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The Lifelong List: Best Books To Read For Project Managers

Project management is a complex domain that is always proactive and demands study. The secret of every project is the ability to get new challenges and it is an issue of the competence of the toolkit which results in triumph. It is hard to realize, but not many people take books into account as a tool. The fact that reading has been an unwavering companion to the myriad of online courses, apps and tools applauds the old tradition of reading in the course of which every project manager is a traveler who carefully respects the roads while leaving his mark on the paths.

Here, this article will list several books which carry through the passages of Project Management, starting with timeless works that gave shape to the field to the most recent ideas that can transform your thinking. In our deep dive into the top-grade books about project management skills, get strapped for an adventurous journey.

Promote Lecturing as a Guaranteed Tool in Project Management

The books become the cars of knowledge, which store hefty intellectual information, it is such a practical strategy and timeless wisdom. On the other hand, blogs and articles just give a few bits of the information needed, but books are the complete story which is organized deliberately. These, indeed, are irreplaceable when it comes to developing critical thinking, because the readers regularly need to digest the high-level concepts, are offered a lot to think about, and the readers are given a leeway for contemplation and interpretation.

For managers who cope with different problems, the all-angled perspective and respectfulness of books cannot fool anyone too. They may do this by being a new generation of leaders, pointing out the hazards, and discovering creative solutions. Here’s how books can particularly benefit those in the field: Here’s how books can particularly benefit those in the field:

  • In particular, the individual approach to the examination of project management methodologies.
  • First-hand knowledge, you gain from the performance of some projects (your own or as an observer), is very helpful for you to learn the same job or to develop leadership qualities.
  • Using psychology and sociology, to understand the inner workings of how effective team leadership can pay off.

Integrating Reading into Your Project Management Plan

Finding time to read can be challenging, especially for busy project managers. Yet, it’s imperative to carve out time for continuous learning. One way to integrate reading into your schedule is to set aside dedicated reading moments during the day, perhaps before the workday begins or as part of your wind-down routine.

A frequently asked question is How can I be a better project manager? The answer is a simple, more efficient strategy to leverage idle time, such as during commutes or waiting periods, with story reading apps or e-readers. Several project management books are available in these formats, providing a flexible way to engage with the material.

At some point you will need to rest from professional literature, that’s where FictionMe can help you find some interesting books.  FictionMe is a great resource for finding captivating novels that can provide a much-needed mental break without sacrificing reading time. You can download FictionMe (Play Store) on your Android device. Another approach is to create a reading list on a novel app that aligns with your professional development goals for the year, treating each book like a milestone in your learning trajectory.

Top 3 Books for Project Managers

There are thousands of books related to project management and you can make it hard on yourself if you start personal evaluation of the books. Nevertheless, some titles have proven to survive the test of time and should be on every project manager’s shelf whether the project is small, large, or even outsourced. Let’s talk about the top 3 items for project management. Here are the best books on project management categorized for various skill levels and interests:

“Project Management for Dummies” by Consumer Dummies

The first of many project management books for dummies is freely offered as a gateway and a lifelong resource that demystifies project management complex methodologies and teaches the application of these skills to real-world tasks. The book starts with describes all the important steps in setting up a project, such as managing the stakeholders’ expectations and leading the teams efficiently.

In terms of the value of this book, I should state that one of its greatest strengths is the fact that in its content, it lays the basics without using complicated or condescending terminology, which becomes an indispensable tool for those who want to lay a strong foundation in project management principles. In simple sentences, thereby appealing to those without any prior knowledge, it makes the terminology and methodology of the work as understandable as ever while adding a touch of humor.

“Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” by Jeff Sutherland

For male and female beings, they are expected to share equal roles and duties in the family. This applies to both traditionally male-dominated fields, the software development and IT sectors, and to teams looking to adopt agile methodologies and the SCRUM framework. Appreciating this book, the co-creator of Scrum, Jeff Sutherland. It gives a deep insight into the agile methodology and how the agile framework is in operation in organizations.

Sutherland writes in his style, coming up with great cases spot on with the right historical facts where he embeds the Scrum framework stepping out of the suspensions of just one industry showing that it can do wonders. This is not the textbook about more for less; it is about doing less in a clever way and summoning up your creativity.

“The Art of Project Management” by Scott Berkun

Experienced project managers will find “The Art of Project Management” to be stimulating and will doubtless find her thinking about her craft-challenged as she refines and expands her toolkit. Berkun applied his practical-oriented lessons learned at Microsoft to his book where he presents unusual, but pragmatic techniques for effective projects.

This work of the mentioned author is just a must to read because you cannot normally find well-known ways for your search in it. The author goes beyond describing and reframes the way to solving tasks. Consequently, this critical thinking can translate to experienced leaders in the field by re-designing their perspectives on the problems at hand and taking a new path towards the jobs with new and fresh ideas.

Conclusion

In the digital era where information is crunched both short and medium, the traditional act of book reading is the uncontested king of reading that provides in depth and immersive learning. The reading habit should form the central part of the professional development plan that managers choose if they value growth and high-quality in the implementation of the projects.

ESPN Beaver Dam to Carry University of Wisconsin Women’s Volleyball

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Good Karma Brands has announced that ESPN Beaver Dam will join 100.5 ESPN Madison and 620 WTMJ in Milwaukee as a broadcaster for all University of Wisconsin women’s volleyball games starting in the 2024-2025 season. This expansion will guarantee that fans all over Wisconsin get live broadcasts of one of the strongest volleyball teams in the country.

“We are excited to join the group of GKB stations to deliver all the action and excitement of UW Women’s Volleyball games to fans,” said Sheri Sackett, market manager for ESPN Beaver Dam in a release. “By adding UW Women’s Volleyball to our lineup of premier brands and teams, we ensure that fans across the state can experience every thrilling moment.”

The UW Women’s Volleyball team finished the 2023 season at No. 3 in the AVCA Poll after a strong performance in the NCAA Tournament that led them to the semifinals. The addition of ESPN Beaver Dam will greatly increase the team’s exposure and audience reach.

In addition to UW Women’s Volleyball, ESPN Beaver Dam is the home for the Milwaukee Brewers, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Green Bay Packers, the Wisconsin Badgers, and the Beaver Dam High School Golden Beavers.

CNN Refutes Claims From Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro About Presidential Debate

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During Fox News’ The Five Monday, panelist Jeanine Pirro claimed CNN has mandated that the upcoming Presidential debate will be held with both candidates seated for the 90-minute event, in an effort to help President Joe Biden. The network has denied that accusation.

“They’re out there saying this election is not about age. Joe and the other guy are about the same age, even for the debate is– as Jesse is saying, they’re gonna be seated,” Pirro posited. “We don’t even get to see them walk in. They’ll be seated, so there is one less obstacle to worry about for Biden.”

However, CNN has denied that assertion.

“CNN’s proposed format was to have both candidates stand and both sides agreed to the rules when they agreed to debate,” a network spokesperson told Mediaite.

The argument presented by Pirro echoes that of a viral post on X from an account labeled as the Washington Reporter. The account only features 1,700 followers, but a post claiming that the Biden campaign was looking to renegotiate terms of the debate received more than 2.8 million views on the platform.

Reggie Miller: If TNT Loses NBA Broadcasting Rights, ‘We’re Going to Go Out With a Bang’

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The NBA is reportedly formalizing media rights contracts with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), NBCUniversal and Amazon’s Prime Video as its new trio of partners. If Warner Bros. Discovery ends up losing broadcasting rights to the NBA, it would mark the first time that a Turner-owned network did not televise league games since the 1984-85 season on TBS. Earlier in the season, TNT Sports reached a multi-year renewal agreement with NBA Hall of Fame forward Reggie Miller to continue serving as one of its analysts on its NBA on TNT coverage.

Miller joined the company in 2005 following his retirement from the NBA after an 18-year career with the Indiana Pacers and has called over 650 national NBA regular season games and NBA Playoffs matchups, along with 14 NBA Conference Finals. Yet he could be looking at his final season as a part of NBA on TNT coverage should the company no longer broadcast NBA games.

While it has been reported that Inside the NBA studio analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny “The Jet” Smith all have opt-out clauses in their contracts if the company no longer broadcasts the NBA, it is unknown if such a provision exists for Miller. Barkley has been a member of NBA on TNT coverage since 2000 and recently announced that next season will be his last on television no matter what happens. Dan Patrick asked Miller if he believed Barkley was genuine in his announcement following Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

“I don’t want to believe it,” Miller said on the Dan Patrick Show. “First of all let me say this – this could be retirement for all of us at Turner network next year.”

Within his retirement announcement, Barkley emphasized that no one should contact him for interviews and was done speaking on the matter. Over the last month, he had appeared on a variety of sports media programming and spoke candidly on the NBA media rights negotiations, his sentiments on how everything unfolded and the potential future of Inside the NBA. Patrick wanted to know if Miller himself had been informed about what is happening behind the scenes as it pertains to the future of the NBA on TNT.

“We are in the dark – we have no idea,” Miller said. “This is way above my pay grade. I’m hoping – I think our leadership is at the table from everything I’m hearing, again, which isn’t a lot, and I hope they’re having – two minutes left in the fourth [quarter] and they’re trying to pull out a win here. It would be nice.”

Throughout the negotiating process, there has been speculation regarding Barkley potentially joining another network if Warner Bros. Discovery lost rights to the NBA. As he revealed his retirement, he divulged that he had spoken with other networks but affirmed that he would never work elsewhere. Miller interpreted Barkley’s decision to reveal his future plans as a means of getting ahead of the story since his name has been circulating with several different possibilities. In fact, he has known Barkley for a long time and understands that he does things on his own accord.

“So if this is his last year – we’ve had conversations [where] I’m like, ‘Look dude, we’re going to go out with a bang,’” Miller said, “so whatever happens at our network – if we do get a piece of the pie and we’re one of the four horseman; or not, if this is our lame-duck year and this is my last year at Turner as well, we’re going to have fun and go out with a bang.”

NASCAR to Continue ‘Radioactive’ on YouTube

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NASCAR Race Hub, the daily studio show which debuted in October 2009 and just came to an end on June 11 will have part of its show live on. The very popular ‘Radioactive’ segment the show would do weekly will now become a feature on the NASCAR YouTube channel and run on FOX’s social and digital channels according to a report from Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal.

The segment would typically last four to six minutes and would feature the best audio from the team in-car radios.

On the final episode of Race Hub, host Shannon Spake introduced the final on-air ‘Radioactive’ by saying, “One of the staples of Hub happened every single Tuesday, a little segment we like to call ‘Radioactive.’ We get to listen in to the conversations between drivers, crew chiefs and spotters and it would always get interesting.”

In a story posted by On3’s Nick Geddes, he includes a quote from Denny Hamlin from his podcast about the end of Race Hub:

“… Let’s just say, my intuition says it’s going to get replaced with something, whether it be NASCAR or one of the new partners or something, but I don’t love getting off of FS1 for an hour a week. I don’t love it, but it’s not our decision. What I understood too, that was a real money-loss for FOX. They spent quite a bit of money, per year, putting that on. It was a net negative. So yeah, everyone’s got a business to run.”

Fox News Digital Sees Month-Over-Month Growth in Several Categories

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Fox News finished May as the top digital brand among news organizations in several metrics according to Comscore.

The network was the leader in multiplatform minutes and views, and saw growth in both categories during the month. In total, it earned more than 3.2 billion minutes, with 1.7 billion views, according to the report. 100 million unique visitors engaged with Fox News content on a digital platform. 5.8 million unique visitors utilized the company’s mobile app.

On social media, Fox News saw 26.4 million interactions, making it the most engaged news brand for the 117th consecutive month according to the network. On YouTube alone, the cable news giant saw 175.3 million views during the month of May.

Additionally, FOXBusiness.com saw more multiplatform views than both CNN Business and Bloomberg for the 37th consecutive month. 23.3 million unique visitors visited the brand on its various platforms.

Dick Vitale Is Cleared to Return to Work in the Fall

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ESPN basketball analyst and Hall of Fame personality Dick Vitale is cancer-free after being diagnosed with vocal cord cancer, but he is still recovering from vocal cord surgery he had earlier in the year. Vitale received six weeks of radiation treatment and was hoping to return to basketball broadcasts last November, but the plans changed when Dr. Steven Zeitels determined that he needed more vocal rest. This eventually led to a four-hour vocal cord surgery, after which he remained on vocal rest to determine its effectiveness. Vitale was in Boston to meet with Dr. Zeitels, who analyzed his progress and gave his subsequent evaluation, in turn delivering news that basketball fans had hoped they would be able to hear.

“The surgery that you had recently to reconstruct your vocal cords went beautifully,” Dr. Zeitels said, speaking to Vitale. “I’m very optimistic in the fall – it’s encouraging that you can get back to work here. I see absolutely no evidence of the cancer whatsoever, so I think this is a terrific visit, and I’m really optimistic that the future is really bright for what you want to do [with a] return to the court.”

Over the last several years, Vitale had fought against melanoma and lymphoma amid a global pandemic and always remained hopeful that he would return to calling basketball games for ESPN. Vitale made a return to the broadcasting booth during the 2022 college basketball season and is now looking to make it back again. In a previous interview with Barrett Sports Media, Vitale said that he hopes to call college basketball games at 100 years old and is motivated by the winning formula of passion, pride and perseverance.

Vitale understands that Dr. Zeitels wants him to minimize what he does up until the fall, utilizing a gradual assimilation into speaking more. By the time the fall comes around, it seems to be entirely plausible that he could be back calling college basketball games again.

“You can work with this, but you don’t want to take on too much,” Zeitels said. “When you take on too much, vocal problems can get worse quickly, so as long as you’re graded in your approach and you’re thoughtful about things, I think the future looks really bright.”

Vitale, a former college basketball coach, accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2022 ESPYS and discussed the importance of raising money to fulfill Valvano’s dream to beat cancer in his acceptance speech. Outside of his broadcasting work, he hosts the annual Dick Vitale Gala to benefit the V Foundation, which raised $24.8 million for pediatric cancer research in the past year.

Sports TV’s Star Era is Over, So What is Stephen A. Smith Worth Now at ESPN?

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What is ESPN paying Pat McAfee? The exact figure is disputed, but it’s believed that he signed a contract for $85 million last year. The network writes a $17 million check to Troy Aikman every year and another $10 million check for his Monday Night Football partner Joe Buck.

That is a lot of money already tied up in talent. It seems like ESPN is about to agree to another staggering dollar figure to keep Stephen A. Smith on the payroll. But I have a question.

Why are we doing this? Why is an eight-figure annual salary for any single person a good investment? 

ESPN’s corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, has said over and over again that they are trying to build a media company for the future. It’s why Star Wars is a streaming-only property for the time being and why Hulu is being folded into Disney+. 

The future is about meeting your audience’s needs on demand and putting a focus on what it is audiences will pay a premium to see. I don’t think that describes studio debate shows.

Jimmy Pitaro had an idea when he took over ESPN. He wanted to give more money to fewer people and put the network’s biggest stars everywhere he could fit them. It’s why Smith was on First Take and NBA Countdown and had a show on ESPN+. It’s why Mike Greenberg had Get Up, NBA Countdown and a radio show. When Pitaro was first laying the foundations for his tenure atop ESPN, the idea made a lot of sense. 

Now though, it’s time for the strategy to be re-thought, particularly as Pitaro and his boss Bob Iger lay out the reasons why it makes sense for the network to offer its audience so many different approaches to its digital future.

The star era of sports television is over. Just ask FS1 and Skip Bayless. 

When the biggest names and most recognizable faces at ESPN were Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, and Stuart Scott, we turned on ESPN to see what they would do and hear what they would say. To hear those talents tell it though, that was a time when ESPN was afraid to lean into its stars and instead tried to hammer home that no SportsCenter anchor was bigger than the show itself. There were a lot of steps that got us from that reality to this one, but each one made the talking heads matter a little less. Now, the only things that move the needle for the audience in a way that matters to the people at the top of Disney are games.

It started with the rapid growth of cable, then came the internet. That gave birth first to blogs, then YouTube and then to podcasting. We didn’t have to wait for Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon at 5:30 anymore. We could get access to whatever opinion we wanted any time we wanted it.

From there, it kicked into overdrive. Streaming TV became common in most homes. Sports betting was legalized in states all over the country. The Covid-19 pandemic shut down the sports world. Streaming viewership grew to the point that it overtook traditional television.

Advertisers have been paying attention to all of it and what it all means. Look at FOX News, which has been dominant in primetime on cable. The median age of the audience for those shows is 69. That means half of the people watching are 70 or over. It’s why commercials for catheters and reverse mortgages fill so much of the network’s ad time. That’s not just true for FOX News. It’s a problem for just about every traditional TV network. 

ESPN’s median viewer age is 48 and according to one study, nearly 40% of its audience is over 55. That’s still a valuable audience to advertisers, but remember that linear TV viewership isn’t popular with young people at all. Those people are not going to turn 48 and suddenly get a craving for a cable cord or satellite box. Many of them won’t even look into streaming tv packages like YouTubeTV, HuluTV, or Fubo. 

The one exception is live games. ESPN’s median age isn’t significantly lower than FOX News’s because of Smith or McAfee. It’s because of Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL and college football. The future value of ESPN is being able to offer all those leagues and games to viewers without forcing them to pay a cable or satellite bill.

First Take is well-constructed. Stephen A. Smith’s comments and antics on the show get spoofed by Saturday Night Live and draw a reaction from Jon Stewart. He has made the show a cultural touchstone. PTI and Around the Horn have both stood the test of time, in their 23rd and 22nd years on the network respectively. Those shows have performed at or above expectations for multiple decades, but I don’t think that guarantees they will be around forever.

What if ESPN wanted to take those games from smaller college conferences and international leagues that currently air on ESPN+ and put them on the main network instead? As we move to full availability of ESPN without a cable or satellite contract, the network could take advantage of America’s desire to bet by airing games throughout the majority of the day’s 24 hours. Integrate ESPNBet capabilities into the presentation, and you certainly have a more profitable product.

I could see myself watching a game in a league I am unfamiliar with and maybe even putting a little money on it if ESPN utilized the Pat McAfee Show crew. I’m not a huge fan of their college football broadcasts, because that’s my favorite sport and I want to watch the game, but if you’re telling me we’re all watching a soccer game from France’s Serie B and they are telling me what in-game bets they like, I just may participate. Degenerates can convince other degenerates to bet on anything if the vibe is right! The problem is that I don’t know how much of that McAfee can do and I don’t know many other ESPN talents that have that kind of equity with their audience.

Don’t judge Smith solely on recent weeks. It’s a short period when he has come off as really unlikable, but it’s part of a much larger career that has shown you over and over again that he knows how to attract and connect with an audience. Having him is a win for any network. But is it a win that’s worth an annual salary of 15 or 20 million dollars? I don’t think it is.

Stephen A. Smith has goals he wants to accomplish. There are new realities in the media business and ESPN needs to be ready to adapt. If the age of the star pundit on television is over, I’m not sure a long and expensive contract makes sense for either side.

Seller to Seller: John Goforth, Magellan AI

John Goforth is in his fifth year as Chief Revenue Officer at Magellan AI, a podcast advertising analytics platform. In his ‘previous life,’ Goforth spent more than a dozen years selling and managing in radio, with a heavy emphasis in sports.

After stops at KMOX, KFNS and 101 ESPN in St. Louis, Goforth was recruited to ESPN Chicago and later took over as Local Sales Manager for 670 The Score and 93XRT. When he looks back at his time with those stations and companies, he thinks about how much he enjoyed the creativity involved in the business. His success, he believes, came from his work ethic and building great relationships with clients who he would work tirelessly for to create engaging advertising campaigns he knew would drive results.

But Goforth also saw the declining revenue of traditional media and saw the opportunity in the podcast space. So, since 2016, Goforth’s sales life has revolved around podcasting.

Magellan AI has software which continuously monitors 40,000 advertisers across 50,000 podcasts. They work with publishers, ad agencies and brands and some have referred to the company as “the Google of podcasting.”

Goforth had previously worked with Magellan AI as Senior Vice President of Sales at HowStuffWorks, he was their first subscriber. “It’s so much easier to sell an advertiser who is already engaged in the podcast ecosystem than someone who isn’t,” Goforth told BSM in 2022. “I always wanted it to be someone else’s job to convince them that podcasts were the right channel. I just want to find the people that have already embraced the channel and convince them my content was good content to try.

“Sellers use us to understand the marketplace – who’s spending, what genres are they accelerating in, where are they pulling back, how much money are they spending and what their competitive field and industries look like.”

For example, Magellan AI data can tell you that in the month of April, Better Help spent nearly $7.7 million in podcast advertising, Amazon spent nearly $5.5 million. It can also tell you that Toyota was the top spending auto dealer in podcasting for the month and that 7 of the top 15 spenders in the month of April spent the most in sports.

When asked about the current state of the podcast industry and the knowledge people have of the industry, Goforth said, “The industry is evolving…the big learning curve for everyone is getting past the idea that Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) is bad, that DAI is equal to programmatic. DAI is the way in which an ad is served, it has nothing to do with the ad style. Programmatic is a way in which to buy ads.

“So, we’re past downloads and impressions and what is a pre-roll a mid-roll and a post-roll and now it’s on to what type of inventory are we selling and who’s selling it.”

Goforth said if 2020 and 2021 were the years of the content acquisition wars, right now is the era of inventory acquisition wars for podcasting. “I don’t think companies care so much about being able to say ‘we are the exclusive provider of this podcast, and we are the only ones with access to this inventory.’ That still exists…but as more brand awareness gets involved, it’s really important to be able to offer scale.”

Sports has been a big part of Goforth’s career from his days selling St. Louis Cardinals Radio on KMOX to being part of a brand-new FM sports station in St. Louis at 101 ESPN, to managing sports sales in one of the top markets in the country. He said for podcasting, there are a couple reasons why sports content does so well.

“Sports is a great gateway drug,” he said. “A lot of brands that are newer to podcasts are comfortable with sports and sports content. If they have to go explain something to their bosses, they’re never going to get in trouble for saying they bought sports…By and large, sports feels safe to traditional marketers. The other thing that goes along with that is the proliferation of sports gambling. Sports gambling is, in some ways, funding sports media.”

One area that is no different for Goforth in the software business from the media business is having to recruit and train salespeople if you are going to be successful. He said he has used different strategies in the past but has come back to one of the simpler strategies when it comes to hiring sellers.

“It’s one of the most challenging pieces of running a monetization business, finding the people that can actually go do it. I’ve evolved over the years, I’ve had lots of different philosophies and theories…and ultimately, I’ve circled around to the philosophy of Malcolm Gladwell…the concept is, recruiting is hard enough and no matter what you do, you are going to get it wrong 50% of the time. So, don’t overthink it, follow your gut. Thats been the most successful path for me. Do I like this person? Would I want to have a beer with this person? Do they seem intelligent?

“I don’t subscribe to the ‘check the box’ theory…If I am hiring a podcast seller, it’s less interesting to me if you have sold podcasts. If everything else is great, I can teach you that part. Are you smart? Do you have that motor, that drive? Thats the one thing that is non-negotiable, the internal motor. I want to hire adults to be adults. I don’t want to have to check in on them and micromanage. I just want them to tell me when they need something and be supportive of them. I want to hire smart, competent people to do their job and if they need training, I give it to them. Thats been the most successful thing for me.”

Much like Brian Schneekloth from Beasley Media Group Boston talked about in this space previously, Goforth is a big believer in growing your sales bench internally. “I love hiring people to do job A, so they are ready to do job B in six months and that’s always been a really successful tactic for me as well.”

Whether it has been driving revenue selling sports media or driving revenue selling software to help others build podcast revenue, John Goforth is finding success and staying at the top of his game.

How KDKA Transformed Overnights to Grow Its Future and Reach Younger Audiences

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In February, venerable Pittsburgh news/talk station KDKA announced a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh that would see students from the college host a weekday overnight program.

The program — KDKA Next Take — is heard from 1-5 AM and replaced the nationally syndicated Red Eye Radio in the Audacy-owned station’s lineup.

A product of the imagination of Audacy Pittsburgh Senior Vice President and Market Manager Michael Spacciapolli, he believes the show has been a success in its early run.

“The show certainly offers a different perspective on the way that this generation looks at the world and from their viewpoint as opposed to other hosts who are in a different time in their life than them,” Spacciapolli said. “So we certainly are able to share a different point of view from them, while at the same time utilizing those points of view on social and getting them to really engage the radio station from a social perspective and hopefully engaging in and not just speaking to, but engaging people in that demographic, as well.”

Needing to attract younger audiences has been at the forefront of the news/talk radio industry for quite some time. Another issue discussed by leaders of the format are often centered around where stations will find the next crop of young talent.

With the partnership with Pitt, KDKA took the initiative to seek out those who might be interested in a radio career, rather than hope those potential employees found them.

“I’m always looking for great talent. Everything I do and in every aspect of the radio station, I’m looking for the most talented people. I’m always looking for where is the next great talent in everything we do,” said Spacciapolli. “This gives me the opportunity to have them working with us on an everyday basis and learning everything they do — from their work ethic, to their thought process, to their ideas. It gives me an opportunity to have our own ‘bench’ and have an opportunity to see where talent could come from in the future.

“There’s going to be talent there that we are potentially going to take a look at in different roles. Do they leave Next Take when their time is up on the show and do they immediately become full-time hosts? Probably not. But can they become part-time hosts? Sure,” he added. “Can they become producers? Absolutely. Can they become reporters? Can they become part-time reporters? Absolutely. Working with us gives us the opportunity to certainly move in that direction much more quickly and confidently than we would have previously.”

For decades, overnights were a proving ground for aspiring hosts. The daypart allowed for opportunities for young hosts and provided a low-pressure timeslot to experiment and hone your craft. But with the rise of automation and syndication, those positions have largely fallen by the wayside.

However, Audacy Pittsburgh looked at the partnership with the college and saw opportunity. The collaboration allows a younger generation access to the station that is largely dominated by older hosts and listeners.

Additionally, it provided even more local coverage to a station that prides itself of being “The Voice of Pittsburgh.” That factor wasn’t lost on Spacciapolli.

“A big part of my vision was it gave us the opportunity to be local, gave us the opportunity to be local overnight, which for me is how we win in this business is being local, staying local, talking to people in Pittsburgh about Pittsburgh, and this gave us the opportunity to do that on a pretty big scale and with fresh content every day.”

It would be natural for a full-time or even part-time employee of the Pittsburgh news/talk station to be jealous that a four-hour program was being given to college students. But that hasn’t been the case, Spacciapolli shared.

“The overwhelming feedback is very positive … Because there’s no expense it’s not like it’s somebody else could have been doing it. It would have continued to be syndicated if we weren’t able to do it through the partnership with the University of Pittsburgh. So it just makes the radio station’s brand bigger. It connects us in different areas and hopefully grows the brand and gets the brand younger.”

The program is recorded live-to-tape earlier in the day before airing in the 1-5 AM timeslot, which allows for some fine-tuning and takes the pressure off the radio novices, while also allowing them to helm a show instead of working in the wee hours of the night while trying to focus on their studies.

Spaccipolli shared that an overnight program hosted by college students interested in one day working in the industry doesn’t have to be proprietary to KDKA. He said there’s one deciding factor in the success of the endeavor.

“It’s about the relationships and the partnerships. And, fortunately, I have a great relationship with the University of Pittsburgh, they’re a great partner. I was able to get deep enough into this relationship with them and find ways to potentially make this work,” he stated.

“This is not easy. It’s not something you can pull off easily because, traditionally, I think, people think about it and they think, ‘Oh, there’s got to be significant expense.’ And in this situation, there’s not because that wouldn’t have fit our model for where it is and what we’re trying to do with it. So there isn’t that expense. You’re not gonna be able to make it work everywhere. Fortunately, we were able to do it here.”