ESPN college football and Prime Video NFL Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit is adding more content to his plate, but this project appears to be more fun than work. Herbstreit and his golden retriever, Ben, who has become an internet and television sensation in recent years, will team up for a new show called, ‘Walks with Ben.’
“Ben and I are doing something new this fall!” Herbstreit posted on X. “We’re calling it, ‘Walks with Ben.’ Ben and I will take a walk each week with a special guest. During the season we get a chance to be around so many interesting people in the football world- we thought it would be fun to invite some of them to come hang with Ben and I for a short walk. New episodes are coming this fall once the football season gets rolling. Hope you can take a break from Dynasty Mode in NCAA25 and check ’em out!”
Ben traveled with Herbstreit last football season and if you follow his social media accounts, you’d see many photos of the dog traveling to and from games, on the field and in the broadcast booth.
In the video explaining ‘Walks with Ben,’ Herbstreit refers to Ben as ‘The Chief Happiness Officer of Football.’
Ben is a certified emotional support animal for Herbstreit. He got his ESA license and red vest late last year which allows him to join Herbstreit in more places, including many hotels that would not typically permit pets.
Ben and I are doing something new this fall! We're calling it "Walks with Ben." Ben and I will take a walk each week with a special guest. During the season we get a chance to be around so many interesting people in the football world- we thought it would be fun to invite some of… pic.twitter.com/e2T6PGF3h5
This is what my life has become the last few weeks traveling with Ben. Here we are pregame on the field at The Swamp-I’m talkin with @GatorsFB Head Coach Billy Napier about the game and there’s Benny taking photos with his fans! ???????????? pic.twitter.com/y2RkadxScL
Stephen A. Smith talked on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show about his former partner Skip Bayless and the news that his time with FS1 and Undisputed is coming to an end. After Smith discussed the topic, ESPN released a statement as it related to Bayless and with that Smith felt he needed to re-address the topic. Over the weekend, Smith posted a 14-minute episode titled, ‘Stephen A’s Take: Skip Bayless’ FS1 run is over, but working at ESPN?’
“There’s been a lot of speculation about a possible return to ESPN for Skip Bayless,” Smith started out. “For ESPN’s part, they’ve stated the following in a release…just a couple of days ago, “We are set with the current First Take rotation and wish Skip the best on his future endeavors.’ I had no idea ESPN was going to issue that statement…I work for them. It’s not the other way around. They have the right to do what they want.”
Smith said the public has been asking him how he feels about the situation and what ESPN said in its statement and that is the reason he has put out the episode, to address the topic.
“First of all, I hope Skip Bayless’ career is not over,” he said. “But the first thing that I would say is that…I think Skip will land someplace. Why can’t we respect the fact that the brother is 73 years old? I mean, why are we talking about him like he’s 43? I’ve been number one in the mornings for 12 years. Some have said I’m the number one talent in sports media. I leave that for other people to decide. I don’t get caught up in all of that. I pay attention to ratings and revenue. I leave the rest for all of y’all to deal with. But I’m 56. I can assure you; I don’t believe for one second, I’m going to be in that position when I’m 73 years old. So why is it that he has to be viewed as failing?”
Later, Smith referred back to the statement made by ESPN and talked about what was said in it and whether or not he agreed with it.
“Had they asked me, I would have said the same thing that ESPN said,” he said. “Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith together as partners, working across from each other on a debate show is over. It’s been over. And this is not the first time I’ve said it. There’s no negativity or shade being thrown on Skip Bayless. I have moved on. When I arrived on First Take, it was courtesy of Skip Bayless. And for those out there who say he wants to say he saved my career; I got no problems with it. Because even though I was back by the time he asked me to come on First Take, I was restricted to radio. I wasn’t allowed on television. And if it wasn’t for Skip Bayless giving me the opportunity along with Jamie Horowitz, who knows where I’d be.”
Smith would later add that this has nothing to do with his personal relationship with Bayless or how he feels about him and the role he played in Smith’s career.
“‘m not throwing any shade or anything on Skip Bayless,” he said. “I’ll always have love for him. He’ll always be a brother to me. But I’m not telling you anything that anybody hasn’t heard me say before. I’m past all of that. And me connecting and reigniting things with Skip Bayless is not what I want my future to be. I wish him well. I want him to land on his feet. If he ever needs my help in any other way, I’m happy to help him.”
Another weekend has now passed without Howard Eskin returning to the 94WIP airwaves. Eskin, who would normally host from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET Saturday mornings, missed his third straight week since a July 1 news story revealed he had been banned from both Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies play, and from the Sixers’ practice facility after an investigation found he made an unwanted advance toward a female Aramark employee in May at a Phillies game.
It had been previously reported Eskin had a preplanned vacation the first week and last weekend was the final show for Glen Macnow who retired after 31 years. BSM reached out to Audacy for comment, but no information was given about Eskin’s future.
WIP owner, Audacy, and the Phillies investigated the accusation and found it to be worthy of consequences. The two companies decided to ban Eskin from the ballpark for the rest of the Phillies’ season. The 76ers would later also ban Eskin from the team’s training facility.
In addition to his hosting duties at WIP, Eskin, 73, is also a part of the Philadelphia Eagles Radio Network broadcasts as the sideline reporter. Eskin has not commented on the incident since it was first reported.
Howard Eskin started in radio in 1972, became a sports anchor at KYW-TV in 1982 and hosted the first sports program on WIP in 1986.
Thom Brennaman, who has not worked for a major broadcasting outlet since he uttered a homophobic slur in front of a hot mic on FOX Sports Ohio in 2020 while calling a Cincinnati Reds game, has been hired by The CW to call its nationally televised college football games. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic was first to report the story.
As the second game of a Reds doubleheader against the Royals was about to start in Kansas City on August 19, 2020, Brennaman could be heard saying, “One of the f*g capitals of the world,” before beginning the broadcast. He was fired after the incident by both the Reds and by FOX Sports.
Brennaman, 60, had worked for FOX Sports for almost 25 years calling baseball and football games for the network. He had been the voice of the Reds for the previous 15 years and is the son of longtime Reds voice Marty Brennaman.
In the report from Marchand, he says Brennaman told him he had previously spoken with a couple of major league teams about broadcasting positions and six or seven agents, none of whom had any interest in working with him.
Marchand also reported Brennaman’s first game will be the Idaho State at Oregon State game on August 31 and that he will work mostly in the ACC the rest of the season.
Radio’s advantage is supposed to be that it’s live and local. Monday through Friday that case can be made. Weekends though are a different story.
If we hadn’t been launching this website last week, this would’ve been the focus of my column last Monday. I heard a lot of stations last Saturday night not ready to meet the moment locally when an assassination attempt was made on Donald Trump. Many relied on syndicated programming, and some ran shows that had zero to do with the biggest story in the world.
Addressing this topic again didn’t require having to wait long. Joe Biden announced Sunday on X that he was exiting the race for President. TV networks quickly pivoted to cover the story, but no outlet was better for coverage than X. Talent actively shared their opinions to the news. Videos and podcasts delivered real-time reactions. X CEO Linda Yaccarino even pointed out how the X platform was nearly twenty minutes ahead of television with its coverage.
After the news broke, I dropped in on twenty news/talk radio stations to see how they were adjusting in real time to the biggest news in America. Many ran ABC News, CBS News, Fox News Radio, and play-by-play. A two-hour health show, Frontlines of Freedom, and a taped local show aired on others. WMAL, WBT, WBEN, and KFI were all live with local talent discussing the news. Great job by those outlets. ABC, CBS, and Fox News radio also sounded excellent with their on-air coverage.
Two weeks in a row the biggest news in America has unfolded on a Saturday and Sunday. Each time, radio had a bare local presence. Meanwhile, podcasts, video shows/reactions, and social media discussions were readily available, and television moved into content quickly.
Remote technology has made it easier than ever to broadcast. It shouldn’t be hard to connect a host and get on to the air. Gary and Shannon on KFI were broadcasting that way because you could hear a dog barking in the background. Listeners will tolerate a show working out of the studio in an instant if it means being able to hear the people they know, trust, and enjoy during times of importance.
Radio stations train their audiences to think of them first for when big moments happen, but if news breaks on the weekend, we’re not exactly ready to deliver on that promise. Each time these situations pop up, we create more opportunity for podcasts, and social media to own the conversation. If that continues to happen, the eventual question becomes ‘why do I need radio?’
Increasing expenses for weekend programming may be a tough pill to swallow for market managers and executives. But can you afford to have your station sound out of touch when a major story breaks? I’m not suggesting that your weekend schedule should be live all the time. However, you must have a breaking news strategy, and react quickly to breaking news.
This applies by the way to sports and music stations too. Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins passed away on a Friday night. Lakers great Kobe Bryant, former Titans QB Steve McNair, and former ESPN broadcasters Stuart Scott, and Chris Mortensen all died on the weekend. Did your brand meet the moment and feature a local talent discussing those events or were you voice tracking or relying on syndication?
A plan of attack has to be in place in advance to properly execute. Which talent is on call if major news breaks? Who’s the engineer, and producer/board operator responsible for getting the station on the air? Which clock gets used, and how do we make sure spots get in so traffic isn’t doing make goods on Monday? Who’s handling social media to alert the audience that we’re live, and welcoming their feedback?
The program director, market manager, and key members of a team must be on the same page, and accessible. Enjoying the weekend off is what we all prefer, but news has no regard for our feelings or off time. If things unfold, you have to adjust, and quickly. If you live for being on the air or running a radio station, this should excite you. Breaking news means increased audience interest, and whether it shows up in the form of a ratings spike or not, this is what great performers live for.
Communication is key to meeting the moment, especially on the weekends. Judging from the past two, radio managers need to have a bigger conversation about their plan of attack. We’re making it far too easy for podcasts, social media, and television to attract an audience, and radio to become forgotten.
There are a lot of research studies out there lately examining how the news audience gets their news in 2024, and you don’t need those numbers to know that people are using social media and the internet, and their use of traditional news media — radio, TV, newspapers, town crier – is steadily decreasing. That’s not, you know, news.
Things are not how they were when many of you began your careers in the news media, and it’s not just because of consolidation or cluelessness by those in charge 20 years ago. It was inevitable. New technology, more efficient technology, the world on a device that fits in your pocket, barriers to entry smashed into tiny pieces. Anyone and everyone can be “news media.”
We’ve seen how that plays out. Division, information of questionable provenance, lies passed off as truth, opinion passed off as fact, ethics out the window… and some very good reporting, all mashed together in addictive form. What’s true and what’s false is no longer universally accepted. Traditional media has been demonized by Donald Trump and is now being criticized by Democrats as well for normalizing Trumpist behavior and how they covered the Biden candidacy’s implosion. In a post-truth world, news is in the eye of the beholder.
Reading all the studies, I wonder if we’re looking at this the wrong way. The news media are hyper-critical of themselves, and for many, deservedly so, but the public just doesn’t want the news, at least the news as it used to be delivered. The audience wants its opinions validated; a lesson Fox News figured out years ago. They believe what they want to believe, and they don’t react well to anything that runs counter to those beliefs. You can produce absolutely bulletproof, accurate, important news, and the market for it ain’t what it used to be.
Great investigative reporting is more likely to be challenged and belittled by people who just don’t want to believe it; it was disheartening the other day when Julie K. Brown, the Miami Herald reporter who broke the Jeffrey Epstein scandal story and is pretty much the expert on that case, had randoms on X/Twitter dismissing her latest posts on the subject because, well, it wasn’t what they wanted to hear. Scientists are challenged by anonymous clowns with no credentials. People post rumors as fact on Facebook, and no amount of correction in the comments is enough for them.
What’s the answer? The business answer would be, of course, to give the people what they want, and if that’s a pile of clickbait and politically slanted garbage, so be it. That should send shivers down your spine, unless you’re already doing that kind of “product.” There’s another way. The missing element for most of what’s being presented as news today is trust. Confidence.
Even the New York Times and Washington Post have fallen into the trap of doing what they think the public wants – or, equally bad, access journalism that pulls punches to a comical extent — rather than reinforce their long-established positions as trusted, accurate reporting. It’s gotten bad enough that I keep asking myself why I’m even subscribing anymore. I can’t quite pull the trigger on cancellation, but there’s at least one or two stories every week that push me to the brink.
There used to be value in radio stations grabbing the “heritage news station” position in a market, the station that everyone in town knows to turn to in an emergency and for the best news coverage; today, most of those stations push their opinion programming and news is at best secondary. And you used to have dominant local TV news operations that had the same trust, but they’ve all devolved into features and weather reports.
Which leaves a huge void for being the go-to outlet, no matter which medium, for the unvarnished truth. The larger audience, by gravitating towards less reliable sources, may not want that, but that’s what’s missing, and someone could try establishing themselves as trustworthy and accurate. If the heritage outlets have abdicated that position, it’s there for the taking. Society is better when people are better informed, but if that’s not motivation enough for you, it’s a business opportunity, too. With all the Nazis and dimwits flooding social media, sponsors prefer to be placed next to respectable, well-regarded content. That’s what they mean by brand safety.
Be smarter than the competition. You can tell your grandchildren that when American society was falling apart, you were standing up for the truth. Or you can change the subject. It’s up to you.
There are three things you can count on at trade conferences. 1) Excessive calorie intake. 2) Excessive name forgetfulness. 3) Excessive information overload. I experienced all three recently at a conference for non-profit radio fundraising, and I’ll share lessons we can apply to the brand and programming departments of commercial radio.
The first two conference guarantees, food and names, create smiles and bonding opportunities. The third one, information overload, seems to plague most of us because we don’t have a plan to execute and share the knowledge with our staff. Those ideas remain in the notebook, an app, or an email recap. A solution that works for me is to focus on one idea from each session. I’m more likely to work on one challenge in a category than five or seven items.
When I left the Vidare Creative Fundraising 24 conference last week in Franklin, TN, the post-conference realities hit me. I had pages of great ideas destined for the rarely opened files of my Notes app.
Here’s one thing from a few of the fundraising presenters I found adaptable to the commercial radio brands, no matter the format. Reminder: these featured speakers talked to a crowd of non-profit radio development and programming leaders.
Jared Mitchell, Senior Director of Radio and Donor Care at Convoy of Hope, presented a session called “Between the Asks.” One of his slides included nine simple questions for the development team to use on the phone when nurturing these relationships. Questions like, “How did you first hear about the ministry?”
It got me thinking about all those radio remotes and events we’ve done to connect with people. It’s a starter question for your street team. “When did you start listening to Q100?” Here’s the bonus: “Oh, you don’t listen? Well, let me tell you about this radio station.”
I know what my radio comrades are thinking right now. “Uh, what street team?” or “Ron, do you think they’ll engage with the person who walks up to your tent at the county fair and ask them a question about their listening habits?” Okay. Good point. Show them how to do it.
Paul Goldsmith, one of Vidare Creative’s partners, presented Four Key Strategies for the room of fundraisers. He immediately grabbed our attention with the classic video of radio icon Paul Harvey speaking to a room of Capital Cities/ABC leaders in 1992.
“Radio people, in their preoccupied haste, have been letting go of the might and majesty of the well-spoken word,” said Harvey. The remainder of the clip is Harvey sharing examples of his mastery of the spoken word. Goldsmith challenged radio to improve the presentation of the word.
I’m on record saying one of the most underrated attributes of the modern radio disc jockey is using sentence fragments and non-sequiturs to connect with a person listening on a car radio or through an app or smart speaker. This art is created in a limited timeframe to communicate an idea. The artist attempts to paint pictures or make mundane and repetitive thoughts more memorable to the listener. Are we encouraging our on-air talent, no matter the format, to respect the power of words?
Timothy Smith, president of Non-Profit DNA, shared some tremendous points for fundraisers and salespeople. But the drop-the-mic moment for me was the 8th point in his presentation: Friends Don’t Need a Script.
Nurturing the relationship allows me to make the pitch personal and not rely on a planned presentation. This is the beauty of the bond the talent shares with their audience. It reminds me of the classic bit Ron Chapman did at KVIL Dallas in the late ‘80s when he asked the audience to send him $20. There was no explanation of why he wanted the money. A few days later, he had $240,000 and asked the audience to stop sending the checks to the station. That’s trust. No script.
Matt Mundt, a digital marketing strategist, reminded us Meta wants to reach a broader audience, but he focuses on brand fans. It seems simple, but in our fragmented entertainment and audio choices, do we understand our fan base and where to find them if we’re trying to connect to Metallica fans?
Beth Bacall, Media Personality with Salem Media Group, shared a word bubble slide in her presentation about the needs of on-air talent during a fundraiser. The big words echoed by the talent who participated in her research were Freedom, Focus, Reward, and Feedback. That’s what they want from management when they’re on the air begging for money. I’m certain every talent in every radio format would agree with those words.
Joe Paulo, President/CEO of Hope Media Group, presented How to Fail in Five Easy Steps. One of the failure steps is to Focus Only on What Works Today. He clarified this with a positive spin when he presented it as focusing on continuous improvement. When traditional over-the-air fundraising slows down, where else is the organization finding revenue opportunities?
In the branding and content categories, are we thinking about what we should change when it’s working? At what point does the Hollywood report need to change, even if it’s working?
Finally, there was the goodie bag we received at the conference. When I reached into the bag, I felt a coffee mug and thought, “Great, another logoed coffee mug for the cabinet.” It had a straightforward question: Have you talked to a donor today?
This question should be on every desk and in every studio. Have you talked to a listener or a follower today? It might be difficult to get your morning show to start calling people in your database and thanking them for listening. But you could start by sending a birthday card to listeners in your database and stuff it with a Dairy Queen or Starbucks gift card. Maybe, just maybe, that DJ or host would be willing to sign the birthday card. Baby steps.
We’re in the midst of the political season which means a lot of polling. Surveys aren’t perfect and in fact, are getting harder to conduct all the time.
In this column, I want to explain the concept of sampling error with respect to ratings. You’ve probably heard about measures of sampling error in political polls, for example, a poll result might be plus or minus four percentage points. If that poll shows candidate A with 51 percent and candidate B with 49 percent of the potential vote, the odds are very good that candidate A is somewhere between 47 and 55 percent, while candidate B is between 45 and 53 percent. In other words, a statistical tie.
What about ratings? How close to “reality” are Nielsen Audio’s estimates?
What you need to keep in mind is the size of the estimates. When two candidates face off for an elective office, both will get fairly high percentages, even in a landslide situation (a landslide might mean the winner received 60 percent of the vote). For radio, we’re looking at AQH ratings, which are tiny. If one of your stations is pulling a 0.5 rating in a key demo/daypart combination, that’s good, but the sampling error, on a percentage basis, can be huge.
I’m not a statistician (nor have I played one on TV or stayed at a Holiday Inn Express recently for those of you who remember old ad campaigns), but here’s the simple formula:
What does it mean? In this simple version, p is your rating and q is 100 minus your rating (100 meaning everyone or 100 percent of the population being studied), while n is the sample size. Take the square root of that result and multiply it by 1.96 to get a 95 percent confidence interval. This means you are 95 percent certain that reality is within the result of the little equation. If you’re willing to go with a 90 percent confidence level meaning a little less certainty, multiply the result times 1.65. If you don’t want to multiply, the result will be about a 68 percent confidence level. The Nielsen calculation is far more sophisticated than the simple version here and takes other factors into account to reduce the amount of sampling error.
Let’s try an example with the simple equation above. Use a calculator on your phone, your PC, or in my case, my 40-year-old solar-powered KMC-7000 calculator, purchased at the K-Mart of Okemos, Michigan when I started my Ph.D. program at Michigan State in September 1983. It still works perfectly, although K-Mart is just about dead unless you live in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Suppose your station had a 0.5 rating with P12+ (let’s use a big demo here for more sample) and the sample size was 2,000 (reasonable in a PPM or bigger diary market). The 95 percent confidence interval would be around 0.3 rating points. We would be 95 percent sure that the true estimate for this station would be a rating between 0.2 and 0.8.
If you put that in percentage terms, we’re looking at plus or minus around 60 percent! How many other stations are in that range in your market? While the Nielsen version will cut that down to perhaps 0.2 or so, it’s still big. Then consider the demos that matter to you, perhaps men 25-54 for a classic rock outlet, or persons 18-49 for a CHR. The sample size is smaller, so the error will be larger.
You might take exception to results like these, but the fact is that unlike political polls that typically have just two choices, listeners have lots of choices when it comes to radio stations. Further, listening levels, whether you refer to them as PUMM or PUR, are low. In most PPM markets, the listening levels in key demos at peak times are in single digits, perhaps as low as a 5 rating, while diary market listening levels are typically higher. As I’ve always explained it, if the listening level is a 5, that means in any given quarter hour for that demo/daypart combination, 95 percent of the population is not listening to radio, which is simply 100 minus 95.
Nielsen does offer a Ratings Reliability Estimator for clients which calculates the sampling error at different confidence levels. I doubt anyone uses it, let alone can find it, but it is a requirement for Media Rating Council accreditation.
Here’s another twist in the simple equation. If you play with it a bit, you’ll discover that to cut the sampling error in half, you must quadruple the sample size. Sample size (the n or sample size in the denominator drives sampling error calculation) is what matters. In my example, to cut the sampling error in half from the ±0.3 I showed you, the sample size would have to be increased to 8,000. Perhaps hell will freeze over some day, but don’t count on Nielsen announcing a four-fold sample increase any time soon.
We can blame Nielsen for a lot of things, but not necessarily this one. Despite sky high cume ratings for radio usage and sometimes for individual stations (and you can do this sample calculation with cume ratings or persons), radio sells AQH ratings and persons, which are small numbers. Nielsen’s sample sizes are based on survey statistics as well as what the market will bear. Placing PPMs in a home is more expensive than diaries, even though PPM is now being used for both audio and video spreading the cost across a larger revenue base. If your company is a subscriber, it’s unlikely that the management wants to pay Nielsen more than they do today in return for a massive increase in sample size.
There’s more to sampling error than this short piece can cover, and you’d likely be bored reading it. I tell people to just go with whatever Nielsen reported. Radio is a tough enough business these days and having to consider that the top five or more stations may be statistically tied is one more headache you don’t want to think about.
To support the launch of the new Barrett Media, we’ve created a special series titled “20 Brands In 20 Days.” Highlighting successful stations across the country in various formats by conducting conversations with their brand leaders. Up next is Audacy’s Scott Roddy. Scott is Regional VP of West Coast Programming and PD of KSONSan Diego, the station we are highlighting today.
Jeff Lynn: I want to start by acknowledging the dedication of your morning team, John and Tammy. In my previous role, I had the misfortune to compete against them, and their unwavering commitment to their audience was truly admirable.
Scott Roddy: Ha. KSON is a legendary station, and I’m so humbled by the opportunity to be here. You talked about great brands, and it’s the people that make this brand, starting with John and Tammy. Of course, it’s fabulous that they actually like each other because how many morning shows have we worked with where they can’t stand each other, but they care about each other off the air and on the air.
JL: They are great at activating your audience
SR: I always say this, and I know it’s become a cliche, but the Country audience activates better than any other format.
The way that we turn out our listeners for events, charities, and anything Country. It’s almost like Oldies was back in the 80s and 90s; it really could turn out the audience, and John and Tammy exemplify that, and they’re also so willing to work. You and I have both worked with so many big shows that think they can go in, fake it, and don’t have to prep. This show is the exact opposite.
Country wins on the street, and I got here and said, when’s the last time you guys did a street campaign? It’s been years. Would you be willing to do one again? They’re like, oh my gosh, absolutely.
It’s always summer here, right? So, we’re doing a six-month “100,000 High Five” tour, and it’s just their mission to meet 100,000 Country fans over six months. They bribe listeners to meet them, and we’re doing the Breakfast Burrito Bonanza this month. We’ll do Taco Tuesdays next month, Noodles For Nurses, Falafel For Firefighters, and we’ll end up with free parking lot pop-up concerts that are just free for a high five. They go every week to our follower’s workplace; we’re at construction sites.
We’ve been to a couple of rehabilitation homes and hospitals, and they do high fives and deliver lunch.
They care so much about their listeners and followers, and that’s why they’re so successful—and I’m not kidding. We had Matt Stell in a parking lot pop-up concert last year in a very small town.
We ended up having to close off half a block of the street. At a minimum, 600 people showed up to see Matt Stell play on top of a double-decker bus. The line to meet John and Tammy was longer than the line to meet Matt.
It’s really their magic. They’re the best at having conversations with artists rather than doing interviews, and they can lead a master class on that.
John And Tammy
JL: It’s not just the big things like opening days at the Padres. I see them out everywhere. I think that’s amazing, and there are a lot of stations, especially in markets your size and up and a little bit down, that say, yeah, we’re PPM. We don’t need to do that.
SR: It does work, and people are missing out if they’re not doing it. Here’s my philosophy, and I believe that a hundred percent.
Even when you live in a really big market, you still feel like you’re in a small town because that’s how we live. That’s our lifestyle.
I never program for meters; we do tactical things, but I hear that frequently from major market programmers. Oh, I’ve got to do this for the meter. I’ve got to do that.
If you have a strategically sound brand, you’ll activate your audience, and that’s what your advertisers are buying. The transactional business is out of my control. Nielsen is completely out of any of our control, right? So, if we can activate our audience for our advertisers and show them 600 people in a parking lot, we can sell out an 1800-person show in a couple of days where we do a concert on the beach for our Leading Ladies show.
I hear this frequently. Well, it sounds like a small market, but our listeners aren’t going. I live in San Diego, so radio shouldn’t be doing this. Yeah, right.
Think about New York City. You’ve got these major shows that are syndicated. They’re on TV. They’ve got a great social media presence. Can you fathom what it would do to their fans if they showed up at their office with a plate of 30 tacos? Hey, y’all just want to give a quick high five.
That’s how you make connections—you really, truly make connections. And I don’t mind being labeled small market thinking or small market-minded at all for that. I think that all of us are simple, very simple people. We all want the same thing: to be loved.
JL: Speaking of activating brands, Country artists are great when it comes to partnering with radio.
SR: So many want to activate with you, help you with the listeners, and help themselves. They can make musical hits. We make artists, and we tell an artist’s story. And when you have an A-level artist who acts like Jelly Roll, who will credit terrestrial radio for his beginning, he is one of the most willing artists to meet with listeners.
I can’t tell you what I’m working on right now, but a very special nationwide event is coming up for Audacy with an A-level act that you wouldn’t find in any other format. In no other format would this happen at all. And it’s all about building the artist’s brand because they’re willing to be active and help. They will help radio tell their story.
JL: Then you get to the guys who don’t have to do it anymore but still do. Garth Brooks is still willing to do all that stuff, too. Maybe not as much as his first Fanfare, but he’s still out there with his sleeves rolled up doing the stuff.
SR: Luke Bryan is the other one. Luke is still so very good to radio. During the pandemic, we had no shows, but we still wanted to make sure that our audiences could connect with the biggest stars. And I remember Luke doing a 12-person meet and greet on Zoom. He was in his pickup truck. No kidding. I believe he was at Home Depot or Walmart with his family.
And it was so great because then it was like, Hey KJ, y’all, head on in. I’m just going to do this really quick. He got on there and met with these 12 listeners. They’ll never forget it. It was so magical.
JL: How important is new music and new music discovery to you?
SR: We can’t out new new. I just can’t do it because of the pure plays. It’s almost impossible to out new what’s happening right now. But we can’t ignore it. And we should always be in the moment.
When there are these great event records, we absolutely should be on them. What we’re really good at, and I’ll go to my grave saying this, is creating the artist’s brand and sharing the artist’s story.
I think you can and should be new. You should take reasonable chances, right? But you also have to remember that you’re the coalition of your format and the filter you put new music through. I think that’s critical.
JL: San Diego is a melting pot. How do you stand out? Where do you find Country fans?
I think this is true for a Country programmer in any market. Our listeners are outside of the circle. They’re outside of that ring, right? We are the suburban station. We’re not the inner-city station. And so that’s where we focus. And that’s where our listeners are.
Our listeners are going to chain restaurants. Our listeners are putting family first. That’s always been the same and always will be in the Country..
It’ll take you an hour to reach the northernmost part of the County of San Diego, and we’ll go there. We’ll absolutely drive up there. In exchange for a high five, we’ll do Taco Tuesdays.
We’ll go down to Chula Vista, which is South. That’s a suburb on the border. We love to go where our listeners are, and I think that’s what’s exciting about having what people would call a small-market programmers’ mentality.
I want our listeners to be involved and engaged with us and activate that audience for our advertisers, wherever they may be. They’re just going to go, hey, cool. We love, we love John and Tammy.
One of the places that we stopped was a very small-town fire station. George Birge came with us on that trip and surprised the firefighters. They asked if we’d come out and bring them some tacos.
We said, sure, we’ll be there. How many tacos do we need to bring? We walked in. George Birge is with us, and he sits down on a fire truck and starts playing a couple of songs. Something they will talk about for a long time.”
JL: How do you manage your teams? Keeping them motivated, happy, and performing at a high level?
SR: It’s about having each other’s backs, especially for leaders. If your people know that you’re invested in them, it’s age-old. And it’s so true, but now more than ever.
We have to show how valued our employees and the people in this industry are today because we’re all doing so many different things. When I started, I went into the studio, pulled the 45s for an hour, and pulled the carts I had to play in my first hour. That was the most prep work I did.
It’s so important that we acknowledge the good work our teams are doing because everybody cares.
And they really do.
JL: Thanks, Scott. Appreciate your time.
SR: I’m happy you thought of KSON.
Listen to KSON here. Find them on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Connect with Scott Roddy by email here.
While Boomer Esiason was immersed in the serenity of a golf course in Arizona, WFAN had a problem hovering over the station. Don Imus, the morning show host for nearly two decades on the all-sports radio station, had made sexist and racist remarks on the air about the Rutgers University women’s college basketball team. Imus was initially suspended and then fired, causing the station to expeditiously have to figure out a new direction.
Esiason had called WFAN that morning to make a donation to the annual Imus Radiothon, and board operator Eddie Scozzare answered. Scozzare informed Esiason that the show was not taking any calls, revealing that the station had just discovered the termination of Imus’ employment. Esiason was in a state of shock. Upon the end of the call, he returned to playing golf and then discovered about 30 seconds later that his phone was ringing.
Joel Hollander, chief executive officer of CBS Radio, and Steve Rosner, Esiason’s agent, were calling to gauge his interest in hosting the morning show on WFAN. Upon concurring to the proposition, the station added Craig Carton and debuted the new Boomer & Carton program in early September. Seventeen years later, Esiason is still working at WFAN and recently signed a contract extension to become the longest-tenured morning show host in station history. The distinction is something he does not think about until someone brings it up to him, instead focusing on his daily responsibilities behind the microphone.
“It’s got to be upbeat, it’s got to be positive, [and] it’s got to be a lot of laughs,” Esiason said of the morning show. “There are going to be times where we’re going to get into some heavy crap that’s not a lot of fun to talk about, but at the end of the day, you can’t just let a particular subject go by the wayside and not talk about it just because you’re uncomfortable about it. You just have to give your opinion, and hopefully you’re not pissing off too many people.”
Q1: Kickoff on the Gridiron and Behind the Mic
From the beginning of his football career, Esiason was cognizant of the responsibilities of media members and respected the work they did. While playing quarterback at the University of Maryland, he interned for two summers at WJZ-TV in Baltimore where he cut tape for sports anchor Gayle Gardner.
Esiason studied radio, television and film while also starting at quarterback for the Maryland Terrapins, conversing with accomplished reporters such as Michael Wilbon and John Feinstein. As the leader of the offense on the field, speaking to media members was something he presumed natural. Once he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, he continued to showcase his talent on the field while also staying involved in media ventures as well.
When Esiason was traded to the New York Jets in 1993, WFAN management asked if he wanted to appear on the Mike and the Mad Dog show on Fridays at 5 p.m. After completing his time playing in the NFL, WFAN allowed him to contribute to Imus in the Morning every Monday during the football season ahead of broadcasting Monday Night Football with Al Michaels on ABC.
“As a player, I think I was very accommodating [and] understood some of the issues that were on the other side of the camera, meaning that there were deadlines, there were storylines that needed to be created and met and questions that needed to be answered,” Esiason said, “so I tried to be as open as I possibly could be and be understanding even when people were in judgment of either my playing or something that I may have said and never really took it too seriously.”
By the time he was added to the weekday prime lineup at WFAN, Esiason had established himself in the sports media industry. Over the years, he hosted his own program on the Madison Square Garden Network and was calling Monday Night Football broadcasts on Westwood One Radio with Marv Albert, in addition to studio analysis on CBS with The NFL Today.
Q2: In-Game Adjustments
Nearly a decade into a fruitful partnership, everything changed when Carton was arrested for securities and wire fraud. Following his arrest, Carton subsequently resigned from the program and was later sentenced to 42 months in prison and three years’ probation. By the time he earned a spot back on WFAN in afternoon drive and continued to make amends with his family, friends and colleagues, the station had hired Gregg Giannotti as a new co-host on the morning show with Esiason.
“When you play for the Jets, the Cardinals and the Bengals, otherwise known as the ‘Bermuda Triangle of the NFL,’ you kind of learn how to deal with adversity, and sometimes adversity smacks you right in the face when you least expect it,” Esiason said, “and I don’t necessarily know that I would have ever thought that this was going to happen the way that it unfolded and how it happened, but I just relied on my instincts to not really show any sort of crazy emotion, tried to have a little fun with it in terms of not understanding what’s happening but yet the situation I found myself in.”
Esiason described the months leading up to Giannotti debuting in morning drive as similar to an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The station initially wanted him to host in afternoon drive, something he did not want since his name was on the morning show. Esiason had known Giannotti would be a star from a young age and presumed that he could replace Mike Francesa in afternoons. Making his return to WFAN after hosting morning drive with Brian Jones on CBS Sports Radio, Giannotti demonstrated his skillset and did not interfere with Esiason continuing to illustrate his strengths and esoteric perspectives.
“It just took a little while for him to get a little bit comfortable with me on the air,” Esiason said, “and once we finally hit our sweet spot, we realized that this was going to be the guy, and I was looking forward to it.”
Since the Boomer & Gio morning show officially began in January 2018, the program continued the momentum of the last decade and realized success in the daypart. It was during that same year where Esiason ceded his Monday Night Football broadcasts, calling his final Super Bowl for Westwood One in 2018 alongside Kevin Harlan. Although he did not want to give up the job, he could perceive the travel scheduling wearing on him.
Esiason and Giannotti, along with anchor Jerry Recco, producer Al Dukes and board operator Eddie Scozzare, all contribute to the program and function as an outlet through which sports fans obtain both information and entertainment. Whether topics are pertaining to sports, personal life or scuttlebutt at the station, there is never a scarcity of content for the show.
“We’re doing over 10 shares,” Esiason said. “Those 10 shares haven’t been seen in radio for so long, and the fact that we’re able to continue to do that consistently is a testament to what we are doing and how we are doing it. So, this job is a great job, and I hope it’s reflected in the way that we go about it [with] the energy that we bring every single morning [and] the laughs.”
Q3: Establishing the Future
Although he was hesitant to divulge his multiyear extension publicly, Esiason acquiesced to the request made by Audacy New York market president Chris Oliviero. Esiason explained that while he did not want to reveal the news, Oliviero felt it was important to announce the contract and the pantheon in which it placed Esiason at the station.
Two weeks earlier, vice president of programming Spike Eskin officially departed WFAN and returned to SportsRadio 94WIP to host afternoon drive. Ryan Hurley was named the brand manager of WFAN and Infinity Sports Network in April as part of leadership changes at Audacy over the last few months.
“It’s interesting because he came from ESPN which has a different way of doing things and their expectations and what they allow their on-air talent to do where here it’s a little bit more of a free-flowing thing,” Esiason said. “He has fit in seamlessly as far as me and Gio are concerned.”
In signing the contract extension with Audacy and WFAN, Esiason concurrently stepped away from his role on The NFL Today on CBS. Within his announcement, he framed the decision as being more from CBS Sports than him, which occurred shortly after David Berson assumed responsibilities as president and chief executive officer of the Paramount Global division. Sean McManus, the chairman of CBS Sports who led the division for 27 years, retired in April.
Tyler Hale, the senior vice president of studio production at CBS Sports, was involved in both The NFL Today and CBS Sports Network, the platform on which Boomer & Gio is simulcast. Last November, Esiason informed him that the upcoming Super Bowl would be his last, explaining that CBS is not slated to broadcast the league championship game again until the 2027 season.
While he was in Las Vegas, to fulfill his media responsibilities, he said goodbye to everyone and realized that his time on The NFL Today was over once the game concluded. Esiason expressed to Hale he wanted to do right by his colleagues at WFAN, and he commended CBS for its “first-class” treatment of the Boomer & Gio show during Super Bowl week broadcasting from the Wynn Las Vegas.
“I’ll miss the opportunities to be with all those great people over there, but 22 years is long enough,” Esiason said. “They need some young blood. They got young blood in there now, and they’re not going to be missing me too much, so I’ll be able to sit in judgment of them now on a Monday morning if they make a mistake, so I can’t wait to do that.”
Q4: Expressing What Matters Most
While Esiason will have more time to himself, he remains motivated to continue broadcasting on WFAN and Audacy Sports stations while raising funds and awareness for cystic fibrosis through the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Esiason’s son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with the genetic disease two years after his birth, and doctors informed Esiason and his wife that he could potentially have a chance to go to college.
“I tried to do everything that I possibly could to put a face on that disease,” Esiason said, “and here we are some $200 million later, which has taken me away from a lot of things that I could have been doing in my life, but I decided that that was going to be, first and foremost, my calling, and use my platform the best I can to raise as much money as I could and have the biggest impact I could on the disease.”
When Gunnar was graduating college and experiencing depression thinking he would need a double lung transplant, he started taking TRIKAFTA, a triple combination therapy that alleviated his symptoms, gave him energy and changed his life. At Gunnar’s wedding, the couple announced that they had succeeded in a natural pregnancy, leading to the birth of Esiason’s grandson, Casper. Esiason called TRIKAFTA a miracle for which his son was the epitome; however, it can be expensive for patients with the disease to stay alive. Part of the reason Esiason wants to stay on the air is to retain his platform and to give back, and he is grateful for his employers supporting his foundation over the years.
“Gunnar does get involved in our foundation,” Esiason said. “He does set the strategic path for us, although he does have another job and he’s doing his other job and raising his family, much like how I had a job but I also had to do something else to help and give back, and he feels very passionate about that, so I’m very proud of that, and it’s one of the reasons why I stay here.”
????☀️ Team Boomer takes pickleball out East! What a day!
On July 13th, we had an incredible day of pickleball at Southampton Youth Services! The event was a huge success with amazing raffle items, awesome Team Boomer merch, and some very special guests! ????????
— Boomer Esiason Foundation (@cysticfibrosis) July 17, 2024
Although Esiason has concerns about certain aspects of the sports media industry, including the installment of AM radio in motor vehicles and how podcasting will impact live radio moving forward, he understands that there is an appetite for the content. Remaining in morning drive with Giannotti and other responsibilities with Audacy, including delivering Audacy Sports Minute updates and hosting a gambling show with Mike Valenti, are ventures he does not take for granted and looks forward to continuing. Sports talk and the dissemination of opinion, he presumes, will thrive for many years to come, and he is euphoric to remain a part of it on WFAN.
“I just hope this goes on for as long as I enjoy it, and hopefully it’s going to be maybe another four or five years, maybe it’s another two or three years,” Esiason said. “I’m not sure, but as long as I’m healthy, and as long as I’m mentally sharp and I’m still in it, then I will be in that seat, especially during the football season, pretty much every day.”
