For the first time, the NBA Draft was held over two nights. The first-round coverage in prime time on Wednesday night averaged 4.41 million viewers across ESPN and ABC which was down 11% from the first round in 2023. Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch reports the second night averaged just 895,000 viewers, down 25% from the 2023 second round and down 20% from the year before.
Thursday’s coverage was originally scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET, however, the coverage was moved to start at 4 p.m. ET due to the presidential debate.
The second-round coverage peaked at 1.23 million viewers from 6 p.m. ET to 6:15 p.m. ET when the Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James, the son of LeBron James. The younger James was taken with the 55th pick overall in the draft.
Lewis notes in his story, the 895,000 average viewers for day two of the NBA Draft was higher than the average viewers for the first round of both Major League Baseball’s draft (744,000) and the NHL’s draft (681,000).
How important is trust in media? If it matters, then radio is in strong shape for the future. Katz Radio surveyed 1,000+ adults 18+ and discovered the medium is the most-trusted. 79% scored radio as either very trustworthy or trustworthy, just ahead of newspapers (77%), 16% higher than TV and magazines, and 3x better than social media (28%).
So this should make a big difference for the radio industry, right?
Not exactly.
Data has previously shown radio’s reach, affordability, and trustworthiness, yet the advertising business remains bullish on social media and less on radio. The IAB shared in April that total digital video advertising spend, including Connected TV, social video, and online video, is projected to grow 16% in 2024, nearly 80% faster than total media overall. One glance at Statista, eMarketer, Marketing Charts, Magna, etc., and you’ll find ad spend on social media platforms soaring while radio battles to show growth.
Which begs the question, why are marketers so invested in social media if public trust in it continues to decline? Furthermore, why are media groups so focused on platforms they rent space on when those very platforms are taking their ad dollars and audience?
Traditional media helped social media grow by using their airwaves and resources to build it, only to get burned. Facebook has especially damaged brands that helped drive audience to their platform. Publishers felt the sting of referral traffic rapidly decline in 2023. Facebook followed that up by shutting down its news tab in 2024. Media brands which previously relied on the platform to refer traffic continue to struggle today.
Just ten days ago, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei wrote a column sharing how his brand’s referral traffic from Facebook declined from 30% two years ago to 1% in May. He cited another story of the Washington Post losing half of its audience since 2020. VandeHei’s message was clear, social media is dying as a reliable source for readers, and though great reporting matters, it’s getting harder to reach people.
Facebook isn’t the only outlet creating chaos. TikTok generates massive amounts of views but is under attack from the government over security concerns. YouTube viewership continues to rise, but for outlets that prioritize print, that doesn’t help much. X changed its algorithm, and has since created bigger headaches for brands. I recently reviewed a few client performances, and impressions, link clicks, reposts, and engagements were consistently down.
Knowing what we know about radio’s trust and dependability, and social media’s lack of it, why doesn’t anything change on the advertising end? I’m not suggesting social media should go away or not be a big part of the mix. It should. I use social media frequently, enjoy it, and know its value. But I also understand how frustrating and misleading it can be. Radio and TV have been framed as outdated and less sexy, yet they are dependable, deliver large audiences, and are advertiser friendly. Social getting 11.6% more while radio and TV fight for 1-3% is foolish.
I wish I could tell you this was going to get better. I don’t expect it will. Just last week X said it would limit live streaming to those who pay for premium subscriptions. Expect it to get more complicated moving forward. Video remains a hit on social platforms, so those doing quality video work should continue to be seen. That is of course until social media makes its next change and limits reach while raising costs once again.
At some point, traditional media has to ask ‘how vital is it to be on here as much as we are’, and advertisers may want to look at the feedback being shared by consumers. Social media is a giant space, so it’s going to earn its share of the advertising pie. But shouldn’t audience trust matter? If so, radio and TV might be worth a second look. If the audience values and trusts it, maybe it’s time advertisers did too.
The 2024 BNM Summit comes to Washington D.C. on September 4-5, 2024 live from the Jack Morton Auditorium at George Washington University. Professionals across news/talk media will be in attendance, and we’d like to include a few college students in the room too. To qualify for free tickets, email JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com with the code ‘FREE TIX’ in the subject line. You must be an active college student to qualify for the contest.
Jim Graci: Spending five decades in the radio industry seems impossible but Jim Graci loved his work and wanted to do nothing else. The veteran PD retired Friday, signing off at 104.5 WOKV in Jacksonville. I got to know Jim in Pittsburgh where he did a fantastic job at KDKA and 93.7 The Fan. He always conducted himself with class, led brands to success, and has earned the right to exit with his head held high. He now gets to sleep in, and enjoy life without chasing ratings and revenue. Congrats on a job well done my friend. You made a difference.
WFAN: Thirty seven years ago today, the nation’s first full-time all-sports radio station was launched in New York City. The Fan has featured some of the best talent in the industry during it’s history, and been a part of many memorable moments. Here’s to 37 more. Cheers, WFAN!
Jake Tapper and Dana Bash: Nearly 50 million people watched the Presidential debate on Thursday night. I was among them. Too often broadcasters inject themselves into the mix, but Tapper and Bash refrained from doing so. Instead, they stuck to the format. That allowed the audience to hear more of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Some wanted Tapper and Bash to challenge the candidates more, but they were given a plan to follow, executed it, and allowed the two men running for President to be the focus. We need more of that, not less. Krystina Alarcon Carroll wrote an excellent piece on it. Click here to check it out.
Barstool Sports: The One-Bite Pizza Festival returns on September 14, 2024 at Randall’s Island Park in New York City. 5,000 fans attended last year, despite mother nature trying to rain on Barstool’s event. Dave Portnoy and his team have created a major hit, reminding us of the value of live events. Sports media brands could be doing their own versions of this too if they weren’t so risk averse. Tickets range from $150 to $1500, and can be purchased here.
Reminder tickets go on sale for the greatest gathering of pizza in the history of the world at 10am. All proceeds on my end go to help rebuilding Santillo's which burned down in a fire last year. https://t.co/DbLZ1fPQuOpic.twitter.com/BThkkyre6H
NBC Sports: Artificial intelligence will be used more by outlets to support programming, but something feels wrong about NBC Sports using an AI version of Al Michaels on its Olympics coverage. It’s well documented that the two sides didn’t end their NFL partnership on a positive note, so to have this represent the next chapter of their relationship feels strange. It’s one thing when brands run voiceovers/voice tracking and you’re unsure if someone is live or taped. This time there is no suspense. You know Al is not there. Kudos to 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh’s afternoon show, which turned the NBC-Michaels story into good conversation.
590 The Fan KFNS: I haven’t worked for KFNS in 16 years so I don’t know the current regime but the decision to eliminate all local shows, which BSM reported first, is shortsighted and foolish. It won’t improve revenue or interest, and without talent, the brand’s sale value decreases. 590 has had 5-6 owners in 20 years, and the story is always the same, the station exists but can’t thrive. Owner Dave Zobrist blamed it on a lack of national business. That’s part of this problem. Sports radio’s top brands struggle to deliver national dollars. If you buy a low rated AM outlet, and expect national dollars to follow, you’re dead on arrival.
If you’re a sports fan, chances are you already know plenty about Bomani Jones. If you’re a fan of strong sports opinions, you definitely know about Bomani Jones and probably already seek out his content. I ‘ve always enjoyed hearing Jones’ takes on sports because I know no matter the topic, he’s put good thought into what he is saying and frankly he’s much smarter than I am (and most people for that matter). I saw some topics on one of his recent podcasts that made me want to tune in and do an eavesdropping feature on the June 24 episode of The Right Time with Bomani Jones.
Jones’ podcast is part of Wave Sports + Entertainment’s portfolio and has been since the last quarter of 2023. Wave is the group behind podcasts from the Kelce brother’s, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George.
His podcast, which he does with producer Sean Yoo, started out as a radio show for ESPN Radio in 2015. Today, Jones drops his show three times per week on all major platforms and hits on the hot topics in sports, as well as major social topics, pop culture and more.
On this episode, Jones starts with a movie recommendation for the 1984 Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense, which he said he watched because it was too hot to go outside in New York over the weekend. Jones said he did get out early to Morningside Park and even randomly ran into Browns quarterback Jameis Winston and his family.
“I don’t think either of us could believe that they were talking to the other in the place that they were in,” Jones said. “I have no idea why Jameis’ country ass was up on 116th street in Morningside, I have no clue. But he was there…Not the Empire State Building, not just walking around mid-town, not Times Square…the odds, very low.”
The heat led Jones to talk about his Sunday where he prefaced it by saying, “I’m going to be honest with you, at this time of year I’m not trying to watch more sports than is absolutely necessary.” However, stuck inside, he found the WNBA game between Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky.
Many have weighed in on the topic of the ‘rivalry’ between Clark and Reese and Jones wanted to talk about it, but he wanted to separate the basketball talk from the society and cultural talk. On the basketball side, Jones talked about how different the games are between men’s basketball and women’s basketball. “These are two different games,” he said. “Two very different games.”
And rather than acting like he had been a big WNBA fan for years, Jones openly admitted he knew very little about it. He wanted to talk about what he saw but wasn’t going to put himself out there as an expert when he was doing what most people were doing, which is taking in the product after having seen very little of it previously.
Jones noted that while the rivalry between Clark and Reese is being overly hyped, because of the positions they play, there is very little actual on-court interaction between the two. In the end, Jones noted in this game, “Both did great…everybody got what they needed out of it.”
As for the society and culture side of it, Jones had some advice for those trying to make this rivalry into something much more than it is. “Just don’t go too far,” he said. “We don’t need it to go all the way.” A simple sentence, but such a succinct point. These are two young women who are great at basketball, transitioning from college to the pros in a very short period of time. Maybe this doesn’t have to be a major cultural war every time they step on a court together.
After the topic wraps up, I loved how Jones and Yoo recapped it and wondered what negative topic people will pull from it and what people will rip into about the segment later on. You know it’s coming, so why not have a little fun with it.
The next topic was the Lakers introducing JJ Redick as their new head coach. I really appreciated how Jones started out this conversation. He named some other coaches that had done some broadcasting in addition to having been in coaching and some that had minimal coaching experience but had been broadcasters. One he mentioned was Steve Kerr, who he admitted he did not think would be a good head coach. His point as it related to Redick and how he would do as a head coach was simply, “I have no clue.”
Jones went on to compare Redick and LeBron James’ relationship to that of an apartment building owner and the building superintendent. He said Redick is the superintendent, who everyone sees as in charge, except for the building owner, who in this case is LeBron. “JJ knows who’s in charge, and it’s LeBron,” Jones said.
Jones added that “The idea that JJ has enough of a basketball brain to do a podcast with LeBron does not necessarily mean he has the basketball brain that LeBron thinks is necessary to coach him.” He added he thinks a lot of it will come down to Redick’s relationship with the rest of the roster, most importantly Anthony Davis (*note, this episode dropped before the Lakers drafted Bronny James).
Jones pointed out things Redick had said about AD when he was calling games for ESPN, noting he had brought up once that Davis only plays when he feels 100%. “Who we saw on television, did not seem like he would get along great with players…the podcast was different,” he added about Redick.
Jones said he sees the Pat Riley comparisons “with the nice suits, but that doesn’t sound like a basketball observation, that sounds like a vibe.”
Now that the two major sports topics were covered, the show takes a bit of a left turn as Jones and Yoo turn their attention to a segment called, ‘If You Haven’t Heard’ where audio clips of news stories are played, and Jones reacts. In this episode, the topics were about the world running out of soldiers and whether the United States could ever again implement a draft, how male politicians dress and an investigative report on pesticides being used on legal weed.
The show ends in great fashion and something a lot of podcasters forget about and that is interaction with the audience. Jones and Yoo had been engaging with their fans on YouTube throughout the show, but this final segment contained voicemails from listeners on the topic of a player people grew up hating. “A lot of haters calling in,” Yoo said.
Jones explained it was the brother of a friend of his brothers who hated Steve Kerr which made him think of this topic. The first person who called in was from Boston who had an irrational hatred for Tom Brady due to his fandom for Drew Bledsoe. The next was a guy who hated Paul Pierce because as a kid, the caller heckled Pierce at a camp and Pierce replied by making fun of his layup.
And then, in a wonderful surprise, our very own Demetri Ravanos, aka ‘Demetri The Greek,’ who is an Alabama grad, phoned in to talk about his hatred of Tommy Tuberville. Demetri said that while he doesn’t agree with much of anything Tuberville the politician has to say, “He could be in line, lock step with me politically, doing nothing but good for this country and I would still hate that motherf**er because he coached Auburn.”
The laugh from Jones on the final call was worth the listen alone.
Earlier in the year, the FTC announced a new rule banning noncompete agreements around the nation, a decision the agency believes will result in higher earnings, augmented levels of innovation and the creation of new businesses. In some cases, violation of a noncompete agreement has resulted in litigation, as was the case for Anthony Gargano when he took a job hosting programming for the ALLCITY Network. The startup, streaming-first media venture focuses on blending sports and lifestyle and expanded in recent years, including into the Philadelphia marketplace.
When Gargano officially joined PHLY Sports, he was suspended with pay by 97.5 The Fanatic. Station owner Beasley Media Group believed he was in breach of contract and filed a federal lawsuit. One month later, a preliminary injunction was agreed upon that stated he was unable to provide any services to ALLCITY Network related to content targeted towards the Philadelphia market as defined by Nielsen. There were also limitations placed on him as it relates to exclusivity and solicitation, the latter of which remains in effect. Gargano, however, never wanted to leave traditional radio, trying to find a way to forge a partnership and realize a path forward.
“I offered them many different ways to sit down and talk about it – I don’t think they ever really took it seriously,” Gargano said of Beasley Media Group management. “I also don’t think they realized what I was doing [and that] I wanted to do both.”
Beasley Media Group had the ability to terminate Gargano’s employment at any time and owe him four months’ severance under his previous contract. Despite having that runway, the state of the radio business alarmed him pertaining to the diminished value of stations and cyclic job cuts at 97.5 The Fanatic. Gargano became enamored with the concept behind ALLCITY Network, perceiving it to be akin to Netflix for local sports without any impediments.
“The opportunity to get in early where I could be free to create and use my vision – now we have a staff, a healthy staff of almost 30 people, and we do journalism and shows and fun stuff and relate to the fans [and] the community,” Gargano said. “But there’s a million things, and we’re not encumbered by anything other than our imagination and how we can create content.”
Gargano had enjoyed an eight-year stint at 97.5 The Fanatic where he primarily hosted a weekday program in the midday time slot. Although he has reverence towards terrestrial radio, beginning his foray in the business at the turn of the century with SportsRadio 94WIP, he observed the dynamic nature of the business model itself.
“First of all, I helped The Fanatic more than The Fanatic helped me, and if anything, you can argue that WIP made me, which they did, but if you don’t do it yourself, you’re not going to last long,” Gargano explained. “If it doesn’t work out, just because you put someone on the air doesn’t mean that they’re going to work out – it’s just kind of how it is. There has to be a fit, and some people who are really, really talented sometimes don’t fit.”
The Philadelphia bureau of ALLCITY launched last September and reached over 1 million consumers in combined audience through podcast downloads and video views in a single month. Even with Gargano making his local debut in late March, PHLY Sports reached this point faster than any other ALLCITY Network market. Gargano stated that PHLY Sports will hit profitability next month and already has more than 20 active advertising partners on its network. ALLCITY Network will continue its expansion this quarter with the introduction of a fifth market in its portfolio and the launch of FAST channels in all markets.
“Our big expense is the internet,” Gargano said. “We don’t have heritage radio stations that we bought and signals and towers – we don’t have that, so we can spend all of our money on talent, and ultimately talent always drives it. People are going to go, and now people are starting to find [it] – you can see it; you can see how quickly things change.”
Despite not being able to divulge his opinions on Philadelphia sports in this capacity for six months, Gargano still made sure to keep up with the latest news regarding the local teams. Shortly after the new year, Gargano, ALLCITY Network and Beasley Media Group reached a settlement, dismissing the case with prejudice sans fiscal remittance. Through the process, Gargano was permitted to take part in administrative work for ALLCITY Network, along with writing articles for the website so long as they did not specifically pertain to Philadelphia or were published on the PHLY Sports platform. Outside of ALLCITY Network, Gargano also continued to host a weekend show on FOX Sports Radio and started a sports betting podcast with Parx Casino.
Gargano views his eponymous local program, The Anthony Gargano Show, as adopting a similar format to TMZ on TV, in which it discusses pertinent topics and implements its audience. The weekday program runs on the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel of the local FOX affiliate in addition to streaming live on YouTube and available to listen across podcast distribution platforms. By the start of the football season, PHLY Sports will have its own 24/7 FAST channel streaming on at least three over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
“We’re in a digital age, so why wouldn’t this work?,” Gargano said. “The fact is you cut so much cost [and] cut so much fat out of the equation by broadcasting live on YouTube and broadcasting live on the internet. It just makes so much sense [from a] fiscal standpoint [and] from a creative standpoint.”
— Anthony Gargano Show (@PHLYGarganoShow) March 27, 2024
From the beginning of his infatuation with sports media, Gargano always wanted to be a writer and honed his craft at Temple University. After working for the Burlington County Times covering preps out of school, he moved to Chicago and wrote stories for the Associated Press. Following time in the Windy City, Gargano returned to the east coast where he worked for the New York Post covering marquee matchups and writing lengthy feature stories and essays for the Sunday edition. He eventually wanted to become a foreign correspondent, bringing him back to Philadelphia to work for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“The internet had come aboard and nobody realized [or] really kind of figured out how to monetize, and newspapers started to hit a little bit of a struggle [and] they started to close bureaus,” Gargano recalled. “I wanted to do the Rome bureau for the Inquirer – they wound up closing it later.”
Many of the radio hosts at then-610 WIP were veterans of the Philadelphia Inquirer and people with whom Gargano consulted when he was offered a job at the station. Upon being compelled to take the role, he accepted and began hosting in the midday timeslot alongside Glen Macnow.
Gargano knew that he had a “muddy patois” and became more comfortable speaking naturally over time. Within his years at the station, which he refers to as the heritage brand in Philadelphia sports radio, he looks back on the entity being wild and representing the pulse of the city. Pairing with Macnow for many years was an invaluable experience that enhanced his hosting abilities and helped him through the business. Macnow will be retiring from SportsRadio 94WIP in mid-July and is leaving a legacy on the airwaves as someone who made Philadelphia as home and related to the fans through trials and tribulations.
“He was a consummate professional,” Gargano said of Macnow. “He would think through topics the way they should be thought through, and all of us that were journalists, the way we would program the show would be through that prism, right? You would inject fun into it, but you also thought about the big story of the day, so it was an inverted pyramid.”
Although Gargano enjoyed his time with WIP, he ultimately left the outlet in 2015 and joined 97.5 The Fanatic where he hosted the midday program for many years. In hosting on a competing station in the sports radio space, he evinced a clear dichotomy between the two media outlets.
“The soul of WIP is still Eagles and football centric, even though it’s the home for the Phillies and they do some good Phillies content, but it’s really always been Eagles,” Gargano said. “Sixers, Flyers, Phillies – there was more diversity in the conversation, and I think that’s kind of the difference between the two.”
Through the vision of its executive team and evolving media paradigm, Gargano decided that ALLCITY Network would be the best place to continue his career. In the early stages of his time with the outlet, he was hosting the ALL NFL Podcast alongside former offensive lineman Brian Baldinger. The show includes deft storytelling and insightful analysis, along with timely and pertinent interviews.
“If you go deep dive with someone, I think that’s what separates you because you find your own little niche,” Gargano said. “You learn the game, and you have Baldy who can break it down and what he sees, so it will be more football centric.”
Outside of his responsibility hosting two programs, Gargano has taken on a managerial role with the digital entity. It is something he has always wanted to do, comparing it to athletes wanting to serve as the coach or general manager of a respective team. As he was hosting on the radio, Gargano pitched several nonfiction and scripted television shows and has several unfinished novels, leaning into the pastime of storytelling and writing.
“I love ideas and bringing an idea [to] life, so we’re working on something for football season that’s going to be a whole lot of fun,” Gargano said. “A whole Eagles kind of preview that melds the old-school newspaper preview section, tab section with video elements to it, and so we’re going to be diving into a little local 30 for 30 stuff; like really kind of interesting content that’s not just a daily opinion.”
While he does not solicit or sell the content, he oversees the local enterprise while establishing relationships and assisting in overall dissemination. Gargano conveyed the success of the subscription model in welcoming new consumers in recent months. In fact, he articulated that PHLY Sports has led ALLCITY Network in subscriber growth since its launch and set the single month record for new subscribers this past March.
“Opinion is great and it’s necessary, but I think storytelling also needs to be a part of us, so I like that piece of it a lot,” Gargano said. “So, if you marry editorial, written opinion and storytelling and journalism – you meld those together, I think that’s what I want to deliver at PHLY. I used it as the model of all of our markets at ALLCITY.”
While the media missed out on a historic opportunity last Thursday, 11 million people tuned into X — the social media platform owned by Elon Musk — to watch Robert F. Kennedy Jr. debate… himself.
Streamed from Los Angeles in front of a live studio audience, Kennedy & Company watched the debate live occasionally pausing the actual debate to give the Independent candidate a chance to speak.
While the innovative X debate allowed Kennedy to explain why Americans shouldn’t vote for Trump or Biden, he failed to bring up how his policies are better. What he did do at the very beginning of the debate was allege CNN colluded with the Republican and Democratic parties, which is why he was not on stage.
Thursday’s debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump was the first not put together by an independent non-profit. Meaning CNN owned the debate. They commercialized the debate.
Perhaps this is why CNN threatened X owner Elon Musk with a lawsuit if the Kennedy “debate” took place. As of this writing, it’s yet to happen. However, there are several ethical concerns if the 24-hour news network should be allowed to. Though televised debates have been around since the 1960s the opportunity to transition these debates to a streaming or digital service could provide better options for the viewers’ freedoms.
Modern Presidential debates haven’t been around for very long but they have proven important for candidates to grasp hold of undecided voters. The first radio debate was aired in 1948 when Republicans Thomas E. Dewey and Harold Stassen went head-to-head in the presidential primary.
Eight years later, Democrats one-upped the GOP by televising their 1956 presidential primary debate. However, it wasn’t until the famous Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960 when we saw two confirmed presidential nominees hit the airwaves, with 66 million viewers. Compare it to CNN’s 48 Million [rounding up] plus an additional 11 million from Kennedy’s debate, that’s only 59 million viewers. Our population has grown, yet fewer Americans are watching our potential Presidents debate.
After 1960, Americans waited 16 years (four election cycles) before we saw another televised presidential debate for the general election. It was 1976 Ford vs Carter. While the 1960 debate was sponsored by the news outlets, from 1976 through 1984 debates were sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
In 1987, the group dropped out of sponsoring presidential debates, releasing a statement that said in part, “because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates’ organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity, and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates was formed and took over for the League of Women voters. Since then we’ve seen not one but two independent candidates hit the debate stage.
Before Ross Perot in 1992, John B. Anderson hit the debate stage in 1980, but only against Ronald Regan. President Carter’s campaign declined to debate the Independent, even though Anderson was polling at 22%. Ross Perot was polling at 18.9% when he ran. Kennedy is not far behind, with three different pollsters having him at 15%. (Yes, Ralph Nader tried to crash a debate but he never made it in and was only polling at 5%, hardly enough to make a dent into his contemporaries.)
The businessman with a famous last name has a large social media following largely comprised of Latino and young voters. In theory, he will have an easier time gaining traction with voters through social media, provided the algorithms allow exposure.
Modern media outlets have a unique opportunity, one the League of Women Voters (and our founding fathers) would’ve loved to use. Give voice to other parties and candidates along with Republicans and Democrats. More substantive debates could be held on platforms like X, Facebook Live, and YouTube with live questions from actual voters across the country (instead of carefully curated questions in years past). No networks or commercials needed.
This election cycle, X (along with vigilante owner Elon Musk) is taking advantage of this by giving Kennedy extra exposure/airtime after being left out of Thursday’s debate. If other modern media outlets will follow suit remains to be seen. However, instead of bowing to our two-party system, social media has the opportunity to give the country more options, like George Washington wanted.
“[Political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
Recently, I read a note in The Free Press (the online one, not the Detroit newspaper) that mentioned one can now earn a master’s degree in “degrowth.” Outside of being voluntary, degrowth sounds similar to the US radio industry in the 2020s. After getting past the initial incredulity that a university would actually offer such a degree, I looked it up. It’s real.
The degree is offered by UAB. No, not the University of Alabama-Birmingham, but the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. And yes, there is a master’s degree program in Political Ecology Degrowth and Environmental Justice. If you’re interested, it’s taught in English, takes a year of your time, and will set you back just under 4,000 euros. I’ve not been to Barcelona, but I’ve heard it’s a nice city.
The university suggests that while this degree will not lead to doctoral studies (heaven forbid!), you might be able to obtain work in areas such as public administration, environmental justice organizations, or cooperatives, among other potential employers.
The program is run in cooperation with an organization known as Research and Degrowth International. The group defines “degrowth” as “a multi-level voluntary path towards reduction of production and consumption…”. RDI is also a big fan of Palestine and Gaza, the latter of which is certainly well into the process of degrowth.
That’s why this struck me as a useful degree for entering radio management. Certainly, the industry has not been growing for some time, in other words, radio is “degrowing”. Why not hire some people that specialize in the field?
To support my assertion, I was working on a presentation for my current class at Western Kentucky University and came across this chart.
You can see that radio revenue was essentially flat from 2013 through 2019. COVID did a number on the business in 2020, but the rebound in 2021 did not return the industry to the revenue levels of the 2010s. S&P Global and Kagan, the sources of the data, suggest that revenues will decline slowly through the rest of the decade, and this includes digital.
We’ve seen all the layoffs, RIFs, cutbacks, and in a few cases, licenses being turned back to the FCC. It’s not just commercial radio as some of the biggest public radio operators have reduced headcount, canceled programming, and taken other steps to get their financial houses in order as well.
When I’ve been chatting recently with friends in the business, I’ve said that I should write a column with the headline “All of These People Can’t Be Stupid”, in other words, if everyone is hurting, it’s highly unlikely that all of the radio CEOs are all clueless idiots. Any industry that can still generate around $15 billion of annual revenue is not dead but is not headed in the right direction. It’s degrowth.
What to do? Last week, Fred Jacobs offered some concrete ideas in his blog. Fred’s not the only one with ideas that might steer us in the right direction, but it strikes me that our lack of promotion is hurting us.
My summer class at WKU is Emerging Technologies. While I was a dope to take a graduate class that crams 15 weeks into five, it’s been interesting. The subject of my paper and presentation for the class (which is web-based, by the way) is AI in radio and I’ve had to learn more about how AI is being used in the business.
Last year, there was a lot of ruckus about “AI Ashley”, a cloned version of a jock in Michigan doing middays in Portland, Oregon. When you look up AI Ashley on Google, you’ll find all sorts of stories about her and the use of an AI jock. How much publicity did KBFF receive (oddly, KBFF is known as Live 95.5, but AI Ashley is a real live person)? How many people around the country saw or read a story about a radio station?
Do we have any other stories to tell that will bring broadcast radio to a top-of-mind position as one more choice in a world with so many media choices? What can we do to promote our medium more, regardless of how individuals access it? And while we want to promote it to the people who control advertising spend, wouldn’t a greater profile locally and nationally wake some of them up? As I noted in a recent column, we have all the studies, we know that audio advertising works, but that doesn’t seem to be changing the chart above.
If we can’t change the story, perhaps we should have UAB’s website add that holders of a masters in degrowth may have options in traditional media (without the left-wing baggage that comes with the degree although Uri Berliner might suggest a public radio gig). All of print is in degrowth, linear TV is headed that way, and if we don’t come up with new ideas and act on them, radio won’t be far behind.
104.5 WOKV Director of Branding and Programming Jim Graci has announced that after more than five decades in radio, he’s retiring.
In addition to leading the Jacksonville news/talk brand for the past two years, Graci also spent nearly a decade as the Brand Manager of both KDKA Newsradio and 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. He also previously served as the Program Director of Dallas news/talk station 570 KLIF.
Additionally, Jim Graci served as the Public Address Announcer for a pair of NBA franchises during his career, working for both the Seattle Supersonics and the Atlanta Hawks.
“After 50 years in the most spectacular communications medium there is, it’s time to call it a career,” Graci wrote in a post to social media. “I have too many people to thank who have helped me, coached me, took me under their wing, and guided me. Their tutelage allowed me to work at some of the greatest radio stations in the country. I have tried to ‘pay it forward’ by coaching and programming for the last 20 years, working with incredibly talented communicators, who continue to positively affect our lives whenever you turn the radio on.”
Graci concluded that radio has opened many doors for him, like his work as an NBA public address announcer, and joked that his career led him to a guest spot on the TV sitcom Frazier.
“It’s been a wonderful life. Now, it’s time for the next chapter!,” the longtime radio leader said.
ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale recently revealed that a biopsy on the lymph node in his neck has come back as cancerous and that he will be having surgery next Tuesday. Vitale, who has been broadcasting for the network since 1979, had the biopsy on Wednesday of this week after a PET scan had detected the lymph node on his neck. Vitale posted the news on his X account Friday afternoon and thanked everyone for their prayers.
“With all the [prayers] I have received & the loving support of my family, friends & ESPN colleagues, I will win this battle,” Vitale said in his post. “[Praying] surgery on Tues. will be a success.”
After he had received an ultrasound on Monday, Vitale’s oncologist scheduled him for a biopsy. Throughout the week on social media, Vitale posted updates about his status and expressed his hope that he would receive a report that it was non-malignant. It is unknown how his forthcoming surgery will affect his ability to call college basketball games in the fall.
Vitale was recently declared cancer free after being diagnosed with vocal cord cancer last July. He received six weeks of radiation treatment and a four-hour vocal cord surgery thereafter followed by vocal rest, resulting in Dr. Steven Zeitels expressing optimism that he could return to work in the fall. Over the last several years, Vitale has fought against lymphoma and melanoma and tried to returning to the broadcast booth. During the 2022 college basketball season, he was able to resume calling games and received standing ovations from crowds at various arenas.
Over the summer, he planned to minimize what he did and engage in a gradual assimilation into speaking more. In a previous interview with Barrett Sports Media, he expressed his aspiration to call basketball games at the age of 100 and the motivation he feels from the winning formula of passion, pride and perseverance.
Vitale accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2022 ESPYS where he discussed the importance of raising money for research into cancer treatment and prevention. Earlier in the week, he expressed that he is more motivated than ever to raise money for children fighting cancer, stating that “no kid should go thru this.” He recently announced that the 20th anniversary of his annual Dick Vitale Gala will take place on May 2, 2025 with honorees including Dan Hurley, Michael Strahan, Hannah Storm, Nancy Lieberman, Grant Hill and John Calipari.
Earlier in the week, the New York Mets swept the first half of the Subway Series from the New York Yankees in two games at Citi Field. The Mets outscored the Yankees 21-9 in the games and attained a .500 record in the regular season for the first time since early May of this year. SportsNet New York (SNY), the television home of the Mets, averaged 411,000 viewers for the series, including its two most-watched games of the season. The two games averaged 247,000 households reached as well, a strong performance for the local television outlet. Additionally, the Subway Series resulted in an average of 3.1 million live minutes streamed, making the Tuesday and Wednesday contests the two most-streamed games of the season for SNY.
The first game of the series on Tuesday night garnered 243,575 households, the largest household audience for a Mets game on SNY since the 2023 season opener last March. Six out of every 10 viewers locally tuned into SNY to watch the Subway Series matchup on Tuesday as well. The network surpassed coverage on YES Network by 40% in total viewers, 47% in the age 18-49 demographic and 58% in the age 25-54 demographic.
Wednesday night’s game included an 87-minute rain delay in the fifth inning; however, it still posted strong numbers that eclipsed the previous game. The Subway Series broadcast attained 16,000 more viewers and 7,500 additional households compared to Tuesday. The Yankees game broadcast aired on Amazon’s Prime Video on Wednesday instead of YES Network, part of a media rights deal in which 21 Yankees games air exclusively on the platform this season.
Play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen, analysts Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling and field reporter Steve Gelbs called the action on SNY. For Cohen, Hernandez and Darling, the 2024 MLB season marks their 19th year working together, the most among any broadcast team in Mets history. Mets baseball on SNY will return to the air on Monday, July 1 for the first of a four-game series on the road against the Washington Nationals.
Elon Musk has often been critical of the job CNN has done covering the political landscape in recent years. However, he gave the network credit for its debate Thursday.
The billionaire shared a post to X that he was impressed with the job the network did Thursday evening in allowing President Joe Biden (D) and former President Donald Trump (R) to be the stars of the show.
“Have to say that (CNN) did a good job managing the debate. Questions were reasonable and non-partisan. No favoritism was shown to either candidate,” said Musk. “This is what the public wants from the media.”
Have to say that @CNN did a good job managing the debate.
Questions were reasonable and non-partisan. No favoritism was shown to either candidate.
Musk comments come after the X social media platform he owns hosted its own debate alternative Thursday night featuring independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responding to questions asked by moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash during the CNN debate, and also refuting claims made by by the Republican and Democratic candidates.
