Back in March of this year, rumors started to circulate that Mike Missanelli, who had been with 97.5 The Fanatic for 15 years before he exited in May 2022, might be on his way back to the station. Station owner Beasley Media Group recently made a change at the top in the market as Paul Blake, formerly the market’s Vice President and Director of Sales, took over as the cluster’s manager. Kevin Kinkead of Crossing Broad wondered if the change at the top could lead to Missanelli coming back. He also posted something Missanelli said at the end of a recent podcast episode:
“One other thing that people have been asking me about. My old station fired their general manager. This was the same general manager that decided not to renew my contract two years ago, almost to the day. He’s gone. I don’t know what’s going to happen at that station. I will tell you this, however – that station, in the last couple of months, has made me an offer. I can’t tell you much more about that, because if the offer was satisfactory to me, I probably would be on the radio. But at this point, it is not. So with new management coming in, I have no idea what will happen here. I just want to say this – I am committed to this podcast and I am going to do this podcast for a really long period of time and the other stuff really doesn’t matter to me. If it happens it happens, if it doesn’t, I’m good, because I like spending time with you here on the podcast.”
When the idea of Missannelli comin back was brought up three months ago, new station Program Director Scott Masteller had said at the time, “Mike’s name has come up. He’s a great talent, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. A lot of people are interested in the radio station right now. So I’ll leave it at that.”
As for where Missanelli might fit in should he return, the midday show, Mid-Days with Bob Cooney has been using various hosts since Cooney moved to the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. show a few months ago. Bill Colarulo and Amy Faddol have been two of the people who have worked with Cooney recently.
As CNN makes preparations to host the first presidential debate next week, it has added several partners to simulcast the event. A new report suggests MSNBC, Newsmax, and NewsNation will join an already growing field of partners.
A report from the Los Angeles Times claims that the CNN debate will be added by MSNBC/NBC News, Newsmax, NewsNation, Scripps News, and Telemundo.
When asked by Barrett News Media if the network was partnering with CNN to broadcast the debate, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy simply stated “True.”
Those networks would join ABC News — who will host the second presidential debate in September, Fox News, and PBS as simulcast partners. In addition to airing on Fox News, the network will also broadcast the 90-minute event on the Fox Business Network, network FOX, the FOX Nation streaming app, and will provide the debate to its Fox News Radio affiliates.
While the report from the LA Times says that the bevy of networks will also simulcast the event, none of the networks outside of Newsmax have publicly announced their intention to partner with CNN. Barrett News Media has asked each network for comment.
The 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks averaged 11.31 million viewers across the five-game series on ABC, including a simulcast of Game 3 on ESPN, down 3% in year-over-year viewership. Additionally, the series had a 5.8 rating, representing a 5% year-over-year decline in this category. Excluding the 2020 and 2021 NBA Finals, this series was the lowest-rated on record and the least-watched since the San Antonio Spurs faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007, according to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. Chris Curtis, producer of The Greg Hill Show on WEEI, revealed more information about the NBA Finals ratings during the program’s live show on Friday morning.
Curtis discovered that the Boston market had a 17.7 rating throughout the five-game NBA Finals series, which he explained compiles linear viewership and streaming data. Drawing a comparison against other significant Boston sports games in the last five years, he mentioned how the Boston Red Sox championship victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2018 World Series had a 43.2 share in the marketplace. Although Nielsen Media Research was tracking out-of-home viewership at the time, it did not begin implementing the metric into its viewership estimates until 2020. Curtis also said the 2018 AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs garnered a 58.5 rating in Boston.
“With baseball, it’s the only sport we ever talk about how their ratings are declining and the sport’s dying,” Curtis continued. “If Major League Baseball just had these [NBA] Finals [as] their World Series, it would be the pullout national story about it, but because it’s not baseball, we just don’t talk about it. The Red Sox last playoff run in 2021, the one-game Wild Card against the Yankees, did a 19.8, so the one-game play-in to the playoffs did a higher number than the average rating of the five NBA Finals games in Boston.”
Greg Hill asked Curtis for his reasoning behind the phenomenon, to which he replied that he was not sure. In fact, he thought that the nine-day buildup to the first game of the NBA Finals would have an anticipation resembling the Super Bowl. One possibility could be that the series was not always the most competitive, although he immediately stated that he still had no idea.
“I think that the Celtics were so much better than Dallas, people were like, ‘This series is not going to be good,’” co-host Jermaine Wiggins said.
“But if you’re Boston, you want to see that,” co-host Courtney Cox replied. “You want to see them be dominant, so that’s why I don’t know why the Boston number was just so low.”
Show producer Chris Scheim wondered if the 8:30 p.m. EST start time for the games could have an impact. Curtis did not believe this to be the case and revealed additional ratings data related to the five-game series in the process.
“Every one of these games in the Finals and the World Series and the playoffs have all been 8:30 starts, and Providence did a 12,” Curtis said. “So Boston was a 17.7; Providence was a 12. Just very interesting – I don’t know what it means.”
Several announcements this week have revealed simulcast partners for the first presidential debate produced by CNN. Erick Erickson believes in giving credit where it’s due.
ABC News, PBS, and Fox News have all been announced as partners for the first debate that will be held on Thursday, June 27th. Additionally, Fox News struck a deal to broadcast the debate for affiliates on Fox News Radio, and also on the FOX broadcast network.
In a post to X, Erick Erickson — a former CNN contributor — shared that he believes the network deserves kudos for being willing to work with other networks to make the broadcast more accessible.
“CNN deserves a lot of credit for letting every network access and broadcast their debate,” the host shared.
CNN deserves a lot of credit for letting every network access and broadcast their debate.
A report from The Los Angeles Times claims that in addition to ABC News, PBS, and Fox News joining as simulcast partners, CNN has also struck deals with MSNBC, NBC News, NewsNation, Newsmax, Scripps News, and Telemundo have also joined to televise the 90-minute event. However, those networks have yet to announce their plans.
Chris Kinard has been named the new Sports Format Vice President for Audacy. Kinard will add those responsibilities to his duties as Vice President of Sports Programming and Cluster Director of Operations for Audacy Washington D.C., which includes 106.7 The Fan and The Team 980.
As part of his new responsibilities, Kinard will oversee the development and implementation of brand and format strategies for the company’s Sports division. He will also work closely with Vice President of Sports Danny Freisinger to execute the company’s multiplatform content strategy and production. Kinard takes over for Spike Eskin who recently left WFAN to serve as afternoon drive co-host on Audacy’s SportsRadio 94WIP in Philadelphia.
“We are privileged at Audacy to benefit from the best local sports content thought leaders in the country and Chris has distinguished himself through his leadership of WFJK-FM and WTEM-AM in D.C. over many years,” said Jeff Sottolano, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming, Audacy in a release. “I am excited to see Chris take on this new role and partner with our local and central leadership on further strengthening our unrivaled position in sports.”
“I’m thrilled for the opportunity to lead our best-in-class local sports radio stations,” said Kinard. “Audacy is home to the most-listened-to brands and the most impactful local voices in sports, and we have an exciting future ahead. I’m thankful to Jeff Sottolano, Dave Richards and Danny Freisinger for this opportunity.”
Kinard joined 106.7 The Fan in 1998 as an intern and worked his way up to become a producer until 2007. From there, he took on the role of Brand Manager and has held that position since then. In 2019, he also took on the role of Operations Manager for Audacy Washington D.C., overseeing multiple stations including Classic Hits 94.7 The Drive, The Team 980, and Connecting Vets.
JJ Redick, who recently called the NBA Finals as part of the lead broadcasting team for ESPN on ABC, has reportedly been hired as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Redick is reported to have signed a four-year deal worth $8 million per year to coach the Lakers and is working on compiling a coaching staff, according to ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. Redick has no NBA coaching experience, but he played in the league for 15 seasons with six teams. After his career ended, he joined ESPN and worked as an NBA analyst, appearing across programming such as Get Up, First Take and NBA Today while also providing color commentary to games.
Additionally, Redick established his own company, ThreeFourTwo Productions, through which he co-hosted The Old Man and the Three podcast with Tommy Alter. This past March, Redick launched a new podcast with Lakers forward LeBron James titled Mind the Game in which they discussed different facets of the game.
Gregg Giannotti reacted to the news on Friday that Redick would be joining the Lakers as its head coach on the Boomer & Gio morning show on WFAN and CBS Sports Network. There had been speculation over the last several weeks that the Lakers were targeting Redick; however, the team reportedly made an offer to UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley to take the job. Hurley ultimately decided to stay with the UConn Huskies as the team looks to secure its third consecutive NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship this upcoming season.
“After the Dan Hurley courting that didn’t work out for the Lakers, they do end up hiring JJ Redick, who does the podcast with LeBron, who has been on ESPN complaining about how everybody’s got hot takes and, ‘All I want to do is talk basketball,’ and, ‘I’m an Xs and Os guy,’ and, ‘You guys are making all this stuff up,’” Giannotti said. “He’s gotten into it with a ton of people, including Mad Dog Russo on First Take, and then he does this Xs and Os basketball podcast with LeBron James, so now he’s going to be the Lakers head coach.”
As Giannotti gave his opinion, he mentioned the success of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr entering the role with no experience. Yet he inherited a team of emerging superstars, including Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and was able to manage personalities and optimize his roster to effectuate results.
“Is JJ Redick, who played in the league, going to be able to stand in front of these guys and be able to manage those personalities like Steve Kerr did?,” Giannotti questioned. “I’m going to say, ‘No,’ just because I feel like he’s a, kind of like a, for lack of a better word, a prick.”
Esiason does not believe that Redick will be able to do it because of the fact that he is friends with James. Over the years, Esiason has observed that friends do not usually work well together in an environment with an immense amount of pressure. In fact, he proceeded to say that the hire is “destined for failure” and presumed that the reason he took the job could be because he has grown tired of broadcasting and wants to coach.
“If your superstar is a jackass in any sport – I don’t care what sports we’re talking about – but if he is a total jackass, your team is going to implode from within,” Esiason said. “Now I’m not saying that LeBron’s a jackass – I’m not saying that – but what I am saying is that he’s the one that controls what goes on, and how is JJ Redick going to be able to kind of just deal with that on a daily basis.”
The departure of Redick marks the second time in the last year that an ESPN NBA analyst has taken a head coaching job. In fact, he was moved into the lead broadcasting booth when Doc Rivers took over head coaching responsibilities for the Milwaukee Bucks in the middle of the 2023-24 regular season. Both analysts worked with play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, analyst Doris Burke and reporter Lisa Salters during the season, a new lead broadcasting booth following the company letting go of longtime analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson.
Breen, Van Gundy and Jackson called 15 NBA Finals together, but the network decided to make a change two seasons before the expiration of its current media rights deal with the league. The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), along with NBCUniversal and Amazon’s Prime Video, are reportedly formalizing media rights deals with the National Basketball Association said to be worth a collective $76 billion.
Earlier this week, New Jersey 101.5 morning host Bill Spadea announced plans to run for governor of the Garden State. He plans to continue hosting his program during the campaign, but now a state election commission will decide if he’s violating any statutes.
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission is investigating whether or not Spadea’s current plan — to not officially file his candidacy until the deadline to ensure he can continue hosting his morning show — violates any laws. By not registering as a candidate until the last moment, Sapdea would not — theoretically — be in violation of equal-time regulations for political advertising and candidates.
The commission informed Spadea and Townsquare Media of a hearing on Wednesday, June 26th, that will examine whether or not he and the broadcaster are in violation of the in-kind contribution limits, which are set at $5,800.
“Leave it to the Trenton Swamp to come after the first middle-class threat to their fiefdom in decades. My opponents and their power broker pals are coming after me for one reason: they’re scared of what I stand for,” Spadea said in a statement. “The insiders are scared that when I win, the people of New Jersey will regain power – and they’ll lose theirs. I’ve got news for everyone. We’re digging in. We’re ready to fight. We’re not going anywhere.”
Townsquare Media has maintained that until Bill Spadea becomes a “legally qualified candidate” for the governor’s race, he will “continue to fulfill his employment responsibilities” on New Jersey 101.5.
Let the negotiations begin. John Ourand of Puck is reporting ESPN has made an initial offer to Stephen A. Smith whose contract ends in a year. Ourand reports the offer was for a 5-year deal worth a total of $90 million, or $18 million per year.
According to reports, Smith’s current deal with ESPN, which was signed in 2019, pays him $8 million per year. Smith hosts the daily morning show First Take, takes part in ESPN and ABC’s NBA coverage and also makes other appearances on the network. Away from ESPN, Smith hosts his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show and also owns his own production company, Mr. SAS Productions
The 5-year, $90 million offer matches what Troy Aikman signed on for to do Monday Night Football and would put Smith at the top of the list as far as salaries at ESPN, however he and his representatives with WME might be looking for more, a lot more.
Ourand writes, “Smith has reportedly been seeking some $25 million per year. While $18 million might seem like a ton of dough, I’m told Stephen A. wants McAfee bucks. Indeed, WME’s response to ESPN was to point to Pat McAfee’s deal, which nets close to $30 million per year between his studio show and College GameDay appearances. WME also had the chutzpah to use ESPN’s $700 million deal with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions as a comp.”
Smith was a guest of Jim Rome on The Jim Rome Show recently and addressed some health concerns he had after being diagnosed with COVID-19 a few years ago. He ultimately said, “I’m getting myself in shape, and I’m not satisfied, and because I feel better than I’ve felt in 30 years, I feel like once upon a time when I thought that I had about a couple of years left, man, I think I can do this for another 25-30 years the way that I’m feeling.”
Nationally syndicated radio host and Blaze Media founder Glenn Beck has debuted a new history podcast — The Beck Story — centered on “major issues facing 21st century America.”
The first episode of the program is centered around the roots of relying upon “experts” for political causes, while the second episode examines the “masterminds of eugenics.”
“This inaugural season of The Beck Story shows you how a cult of expertise shaped the progressive ideology and continues to drive the left-wing obsession for control,” a description of the podcast from Beck’s website reads. “These episodes get to the root of how we got to where we are in America today.”
The third episode is slated to publish on Saturday, June 22nd. It will look at the role the Justice Department held in spying on American citizens during the Woodrow Wilson administration during World War I.
When Jen Lada appeared on Around the Horn earlier in the month, she became the 58th panelist to be part of the program since its launch in 2002. Facing off against three other panelists from around the country, she garnered a victory in her on-air debut and elicited plaudits from her colleagues. Throughout the program, Lada demonstrated her deft sports knowledge and nuanced opinions that have crafted her into a venerated, skilled reporter at the network.
Although she had appeared on many ESPN programs previously, Around the Horn represented a show to which she wanted to contribute for many years. In fact, she has memories of watching the show just out of Marquette University and remarking about its brilliance and ingenuity.
Utilizing reporters with comprehensive knowledge of various sports who have chronicled several events, the show provides them an opportunity to give their opinions on issues and engage in debate with their contemporaries. Lada earned a spot on the show by being persistent, continuing to express her proficiency in commentary and sports discussion. The journey to arrive at this stage of her career, through which she has realized high-level assignments and a presence both at the local and national level, required adaptability and fortitude, and she continues to never take opportunities for granted.
“It’s great that I won, but it just sets the bar really high for the next time I go out there, which is not something I’m afraid of,” Lada said. “I love a challenge, and I love proving to myself that I can keep trying new things and doing new things well, and I hope that if people see me as some sort of example in the industry, that that’s what they walk away with.”
The approach adopted by Lada within her multifarious career ventures is to develop and maintain versatility, always innovating within her approach to content. As she looks to build off her initial victory on Around the Horn, she aims to be more compendious in her discourse and applying a more succinct approach. Making the adjustment in order to deliver compelling, distinctive points quickly differs from her other work, but it is all ultimately centered on sports.
While studying at Marquette University, she observed her classmates having a conversation about the men’s basketball team and what had happened in a recent game. Lada, who at the time was dating a player on the team and cheerleading at games, began to give her thoughts and was subsequently asked if she had ever considered sportscasting.
“I didn’t know that women could be sportscasters,” Lada said. “It wasn’t on my radar as a real career that women held because there were so few of them at the time doing it, and so once I realized that that was something I could do, then I kind of turned all my attention to, ‘Well, how do I make this happen?’”
.@JenLada doesn't see a path to victory for the Mavericks:
"[Dallas'] defensive rotations have been terrible, they've been undisciplined… Boston is too deep. This feels inevitable like Thanos." pic.twitter.com/hOMPHi5lQh
As Lada began to complete internships and navigate through the media industry, she learned to develop a thick skin and refined her conduct. Out of school, she had completed a year of a non-paid sports internship and was waitressing on the side to pay the bills. The first interview she took for a job at a television station in a top-10 market ended with her being sexually harassed. It was a jarring experience that disappointed Lada because of her propensity to give people the benefit of the doubt, and it also forced her to evaluate her own disposition.
“I think it’s only natural that you wonder how you contributed to the circumstance or what you could have done differently to maybe not put yourself in that space,” Lada said, “but I was very lucky that when I told my family about what had occurred, they very quickly knocked any notion of that out of my head.”
In navigating the industry with good intentions, Lada recognized that it is not her fault if other people fail at treating others professionally and create a misogynistic work environment. Receiving the lesson early in her career has made her more aware of the people to avoid, and she remains wary of advice given to women in the industry that they should just be nice. Lada was recently on a panel where someone advised a broadcast class that being nice would result in things working out for them in the future.
“I felt myself cringing internally because I don’t think that that is a luxury women are afforded,” Lada said. “I don’t think – maybe now is different, but when I was coming up, and I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years, there were people who preyed on niceness. And so the way that I would tweak that is to be professional; to carry yourself in a professional manner and recognize that sometimes being ‘traditionally nice’ puts a target on your back to be mistreated, and the best thing you can do is alert those people who would see you as a target that you’re not going to fall victim to that or you refuse to be victim to that.”
Lada joined ESPN in 2015 where she was hired to contribute to Colin Cowherd’s radio program. When Cowherd left the network and joined FOX Sports on a full-time basis, she started co-hosting a new, national program alongside Jorge Sedano. The show, however, had an evanescent run and left her feeling as if she had failed.
It took her a full year to recognize that she had been involved in a series of circumstances and decided to enact the necessary change, asking producers for advice and attending seminars. One of these was an interviewing course hosted by journalist John Sawatsky where he synthesized the art of the craft. Akin to when she was in college, she overheard in passing that the network needed more women in the features space.
“I was fortunate enough to have done a lot of features during my time in Milwaukee because we had a 9 p.m. newscast that required a local sports feature every night of the week, so between our three-person department, we had to fill that timeslot,” Lada said. “I had done a lot of lengthy sports features in Milwaukee [and] had a good foundation of what that job required.”
The meeting led to Lada doing features on an interim basis at the network and later granted her a spot on College GameDay, where she works as its features reporter. Lada presents stories every week to the audience that go beyond the gameplay and divulge a bigger picture.
“I always say my job is to make the viewer care about somebody and root for somebody that they might ordinarily not root for or care about,” Lada said. “One of the things that has occurred to me over the last few years is just what a skill is required to do that job well because not only are you preparing questions to ensure that you have all of the details and information, you’re also gathering perspective on what they’ve been through – the adversity and the situation that has led them to where they are now.”
Lada recently found herself in a high school classroom at 8 a.m. sitting with other students taking the ACT standardized test. She had to complete the exam as punishment for finishing last in fantasy football at ESPN Milwaukee this past season. After four hours, Lada emerged from the school and revealed her score this past week on the Jen, Gabe, and Chewy morning show. Hosting the local program alongside Gabe Neitzel and Mark Chmura, she has established chemistry over almost four years in the three-person format discussing hyperlocal topics.
“I try to be conversational,” Lada said. “We don’t lean on stats – obviously, we want to be accurate, and we want to be, again, fair to the subjects we’re talking about, but we try to also just be friends who are talking about what’s going on on any given day on the Milwaukee [and] Wisconsin sports scene.”
In balancing a variety of different roles, Lada has tried to master everything that she is doing, refraining from being content with her abilities. Although working in local radio regularly has been a newer role for her, she has grown into the job and has co-hosts who understand the subject matter and allow her to utilize her strengths.
“I just want to keep learning,” Lada said. “I’m not satisfied with what I’ve done, [and] I’m not complacent about the skills I have. I’m always interested in adding more jobs to the résumé, and I think that in this industry, you’re rewarded for versatility.”
"He's created these opportunities for me through all his hard work."
Once College GameDay commences, Lada adds the responsibility of feature reporting on that program to her schedule and continues making appearances across additional ESPN programming. Lada hosted the Friday edition of College Football Live last season and has also filled in as a host on shows such as First Take and SportsCenter. Moreover, she continues to complete projects for SC Featured and is working on a documentary for E:60 scheduled to premiere later in the summer.
Lada aims to keep showcasing her indefatigable work ethic and passion for the craft without slowing down. Whether it is hosting a podcast, taking part in more panels or writing essays, she is open to exploring new forms of disseminating stories.
“I have a lot of knowledge and experience rattling around my brain, [and] I think the next iteration is figuring out a way to continue passing those experiences on to the next generation.” Lada said. “I don’t ever want to gatekeep the secrets of success – I think that’s selfish – so as I continue to do the media work, I think the next phase for me is figuring out how to pass a lot of these lessons on to future broadcasting generations.”
