and Carlin in the timeslot, Coleman was selected and looked forward to the challenge of doing drive-time radio on a national syndicator.
“I couldn’t wait for it because I always believed that if I got a chance to be in a prime position, I was gonna be able to make that work,” Coleman stated. “It was tough seeing people, and not trying to slight them in any way. But it was pretty tough seeing people get those kinds of opportunities either in morning drive or afternoon drive whether it’s here at ESPN Radio or other places. I’m thinking, ‘OK, is that person that much better than me’ or ‘what do they have that maybe I don’t have?’ Maybe it wasn’t my time, but there were so many different answers that you can have involving that.”
Instagram: Freddie Coleman
The program Freddie and Harry was born and paired Coleman with another new partner on the radio in former NFL wide receiver Harry Douglas. The ten-year football veteran joined ESPN in 2019 and began as a contributor to all ESPN’s studio shows for all sports, including co-hosting Countdown to College Gameday. Pairing Douglas with Coleman was an instant success with chemistry and entertainment coming through the speakers.
While many radio talents may consider it a massive undertaking to work with a new partner in a larger timeslot, Coleman was not fazed by the opportunity to work alongside Douglas.
“I wouldn’t say it was a challenge,” Coleman noted. “I think when you work with anybody, it could be a challenge in how you’re going to make it fit; how you’re going to make sure that that person is heard and that you’re going to be heard as well. That’s always going to be a great challenge that I love embracing. If you’re putting out great content, you could be a Hall of Fame football player or a guy who was a scrub, or a woman who was a scrub. I don’t care. If you’re compelling, you make things better that way. I’m all for that.”
Now nearly two years into the role as the afternoon drive program for ESPN Radio, Coleman believes the continued trust and belief by upper management laid the seeds for the successes he’s experienced in recent years, through the opportunities he was offered.
“I think a big sea change for me was when I had a chance to fill in on earlier shows,” said Coleman. “The more I got a chance to do that, I think that kind of opened up a lot of eyes when it came to the management team here at ESPN Radio. Then to find somebody like Harry Douglas and then putting us together in afternoon drive shows exactly how much faith they had in both of us.”
Balancing his love for sports with a passion for music and entertainment has always been a defining core characteristic of any program Coleman is a part of. From ‘Love Friday’ to the ‘Afternoon Cool,’ every show is built on the foundation of creativity and keeping the listener involved.
No singular talent on ESPN Radio’s weekday lineup is as inclusive as Coleman, who every weekday speaks with his social media following as much as his radio listener base. Coleman has always put a focus on keeping the entire audience engaged, whether it’s contributing to the program or offering up where his social audience can find on-demand content. This, Coleman believes, has led to a deeper and more impactful connection with his audience more than ever.
“Put out your product on as many platforms as possible,” said Coleman. “I think the more platforms you can put your content, your product, and yourself out there, that’s only going to be a benefit. It’s not going to be a demerit. That really came about when I said, ‘Let’s embrace this’ because this is something that is part of the communication process.”
To sustain longevity, you must evolve. ESPN Radio’s Freddie Coleman is a shining example of a talent that continues to evolve with the times.
Sports radio must also evolve. It’s no longer a question if there needs to be more diversity in sports radio. Instead, it’s now required in order to sustain longevity with the ever-changing demographics of the consumer.
For sports radio, perhaps the lessons of Freddie Coleman’s path could serve as an example of how to embrace its own evolution. An African American child born and raised in Brooklyn and a graduate of Mansfield University. Given a single opportunity before the turn of the millennium and has turned that opportunity into a lasting and impactful career.
If growing the business and changing it for the better is still the goal, Freddie Coleman is the artist sharing his own personal illustration on radio’s forward path.
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