Barrett Media produces over 20 stories per day on the music, news, and sports media industries. Stay updated on the latest happenings by signing up to receive our newsletters straight to your inbox.
Well, America’s long nightmare is almost over, or just beginning, however you want to look at it. Election day is almost here and my goodness I cannot imagine the amount of available commercial inventory there will be on television when it’s finally over. While the news stations fight it out, we’ll all be over here in the sports world trying as hard as we possibly can to ignore what’s happening. At least that’s what we should be doing.
Sports is an escape for people, it is an escape for the hosts as well. Don’t ruin that escape bringing politics into the equation, ever.
On air talent are told to ‘play the hits’ and talk about what people are talking about. They are also told sometimes that’s not sports, that life needs to be the subject. And that is true, we shouldn’t be afraid to bring up other topics when they are overwhelmingly what others will be talking about. The two caveats to that are religion and politics.
If it were up to me, everybody would keep their political views to themselves. I really don’t understand, especially in today’s society, why anyone would want to give half the people a reason not to like them, unless you’re a media outlet and your whole purpose is to serve one half or the other. And don’t even get me started on people who go so far one direction they can no longer see the middle.
Sports radio should welcome all comers. Black, white, brown, Republican, Democrat, Independent, even the Green party is welcome here. Sports is the great unifier. Don’t ruin it by bringing politics into the discussion on a sports radio station or any sports content for that matter.
As we get closer and closer to election day, the more careful you will need to be. The rhetoric on social media is only going to increase and it will be that much more likely that people are going to want to respond and get into a war of words. If you are a sports content creator, it is best to just stay out of it.
Election day is going to happen, and it will obviously be a major story. Most likely it is going to be a crazy day and there will be long lines to vote and no matter what happens there will be some sort of controversy.
So, the question becomes do you talk about what is happening that day on your sports show? And the answer is yes.
Wait, didn’t I just say you shouldn’t talk politics on your show? I most certainly did, and I will remind you again that you should never talk politics on your show.
If you want to talk about how the traffic was, how long the lines were, or if you have really voted if you didn’t post ‘I voted’ with a selfie of you and your sticker on social media, go right ahead. Just don’t cross that line into talking actual politics or about any particular candidate.
I realize some people have a completely different view on politics in the sense that they aren’t afraid to tell anyone who will listen which side they’re on. They want to bring it up in everything they discuss and to them, it doesn’t matter if their views on politics keep people from listening to their content. They only want to talk to like-minded people anyway. That is completely their prerogative.
However, as always, you have to step back and look at the business we are in. We are in the business of driving listeners to us not away from us. Why would you take the chance? Do you think you are so good at creating content that you can survive with only half of the available audience even willing to give you a try?
In sports, it shouldn’t come up. Nobody tuned in to your sports show to hear you talk about politics. And, more importantly, it isn’t good for business as we know some companies don’t want to be associated with any political talk, that is why they buy the safer sports station to begin with.
When it comes to politics, sports radio needs to be Switzerland.
The Best/Worst Thing I’ve Heard/Watched/Read Recently
Last week I wrote about what happened between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the morning team of Shan & RJ at 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. As I thought would happen, Jones came on at his normal time on Tuesday and even made a joke about it when he was told RJ Choppy was on vacation. “Did he want to avoid the confrontation?” Jones quipped to Shan Shariff.
It was handled well in the end by both sides and now the whole world knows where to listen to Jerry Jones every Tuesday morning, so congrats to 105.3 The Fan for that. It is certainly unique content to have Jerry Jones on your radio station each week and as Shariff pointed out, “it’s radio gold!”
You can find the Jones interview from Tuesday by clicking here.
Mark Kreidler wrote a column earlier this week on Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis, who will call the World Series for FOX Sports with John Smoltz, Tom Verducci and Ken Rosenthal. Mark mentions that Yankees fans are already upset because of Davis’s work with the Dodgers, however, as he points out Davis was doing play-by-play regardless of what team made it.
Kreidler also compares Davis to another Dodgers broadcaster, Hall of Famer Vin Scully and notes how their careers have been similar so far. Kreidler wrote, “Like Scully, Davis was a prodigy who ascended quickly. He became Scully’s full-time replacement in 2017 at age 29. And for Davis, like Scully, the Dodgers gig is amazing — but not everything.”
There is an immediate and present danger to the media this election cycle. It’s called ‘Deep Dive.’ It’s a 10-minute chat about any topic you could imagine, all brought to you by Artificial Intelligence. No script, no human voices, no producers, no microphones. Just a nerd hanging out with a bunch of “0’s” and “1’s” programming to their hearts desire. Okay, maybe this nerd could be considered a producer minus all the talent wrangling but that is so much of the show process.
Whats more disconcerting is how real these AI voices sound. The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Cohen even said, “I can’t stop listening to them.” (It also puts the outlets ‘listen to the article’ function to shame.) It’s a part of Google’s new ‘tool’ NotebookLM. The giggles, inflection, and interaction between the two voices are not just conversational, it is human in the scariest sense (because again this is AI).
Within Google’s ‘company news section’ you can find the ‘NotebookLM Audio Overview.’ The AI voices, who can turn anything into a podcast, say in their 8 min and 25 second breakdown of the new tech, “wouldn’t it be amazing if there was some kind of AI who could do the reading for you and just tell you the good stuff.”
Putting aside these two AI voices are literally talking about themselves, think about that sentence, “do the reading for you and just tell you the good stuff.” Who is to determine what the good stuff is? We have already seen suppression of information, but this now adds a secondary layer for the press.
Yes, NotebookLM will give you citations on where the information came from, and you can provide the source material. This means if you only provide source material from Newsmax or MSNBC, your answers would look like their political agenda (right and left respectively).
Even more stressing, the overview claims someone in Florida (#floridaman) is attempting to use the AI as a “one man newsroom.” The AI anchors claim it can process city ordinances, land use documents, and meeting minutes from City Hall pressers. They can also give you answers based off of all this data. Sounds great right? I guess there is no need for reporters anymore.
This ideal of ‘citizen journalism’ powered by AI has to go. Citizen journalism is a nice idea but is not practical for any self-respecting outlet. Just look at the app/website ‘Citizen.’
They have hubs in major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and New York. While users (citizen journalists) can upload video (which news outlets use for free) none of the claims on it are verified.
Literally anything from a Pickle attack (a false report which did populate on the site in New York earlier this year) to a car fully engulfed on the FDR drive (a true report but the app wrongly claimed there were injuries) is available and reportable to anyone at any time. But how much is accurate? I’ve yet to see a study but from my experience its less than 30%.
Citizen journalism can be very useful, when it is factual. However, using this AI powered system, which will only pull data from what you provide (and then turn it into a conversation) is not journalism. It’s taking someone’s filter bubble and enabling them to brainwash others on the left or right side of the aisle.
Fortunately, there is still some sense within the big tech companies that AI is not good for news. I asked both Gemini (Google) and CoPilot (Microsoft) “Is AI good for journalism?”
Gemini responded in part: “Overall, AI is a valuable tool for journalists, but it must be used ethically and responsibly. It’s important for news organizations to develop guidelines and best practices for AI usage to ensure that it is used to enhance journalism, not to replace it.”
CoPilot answered: “AI has definitely changed the game for journalism. It can handle huge datasets in seconds, find patterns, and even generate reports or summaries… But the flipside is, AI can’t replace human intuition, critical thinking, or ethical judgment. It’s good for the heavy lifting, but the heart and soul of journalism still rests with humans. The key is using AI as a powerful tool, not a replacement.”
What this all fails to recognize is journalism is losing entry level jobs in the process. The intern or production assistant who would go through the data, research, and be that “second brain” for a journalist are being replaced by technology. The training we once received by working closely with our experienced journalists is now dissipating, all thanks to technology.
This election cycle both parties are saying our democracy is at risk. Both parties are claiming the other is to blame for this. Yet they are wrong. Our technology has divided this country and put our democracy at risk (way more than anyone could have anticipated). It’s even changed our journalism. We have citizen journalists, activist journalists (jack-tavists as I like to call them), but to find young people who can be equally critical of the left as the right is rare. Our young people have not learned from the news men (and women) who came before us– because the jobs are not there. Instead, they are opting for creating their own podcast, their own blog, and perpetuating whatever filter bubble the algorithms have shaped for them.
When true journalists no longer have people following in our footsteps, the division, selective fact providing, and partisanship will divide this country worse than what we are seeing today. So, as we delve forward with our technological advancements, let us not forget we still need to make room in our budgets, in our careers, and in our minds to help shape actual fact-based journalists.
Barrett Media produces over 20 stories per day on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters, and get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox.
In this day and age where no one has any budget whatsoever to do any kind of marketing, it can be hard to make your station’s presence known beyond those who are already listening. And when you’re not only competing against other stations but also satellite, Internet-only, Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, and more, it’s easy to get lost in the ocean of options.
Fear not! Here are a few easy, relatively cheap options you might borrow to help market your station amidst the infinite dial of content sources. (Some might require a bit of investment, but hopefully not too much.)
The Haircut
Instead of simply giving away prizes to Caller 9, make them work for it. This requires a bit of time to execute, but… Start promoting the giveaway for whoever gets your call letters, frequency or station name shaved into their hair. (It’s not permanent!) Then they have to post the photographic evidence on social media and tag you in it, which gets you exposure every time they go out in public but also among all of their social media contacts.
You then pick your favorites, put them on the website, and have people vote on who wins. Besides on-air promotions, promote on social and tag your winners – again, spread the word beyond simply just people who’ve Liked your Facebook page. The most votes wins, and that means people who want to win are telling their friends to vote for them.
Naturally, whoever wins has to come to the station to pick up their prize so you can ensure that their shaven glory wasn’t Photoshopped or created by Google Gemini.
The Tattoo As the father of young kids, I have done research on the topic of temporary tattoos and confirmed they are still popular with the young’uns. (Basically, I asked my kids. The teenager grunted at me in what I feel was kind of a “no,” but the almost-11-year-old said, “yes, they’re still popular.”)
Get some temporary tattoos made up with your station’s logo on them, then mix them in some buckets filled with Costco-bought candy. Unexpectedly, drop by some upcoming schools’ Trunk or Treat events with your station vehicle, open up the doors, and watch the candy and temporary tattoos disappear. Hell, even some parents might want in on that.
Again, you’re getting your logo out there on people’s bodies. It’ll remind people that you exist and can provide them with some great content. Plus, randomly showing up creates an unexpected delight for some of the people attending.
The Caption Ah, user-generated content. It’s the best… mostly because someone else does a good chunk of the legwork for you.
Somewhat of a similar concept to The Haircut in terms of involving social media, but in this case, you put pictures up online and ask your listeners to download them to their own devices, caption them, then repost them on their own social and tag you. Again, this spreads word of your station to not just your station page’s connections, but theirs as well.
Make sure you clearly tell them they have to post the picture with a caption on their own account and tag your station, not just post their submission in the comments section of your original post.
You can do a quick version where you give away tickets or some random prize per day for the best caption as picked by you, or you can do it more long-term, like The Haircut, for bigger prizes and do a whole pick-the-favorites-and-vote-online-for-the-winner deal.
Barrett Media produces over 20 stories per day on the music, news, and sports media industries. Stay updated on the latest happenings by signing up to receive our newsletters straight to your inbox.
How many times have you walked away after being asked in a casual setting, “So, what do you do for a living?” and kicked yourself because you didn’t list ALL the things you sell? Or, you just blurted out, “I work in radio.” Or, cringed, when at a networking event, somebody stands up and says,” I sell all kinds of insurance—at unbeatable prices. Don’t delay—get covered today! Don’t be late. Secure your future before it’s too late!”
The ‘what you do for a living’ question presents a chance to explain your work in a genuine and informative way—without sounding like you’re launching into a canned elevator pitch. The challenge is to create a response that highlights what you sell and weaves in the broader services you offer, like community event sponsorships and your expertise in digital marketing.
Here are a few examples of elevator pitches that answer this question naturally while positioning you as an advertising executive.
1. KISS
If you are speaking to a person or group unfamiliar with radio advertising, Keep it simple stupid. Instead of jumping into industry jargon, start with something simple and relatable.
“I help businesses get noticed by customers through radio ads, community event sponsorships, and online marketing.”
This statement is straightforward and introduces your different services without too much information.
2. Radio Ads+
It’s important to convey that your bag of tricks goes beyond traditional radio advertising. We need to communicate we have sports or community event sponsorships and digital marketing strategies. Expand the conversation.
“I work with businesses to create radio ads, sponsor local events that bring them face-to-face, and manage digital marketing campaigns on Google and Facebook.”
You’re more than just a radio salesperson—you’re a full-service marketing consultant.
3. Make It Conversational
Keep your pitch conversational and adjust it depending on the context to avoid sounding rehearsed. Starting with a relatable experience or question can help ease into the pitch more naturally. This is my favorite.
“You know how businesses always look for new customers, whether online or in their local community? I help them do that by creating radio ads, sponsoring local events, and running targeted digital campaigns on the internet.”
More conversation than a sales pitch.
4. The Personal Touch
What you do may resonate with you deeply and can help you look human.
“One of the things I love most about my job is helping businesses engage with their community by sponsoring events. Seeing a business owner light up is great when they realize their ad or sponsorship makes a difference. Combining that with digital marketing gives them even more power to reach their audience.”
It’s a relatable pitch.
5. Digital Anyone?
Show your role goes beyond radio by including digital marketing as part of your elevator pitch, which shows that you offer solutions across various platforms, not just traditional radio.
“I help businesses reach new and old customers wherever they are. Online advertising—on Facebook or helping them show up when people search for their products. And driving to and from work on the radio.”
6. Keep it Short
A brief, engaging pitch may produce follow-up questions, allowing you to share more details with an interested person.
“I help businesses stand out by creating radio ads, sponsoring local events, and running digital marketing campaigns on platforms like Google and Facebook. It’s great because it allows them to connect with customers privately in their car, face to face and online.”
Writing a natural-sounding elevator pitch is all about clarity, relatability, and showing the full range of value you provide. Make sure you tailor your pitch to your audience. Meeting another salesperson at a Chamber function or being introduced to a business owner or a new neighbor all require different intros. By answering “What do you do for a living?” you can spark interest and open the door to future business conversations. Check out Chris Westfall, too. He’s an elevator pitch National Champion and helps you KISS in any setting.
Barrett Media produces over 20 stories per day on the music, news, and sports media industries. Stay updated on the latest happenings by signing up to receive our newsletters straight to your inbox.
The meeting was relatively unremarkable. Andy Gresh was brought into a room where he was informed by WEEI management that he was being fired from his position as a host and subsequently conversed with those in human resources. Ahead of the concise conversation officially curtailing his tenure with the outlet though, Gresh recognized a heightened sense of awareness gleaned through his longevity in the business. Knowledge and expertise of how to navigate adjustments helped him adopt a principle of not saying or signing anything in these difficult moments before turning the page.
Gresh was not the only person who received similar news since his dismissal was part of sweeping changes at the sports talk radio station. Christian Fauria, his co-host in the daypart, was also let go, and the station revamped its midday and afternoon drive shows that debuted in late August.
“I think it’s the hardest thing that everyone chases in the business – consistency – whether it’s ratings, revenue, buzz for your brand, whatever it is,” Gresh said. “It’s not a white whale – it is attainable – but boy oh boy, it’s hard to create momentum, let alone doing it with change, and there’s every brand that is going through that.”
Over the last several years, there have been changes in leadership at Audacy Boston and WEEI. Mike Thomas, who formerly programmed 98.5 The Sports Hub, joined the staff as the senior vice president and market manager, while Ken Laird was elevated to WEEI brand manager. Working under both executives “was fine,” according to Gresh, and he understood the extensive responsibilities associated with the roles in trying to cultivate a positive growth trajectory with an unwavering commitment to the craft.
Jerod Mayo says the competition for the starting job "definitely isn't over." 👀
Did Drake Maye prove he deserves more consideration to be the Week 1 starter last night?
Earlier in the year, there were rumors that longtime 98.5 The Sports Hub morning host Rich Shertenlieb would join WEEI to host afternoon drive. Former WEEI host Kirk Minihane stated that he had heard Shertenlieb would work with Gresh, a prospective pairing he declared would be awful in a show they would seek to ruin. A few months later, Shertenlieb announced that he was joining classic rock station WZLX to host an eponymous morning drive show. Gresh is happy for his former colleague whom he considers a friend and keeps in touch. The rumor of working together, however, was entirely false.
“It would have been nice if someone just would have been like, ‘No, no, no, that’s not happening,’ but instead, it just kind of hung out there, so again, it is what it is,” Gresh said. “Some people will get upset because they think things are getting out, and some people will be upset because it’s like, ‘Wait a minute. We’re not doing this, so why are you letting that hang out there?’”
Operating within one of the largest designated market areas in the United States, WEEI faces stiff competition from terrestrial radio stations, television networks and digital outlets alike. As a result, it is more incumbent on these verticals to inform, entertain and engage its audience to secure coveted shares of attention that subsequently assist in bolstering reach and revenue. The traditional quantitative ratings scorecard entrenched in the sports talk format, however, fails to encompass the complete spectrum of optionality, thus causing leaders to call its viability into question.
“The system is so messed up, and the fact that it’s been really slow to kind of develop and take on a next phase of audience measurement is really frustrating,” Gresh said. “I think that’s why so many companies and so many people are now looking at digital as the way to go, only because the metrics are right there in front of you and they’re much easier to understand if you’re someone like me or others who start to do more in the digital realm, and you have ad agencies who can poke holes in all of the ratings that are out there.”
In recent years, 98.5 The Sports Hub has been at the summit in this purported battle, dominating its opponents with double-digit shares in weekday prime hours. Outside of morning drive, no daypart on WEEI last year finished strong among Men 25-54, and Gresh recognized the challenges while observing other statistics on the rise. Nonetheless, his proficiency and business wherewithal reveal the array of factors contributing to overall measurement, and he has safeguarded against associating his self-worth with these conventional data.
“The numbers can say whatever, but at the end of the day for some general managers and companies, it’s just the number that you’re making, and that’s it, and that’s the one that matters,” Gresh said. “….I don’t want to sound bitter about the business, but I’m honest about it to know that if somebody’s going to do something, they’re just going to do it, and it doesn’t matter what the other metrics or whatever says. If the decision’s been made, then that’s it.”
Gresh views companies in the media business as employing management structures that take advantage of people who will produce the highest output of work for the least compensation. When he landed his first job in Providence, R.I. working behind the scenes at WPRO under broadcaster Ron St. Pierre, he experienced a “starter kit” of what he would deal with in radio. Gresh also made lifelong friends and worked alongside skilled professionals, including legendary engineer Duffy Egan.
“He said to me the most profound thing that still exists to this day: ‘Communication is our business, it’s not our policy,’ and that now rings true more than ever in big corporate radio,” Gresh explained. “It’s hard as a talent to wrap your head around exactly in some companies who are making decisions.”
When Gresh was in Providence, he started hosting with Scott Zolak, forming a duo that connected based on their similar backgrounds and built strong rapport. In fact, Gresh was the person who implored station executive David Bernstein to hire Zolak, and the show gained momentum until 790 The Score discontinued its sports talk format in 2008. After working at the national level for ESPN Radio and SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio over two years, Gresh reunited with Zolak on 98.5 The Sports Hub where the pairing became a formidable presence in middays.
“He’ll be one of my lifelong friends and lifelong people, but it just clicked, and you have people like that that when you sit down on the radio, it just clicks,” Gresh said of Zolak. “The fact that we did it in Providence helped us before we got to Boston, but in reality, nothing changed other than just polishing the product a little bit because he and I, you could put us in a car and turn on a recording device, camera or audio, and you’re still going to get the same thing from he and I there that you would’ve on the air.”
After leaving the station in 2015, Gresh spent time outside of Boston and hosted a sports talk show on 1080 WTIC News Talk in Hartford, Conn. with Joe D’Ambrosio. Upon joining WEEI amid the global pandemic, he participated in a Zoom call where he introduced himself to staff members and built chemistry with midday co-host Rich Keefe.
Three years later, Keefe finds himself back in middays working with former afternoon co-host Adam Jones. The program is in the midst of its first full quarterly ratings book as WEEI airs its reconstructed lineup. When Fauria moved to the midday show in 2022, Keefe was assigned to nighttime broadcasts and hosting pregame coverage for Boston Red Sox baseball. While Gresh hopes Keefe does well in the timeslot, he is more focused on new opportunities and maintaining an awareness of setting and audience.
“I’ve been really lucky to have a lot of different experiences to kind of draw upon, and I’m going to be much more of keeping a lot of that stuff in my back pocket because I know that, for me, that’s an advantage that I’m going to have over others where a trained ear will be able to pick up on some of the subtle nuances of how to keep momentum going in a show, how to keep going, not getting bogged down with something stupid that’s minutiae, when to kind of go off on a caller or that kind of stuff,” Gresh said. “I think that’s all just reps.”
Since being let go from the station, Gresh has been exploring options to resume hosting concentrated on national outlets. In reviewing the space, he feels there are gaps that he and other experienced professionals can help fill. Gresh expects to start hosting part time again on SiriusXM and potentially in Providence as well. At the same time, Gresh is thinking beyond these platforms and intends to become more involved in sports betting to resolve what he refers to as “an identity crisis” in how to reach the average person.
“There are companies now, I think, in the gambling space that are coming around to trying to figure out a different way to kind of break through with some of their content,” Gresh emphasized, “or just have someone who can help them present it, organize it in a better way, produce it up a little bit better, or at least with a digital producer say, ‘Hey, can you give me this? Can you give me that?’”
Throughout his career in the business, Gresh has built a network of professionals and followed a subsequent plan upon losing his job. Amid this interim period, he has been contacting people indexed across three lists to try and make something happen and has yet to reach the final stage of this contingency. In previous meetings, he has stressed his ability to adapt to any day and time, marketing himself as a “plug-and-play guy” willing to work hard.
“I love the medium, but I hate the business because of where the business is going,” Gresh said, “but at the end of the day, there’s still people that make those decisions within it, so for me, if I’m going to harbor any resentment, it would be more towards people than, say, the overall structure.”
Gresh believes that part of the reason young people are not gravitating towards radio is due to the people within the business. In his lectures, he asks his audience to consider whether a general manager is primarily focused on either the station(s) they are running or themselves. Gresh affirms that he has attained both types of experiences, a disconcerting reality that complicates business matters and threatens to alienate the next generation.
“It’s a harsh realization you have to come to that you’re going to deal with people in this business on both the talent and the management side who are dealmakers and who are people who just want to win the deal, and that’s where the business gets tough because you have to get to a certain point before you can even start to negotiate or talk about some of that stuff,” Gresh said.
“If you’re just entry level breaking into the business, it’s, ‘Here you go, take it or leave it,’ and unfortunately, that’s driven a lot of the youngs to say, ‘Okay, I’ve looked under the hood. Maybe I’ll leave it,’ and to me, overall, the industry will say, ‘Boy, we’ve got to fix this,’ but do nothing to do so.”
Despite not holding a favorable view of the business, Gresh is enamored by radio and hopes to work with good people and have happiness in what he is doing. As he moves forward, he hopes to find people who are straightforward, communicative and able to work through problems, avowing it as a priority. Fulfillment and collaborating with those he can trust is a difficult set of standards towards which to adhere, but he takes solace in knowing that they are ultimately subject to his adjudication.
“I’m not motivated by proving others wrong,” Gresh said. “I’m motivated by proving myself right, and you do that by challenging yourself and do different things, and sometimes you have to take on different roles or different stuff. Not every place I’ve left I’ve wanted to leave,” Gresh emphasized. “Some places I have left with the whole, ‘Hey, let me rip out the rearview mirror so I don’t have to see it in my rearview,’ but yeah man, it’s the business. What are you going to do?’”
Barrett Media produces over 20 stories per day on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters, and get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox.
Steve Barnes is Executive Producer and Co-Host of The Morning X with Barnes & Leslie on 99X in Atlanta. The original version of the show with Barnes, Leslie Fram, and Jimmy Baron started on April 1, 1994, and ran until October 2003. The show returned to the airwaves in January of 2023 with just Barnes and Leslie.
“Jimmy stuck with his real estate career,” says Barnes. “We inherited the show the second time around in 23rd place (Persons 25-54), and within nine months were #2 Persons 25-54 and #1 Men 25-54. These are the highest ratings in the history of this signal (100.5) and also on a signal that is 1/10 the power of our original signal at 99.7.”
The original 99X officially ended with Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” on Jan. 25, 2008, after the FCC ordered them to shut down the signal due to a complaint of signal interference by Tallapoosa, Georgia-based WWGA – the sister station of WKNG. Federal law requires that an FM translator station “will not be permitted to continue to operate if it causes any actual interference to … the direct reception by the public of off-the-air signals of any authorized broadcast station.”
After 99X went off the air, the station’s brand name was kept alive on secondary FM signals, but it was mostly a jukebox without DJs. In December 2022, 99X returned to 100.5 and relaunched with its original staff.
“I was approached about a reboot of the show and asked about interest,” explains Barnes. “I was reluctant without Leslie and some of the other OGs. I first asked Leslie, and it was an easy ‘yes’ since we were already doing a podcast at the time. It seemed like an easy next step. Also, our chemistry is so meshed that we can finish each other’s sentences. I then started reaching out to other OGs and everyone was an immediate YES. We felt the brand had been so abused after our original departure that the only way it would succeed would be with the original players, which includes Brian Philips (the original PD and instigator of The Morning X Show), who is now the Chief Content Officer at Cumulus.”
“We currently play 6-7 songs an hour on the show,” says Barnes. “Music plays a huge part of it, as our listeners are driven by music. Every aspect of music lights up the phones, and that mixed with nostalgia is a fireball.”
“We also play new music when we feel like it…I know that sounds strange, but that is how it is,” he says. “If a legacy band has a new kick-ass song, then we will play it. The new music is a nice compliment, but the 90s/00s Alt is really driving the bus. It’s music that fueled Gen X in Atlanta for so many years, and people love it. 99X makes it unique. The power of the brand with all the original players with the original music is Magic! Now you add these people’s kids in the mix, and you’ve got reach across the board. These people came of age with this music, and now their kids are getting the same path, which is awesome.”
The cast members of The Morning X have had so many things going on over the past few years: other full-time jobs, side hustles, and family; it’s hard to imagine how they have managed to stay focused on the show and balance everything.
“It’s been nuts!” says Barnes. “I still travel the world for my production company – Barnes Creative Studios. I have also been acting since 1991 and am joining an established series in its next season in 2025 as a recurring character in multiple episodes. We just wrapped last week, and I was doing the daily morning show and then headed to set for the rest of the day into the night. (I can’t say the role yet as we just shot it and have to hold it until release). The fact that both my daughters are college-age makes the family part a lot easier.”
“Show prep is nonstop for me. I am a sponge for great audio,” adds Barnes. “I love finding things to keep people intrigued and ‘tease’ with it. Prep for me is living my day-to-day life submerged in Pop Culture, which I would do anyway.”
“As far as AI, we were playing with it before it was a thing,” insists Barnes. “We have done everything from cloning our old partner Jimmy (for fun and with his permission) to stripping songs and making contests out of the separated instruments. AI won’t take over people’s jobs on-air (IMO – for now). It’s great as a bit, but the AI DJs are emotionless and a little cheesy. But the impact on the entire music industry is a real thing, and it will be interesting to see where it all lands.”
Follow Steve Barnes and The Morning X on Instagram @themorningx, Facebook: @themorningxatl, X: @themorningxatl and TikTok @themorningx
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Bomani Jones, host of The Right Time with Bomani Jones, was the guest of Andrew Marchand on his podcast through Marchand Sports Media. The two hit on a number of topics including Jones’ background as an economics student and the amount of content that is now designed with the gambler in mind.
As for his major, Jones said with his mom being an economics professor and with chemistry being “needlessly hard,” he decided to go the economics route. He also said it has helped him with his sports reporting.
Marchand said, “I talk to younger people who are in college or high school who want to get into this business, and one of the things I always tell them is don’t major in journalism, maybe minor in journalism, get involved, newspaper, radio, TV, websites, whatever your school has. You were an economics major, was that by design that you had journalism in your mind, or were you going to go straight on economics, what’s the dream at that point?”
Jones went on to tell his story and said that journalism came later but he was glad he had studied what he did.
“I do think it probably helps you, even talking sports, to have a level of expertise in economics,” Jones said. “Journalism is a vocation, you should not major in a vocation, unless you want to be an engineer or an accountant, you should not major in a vocation, and that’s what journalism is.
“You can get, and just about everybody who’s majored in journalism and worked in this business has basically told me the same thing, what you’ll need to actually be a journalist, from what you get from undergrad, you get by working at the campus paper, or working at any other paper, that’s where you’re going to figure that out. So, my mother always says that it is more important to learn what you’re going to write about than it is to learn how to write. You can learn how to write, but in the trenches, you need a little bit more help to form your thoughts and develop your mind. I don’t think you should major in journalism. Do something that makes your mind a little bit more limber and more flexible, and then you can go figure out how to do the other stuff.”
Marchand asked Jones his take on the state of sports media. Jones pointed to the amount of content that is now tied to gambling and wonders how long the money will be there to support all of the content.
“…At this point, we are at the mercy of the gambling, and that makes things very interesting when the money seems to all be coming from the same place, and the place that it’s coming from to me is something that is sports-adjacent, but I don’t actually think it’s really that tied to why any of us got into this in the first place.
“Bob Costas made this point, I worked on his last show on HBO, and he did an essay where he made the point that we’re being flooded with all this stuff about gambling and sports, but none of us got into sports for the gambling, in fact, the people who are really into the gambling found the gambling after they got into the sports. So, what is going to happen, no matter what, is the content is going to become more geared toward information that is useful for people who are making picks. That’s where I think we’re going to see more and more things go…We’re seeing it more in the actual broadcasting of the game, and if your content is not going to help people gamble, I don’t know for how long people are going to be willing to pay for it.”
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MusiCares has announced that the iconic Grateful Dead will be honored as the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year. This recognition coincides with the band’s 60th anniversary, celebrating original members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bobby Weir for their significant contributions to music, dedicated philanthropic initiatives, and innovative efforts to build community through their performances and activism.
The gala will also feature tributes to co-founder the late Jerry Garcia. The 34th annual Persons of the Year benefit gala is scheduled for Friday, January 31, 2025, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, just two nights before the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Cryptodotcom Arena.
“MusiCares is proud to honor the Grateful Dead at the 2025 Persons of the Year Gala,” said Laura Segura, Executive Director of MusiCares. “Their legacy transcends music, having built a community of fans and collaborators that embody the spirit of connection and support, something that is deeply aligned with MusiCares’ mission. The band’s passion for the arts and philanthropy, along with their enduring commitment to social causes, has made a lasting impact that goes beyond the stage. It is a privilege to celebrate their contributions to both music and humanity.”
In a joint statement, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, and Weir said, “We are deeply honored to be recognized as MusiCares Persons of the Year. This honor is truly a testament to the legacy of the music, which has always been bigger than us — it’s about the connection between us, the crew, and all those who’ve been on this long strange trip. It’s not just about what we create but about making sure the people behind it, behind us every night, the ones who quietly make it all happen, get the support they need to keep going, no matter what life throws at them. We’re grateful to stand with MusiCares and hope everyone continues to support this vital mission to ensure music thrives in perpetuity… We also want to recognize the community of Dead Heads for their unwavering support over the years — we wouldn’t be here without you.”
Since its launch in 1991, the Person of the Year gala has successfully raised funds to benefit MusiCares’ health and human services programs. The Grateful Dead now joins a distinguished group of recent honorees from MusiCares, which includes notable figures such as Jon Bon Jovi, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, and Joni Mitchell.
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Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer James Brown of CBS was the guest on the most recent episode of the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast. In a wide-ranging discussion which included going back to Brown’s basketball playing days at DeMatha High School, his college recruitment and tryouts with the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics, the two also discussed Brown’s distinguished career.
Brown was at CBS before leaving for Fox in 1994 to become the host of the NFL on Fox pregame show with Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson. After the 2005 season, Brown left Fox and rejoined CBS. At the time, the public was under the impression Brown chose to leave in order to work closer to his home in Washington, D.C.
Traina asked Brown about that and while he said being closer to his home was a factor, that was only after he couldn’t reach terms with Fox. Traina asked Brown if it was a difficult decision to leave.
Brown said, “It was a difficult decision. I’m sure Sean McManus, my previous boss, whom I love, would share that with you as well. It wasn’t my decision to want to leave. And I understand that there’s a business side of this.”
Brown said the chemistry was there with his pregame co-hosts and he enjoyed working with them and all of the people involved in the organization. He added, “I certainly didn’t map it out that way.”
Traina pressed Brown a bit on the circumstances of his exit just to make sure he had the story clear. He said he was unaware Brown’s first choice was to stay with Fox.
“Would I have left Fox if in fact, the right offer had been put on the table? I don’t think so,” Brown said. “If Ed Goren, the president might’ve had an even more significant role. Fine. But once I’ve shaken hands, when I shook hands with Sean McManus on that deal, my mother taught me way back when…She said, ‘young man, your word is your bond.’
“So, when I shook hands with Sean McManus and Sandy Montag about that, that that’s where I would go. Irrespective of an offer that came in after the fact that was what was being sought fairly on the front end, I had shaken hands. You honor your word. And that’s what I did. Yes, sir.”
As such it didn’t work out and Brown said, “I am thrilled to have been sought after and desired by CBS…Let me give credit on the other side that Sean McManus is one of the absolute best executives of all time in the world of sports media, sports journalism, broadcast journalism. He was awesome. I bought him.”
Brown said he is still having fun and remembers when John Madden told him that if someone is thinking about retirement, they have already retired. Brown said that is not in his current thoughts and added, “It’s still fun. I’m having a blast at it. I’m enthusiastic about it, but it’s always about my colleagues. It’s never about me as the host. My mantra is ‘make them look good’.
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Kacey Morabito-Grean is leaving Pamal Broadcasting’s AC 100.7 WHUD in Peekskill, NY, after a combined 32-year tenure. She will be transitioning to a position with Franciscan Friars of the Atonement Retreat Center at Graymoor.
In a post on social media, Kacey wrote, “I’m not saying goodbye to anyone or anything! Broadcasting will always be part of my journey – as will loving life here in the Hudson Valley. I’m so very grateful that I got to play on the air in my own backyard for so long. And I treasure the deep connections I shared with my Listeners. We loved fiercely and had so much fun! Come see me on the Holy Mountain! We have more adventures to share.”
Morabito began her tenure at WHUD in 1991, hosting the evening show “NightRhythms” until 1998. She returned to the station in 2000 to co-host the morning show with Mike Bennett. Last year, she transitioned to middays and currently hosts “Shine On: The Health & Happiness Radio Show” on Sunday mornings. Between her two stints at WHUD, Morabito spent one year at WLTW in New York.
