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Tim Conway Jr.: Social Media Quickens the News Cycle for Stories Like the Baltimore Bridge

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Tim Conway Jr.: Social Media Quickens the News Cycle for Stories Like the Baltimore Bridge

Social media video of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsing in the Baltimore harbor made the rounds Tuesday morning. KFI AM-640 host Tim Conway Jr. believes the way we learned about the tragedy shapes the coverage surrounding it.

While discussing the happenings with KFI reporter Steve Gregory, who has a long history of covering breaking news events, Conway Jr. noted that not only did social media help confirm the validity of the story, but seeing the images spread so quickly shined a spotlight on how fast the news cycle moves now.

“What a great advantage of having Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and then TikTok, all these social media is when something like that happens you know, because it happens so late we would have not ever heard about it or seen anything until the morning news,” said Conway Jr.

“But now with social media you instantly know. A good buddy of mine, he sent me that literally about 40 minutes after it happened. The video and the story. That’s crazy.”

Tyler Murray Added to WEEI Red Sox Radio Bench

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Tyler Murray Added to WEEI Red Sox Radio Bench

The voice of the Worcester Red Sox, Tyler Murray, has been added to the Red Sox Radio play-by-play bench. WEEI made the announcement on their X account, saying, “On the heels of calling the Hockey East Tourney this weekend [and] adding to his excellent work [with the Worcester Red Sox], happy to announce that Tyler Murray will be helping to build our [Red Sox Network] bench this year! Tyler’s 1st series in the big leagues will be April 5-7 [with Will Flemming].

Murray, who has also called college hockey games on NESN plus college football and basketball games, said on X, “Coming up on 13 seasons in [minor league baseball], it’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have this opportunity. Thank you to [WEEI brand manager Ken Laird] and [Audacy Boston Senior Vice President/Market Manager Mike Thomas], and to everyone who has reached out. Your support has honestly been overwhelming, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Murray’s first series will be the Red Sox taking on the Los Angeles Angels on the road, April 5-7.

Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo: NFL Streaming Games ‘Gets Obscene’

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The National Football League has announced that the Philadelphia Eagles opening matchup taking place from San Paolo, Brazil against an opponent to be determined for the 2024 season will stream exclusively on Peacock. Even though the game will be exclusive to Peacock – thus requiring fans to subscribe in order to watch – it will also be broadcast on an over-the-air network in the local markets of the teams involved in the game. Christopher ‘Mad Dog’ Russo is not a fan of this decision by the league.

During his “What Are You Mad About?” segment on Wednesday morning’s edition of First Take on ESPN, Russo expressed his indignation towards the game being exclusively streamed by Peacock. Within his discourse, he presented a hypothetical scenario of an Eagles fan who continues to spend money to see the team at Lincoln Financial Field and how they would not fly down to Brazil to see the game. Russo continued by saying that the fan would then miss the game without having Peacock so the NFL is able to drive more revenue.

“It’s hard to get Peacock; I don’t want to get Peacock, alright?,” Russo said. “I want to watch the game normal. Give me [Joe] Buck and [Troy] Aikman, give me the CBS crew, [Tom] Brady’s going to do it. Give me something! Don’t put the Eagles 9,000 miles away and then put them on a cable thing on Peacock which you’ve got to subscribe to so NBC can make more money.”

NBC Sports will broadcast an opening night game during Week 1 on Thursday, Sept. 5, along with a Sunday Night Football contest on Sunday, Sept. 8. Within its stretch of primetime football matchups, which also includes a Saturday night Big Ten Conference game, the Friday night NFL game seems to be the only one exclusive to Peacock. The streaming platform is coming off a strong performance for its exclusive Wild Card round playoff matchup, drawing an average of 23 million viewers and becoming the most-streamed NFL game in history.

This past season of Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video garnered a 24% increase in viewers compared to its first season, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. These metrics demonstrate that the broadcast property averaged 11.86 million viewers per game during the 2023 NFL season. The OTT streaming platform also presented the inaugural NFL game on Black Friday, which averaged 9.61 million viewers.

Prime Video will reportedly have the exclusive rights to an NFL playoff game next season, and it has continued building out its sports content vertical. The company has reportedly been exploring a potential media rights deal with the National Basketball Association as its national television contract is nearing expiration. The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery are currently in the midst of exclusive negotiating windows with the NBA that conclude on Monday, April 22, after which Amazon will be able to bid.

“They’ve got a Wild Card game on Amazon Prime Video, which means you can’t switch with the remotes,” Russo said, referring to the reported agreement for next season. “I know the NFL prints money – I understand how big they are, but boy this gets obscene.”

“One-hundred percent right,” First Take host Molly Qerim added. “I cannot stand having 8,000 different apps. It needs to be streamlined. It’s annoying – you have to remember all these passwords. I don’t have Peacock; I don’t want Peacock. I completely agree with you.”

ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler proceeded to convey the dedication of Eagles fans in showing up to the stadium and watching their team. Russo agreed with him that Eagles fans will travel down to Brazil since they pack stadiums and fervently support their team. Off of that point, ESPN NFL reporter Kimberley A. Martin explained that she believes the devotion and zeal from the fanbase is part of the reason why this is a shrewd decision by the NFL.

“This is genius,” Martin said. “You do put the Eagles – that type of team – because they’re going to buy it.”

Michael Riedel: Once You Start Talking About People’s Personal Lives, There’s No Going Back

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Michael Riedel: Once You Start Talking About People’s Personal Lives, There’s No Going Back

710 WOR morning host Michael Riedel got spent years working as a Broadway reporter and columnist before shifting to the New York news/talker. He has one guiding principle for the radio show that he has kept from his writing days.

Riedel was discussing his previous role at the New York Post with colleague Mark Simone on his midday program and said there are just some things you shouldn’t talk about.

“I got all the backstage stories when I was writing the column about Broadway for the New York Post. You know, celebrities, the leading lady fighting with the producer, lawsuits,” Riedel shared. “But I always drew the line at people’s private lives. Because I thought if you go down that path, then you’re headed towards National Enquirer territory and as a journalist, you can never really come back from that.

“If somebody filed a sexual harassment suit against somebody, I covered those. That’s fine. I mean, as soon as a suit is filed, it’s a matter of public record. I could get into it, but I never got into who’s sleeping with whom and who’s doing this thing. Not to say I didn’t know, and I loved hearing about it, but I drew the line at people’s personal lives when I wrote about them.”

Simone joked that he admired Riedel’s ability to converse with celebrities and know “exactly what that guy would be fascinated by.”

Salem Media Group Sees Drop in 2023 Broadcast Revenue, Slight Increase in Digital

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Salem Media Group has released its 2023 financial results, and the company saw a slight dip in broadcast revenue during the year.

Overall, the company reported revenue had declined $7.6 million compared to 2022, representing a drop of 3.7%. Nearly half of that figure was political advertising, as that sector dropped from $5.9 million to $2.3 million, a loss of $3.6 million.

However, digital revenue at the company was up 4.1% with increases from the Salem Podcast Network, Salem News Channel, and digital marketing.

In total, the company reported a rise in operating expenses during the year, ultimately reporting a net loss of $43.3 million in 2023 compared to the $3.2 million it lost in 2022.

Salem Media Group instituted several measures throughout 2023 to mitigate the losses, including selling its publishing and church products divisions. It also sold its former California headquarters for more than $6 million, while agreeing to lease the building for $500,000 per year.

Sage Steele Debuts Episode 1 of ‘The Sage Steele Show’ Through Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios

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Sage Steele Debuts Episode 1 of ‘The Sage Steele Show’ Through Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios

Sage Steele is back in the sports media space with her own YouTube show, The Sage Steele Show. It comes courtesy of Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios and features UFC CEO and president Dana White in Episode 1.

Steele announced the move via her X account, saying that she was, “THRILLED to announce [her] new show! Genuine convos with fearless people who are unafraid to tell their stories & speak their truths in this crazy world!”

Steele left ESPN after 16 years and one First Amendment lawsuit, after claiming the company and her colleagues wanted to suppress her rights to free speech after making public comments about COVID-19 and former President Barack Obama. Steele says she lived in fear during her last few years at the company because of her beliefs and the potential clashes they would have with her colleagues. She made appearances on other programs in the time since her ESPN departure but now finally has a new home.

Steele’s show is the first on Bill Maher’s new Club Random Studios podcast network. She will join other hosts like Billy Corgan and Fred Durst with shows on the network. According to Variety, Club Random will also partner with Kevin Garnett on his KG Certified podcast and develop new shows in-house.

NCAA Women’s Championship Round 2 on ESPN Up 121%; Iowa-West Virginia Hits 4.9 Million Viewers

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NCAA Women’s Championship Round 2 on ESPN Up 121%; Iowa-West Virginia Hits 4.9 Million Viewers

The women’s college basketball hot streak continues with the second round of the NCAA Women’s Championship on ESPN averaging 1.4 million viewers all weekend. Viewership was at its highest for Caitlin Clark’s final game in Iowa when her Iowa Hawkeyes defeated West Virginia, which amassed a staggering 4.9 million viewers and peaked at 6.4 million.

ESPN and ABC achieved their four-most watched second-round games on record this season. Outside of Iowa/WVU, the matchup between UConn and Stanford averaged 2.1 million viewers, the LSU/Middle Tennessee matchup garnered 2 million viewers, and the Kansas/USC tilt averaged 1.8 million viewers. This matches its first-round coverage, which also set marks for its most-viewed games ever.

According to ESPN’s VP of research Flora Kelly, Iowa/WVU’s 4.9 million viewers would have beaten every Women’s National Championship game from 2005 to 2022:

ESPN is no doubt excited for a potential Elite 8 matchup between Iowa and LSU, a rematch of last year’s national championship game. That game averaged 9.9 million viewers, shattering the previous record for a women’s college basketball game on any network. All it needs is an Iowa win over Colorado and an LSU win over UCLA to make their dream a reality. A potential Iowa/South Carolina national title game could surpass even that.

Boston Globe’s Chad Finn: “Most Likely” Rich Shertenlieb Ends Up in Afternoon Drive on WEEI

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Boston Globe’s Chad Finn: “Most Likely” Rich Shertenlieb Ends Up in Afternoon Drive on WEEI

The “Rich Shertenlieb Watch” is currently on high alert as news is starting to leak about where he will end up back on the radio. Shertenlieb unexpectedly ended his partnership with Fred Toucher and Toucher & Rich after 17 years back in November.

Chad Finn, sports and sports media columnist at The Boston Globe, put out a post on X saying, “Didn’t think Rich Shertenlieb would end up at WEEI after leaving Sports Hub. I do now, most likely in afternoon drive. Audacy management has been telling people to expect changes.”

He then posted a quote sent to him by Shertenlieb which said, “As much as I think Mike Thomas is one of the best programmers in the country and Mark Hannon is one of the best execs in broadcasting, and as much as I look forward to reconnecting with the audience, I have no immediate plans at the moment outside of spending the afternoon at the dog park. I will keep you posted.”

Several who know Shertenlieb have said recently to expect an announcement soon, however, nothing specific has come out, so far. Former WEEI host Kirk Minihane posted, “If this is true it’s beyond insane. What I’m hearing can’t actually be true,” last evening on his X account, in response to a post saying, “Get ready for more shuffling of the deck chairs at WEEI!”

BSM will have more as news becomes available.

Howie Carr: MSNBC Hosts Have Too Many Skeletons in Closet to Criticize Ronna McDaniel

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Howie Carr: MSNBC Hosts Have Too Many Skeletons in Closet to Criticize Ronna McDaniel

NBC News, MSNBC, and Ronna McDaniel have been at the forefront of the news media cycle after her hiring and subsequent removal from the network. Howie Carr believes the entire ordeal is an exercise in hypocrisy.

During The Howie Carr Show, the Boston-based host shared his belief that the reaction from MSNBC hosts like Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell about the hiring of McDaniel reeks of dishonesty.

“Talk about hypocrisy here. NBC is now claiming to be journalists? They’re offended by Rhonda McDaniel, because she makes stuff up,” said Carr.

“Al Sharpton…is he offended? Brian Williams? Is he still ’emeritus,’ right? How about all the Dateline NBC people who put the bomb in the truck? Mike Barnicle? Is he offended? Chuck Todd, former coat-holder for Tom Harkin whose wife made millions working for Bernie Sanders, another very upstanding statesman.

“Joy Reid, who was caught with all the anti-gay, believe anti-Muslim tweets, too? She said she was hacked by a time traveler and asked the FBI to investigate it. And Lawrence O’Donnell, the guy who made up the Deutsche Bank thing that had to apologize? Rachel Maddow, who group came up with Trump’s income taxes return like it was a big scoop and had already put it in a book 20 years earlier? Did Joe Scarborough denounced him from his old congressional office in Fort Walton Beach, Florida where they found a dead girl? They’re appalled by Ronna McDaniel. Appalled.”

SiriusXM Adds Justin Morneau and Trevor May, Announces 2024 MLB Coverage Plans

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SiriusXM Adds Justin Morneau and Trevor May, Announces 2024 MLB Coverage Plans

SiriusXM has announced its coverage plans for the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season, set to commence on Thursday with Opening Day festivities from around the league. Subscribers will be able to access live play-by-play broadcasts of every game in addition to news, talk and analysis on MLB Network Radio. The revamped SiriusXM app will also feature a page dedicated to MLB coverage, making it easy for subscribers to find content related to the league and their preferred team.

The MLB Network Radio channel features a comprehensive lineup of hosts providing listeners with comprehensive coverage of the sport on a day-to-day basis. Jim Bowden, Eduardo Perez, Xavier Scruggs, Ryan Spilborghs and Jon Morosi are among the personalities featured on the airwaves throughout the week. Additional hosts on the roster include Robert Brender, Jenny Cavnar, Mike Ferrin, Dan Graca, Jeff Joyce, Jim Memolo, Grant Paulsen, Ed Randall and Dani Wexelman.

Ahead of the start of the 2024 season, SiriusXM announced that it is adding 2006 American League Most Valuable Player and four-time All Star first baseman Justin Morneau to its roster of MLB Network hosts. Throughout the MLB season, Morneau will be contributing across various programs on the channel through regular appearances. Former reliever Trevor May, who recently retired from the sport and was added to the Foul Territory roster by Make Plays Media, is also joining MLB Network Radio to host a three-hour Sunday program titled Home Plate with the aforementioned Wexelman.

Over the course of the season, MLB Network Radio will welcome several managers from across the league on shows for regularly-scheduled interviews. Some of the managers slated to participate include Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox, Bud Black of the Colorado Rockies and Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays.

MLB Network Radio will also be airing High Heat, the MLB Network show hosted by Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, on weekdays at 1 p.m. EST. Additionally, Russo is featured on the Mad Dog Sports Radio channel in afternoon drive for his program, Mad Dog Unleashed. Outside of his radio hosting endeavors, he contributes to ESPN morning show First Take on Wednesday editions of the program.

SiriusXM will commence its season of broadcast coverage on Thursday, March 28 when the Toronto Blue Jays visit the Baltimore Orioles from Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Steve Phillips and Dani Wexelman will broadcast live beginning at 12 p.m. EST leading up to the Opening Day action in a divisional rivalry. A full schedule of games being broadcast on SiriusXM and where to find them can be found by clicking here.

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