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What Does The Rise Of Bluesky Mean For Sports Twitter?

Demetri Ravanos
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What Does The Rise Of Bluesky Mean For Sports Twitter?

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Twitter used to be fun. It used to be my go-to community for real-time reaction to news and sports. Now, it’s mostly useless unless you are looking for Christian Nationalist documentaries or crypto scams. I find myself scrolling through dozens of those just to get a single person I follow or whose name I recognize.

Following Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, plenty of developers and companies decided they could capitalize on the blowback. Mastodon and Discord were too complicated, Threads was largely useless, and things like Facebook and Tumblr were just old news.

Over the weekend though, something interesting happened. Bluesky is in the middle of its breakthrough moment, having added over 1 million new users since the election. On Saturday morning, I logged on and noticed several accounts posting screenshots showing that the app had become the most popular download in the social media section of The App Store. So what is happening and how should the sports media industry prepare? 

Gabby Hinslif of The Guardian theorized that this is not the beginning of the end of Twitter for everyone. That site will still have a place for those that want their jokes about Mike Tyson’s ass with a heaping side of paid posts for alt-right newsletters and t-shirts that will never show up.

Hinslif’s theory is that the Pangea era of social media is over. Rather than the rise of one platform being signs of another’s demise, we are simply fracturing. In time, it will be hard for any one platform, particularly the microblogging sites like Twitter and Bluesky, to be thought of as everyone’s go-to digital townsquare. 

What does that mean for those of us in the content business? It depends on the approach you want to take. Do you want to focus on your most dedicated audience or do you want the best chance to be seen by everyone?

Elon Musk bought Twitter with a single goal – make it worse. In service of that mission, he boosted the reach of his own Tweets, rewarded clickbait without bothering to moderate, and turned the blue checkmark from a sign that you were reading content and stories from a reliable, first-person source into a pay-for-play scheme that meant most people would never see any commentary or dialogue of value on the site again.

In short, he was wildly successful and threw in a little election meddling and anti-semitism just for goofs. If that’s enough to make you wash your hands of Twitter, I do not blame you. 

I would note that in the content world, eyeballs are important. We all use social media to steer audiences to what we have created. Algorithms are constantly in flux and Mark Zuckerberg was quick to follow Musk down the path of pay-for-play verification and reach, so we can debate just how effective the practice is though.

What we can say definitively is that Twitter is not very popular when compared to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The competition Twitter directly inspired (ie Bluesky) is even less popular. That means there is no “one size fits all” strategy to follow. 

Are you promoting with just links? It seems like that was already ineffective, even at the peak of Twitter’s popularity. Are you using videos? If so, do Twitter or Bluesky even make sense? The reach is much greater on TikTok and Instagram.

Maybe the most effective thing you can do as a content creator is to forget about Twitter or any of its alternatives. Stay on the platforms you want to and interact with whoever you think is worth your time. Just don’t count on any of it to be particularly meaningful, especially not in the way Twitter used to be.

These microblogging sites are all about building and curating a community. That’s true for everyone from the guy with three followers all the way up to the Adam Schefters and Dave Portnoys of the world. Logging on only to promote isn’t going to motivate an audience.

Rifting has begun. At best, social media Pangea is on its last legs. It’s time to make a hard choice. Does your content play best with like-minded people? Would the best use of what little time you have be to stick to them or do you want to be transcontinental in this new world? If so, you need to know who you are talking to and what is going to give you the best chance to cut through with them. Links just don’t cut it anymore.

The Game-Changer for Local Newsrooms is Artificial Intelligence

BNM Staff
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The Game-Changer for Local Newsrooms is Artificial Intelligence

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.

In an industry where shrinking staffs meet growing demands, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as an unlikely ally for local newsrooms. While some view AI with skepticism, imagining it as a threat to traditional journalism, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Rather than replacing people, artificial intelligence is a tool designed to amplify the work of journalists, streamline workflows, and empower creativity — all while increasing revenue and audience engagement. Let’s look at how this technology can bring a breath of fresh air into newsrooms struggling to remain relevant and profitable. 

Imagine being able to create more content than ever before and distribute it seamlessly across television, websites, and social media — all without overwhelming your team. With AI’s help, that vision is a reality. Newsrooms are already leveraging AI to generate extra stories, recaps, and summaries of local events. Even the most mundane, time-consuming tasks can be automated, lifting the burden off staff and allowing them to focus on what truly matters: crafting impactful stories that engage, inform, and grow audiences.

AI tools today are remarkably adaptable and capable of producing content that aligns with a newsroom’s standards for accuracy, fairness, and quality. Whether the tone needs to be serious or lighthearted, AI can be trained to match the style and voice of your station. For instance, here’s a playful AI-generated excerpt based on a Costco earnings report using our technology:

“Let’s face it: Costco isn’t just a store; it’s a lifestyle. It’s where you go to buy a 30-pack of toilet paper a rotisserie chicken, and somehow end up with a kayak. It’s like the Hotel California of retail — you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

Such a humorous take is just one example of AI’s versatility. It can be serious, light, or anything in between, depending on the story’s needs and your audience’s expectations. After working for media outlets like Scripps, NBC, Fox, Yahoo, and now an AI tech firm, I’m convinced that AI will usher in a golden age of content creation in journalism, defying the narrative of decline that has haunted our industry for years.  The technology works. Our AI creates hundreds of articles for our clients to post daily on their websites.

How to Bring Artificial Intelligence to Your Team Today

The key to a successful artificial intelligence user interface (UI) is simplicity. The ideal AI UI should allow anyone on your staff to use it with minimal training. Design the UI with designated content pipelines and appropriate prompts operating in the background.  When negotiating deals with AI firms, remember that the prompts are crucial to success. Prompts control everything within an AI pipeline: accuracy, source validation, copyright protection, style, and automated content output. Prompts should be clear and straightforward instructions that create the guardrails on AI.

Various firms offer AI products that integrate with your existing newsroom infrastructure. Ask their software engineers and prompt engineers to tailor the prompts in your pipelines to your market and station and ownership standards. Your staff does not need to know how to code or prompt, but they must use the AI portal or UI, so you need to keep it simple.

Lightening the Load on Journalists

Today’s news teams face intense workloads with fewer resources than ever. With more stations replacing syndicated content with local programming, producers, reporters, and digital teams are increasingly asked to do more with less. AI can help fill the gaps, taking on repetitive and administrative tasks so journalists can focus on creative, high-impact stories that attract audiences.

Here’s a typical day in a newsroom: Reporters spend hours interviewing sources, gathering documents, researching, and writing scripts for newscasts that often start at 4 p.m. and run through the evening. Many stations now produce 3 p.m. newscasts, while others air news until 8 p.m. with only a two-hour gap until their “late” news programs. After the last live shot, there’s still a web article to draft and video clips to post on social media. Exhausted and overextended, many journalists find themselves doing triple duty in the name of keeping up. AI can relieve much of this burden, giving journalists their time back for more meaningful work – or an eight-hour shift instead of 10 or 12.

Here’s how AI can make a tangible difference in your newsroom right now. Reporters can input interviews, notes, press releases, documents, and other materials into the AI platform, which then accesses the station’s media library and licensed sources like AP and Reuters. Within minutes, AI synthesizes all the material, producing scripts for TV, long-form articles for the website, and short clips ready for social media — all consistent with journalistic principals and standards and tailored for your audience. One team member can review the AI-generated output before it’s posted or used in a newscast.

This newfound efficiency frees up producers to dedicate more time to crafting their rundowns, writers to verify breaking news and develop enterprise content, and the digital team to chase trending topics. Reporters, unchained from their desks, can continue gathering news in the field. Meanwhile, your newsroom’s content multiplies, reaching audiences across various platforms without sacrificing quality, relevance, or timeliness.

AI is an enhancer, not a replacer. It allows news teams to push past routine constraints, reach new audiences, and reinvigorate the passion that brought them to journalism in the first place. Media owners and newsroom leaders should recognize the opportunities AI presents as a powerful resource in a rapidly changing industry. In embracing AI, we empower our journalists to do more of what they love — telling stories that matter.

Adam Shapiro is the Managing Editor for Project Pluto, Inc. where he leads a team of reporters and prompt engineers using AI technology daily to deliver accurate original content on a fully automated LLM-powered news platform startup. Prior to entering the AI arena, Adam spent 11 years with Fox Business as an Anchor and Producer. He has also served as an Anchor and Reporter for NBC New York, a Writing Director for Yahoo Finance, and Assistant News Director for WGRZ in Buffalo. 

A Listening Road Trip In Search Of Local Radio

Kevin Robinson
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A Listening Road Trip In Search Of Local Radio

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.

“TV gives everyone an image, but radio gives birth to a million images in a million brains” – Peggy Noonan.

Lauded Speechwriter Ms. Noonan knows a fair amount about the imagination of the spoken word – as outlined in this weekend’s CBS Sunday Morning piece.

The Election Week layoff tsunami from iHeart has receded as the Cumulus bloodletting continues. The time is ripe to resume the search for a million images from true LOCAL radio across the heartland.

Read the first half of our October journey – HERE.

During that westbound I-70 pilgrimage for a grandkid visit, we traveled from our Indiana home to Columbia, Missouri.

The nearly six-hour trip exposed us to some 100 different radio stations along our journey.   

As a casual experiment and a bit of low-key research, we built impromptu Subaru radio-scanned playlists by sampling stations across each region.

In radio, there’s an adage that every quarter-hour —15 minutes — should tell your brand’s story through elements like imaging, talent, and contests. 

Since the average listening session measured by PPM data is around 12 minutes — essentially a quarter-hour — we decided it was only fair to give each station we tuned into a single 15-minute listen.

Leaving St. Louis County and plowing the birthplace of the interstate system—St. Charles County—we’re entering what residents of The Gateway City know as The Westplex.

Westplex

This area covers towns like Warrenton, O’Fallon, Dardenne Prairie, Cottleville, Washington, St. Peters, and dozens more.

The Beasts of The Westplex belong to Kaspar Media of Missouri. The recently deceased Steve Kaspar ran great LOCAL brands including Country 99.9 KFAV, Rock 100.7 The Viper and Classic Country AM 730 KWRE. The Kaspers have been in radio since the 1950s. Yet, these brands could not provide local connections approaching sunset.

The KSLQ call letters are nearly 40 years old and are now in the hands of Brad Hildebrand, licensed to Washington, Missouri, at 104.5 FM. Brad—along with his brother Lance—built a St. Louis traffic empire in the 1980s, which—when sold—made them a handsome sum. Given his local pedigree, the lack of LOCAL programming here was also surprising. The same is true with his sister, Westplex 107.1.

The surprise of the Westplex scan came at 1220 AM—Americana KLPW (with a translator at 92.7). Licensed to Washington, Missouri, they are robust with audio about local high school and college sports. Their website also touts long-time St. Louis radio vets Diane Jones in mornings, along with KSHE Legends Katy Kruise and Radio Rich Dalton. Bravo!

Columbia

About 90 minutes west of The Westplex, we come within earshot of Columbia, a robust college town and home to the University of Missouri. As for radio, it’s truly a dual city as radio out of the Missouri State Capital of Jefferson City also penetrates the metro.

Our scan first encounters a collar county station in Mexico – Country 96 KWWR.  As two of my kids graduated from Mizzou, I’ve encountered the frequency a dozen times. Nearly two decades ago, this brand was a vibrant LOCAL outlet.  During the syndicated Original Country Gold with Rowdy Yates program, a brief mention of a shoe drive in Vandalia reflected any local flavor.

In the spirit of fairness, most local brands, including our clients, run syndication at night. 

This low-budget experiment, ‘Kentucky-Windage’ research, will resume at first light.

Columbia – Day 2

This market has been robust and competitive for years. Columbia is the sort of market where talented air, programming, and salespeople come – and never leave.

The Cumulus brand 102.3 BXR is a prime example. Somewhat of an outlier for this company, it’s an Adult Alternative with an interesting Music Matrix (Muse – Peter Bjorn – Cage The Elephant) and highly LOCAL. 

Their morning and afternoon talent collectively have five decades of time-in-grade, and they are at every huge Columbia event, including their own Barktoberfest—a Yappy Hour with cocktails and canines. In a company that prides itself on iPhone-generated playlists, 102.3 BXR certainly bucks its system.

Contemporary Christian Spirit FM has been our partner on and off for two decades.  Jim McDermott’s Camdenton-based religious format is a legend in the Christian Radio world.  Spirit FM has nearly a dozen frequencies covering 3/4 of Missouri. We pulled in their Class C out of Huntsville, Missouri.  We were white-knuckling it for their local staff when The University of Northwestern added Spirit FM to their national stable of frequencies in July of 2023.  Happy to hear that their tenured LOCAL personalities are thriving under new stewardship

The Gold Standard in Columbia radio – or and market – is Zimmer Communications.   Founded in the middle of the last century, Zimmer has morphed as times change. Their industry trophies could fill a warehouse. An association with any Zimmer cluster and you’re ahead of the industry curve.  This listening session was no exception. 

On their Y107 brand, the married and energetic duo of Cosmo and Kat greet the sunrise with solid benchmarks like ‘Did You Know…’ – with plenty of live audience interaction.  You would never know Kat is in St. Louis while Cosmo is on Columbia’s Route 63.

Zimmer’s talker 93.9 The Eagle boasts a five-person ensemble morning show, and with the election a month away, the studio was buzzing. On the flip side, the Cumulus News Talk is nearly 100% syndicated. All Zimmer brands scream LOCAL. Have a listen.

Lessons learned – verified – from this non-scientific research experiment:

  • LOCAL radio is vibrant and thriving in smaller markets where owners invest in LOCAL talent
  • The spiral demise of true LOCAL radio is a death by a thousand cuts
  • Researching each station proves that those with a robust and growing social/digital footprint are winning the LOCAL battle.

Who will remain after the non-stop people bruising to create those ‘a million images’?

Time has the answer.

On the way back to my Indiana home on Sunday morning, the only LIVE product was Audacy’s KMOX.

Eliminating live, local weekend talent was one of the original – ‘thousand cuts.’

ESPN Saved ‘Inside the NBA’ and Now Needs to Get Out of Its Way

Dave Greene
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ESPN Saved ‘Inside the NBA’ and Now Needs to Get Out of Its Way

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.

Dear ESPN,

Long time viewer, first time writing a column that is a letter to you.

First off, I wanted to tell you how big of a fan I am. I always have been. I will never forget when my parents got us our first cable box in the early 80’s and I fell in love with you immediately. You see, I was the kid who would record St. Louis Cardinals games and other sporting events on my Fisher Price tape recorder and then go into my bed and listen to them when my parents said I had to turn off the TV. I used to do it with some of your shows as well.

I have always watched your products religiously, and even used to leave the workout shows on the TV just waiting for when something would come on I actually wanted to watch. So, thank you for always being there for us diehard sports fans and giving us some incredible content.

Today’s product is quite a bit different than back in those days and at the risk of sounding like an old person, I liked a lot of the stuff you used to do more than what you do now, but by golly, you are always there, and I always know what I can get when I tune in. Consistency is always key and is an area where your network has shined.

I have also been a longtime fan of Inside the NBA and when I say a longtime fan, I mean from Day One. I am one of those that can actually remember the year Ernie Johnson was doing sideline reports while others were in the studio. Later on, as if I didn’t love the show enough already, they added my guy Charles Barkley in 2000 and that hooked me for life.

So, on behalf of all of those that have enjoyed the show, THANK YOU!

For those that may not be aware, ESPN/ABC owner Disney has worked out a deal to continue the show, which will be licensed to them by Warner Bros. Discovery. Reports indicated from the get-go that the show would remain the same, however, we now understand Shaq’s deal expires at the end of this current season.

My main intention in writing this letter to you is to implore you to do exactly as those initial reports indicated – keep the show exactly as it is. I assume WBD/TNT should have no problem re-upping Shaq, but let’s get that done quickly so us fans of the show are assured it will continue in its current form, all of it.

Then, don’t touch it. Don’t try to add to it, don’t try to take away from it, just let it run. And while he is great doing his thing on his own shows, please do not let Stephen A. Smith near this show.

I realize the reports say it is still TNT’s show, they produce it, they are in control of content. But I’ve seen this play out before and while I am really digging the media companies working together like this, I don’t trust it. Mainly because ESPN is such a beast, do we really think they will sit idly by if they have ideas? Or could they end up strong-arming the league if they feel TNT isn’t being the partner they want them to be.

I realize I am jumping the gun here and maybe getting worried about something that will never be a concern, but didn’t we just see some of this play out? Didn’t Adam Silver say WBD was the kind of partner that would point to one line in a huge contract and play that game? Let’s just make sure our attorneys work this out all correctly, with all I’s dotted and all T’s crossed, for now and the future.

The last thing any of us want is an Inside the NBA light or an ESPN version of Inside the NBA. The show is just fine the way it is, thank you very much. And don’t get the idea to now overexpose these guys. Once in a while, ok, but if we see Charles, Shaq and Kenny start to pop up all over the place, the show will suffer.

ESPN doesn’t lose at a lot of things, but NBA programming around the games is an area where ESPN has gotten it handed to them by TNT. It isn’t even fair really to compare what the two do. To put it into terms sports fans will understand, Inside the NBA is Michael Jordan, and the stuff ESPN puts out is more along the lines of Steve Kerr. Dependable, solid, not great.

Inside the NBA is great. Let’s keep it that way.

WWL Radio Host Scoot Paisant Won’t Stop Speaking His Mind Even in the Face of Death Threats

Garrett Searight
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WWL Radio Host Scoot Paisant Won’t Stop Speaking His Mind Even in the Face of Death Threats

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.

Having audience members who don’t agree with you comes with the territory of being a news/talk radio host. But for WWL Radio host Scoot Paisant, things have gone beyond that.

An unabashed “radical moderate”, the New Orleans early afternoon host hasn’t been shy about his criticism of President-elect Donald Trump. And that led to pushback. Strong pushback. Beyond the reasonable limit of pushback.

Threats have been made against the host’s life. Credible threats. While avoiding some of the nastier details, let’s just say it that the New Orleans Police Department has been involved.

And yet, every afternoon from 2-5 PM, you’ll hear strong opinions from the WWL Radio host. That won’t be changing anytime soon.

“Probably 95% of the country in talk radio is conservative. All I’m doing is providing a medium for everybody else,” Paisant said. “I don’t do a right-wing show because the other audience is not being served. And there’s a lot of them out there … I’ve never told a lie on the air.

“When I have challenged listeners on my Facebook page — Scoot on the Air — or on WWL to tell me one lie I’ve told on the air, nobody has an example. I’ve never done anything but tell the truth. I never told anybody not to vote for Donald Trump. Right-wing radio show hosts tell people ‘Don’t vote for (Kamala) Harris. I never told anybody who to vote for. I just presented things I thought were important to present.”

It would be easy to take the threats and angry calls from listeners as a sign that you should stop speaking your mind. But Scoot Paisant admitted that, in some aspects, finding the courage to keep sharing his beliefs hasn’t been difficult.

“I believe what I say. So in that sense, it’s not hard,” Paisant admitted. He added that there is a portion of the audience that enjoys bashing him repeatedly, which wears on him. “I mean, I’m human … It’s hard. I’m glad the election is over … It’s depressing. It’s discouraging. I mean, I try to bring humor into it whenever I can. I do have an irreverent side and sarcastic side, but that’s my challenge. I’m discouraged by the idea that people are not really interested in the truth and they just want their own biases confirmed.

“And I’ll tell you, there’s a hell of a lot of conservative talk show hosts that do not have original thoughts, and all they do is echo what filters down, ultimately, from Fox News,” continued Paisant. “It used to be from Rush Limbaugh, maybe Hugh Hewitt, maybe a few other prominent conservative hosts have somewhat to do with that. But I’ll have callers, and they will consistently use the same verbiage to describe a situation. I know that it’s something that’s come down from conservative social media, or Fox News, and they all use the same thing. We have fewer people who are thinking for themselves, and that part to me is sad.”

Scoot Paisant was quick to give credit Senior Producer Ian Hoch and WWL Radio Operations Director Diane Newman for their support of him and his show in the face of a sometimes hostile audience. When asked what keeps him motivated to continue hosting his show on the Audacy New Orleans station, he said there’s a purpose behind what he’s doing.

“I didn’t want to get into this business to be hated,” he shared. “Knowing that there’s a group of people that really hate me, that’s just not what personality, but it’s turned into a reality. I don’t like that because I never, never set out to be hated. People can disagree with me, but it’s the degree of hate that is really discouraging.”

He added that he’s often told by people in the Crescent City that he needs to continue doing what he’s doing and how important it is to not simply kowtow to one party or ideology.

When asked what the future of the news media industry will look like during a second Trump administration, Scoot Paisant admitted he wasn’t exactly certain.

“The medium reflects the audience, and the audience ultimately tells the media what it likes. And so for Fox News and the conservative media, they’re feeding a specific audience,” he said. “CNN obviously doesn’t know how to feed their audience or they would have been doing something different,” he added with a slight chuckle. “I’m not really sure where it goes from here. Talk radio is a form of entertainment. I never relish the idea that I wake up in the morning and I can bash comp, because I, you know, I don’t, that’s not what I do. But when Trump puts himself in the in the news in certain ways, I have to talk about it, and some of it is really damn entertaining.”

Scoot Paisant concluded by noting that many people will label him as miserable after the election. But he says that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“(Critics) think I’m so distraught over the election … Somebody the other day said, ‘We know you’re distraught.’ Let me tell you how distraught I am. After the election, I’m in ninth row off the floor at the (New Orleans) Pelicans game. I just got a new car. My life is great. I love my frickin life. I don’t know why you people think that I’m not happy, because I really am.”

NFL, Elon Musk’s X Partner on New Central Portal for League Content

BSM Staff
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NFL, Elon Musk’s X Partner on New Central Portal for League Content

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.

While recent stories involving Elon Musk’s X have mostly been around who is leaving the platform and new competitors, the company is still moving forward with its strategy plans. One of those new strategies was revealed today when the company announced a new way for NFL content to be centralized. Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post was the first to report the story.

The new tool is already available on X and is said to be a one-stop shop for all NFL content. Essentially, it allows for league content to be aggregated from reliable sources such as team accounts, NFL Media and certain media outlets.

Accounts such as Around the NFL, Omaha Productions, the NFL on CBS, NFL films along with league insiders such as Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport are ones that are currently being shown in the portal.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino told the paper in a statement, “I believe in partnering with the biggest and best. And it doesn’t get any bigger and better than the NFL. Today, football fans around the world will see the power of X and NFL right on their screens. X is the world’s largest stadium and we are delivering the ultimate fan experience.”

Glasspiegel’s report says internal metrics at X show that 56 percent of users on the platform are NFL fans and that about 40 percent of posts about sports on X are about the NFL. It also stated there have been about 16 billion video views related to the NFL in the past year.

The report also included words from NFL senior vice president of social & influencer marketing who said, “We’re constantly looking to increase the number of ways fans can engage with the NFL across all forms of media. The newly-launched NFL Portal on X will provide an enhanced way to enjoy the gameday experience, allowing fans to keep up with all the action from across the league.”

Photo of the new NFL platform on X

’95 Triple X’ Burlington, VT Celebrates Its 40th Aniversary

BMM Staff
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’95 Triple X’ Burlington, VT Celebrates Its 40th Aniversary

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.

VOX AM/FM Top 40 “95 Triple X” Burlington, VT, marked its 40th anniversary this past Saturday. (10/16)

The station will celebrate the anniversary with five months of giveaways to thank listeners for 40 years. Since signing on, the station has been in the Top 40 format.

Program Director/PM Driver Kwame Dankwa said, “We will be doing a five-month campaign to thank listeners for staying with us and allowing us into their homes for four decades, culminating in a local event at the end of the promotion where we intend to honor staff members past and present as well as the audience an evening to remember.”

Ken Barlow Vox AM/FM COO/Managing Partner, added, “Marking a 40th birthday for any business is historic, and that holds for 95 Triple X. This radio station has been the eyes and ears of an entire generation, being the Hit Music Authority in Vermont and New York. It has a rich tradition of playing the most current music, featuring dynamic personalities, supporting countless community and public service programs, and giving away many fantastic prizes! 95 Triple has never moved from its original idea of being a radio station that serves the masses with great music, entertainment, and community service, and we’ll continue that tradition long into the future!”

Program Director Kwame Dankwa was the subject of a recent Barrett Media profile. Read more about Dankwa and the station in that feature here.

Megyn Kelly: I Turned Down Debate When I Found Out ‘Cretin’ Joe Scarborough Was My Opponent

BNM Staff
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Megyn Kelly: I Turned Down Debate When I Found Out ‘Cretin’ Joe Scarborough Was My Opponent

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.

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski made headlines Monday morning by sharing they met with President-elect Trump over the weekend. Megyn Kelly was unsurprised by that news.

There were swift reactions by news media members about the revelation. But Kelly had a different approach, saying she has avoided participating in certain content offerings because it would have included Joe Scarborough.

“I’m going to tell you something: I was recently asked to be part of a debate. I was considering doing this debate,” said Kelly. “Then they told me that Scarborough had been subbed in for the other person who I was going to be across from. As soon as I heard his name, my answer was no. In no world would I ever appear with that cretin. He is as low as you can go in our field, and that’s saying something. He will do anything, say anything, to make himself feel important.”

The comments made by Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM show mimic those of Keith Olbermann, who shared his extreme disdain for Scarborough on social media on Monday. She joked that she never thought she would agree with Olbermann on anything, but believed he was right on this topic. “Keith Olbermann’s reaction is my reaction!” she said with a chuckle.

It is unclear what “debate” Kelly was slated to participate in. Prominent political figures have participated in a series by YouTube channel Jubilee that featured those figures defending their opinions against a room of 25 detractors. People like Charlie Kirk, Pete Buttigieg, Ben Shapiro, and YouTuber Destiny all did similar events.

iHeartMedia Names Mark Glynn Washington Area President

BMM Staff
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iHeartMedia Names Mark Glynn Washington Area President

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.

iHeartMedia has announced the promotion of Mark Glynn to Area President for Washington State, effective immediately. Glynn, currently serving as the Seattle Market President, will now also oversee operations in Spokane, bringing his total responsibilities to 16 radio stations across the state.

Division President Nick Gnau, said, “Mark is a dynamic leader with a proven track record of success in the media industry. Since the day I met him, his passion for his team and his ability to foster a collaborative and creative work environment has been effective and impressive, making him the perfect person to lead Spokane to the success he’s achieved in Seattle.

Glynn, formerly the Senior Vice President of Sales, expressed his enthusiasm for his new role, “I’m honored to lead iHeartMedia Washington. In an era where audio thrives as a powerful medium, our brands in Seattle and Spokane stand at the forefront, poised to continue our legacy of success. I am grateful for the support of our dedicated sales teams and leaders in both markets,” he stated.

Previous stops include General Sales Manager at Entercom Seattle, National Sales Manager for Northern Lights Broadcasting in Minneapolis, and Digital Development and New Business Development roles. Additionally, he has experience as an account executive with ABC Radio and Clear Channel in Minneapolis.

Cubs Retain Radio Broadcasters Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer on Multiyear Deals Per Report

BSM Staff
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Cubs Retain Radio Broadcasters Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer on Multiyear Deals Per Report

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Reports out of Chicago say the radio voices of the Chicago Cubs, Pat Hughes and Rom Coomer are going absolutely nowhere. Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times reports the two both signed multiyear contract extensions with the team last week and will remain on the broadcasts carried by 670 The Score.

The 69-year-old Hughes has been the play-by-play voice of the team since 1996. Overall, Hughes has over 40 years of experience as an announcer in the Big Leagues. Hughes was named the winner of the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023. Hughes started calling MLB games as a voice of the Minnesota Twins in 1983. He then spent 12 years as the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers. Hughes partnered with Cubs great Ron Santo until the Hall of Famer passed away in 2010.

Following Santo’s death, former Cub player Keith Moreland sat in the analyst chair for three seasons. In 2013, Coomer, also a former Cubs player, began working with Hughes.

‘Coom Dawg’ as he is known played nine seasons in Major League Baseball from 1995-2003. In addition to playing for the Cubs, he also spent time with the Twins, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. After retiring, Coomer spent a couple years as a color analyst for the Twins on Fox Sports North.

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