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The Country Radio Seminar Announces Date For Early Bird Registration

BMM Staff
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The Country Radio Seminar Announces Date For Early Bird Registration

The Country Radio Seminar (CRS) has announced that early bird registration will open on August 21. A one-day early bird rate of $599 is available on that day. After that, the price increases to $699.

This year’s event will return to the Omni Nashville Hotel on February 19-21. Tickets for the “New Faces Of Country Music Showcase, stand-alone lunches, and evening events are available for $110.

R.J. Curtis, CRB/CRS Executive Director, said, “Country music is in the midst of an exciting and explosive growth cycle, which makes CRS ’25 an absolute must-see for any stakeholder in this genre. We’re busy planning CRS ’25, with an educational and entertainment agenda designed to prepare all of us for success during this incredible time for our format. We urge everyone to take advantage of our special early bird registration rate.”

Rooms at the OMNI Nashville are available for booking beginning August 21.

Find out more about CRS here.

Mark Sanchez is On His Way to Becoming a Star NFL Analyst for FOX Sports

John Molori
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Mark Sanchez is On His Way to Becoming a Star NFL Analyst for FOX Sports

It’s not often that one segment on a program inspires an entire column, but you are about to read an example of this happening. I was tuning into The Herd with Colin Cowherd on FS1 on Thursday, August 8. As usual, it was a very interesting and varied show. A little after 1:00 p.m. EST, Mark Sanchez, the former NFL quarterback and current analyst for FOX, joined Cowherd to talk about the NFL preseason.

What followed was about 25 minutes of some of the best football analysis I’ve heard in a very long time. If you recall, Sanchez was the last quarterback to lead the New York Jets to the playoffs. In fact, in his first two years, 2009 and 2010, he brought the Jets to the AFC Championship game. As it turns out, Sanchez was better known for his Namathesque good looks than his quarterbacking prowess, having played for four teams in his eight season NFL career.

The USC product and 5th overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft has re-emerged as an up-and-coming analyst. Sanchez really showed some in-depth knowledge and rationality in his exchange with Cowherd. In discussing Brandon Aiyuk, the 49’ers receiver who has dominated preseason with his contract issues and trade rumors, Sanchez offered a unique take from a player’s perspective.

While much of the media and fandom subscribe to the theory that demanding a trade and bickering over a few million dollars is typical of today’s selfish athlete, Sanchez stressed that Aiyuk has watched several of his teammates get paid and/or be re-upped in their contracts before they reached their 5th year options.

He also stated that there is no real guarantee that the $26 million per year offer that the 49ers gave to Aiyuk back in May is still on the table. Sanchez outlined a scenario where Aiyuk could end up playing for a rather paltry $14 million in 2024 and then be franchise tagged for 2025 and be paid in the low $20 million range on a one-year deal. In this situation, the gamble of an injury is very much in play.

You may have little sympathy for an athlete possibly making $14 million a year, and that is understandable, but Sanchez clearly and fully explained the business of the NFL and the current league salary market.

He stated, “In my opinion if it was strictly money, if money was the only factor and Brandon Aiyuk says, ‘I want the most dollars I can get.’ He would’ve gone to New England and been the 5th non-QB in NFL history to sign a $100 million contract if it was money, but I think there’s more to it than that.”

Sanchez went on to defend Aiyuk as a good teammate saying that he has never complained about not getting the ball and wants to win. This was a very unique and thoughtful perspective. He also made a comparison to the movie business in explaining that with the Niners, Aiyuk is surrounded by great players like Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle.

“In an ensemble cast, you don’t get as many monologues,” said Sanchez. “In that movie, you’re going to win Best Picture, not best whatever role. There’s too many supporting characters. There’s too many main characters.” Sanchez walked onto The Herd set with a notebook and a pencil, as if he was about to take the SAT. The man who drew ridicule for his 2012 ‘Butt Fumble’ is now drawing rave reviews busting his butt as a student of broadcasting.

Sanchez has a casual and conversational style. The fact that he played nearly a decade in the NFL, was a top draft pick with high expectations, and had his ups and downs has made him a captivating analyst. He knows how players think. Sanchez is a talent squarely on the rise. He has a soft touch method of explaining the game to viewers. It’s one thing to have knowledge. It’s quite another to clearly, concisely, and effectively share that knowledge. Sanchez has the gift.

I kept watching this interview and was mesmerized because Sanchez continued to present heretofore unheard angles, ideas, and perspectives. When Cowherd asked Sanchez to pick a dark horse team this year, the ex-QB chose the Minnesota Vikings but guarded his words due to the quarterback position with Sam Darnold and rookie J.J. McCarthy still in the realm of doubt.

Sanchez’s words proved prophetic as McCarthy subsequently suffered a torn meniscus further clouding the Vikings situation behind center. In discussing Darnold, Sanchez made a solid reference to Rich Gannon, a so-so QB who ended up having a tremendous second half of his career. Sanchez actually dropped some pretty cool references throughout this interview, including NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton, ex-NFL QB Jon Kitna, and his former Jets teammate receiver Braylon Edwards.

In an interesting moment, Sanchez stated that when a quarterback goes to a team with an offensive head coach and mindset, his career can catapult. Almost immediately after making this point, Sanchez backtracked and said that he meant no disrespect to his former Jets’ head coach and defensive guru Rex Ryan.

He said he has a lot of love and respect for Ryan. This shows me what a decent person Sanchez is because in truth, he wasn’t the focus with the Jets. Ryan was so engrossed with his defense and the ‘ground and pound’ mentality, that he never really gave Sanchez the tutelage and attention he needed. Sanchez showed a lot of class in offering the disclaimer for Ryan.

He also offered some in depth analysis on whether to play starting quarterbacks during the preseason. In doing so Sanchez referenced Andy Reid, an old school coach whose philosophy is to add playing time for his starter over the first three games, then sit him for the fourth.

Sanchez added a warning for those coaches who choose to sit starting QBs for the entire preseason. He said that they have to find some way to get their quarterbacks live reps so that they can feel the grind and be able to process decision making. In another teaching moment, he said that this is the reason why many teams now do week-long joint practices with opponents. I always wondered why these joint practices have become so popular.

Sanchez knows what it’s like to be a rookie quarterback under pressure and he lamented that the expectations put on young quarterbacks are a hindrance. He explained that there has to be a better balance between living up to the hype and truly learning the position.

In all of his comments, Sanchez eschews the typical X’s and O’s regurgitation and really delves into the mental part of the game. I was pleasantly surprised by the gravity of his analysis. In yet another strikingly new angle on rookie quarterbacks, Sanchez pointed to the 2008 draft as a turning point. That year, quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan were top picks of the Ravens and Falcons respectively. Both signal callers became starters immediately.

This was the pivot for Sanchez. Once Flacco and Ryan had quick success, he knew that he and Matt Stafford, the top pick in 2009, were not going to get the luxury of sitting and learning. They were going to start right away as were subsequent highly drafted QBs.

Sanchez pointed to the 2023 rookie success of Houston’s C.J. Stroud as the current impetus for starting first year quarterbacks right away. Ironically, Sanchez will be calling Bears’ top pick Caleb Williams’ first NFL start for FOX on September 8 vs. Tennessee.

At the end of the segment, Cowherd said that his wife, who is not a sports fan at all, was listening to a previous Herd appearance by Sanchez and really liked the stories he told and how he carried himself. Mrs. Cowherd is correct. Sanchez’s easy going, insightful, and reflective style is a winner. The youthful quarterback turned thoughtful commentator has already traveled quite the football road and is thankfully taking us along for this leg of journey.

Radio Station Programmers Need to Make Time for Creativity

Peter Thiele
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Radio Station Programmers Need to Make Time for Creativity

You likely have more than one job at the radio station. You are being pushed in a myriad of directions. We often forget that we are in the creativity business. How do you unleash your imagination? How do you stretch yourself?

We have all heard the stories of how bands will write their biggest song in a matter of minutes. Bono from U2 and other musicians say that every song has been written, the songwriter’s job is to catch it. We have all struggled with promos. Sometimes trying to be too cute. You may have the body of the promo but the opening sucks or the close is unconvincing. We have all been there.

Ok, here are a few ways to get ideas started:

Brainstorm with Co-Workers

This works especially well if you have been in a rut. If your promos are all beginning to sound alike, this can give you different channels on which to travel. It is so easy to start promos in similar ways. We have all done this.

Your promos should be a shiny object that adds sizzle to your station. Promos and liners are narration for the brand in which you are programming. Use the station team to create ideas to come from your voice. I have learned that you tell them that you are stuck. You need them as idea starters. If you don’t tell them this, you could hurt the feelings of a staffer, if you take their idea and go in a completely different direction. Trust me on this, I have had a team member tell me that their feelings were hurt that I didn’t use the idea as presented.  I now learned to type out the idea as I read it to them. Tell your crew that they are helping you so much!

Don’t Edit Yourself

When you are writing, just type out everything that you are thinking. Don’t edit in the middle of the creative process. If you are self-editing, you may actually destroy a cool road that you are traveling down. The editing process comes after the creative moments. If you are telling yourself that something is a bad idea, you cannot make the next step. I have written a bunch of stuff that never made the air. I edited on the fly and ruined a perfectly good idea.

Don’t Try to Get Too Cute

I worked with a Promotions Director some time ago and she would submit copy for station non-traditional revenue promos. She loved puns and could jam this lazy use of the English language into every line. I eventually rewrote them all. She never complained, because… She never listened to the station. I like using a double entendre when allowable. I make sure to give strict directions on how the promo should be read when I send it to my station’s imaging voice. If you add something kind of salacious, a flat read will cover up if you are called by a listener or the boss for adding something that could be construed as too edgy.

Change Your Routine

If I really need to write for the station, I often go into the station early on a Saturday morning. I crank up music in my office and type away. If that is not working for you, bring the laptop to a restaurant or a coffee joint. Listen to the conversations around you. Frequently, you will get great jumping off points. I find that lunchtime works really well. I’ll belly up near a group of people that best represents the station’s target demographic. I have used pieces of these conversations in liners and promos. You will get someone complaining about their kids or spouse. You will hear a horror story from the office. This is stuff that makes you sound connected.

    I get it. You don’t have a lot of time. If you are like me, you have three screens open at the same time constantly! There is noise and distraction all over the place. It is taught in almost every major religion that you need to be silent to pray or reflect. These quiet moments often are sources of creativity. Getting the worries out of your mind for 20 minutes every day. If you read older literature, you find that the complexity and thoughtfulness of the words is beyond today’s writers. Well, the authors of yore were not barraged with distractions.

    The legendary Program Director David G. Hall once said at an event that he took a day out of the station for a fieldtrip every couple of months. David would drive around Los Angeles listing to his station. He used those moments to focus like a listener. With social media and streaming commitments, it is very easy to ignore what is coming out of the speaker. When listening to your station is there an Easter Egg or two? Are there moments of surprises? Frequently, these come from the imaging and promos that you write. Does your station sound adventurous? Is the writing crisp in the news, imaging and commercials? Are the hosts just serving up a predictable helping of clichés?

    Make memorable moments for your listeners in every way.   

    The State Of Radio And What Are We Doing About The Future

    Robby Bridges
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    The State Of Radio And What Are We Doing About The Future

    There are a few interconnected items to cover this week: What is the state of radio, and what are we doing about the future?!

    First, on the impending demise of WCBS 880/New York, let’s be clear: this isn’t about tech, changing tastes, or ratings (the station did ok with adults 45+) and certainly not a lack of advertising last year. It was the 10th highest billing radio station in America, banking $30 million. Audacy is looking to cut overhead and make cash fast, period. I think there is some sense in the idea that one all-news radio station is really all the city can sustain, but it’s about cash more than anything from the LMA to the AFTRA contract to the sales commissions.

    The same scenario, unfortunately, is at play with massive staff cuts at Alpha and iHeart of late. It drives me up a wall when I see journalists and bloggers bemoan the death of radio as a medium when, in fact, it’s publicly traded companies that are over-leveraged and running on shoestring resources to try and please Wall Street. It’s not that the audience diminished and the advertising went away; these companies all owe billions and are trying to meet 2-3 % growth expectations every quarter.

    What IS true in cutting their nose to spite their respective faces, radio has done little to reach younger audiences, zero innovating and instead cut staff and resources. So, while the pie was going to be sliced with new tech products debuting, corporate radio has been its own grim reaper. Now, about reaching young people with an eye to the future….

    I had a great discussion with some friends on socials about what ostensibly oldies are and songs 20-30 years old on CHR. I think it’s less true for Country, Urban, or Rock formats, but at CHR, I question the move to rely on ancient product.

    Syndicated night jock Mason Kelter posted, “I hope every Top 40 is playing NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” as a Gold in high rotation right now. In addition to its already-iconic status as an anthem and eternal pop classic, two things have revived its popularity. The new “Deadpool and Wolverine” movie which uses the sound, and Netflix’ new documentary “Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam” which details the life and business practices of Lou Pearlman who managed NSYNC until they left and sued him, which “Bye Bye Bye” is inspired by. The song has been top 30 on Spotify and Shazam in America and the Global charts for two weeks now…”

    I chimed in, “Hot AC perhaps, but are we going to reengage the 12-24 demo by playing a 25-year-old record in high rotation on the hottest hits station? Boogie Nights and Donnie Brasco were cool with Andrea True and KC. Should CHR have played those in 1997? No. I get that clips in TikTok and such have altered the way kids think of music to an extent, but I cringe every time I hear 15-20-25-year-old songs on CHR today.”

    Mason replied, “Robby Bridges, it’s a fair opinion to have, but I don’t know if there’s too much research showing that a younger demographic doesn’t want to hear those songs. TikTok and social media HAS changed the way that music is consumed, distributed and revived. I get requests for ollllddddd songs all the time from 10-20 years, and I’m just surprised as you. Ice Ice Baby, Baby Got Back, and Wannabe by the Spice Girls are probably my oldest examples. Current music isn’t made to last the same way it was years ago. The songs are great; people in your audience love them, and they fit the sound of the station. It’s not like Justin Bieber on a classic rock format. Or Barbara Streisand on Top 40”

    I added, “I have no doubt you get calls for those songs and that young kids know and like the songs, not caring what year they were released. But I think there has to be some brand expectation. Yes, McDonald’s can add pizza or sushi, but it’s ultimately not why people go there or what they really want or expect when they do. While there is still lots of sampling, no question radio needs to build brand loyalty with younger demos and it starts with stations billing themselves as hit driven as being about the moment. Teens like 80s movies and discover Full House on Netflix too, but you gotta pick a lane, and when Z100 plays Christina Aguilera, it’s because they don’t have confidence in enough current product, they’d rather play it safe and try to grab a 45 year old’s ear and hope their monthly W25-54 # is ok rather than build new listener relationships for the future, so I’d say if you’re gonna do it, do it for the right reasons at least”

    Mason came back with, “I think another fair argument is that there weren’t a ton of other ways to hear new music and dig deep into the underground stuff back then. Everyone heard the same new songs on the radio and then went out and bought it on iTunes, or the CD or the cassette, vinyl, etc. Today, Spotify makes it so easy to discover new songs and artists that you’ll never hear anywhere else. Every niche genre is available at your fingertips. Current popular music is not as popular with a LOT of people as it once was. The world used to be a monoculture where we all watched the same shows and listened to the same songs on the RADIO. Those days are over, though.”

    Super jock Java Joel Murphy jumped in, “I can see Top 40s playing during its current “moment,” but you’re right. Playing 20+ year old hits on the reg is not the cure to save CHR.”

    My friend WWBX/Mix 104.1 Boston APD/MD Mike Mullaney added some thoughts his last being the most important, “Do huge promotions, have a great time playing the biggest hits…Be fun for everyone to listen to and you’ll win” Seeing as Mix just had the best monthly in its 34 year history, he’s likely right.

    (Ps: everyone should be as lucky as I’ve been to work at Mix with Mullaney, one of America’s absolute finest)

    One Year Later, Radio Without All Access

    Jeff Lynn
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    One Year Later, Radio Without All Access

    One year ago today, radio lost a dear friend and long-time companion when All Access closed after 27 years.

    A year later, I had the opportunity to catch up with Joel Denver, the President, Publisher, and Co-Founder of All Access, a figure many of us have a personal connection with.

    Jeff Lynn: Let’s start with full disclosure. At the time of the closing, I was working for you in Nashville as Country Editor and Promotion. And I stayed with you for a while after the closing.

    Joel Denver: Yes, you did. Thank you.

    JL: Let’s start with the fact that a year ago today was the day that All Access shuttered, and it sent a shockwave through the industry. I think people looked at it and were like, this is my friend for nearly 30 years. What am I going to do? How will I do my job?

    JD: Yeah, it was a shock. It was a shock to have to do it. First, you being part of the staff, you know how much I tried to take care of all of you guys.

    I really, really enjoyed working with all of you. It was a wonderful staff. Sadly, the financials in the business changed, and we just didn’t have a choice.

    We had to do something, and as you know, we made a couple of moves to try and generate some new revenue—the podcast directory and a few other things like that. But it just never made up for the difference in money that the record companies were not investing in our services.

    That came down on a national basis. UMG said at the top of the year that they were going to take the revenues that they paid people to promote radio or market to radio and cut the budget in half. It just wasn’t enough for such a big staff as we had and our fixed costs to be able to move forward with that.

    So that’s what really happened. At Morning Show Boot Camp this past week, everybody, oh man, I wish we could bring it back, and I miss it. And I went, yep, I wish I could bring it back too.

    I wish I never had to take it away. It’s one of those things that economics dictated. I’m really happy that everybody has found a job.

    That’s really encouraging to me.

    JL: I thought it was so special and almost heartwarming to watch the industry rally, if that’s the right word. I even remember seeing; I think it might have been Jay Philpott who wanted to start a GoFundMe page. People wanted it to stay that badly. That’s a great testimony to you and what you built.

    JD: Well, thank you, man, I appreciate that. You know, it really was something. I mean, I did not have a real big choice in the matter; at the end of the day, it worked out, and as I said, many people ended up finding jobs from it, which was good. That was a really good thing.

    JL: So, let’s turn the corner and quit looking back. What’s Joel Denver doing these days?

    JD: Well, I am still fortunate enough to be calling radio stations and talking about music. I have a lot of great friends out there and wonderful friends at the label side on Top 40 and Hot AC, which are the areas in which I’m specifying my services. I’ve done a little Country promotion, too. I had a couple of projects this year on that.

    That was a lot of fun. I’ve been highly involved in the distribution of marketing materials. The new top-level domain, DotMusic, has been a lot of fun to do, and we’re getting close to sunrise on that, which is the 15th of September. At that point, we’ll continue to sign people up, but that’s been a lot of fun.

    New domains do not come along all the time, and my friend Roger Schnur got me into this thing. Konstantin Rousos put the idea together and did all the necessary paperwork. It took him 11 years, 10 or 11 years with ICANN, the governing body for all things Internet, to get this top-level domain approved.

    There is tons of paperwork, just all kinds of rules and regulations; it’s a very complex process.

    We have literally thousands and thousands of sign-ups for it. All the major labels, all the major publishing agreements, all the rights companies, and some fantastic artists like Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga are on board. I can’t get into all of them because some of them are under NDAs, but the point is it’s been terrific.

    It’s been a terrific response from the industry.

    JL: I think you forgot some voice acting.

    JD: I’m getting into that. I’ve been doing some voice talent work and some voice-over work, and you can find the demos at joeldenver.com. I have a VO demo and an imaging demo, and so I’m working with Benztown on some of their stuff, and I’m doing some stuff on my own and still seeking representation.

    That’s difficult out there because there are so many people who jumped into this lane of career path back in when COVID hit, and as people, attrition out of business and no longer could find jobs at radio stations, they did this. So, many of the agents are fully booked up as far as capacity is concerned for the number of clients they can represent. I’m still knocking around on that. Somebody reached out to me, and I landed an audition, and then I got the job of narrating a book.

    JL: It helps so much if you enjoy what you’re doing.

    JD: I love talking radio.

    I love talking to my label clients, hearing what the new music will be, and then imparting that information to radio programmers. I talk to people from all different walks of career paths in the radio business and love doing it. Sadly, some of the same things are continuing to affect radio.

    Number one in my book is Nielsen. I think the Nielsen system has really just done a very big disservice with PPM. They’ve done that because PPM does not reward creativity, it does not reward playing new music, and it’s terribly under-sampled. Of course, radio has not chosen to figure out a way to re-monetize itself without playing 22 minutes of commercials an hour.

    Sadly, they have deemphasized the importance of true talent. Talent, on-air talent, is what separates you from everyone else. Yes, there’s imaging, there’s stationality, but it’s when somebody gets behind the mic and you listen to them and go, wow, what an amazing person that is or what are they doing for the community?

    That’s fantastic. It all comes down to being human, and I think the ability to be human and show people while you’re on the air that you care about what they’re doing, what they’re thinking, and how you’re coming off to them.

    I think that’s the word authenticity, and I think authenticity is an amazingly missed emotion or standard of communication that really goes a long way when somebody can be very, very authentic when they’re communicating and talking, cracking a joke, having fun with their teammates on the air, or just talking about a record, an artist, or an event going on in the city.

    Those are the things that make the difference for radio, and I think they’re a terrific advantage that radio has over many other mediums. Unfortunately, our medium is not what I would call convenient to listen to. I mean, it’s not convenient to listen to 22 minutes of commercials, hear the same songs over and over again, and listen to people who are not particularly entertaining.

    Radio has really shot itself in the kneecaps for decades now. We all know the problems, and they just never get fixed.

    JL: That’s what I always say, Joel. If the radio is dead in some places, it’s a self-inflicted wound, just for the reasons you said.

    JD: These are forced errors. These are self-inflicted wounds, forced errors, or whatever you want to call them. Still, the point is this: as I said publicly before if a car dealership was doing business with my cluster. They didn’t feel that we were delivering to all their brands that some of these clusters have; some of these car dealerships have seven or eight brands they’re working on.

    When you have a couple hundred-thousand-dollar contract with a station or a group of stations in a market, and they don’t feel that they’re being delivered, that the audience is coming in, or that their money is not helping, you know what they do? They either renegotiate with you, or they take their business elsewhere.

    We just spend millions and millions and millions of dollars on Nielsen, and the markets are so under-sampled. They’ll say 1,100 meters in this market. And how many are lit up? 200, 300. That’s terrible. Then, the weighting stretches the boundaries of what I think is good math.

    JL: Anything I haven’t asked you want to drop in here?

    JD: No, I think we’ve covered it. I want to say this: I feel blessed for the amazing support and friendship of the entire radio and music community for those 28 years. I just had a blast working with my staff, and I’m glad they’ve all found jobs, and things look good.

    JL: Alright, last question. One kitty lover to another. How are your cats?

    JD: Cats are good. Macky has had a few health challenges this year, but we’ve got him on the right path. That’s my little orange and white tabby.

    And then our main coon cat, Mitty. He’s just as fun and sometimes as aloof as ever.

    And don’t forget our dog, Allie.

    You can ALL ACCESS Joel Denver here.

    Mix 107.9’s Madison James is Sharing Life Lessons Learned on the Court

    BMM Staff
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    Mix 107.9’s Madison James is Sharing Life Lessons Learned on the Court

    She’s hosted radio shows for two decades on “every format except for Country and Alternative.” Madison James is the midday host on Charlotte, North Carolina’s Mix 107.9, an Urban One station, but that’s not all. Her trajectory, she says, is because of basketball.

    The African American woman grew up in small-town Jackson, Tennessee, in the county that shares her name, Madison. She was graced with parents who told her she could do anything. She ran track and played volleyball and basketball.

    Division One Hoops – Full Ride

    Her basketball skills led to a full athletic scholarship at the University of TN at Martin, a Division One school. Socially, Madison and her teammates owned the campus as conference champs. Women’s coaching legend Pat Summit was a UT Martin alum, and Madison and her team got to play against the Tennessee Lady Vols while Summit was the coach.

    A college speech course ignited Madison’s interest in communications. She interned at a couple of radio stations and snagged a full-time radio job at a Top 40 station in Jackson, MS. The day after graduation, she was on the air, hosting middays. She stayed for eleven months.

    Then, Madison says, she got an opportunity to be a part of something special as part of Cox Media’s launch of Hot 108, Rhythmic Top 40 in Greenville, South Carolina, where she hosted middays. 17 years later, Madison is still working with the company.

    Madison was thrilled to jump markets to the “hustle and bustle” of Atlanta in 2019 as midday host at Hot AC WSTR 94.1, and she branched out to print, television, and advertising. She hosted “Hot Topics” for Cox TV in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Orlando, as well as “460,” a business magazine show. She advocates for health and fitness on social media and as a lifestyle and health contributor to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper and with community groups.

    A PD Who Looks Like Me

    On April 30, 2021, Madison James’ voice was heard on the very first day of the launch of “Mix 107.9” in Charlotte, North Carolina. She left Atlanta for a smaller market for one reason. “I wanted to work for a program director that looked like me,” she says.

    That was when Charlotte’s “107.9 The Link” rebranded, or flipped, to a Hot AC format featuring “Charlotte’s Best Mix of the 90s, 2000s and Today.” Radio One acquired WLNK in a multi-station swap with the previous owner, Entercom [now Audacy].

    “After twenty years, you start to realize that different things are important to you,” says Madison. “To be a person of color and to have the opportunity to work for a PD of color, Terry Fox was amazing.” She estimates there are two people of color working in that format.  

    Pivot and Shift

    Playing sports, she says, prepared her for the ups and downs of the radio game:

    “When you play collegiate ball and are on full scholarship, you re-sign yearly, so there were instances where teammates didn’t come back,” she recalls.” Just like media.

    Basketball taught her to pivot and shift, she says, and to adapt. “When a new Program Director comes in or there’s a format change, I think, what are they looking for, how can I fit into the system that they have? Basketball has instilled that into me, so I don’t panic. I just adjust and adapt.”

    She’s had incredible longevity for a radio employee. Even stations that flipped have found a place for her. She’s a versatile and strong radio personality, she says, because of basketball.

    “100 percent. It’s the core of who I am. It’s the discipline, the competitiveness, the doing the work when no one’s watching. It’s knowing it’s bigger than just you. Be a good teammate. You can let others be part of the spotlight. Your talent will speak for itself.”

    Madison pivoted and shifted when she found herself hosting a Classic Rock show in Richmond, Virginia, Rock WKLR 96.5, which was consistently top three for men ages 25-54. “You cannot b.s. your way through that format,” she says. “Listeners are going to test you to see if you know rock. To be able to connect with the audience, I had to learn about the lifestyle of the listener, and I picked up some things I enjoyed. I went from not understanding to enjoying, and that’s why I was so successful,” she explains.

    Smells Like Rubber

    One of the things she learned that she loved is NASCAR. “Oh, yes! Until you attend a race, you cannot understand. Those guys are athletes. Even the pit crew are former Division One athletes. The energy and passion of the fan base is unreal.” The best part, she says, is their tricked-out trailers and seeing what’s underneath the hood. The fond memories linger. “After you leave,” she says, “you smell like tire rubber.”

    Lend Your Voice

    Madison highlights the importance of fitness and health in her professional work, including on Cox Media’s magazine shows, on social media, and in news articles. She says it’s critical for on-air personalities to be involved in the community. That’s who you talk to every day, she says. “Air talent should branch out from obligations and find something that you are passionate about and lend your voice to that organization.”

    She’s a brand ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and spearheads breast cancer awareness activities in both Atlanta and Charlotte, where she and her Pink Ladies “Shine a Light on Pink” 365 days a year, as they reach out to breast cancer patients, survivors, and their families.

    She uses her athletic and broadcasting experience to both physically and mentally mentor young women. “I mentor high school and college kids and anyone getting into this business. It’s still a male-dominated profession, and it’s becoming even more cutthroat,” she says. One girl she worked with recently graduated from Oregon State as part of the crew team, and Madison says that’s just the start for this confident young woman.

    Madison has taken the helm as Board Chair of “Girls on the Run,” a non-profit that empowers young girls of all abilities to develop life skills and foster a sense of belonging using running as the tool to help deal with adversity. She emcees their 5K race, called the “Sneaker Soiree.”

    “When you see a girl before the race who’s terrified, and they finish that race and say, ‘I did it and didn’t stop,’ you see they come back a whole different child. They come back to conquer the world. Don’t let anybody tell you what you cannot do. Sports teaches you to adjust and pivot.”

    Racism from Both Sides

    While she shares her personality and opinions on air and generously gives her time to community causes, Madison keeps her private life private. She’s not shy, though, about revealing the racism she’s faced from both sides. 

    ”You’re not ‘this’ enough. I’ve experienced those challenges all my life: elementary school and high school. In our business, people feel they have the right to say anything to you. They make comments about your looks. I’ve also had people come up and make foolish comments. ‘Oh, you don’t look like you sound.’ You have to handle those things in an appropriate manner but also use those times to educate people. Because I speak clearly and use my words, you are telling me that I sound like another race? How does that make sense?

    “I’m proud to show on my resume that as a woman of color, I can speak to anybody. You can put me in any room, any format, and I’m going to be just fine. Because at the end of the day we’re all the same, we’re all just people and we need to relate.”

    She’s not only well-spoken. Even though she’s a pro talker, Madison also walks the talk.

    “Actions do all the talking. If you’re the loudest person in the room, it doesn’t mean you’re the best. I’ve had a 17-year run at Cox, and I think that’s because of my versatility. I can do more than one format. When stations flip, they say we can still use you; we know you can do Classic Rock. I survived.” 

    She remembers her college classmates saying they wouldn’t work for formats they didn’t like or listen to. She disagreed. “I never wanted to be pigeonholed. Our job is to announce. To find a way to connect. And the way our business is going these days, you better be able to do more than one thing.”

    She also disagrees with radio folks who say social media is private. “You don’t have to share everything, but do know, at the end of the day, you are a public figure. Social media is so important! It’s part of your brand,” she says.

    You don’t have to over-share, says Madison James, but you should be involved in the community outside of the radio station to bolster your brand and strengthen your bond with the audience.

    Madison’s “extra-curricular” passion is fitness and helping females. “Anything to move the needle as far as empowerment of women, I’m there for it,” says the former Division One basketball player, popular radio host, and community activist who owes her success, she says, to lessons learned from basketball.

    Paul Finebaum is Ready for the Most Important Season in College Football History

    Demetri Ravanos
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    Paul Finebaum is Ready for the Most Important Season in College Football History

    My friendship with Paul Finebaum can best be summed up with the final few moments of our conversation last week when I told him I was sitting in the parking lot of a tattoo shop while I was talking to him.

    “Be careful,” he laughed.

    I don’t think it dawned on him that I may have been sitting there because I had just added to an already extensive sleeve of tattoos on my right arm. Then it hits me. Paul and I have only ever spent time together in winter. He’s only seen me in a suit or hoodie. He probably doesn’t know I have a bunch of tattoos, including one in honor of his new co-worker, Nick Saban.

    Paul and I both have deep roots in Alabama, but we are of different generations. We know a lot of the same people in our business but met them at very different points of our respective careers. I have known Paul as both a role model and now as a friend. That’s pretty cool, I think.

    I hope he doesn’t disavow our relationship when he reads this.

    I was in college at the University of Alabama when Paul was still doing his show on a news/talk station in Birmingham. I’m a fan of SEC Network Paul Finebaum, but the Finebaum that hooked me as a listener was the one that relished being a bit more adversarial. That’s the Paul Finebaum that taught me it’s okay to publicly say when someone or something is being dumb, even if you love it. It’s the ethos that became the foundation for my relationship with college football and the SEC.

    Living very much in the ACC footprint now, I am protective of Paul when friends call him a shill or a homer. I am especially adversarial with people that suggest the ACC Network should have its own version of The Paul Finebaum Show. To act like it’s easy fundamentally dismisses the history and the work put in long before anyone outside of the 205 and 336 area codes knew the man’s name.

    Maybe Paul agrees with me, maybe not. He won’t say much about 24/7 Sports’ recent article other than that he was confused by coaches saying that no one on their network advocated for their teams the way they think Finebaum does for SEC teams.

    “I was in an awkward spot because anything I said was going to sound like I was pushing my chest out,” he said. “I thought they did have a show. That was kind of the whole idea when the network started. They had a morning show. They tried to replicate us and then they switched it to the afternoon,” he says of the now defunct Packer & Durham.

    “The commissioner of the ACC is a close friend of mine, Jim Phillips. I hope I don’t ruin his reputation by saying we have lunch occasionally and we really have fun with each other, but, I mean, I can’t run their network. Somebody with ESPN is in charge of that, so, I’ll leave it there.”

    As ESPN rethinks its future, it’s clear that the network wants to be in the star business. A new ad running on the network hammers that point home by reminding viewers that it is the TV home of Stephen A. Smith, Pat McAfee and Mike Greenberg. 

    Finebaum is one of the stars that the network wants to be in business with. That was proven last week when the two sides agreed to a new multi-year deal. His eponymous show will continue on the SEC Network. Finebaum will also continue to make appearances on shows like First Take and SportsCenter.

    First Take in particular has been an interesting way to watch Finebaum for someone like me, who has followed him for years. It drives me nuts to watch Stephen A. Smith and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo be framed as intellectual equals with Finebaum in discussions of college football and then hear them say something that makes it clear they do not watch as much of the sport as even I do, let alone Paul. 

    My frustration peaked last month when Mad Dog argued passionately that Finebaum was wrong to call Lincoln Riley a failure at USC because one of his quarterbacks won the Heisman Trophy. It’s an asinine statement. It’s also not hard to find even USC fans online saying “Hey, Lincoln Riley has kind of been a bust”. 

    Finebaum doesn’t see the debates that way at all.

    “I enjoy being on First Take with those two because of the entertainment value. I understand purists looking at it and shaking their head, but I have plenty of high level, highbrow conversations about college football on our show and on other shows. To me, [First Take] is just play period. I mean, I get to go out and be a kid again with two of the greatest of all time.”

    I told Paul that I don’t think of myself as a purist when it comes to the sport, but I was annoyed by the segment. It just didn’t feel genuine. Mad Dog didn’t have the credibility to be a part of that argument. Paul said I was taking it too seriously. The point of the segment was to entertain. That Mad Dog doesn’t have the credibility to be a part of that argument is what made it work.

    “Whether he was using OJ Simpson to sell the fact that USC is one of the biggest names in college football history, or whether he mistakenly gave Jalen Hurts a Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley, it doesn’t matter to me,” he says. “I mean, this is not Final Jeopardy.”

    College football is entering one of its most important seasons in a long time – maybe ever. Between conference re-alignment, that all but killed the regionality the sport was built on, and the expansion of the College Football Playoff, there’s so much the sport needs to get right all at the same time.

    “It may be the most eagerly anticipated season I can remember in college football history,” says Finebaum.

    For him, the season is already here. It started on June 30 when his show was broadcast live from Austin, Texas. The next day, he was in Oklahoma City. It was all part of welcoming the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners to the SEC, one of the few new conference affiliations that makes not only economic sense, but regional sense as well.

    College football needs this. The ratings are as strong as ever, but I would argue that the sport needs to figure out how to create more diehard fans. Until last year, ten championships in a row were won by Southern teams. Nine of those ten were won by schools inside of a six hour stretch along Interstates 85 and 20 between South Carolina and Alabama. You’ll forgive me for wondering if that hasn’t hurt fandom on the West Coast and the Midwest.

    The return of EA Sports’ college football video game is a big deal. Finebaum has said before that he hopes conference commissioners understand that fact. Michigan’s title last year and the arrival of Deion Sanders are big deals too. They all expand the borders of significance in this sport beyond the South.

    I lay out my theory to Paul and ask him if he thinks ESPN marketing the sport with a new anthem from country music star Jelly Roll or College GameDay rolling through a barrage of interchangeable thirty-something white guys that sing songs about old trucks, country girls and being raised right as celebrity guests is a little counterintuitive.

    Country music, despite its overwhelming popularity, is heavily associated with the South and in recent years, many of the biggest hits have been about how people not from the South would never get our culture. If there was actually a commissioner or someone in charge of college football, it seems like they would step in and say, “this doesn’t seem like the right marketing strategy.”

    “I agree with your premise,” Finebaum said. “I think if there was one person, but here’s how to burst that bubble,” he says, bringing me crashing back to Earth. “There never is going to be one person, and there are a lot of reasons for that.

    I can’t tell you how many times, in the last year I’ve had people call me and say, ‘Hey, you think Nick Saban would be a great czar of college football?’ Well, yeah, he would be, but he’s not going to be because to get that to happen, you need the four power conferences now to actually agree on something and they never will. That’s really what makes college football so unique, but also it causes so many issues.”

    You can love something so much and still recognize and call out the stupidity that surrounds it. Even as college football evolves, history tells us that the people in charge will continue to get in their own way. As long as they do, Paul Finebaum will have plenty to offer new fans and those of us that have been there since he was calling for Mike DuBose’s job. 

    Behind The Voices: Steve Stone

    Jeff Lynn
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    Behind The Voices: Steve Stone

    Steve Stone is an Emmy-award-winning voice actor whose voice has been featured on many TV and radio networks, including iHeartRadio, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and ESPN. Benztown Voices has recognized Steve with inclusion on their “Benztown 50” list of radio’s biggest imaging voices.

    Steve is our featured voice actor today, “Behind The Voices.”

    Jeff Lynn: Like many of us, you seem to have been bitten by the radio bug at a young age.

    Steve Stone: I got my start in radio at 19 in Northern California’s Bay Area. I was hungry to get into the business and, fortunately, had a great mentor at the start.

    My biggest radio influences would be the voice and production of Danny Ocean on 610 KFRC in San Francisco back in the early 80s and Live 105 in the 80s as well. John Frost and his format defining production during his time at KROQ and Pat Martin’s production during his time at KRXQ in Sacramento. As far as early radio voiceover influence, it’s the late Chris Corley, Brian James, and Keith Eubanks. As a kid, I was enamored with Ernie Anderson, Danny Dark, Don LaFontaine, and Hal Douglas. 

    JL: Who currently inspires you?

    SS: Current inspirations are Brian Lee, Josh Goodman, Jeff Berlin, Dan Nachtrab, Joe Cipriano, and many others. I am influenced by every voice I hear.

    JL: Describe a typical workday.

    SS: Normal workday is waking up with coffee in hand and reviewing all emails and scripts that have come in overnight. I get going early with auditions and then scheduled sessions; then it’s cranking out scripts as they come all day; sometimes, it’s a long day with breaking news scripts, especially for clients on the West Coast. I don’t take any long breaks during the day. It’s usually 15-20min somewhere in the early afternoon to eat something and take a breather.

    JL: I’m asking everyone about AI because it is such a hot topic. Has it impacted what you are doing?

    SS: AI has affected my work for sure. The first notable changes were the replacement of jocks and many in-house creative staff. Which is really hard to see happen.

    As far as AI in voiceover work, it has and will continue to change things. Many companies are seeing AI voices as a cost-saving solution, but I’m not so sure in the end it really will be.

    The technology is advancing at a rapid pace, but it has yet to show me that it can bring that human connection to the work. The voice work I do is varied. From music to news and sports…that versatility from one voice is not something I believe AI has mastered yet. We also can’t live in fear. It’s important to be aware of it and to watch its development and impact closely.

    Many industries have fundamentally changed over the past few decades with the rise of new technologies. Change will never stop. In the end, I can only control what I offer my clients. Superior creativity, customer service, and that human passion that drives me every day.

    JL: A client you don’t have that you want.

    SS: A bucket list client in radio would probably be Z100 NYC. The station is iconic.  As far as TV, I would love to be the voice of the Super Bowl one day.

    JL: Tell me three funny things people might not know about you.

    SS: I have an irrational fear of reptiles.

    I have a hard time saying the words “regularly,” “cellular,” or “limited edition.” 

    I am right-handed, but I shoot hoops lefty.

    Atlas Talent Agency represents Steve. Check out his demos here.

    Industry Guest Column: WCBS-AM: Same Coalmine, Bigger Canary

    BNM Staff
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    Industry Guest Column: WCBS-AM: Same Coalmine, Bigger Canary

    This industry guest column on the demise of WCBS Newsradio 880 is from Kipper McGee. Kipper McGee is a recovering broadcaster turned media strategist, consultant, and author of the book BRANDwidth: How Big Broadcasting is Missing the Mediamorphosis. With a career spanning top management roles in radio and digital platforms, Kipper has guided some of the nation’s most recognized media brands through the rapidly changing landscape of modern broadcasting. He continues to share his expertise through speaking engagements, workshops, and his popular podcast, “BRANDwidth On Demand” co-hosted by David Martin. For more insights, visit kippermcgee.com.

    “Many ask whether broadcasting as we know it will even exist in 2025?” Those were the opening words in my book, BRANDwidth: How Big Broadcasting is Missing the Mediamorphosis.

    These words resonate now more than ever. As we approach the year that once seemed distant, the trajectory of big broadcasting reveals a troubling picture—one that feels eerily like a canary in a coal mine, except the canary has grown bigger, and its song more ominous.

    The recent demise of WCBS Radio in New York, a station that stood as a titan in the industry, is the latest and most glaring example of the slow death big broadcasting is suffering — death by a thousand budget cuts. High-rated air talents are being axed, research departments dismantled, marketing efforts slashed, and seasoned market management and sales staffs dismissed. All in the name of “efficiency.” But what’s really happening is a slow erosion of the very fabric that made radio indispensable.

    We’ve witnessed this steady decline in the very entities that were once the pillars of the broadcast industry. Trade media have been rife with reports detailing these systematic cutbacks—every month, another round of layoffs, another station going silent, another
    community losing its local voice. And yet, the industry wonders why local radio is drawing ever-decreasing listenership.

    The truth is, radio’s struggles stem from more than just budget cuts. We’re in the midst of a *MEDIAMORPHOSIS*, a shift from AM/FM to satellite, streaming, and apps. Radio, as we knew it, has been overtaken by platforms that offer personalized, on-demand content. Yet, instead of innovating, many broadcasters have doubled down on the old model, trimming the very elements that made them unique and relevant.

    As I wrote in “BRANDwidth“: “If (AM) radio dies, it will be ruled a suicide…” This isn’t just about AM; it’s a reflection of the broader industry. The repeated budget cuts, the lack of investment in content, and the refusal to adapt are all contributing to radio’s slow demise.

    Amid this decline, the government is trying to “save AM radio” with the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, a bill supported by broadcasters and the NAB. But it feels like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg, as radio fights to stay relevant in a digital world.

    The shortcomings of radio in this era of consolidation are many. Local flavor has given way to homogenized content, community engagement has been replaced by automated playlists, and innovation is stifled by corporate mandates focused solely on short-term profits. Radio has forgotten that it’s not just about broadcasting; it’s about connecting.

    If radio keeps going down this path and fails to evolve, it won’t be because listeners stopped tuning in, but because we stopped giving them something worth tuning in for. The final budget cut will be the outrageous electric bill, and the only sound left will be static. And as that canary in the coal mine falls silent, you can almost imagine it joining William Paley at that great AM station in the sky—where the airwaves are clear, the content is king, and radio still matters.

    Jimmy Malone Has Time to Think About What’s Next After Surprising Exit From WTAM 1100

    Garrett Searight
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    iHeartMedia recently instituted another round of layoffs affecting programming staffers around the nation after reporting $910 million in losses in the second quarter alone. For the most part, the news/talk format genre was relatively unscathed. That is, except for WTAM 1100 late morning host Jimmy Malone, who exited after spending just over two years hosting on the Cleveland news/talk station.

    A Cleveland radio legend, after spending more than 30 years hosting a talk show in morning drive, Malone took over the 9:00 AM timeslot previously occupied by Geraldo Rivera in 2022.

    Malone’s one-hour show was a continuation of local programming for the station before into national syndication with The Glenn Beck Program and The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. And that opportunity to have conversations about local issues was one Malone relished. After finding out about his exit, Malone shared he was most disappointed by not being able to share the news with the community he built in the daypart.

    “I thought that after almost 35 years in the community, it would have been nice to say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna end your show, but we want to let you say goodbye’,” Malone said. “That would have been nice. But I wasn’t afforded that … I had been a pretty loyal employee, and they chose to handle it differently. So I’ll just have to move on.”

    Jimmy Malone is a self-professed “woke liberal.” As you might expect from a station airing shows hosted by Glenn Beck and Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, he didn’t exactly fit the mold for what WTAM 1100 listeners were expecting to hear on their station. He admitted the situation could be awkward at times because of the difference in how his show was styled compared to previous iterations.

    “In the past, I was always able to interact with my listeners. But in this situation there were a lot of people – and I’m not even saying if they were right or wrong – that, because the station was so right-wing, didn’t want me there,” Malone said. “It would have been too risky to take phone calls. I didn’t want to have a show where I’m arguing with people. Some of the emails and texts were pretty vicious. But that’s part of life these days.”

    He freely admitted he would have rather been in a different situation rather than walking into the proverbial lion’s den each weekday at 9 AM.

    “I was trying to make the best of the situation that was in front of me,” he shared. “I didn’t talk politics. Very rarely did I talk politics. I didn’t try to take phone calls. I developed, and I was enjoying it a lot, and I was interviewing a lot of great authors, a lot of great journalists and trying to do a show where I could entertain and inform the community in ways that don’t get a lot of attention anymore. We had built up quite a following of authors and journalists and present community-type stuff, and I feel good about it, so I’m still proud of what I accomplished there, but I just wish it had ended a little differently.”

    After spending more than three decades in commercial radio, it would be easy to question what the future might hold for Jimmy Malone. He joked that he’ll have the time to decide what the next opportunity looks like for his radio career.

    “Without saying too much, I’m sure there’ll be other opportunities in radio,” Malone stated. “I’m lucky that I wasn’t like two years into the business with no savings, so I’m able to do some things differently if necessary. But if the right opportunity comes along, I’d love to still be a voice in the community. And if it doesn’t come along, I’ll be grateful for the 30-something years that I had. Most don’t get that opportunity.”

    With WTAM 1100 ending The Jimmy Malone Show, it will give the Cleveland host more time to focus on his scholarship fund. The college scholarships are awarded to Cleveland-area students with financial need who have a positive outlook on life and who have been accepted at an accredited college. More than 300 students have been helped by the fund Malone established in 1993, with recipients featuring an 85% graduation rate. Currently, 75 students receive four-year scholarships from the Jimmy Malone Scholarship Program.

    “That’s my passion,” he said. “I might just want to spend more time mentoring the students. I get a lot out of that.”

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