MSNBC launched its new weekend morning program, fittingly entitled The Weekend, on January 13. Hosted by Alicia Menendez, former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, and former Democratic strategist Symone Sanders-Townsend, The Weekend is one of the major parts of the network’s revamped schedule put in place in time for the start of the 2024 presidential election year, just as the primary races commence in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Prior to its official start, the network offered a sort-of preview of the three hosts on-air with a midnight slot on the late night of Jan. 10, analyzing CNN’s Iowa debate between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, as well as Fox News’ Donald Trump town hall from earlier that evening. That hour posted 748,000 total viewers and 94,000 adults 25-54.
As for the premiere of The Weekend at 8-10 a.m. on Jan. 13, it averaged somewhat similar figures: 727,000 viewers including 61,000 within the key 25-54 demographic, according to Nelson Media Research. Compared to the two-hour Velshi of exactly one year earlier (Jan. 14, 2023 at 8-10 a.m.), The Weekend improved 71 percent in total audience, and 14 percent among adults 25-54.
The first Sunday edition of The Weekend (Jan. 14) drew 558,000 viewers and 74,000 adults 25-54; also, a notable improvement over the comparable Jan. 15, 2023 “Velshi”, up 43 percent in viewership, up 95 percent in demo.
Through Jan. 28, The Weekend has maintained steady since its debut: 779,000 viewers/71,000 adults 25-54 on Saturday mornings; 554,000 viewers/57,000 adults 25-54 on Sundays. Based on its timeslots throughout all of 2023 and the first weekend of 2024, which had mostly included programs hosted by Katie Phang and Jonathan Capehart, The Weekend grew 37 percent and 22 percent in total audience (along with 24 percent and 15 percent in adults 25-54) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Thus far, a very positive start to MSNBC’s new weekend mornings.
Elmo was obliterated last week, and it’s about time. Larry David gave the red monster a good face grabbing on NBC’s Today which seemed to come as a shock to some of the anchors. More importantly, when the fluffy red marketing tool asked on X how everyone was doing, it was very clear nobody is ok. But is Elmo at fault? The very show that taught us what TV could be if it loved people may have turned its back on America and is now selling to you instead with marketing.
According to Morris and Nielsen data, in 1966 children were watching 54 hours of TV a week. But what they were watching was non-educational, and had an end goal of selling toys or products. Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett set out to change this and advance children of the inner city. Combined with a small team, including Jim Henson and producer/director Jon Stone, they developed Sesame Street. It not only had the muppets but it also educated children with songs, live actors, and short sketches with claymation/hand-drawn animation.
Once the format was nailed down and the show made it to air it was an instant hit. In Cooney’s own words (found in several documentaries) “the phone was ringing off the hook.” The calls were from toy makers. The show wasn’t for marketing toys but for education. Viewers were excited to learn about “Who are the people in your neighborhood,” we mourned when Mr. Hooper died, and in the early 2000’s felt the pain of Big Bird losing his nest due to a storm. Yet emotional moments like this, which teach children how to grow, are missing from today’s Sesame Street.
Muppets with definitive personalities, like Snuffalufagus, Forgetful Jones, and Oscar the Grouch have either been retired, forgotten about, or given minimal airtime (respectively). These key characters and moments have been replaced by a self-centered 3-year-old red monster and his fairy friend, Abby. Both make great marketing tools but teach very little about growing up and how to be a better person.
Designed in 1979, Elmo was a generic background monster. He was tossed from muppeteer to muppeteer because no one wanted him. Dubbed “Baby Monster”, Elmo represents children going through the terrible threes, except he never grows up. Like 3-year-olds who are only concerned about their own needs, Elmo’s character never develops an emotional range of understanding. It even shows in the way Elmo speaks, because he is the only character who calls himself by his name. The more Elmo took up the show, the less educational and emotional growth children experienced. The news media, however, loved Elmo because, like Elmo, the news media loves itself.
Children deserve more than Elmo. In the “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street” documentary, Lloyd Morrisett defined why Oscar the Grouch is so important saying, “Oscar the Grouch was created to show even someone with a completely different point of view could become your friend.” Something adults and children alike need to be reminded of today.
Forgetful Jones teaches children not only is it ok to forget but also how to be kind to someone when they do forget. Snuffalufagus and his relationship with Big Bird is key because it shows how to stand up for what (or who) you believe in, even if people can’t see it with their own eyes.
This brings us to Big Bird, who was, and still should be, the most important muppet on Sesame Street. At 8 feet 2 inches tall and just 6 years old, Big Bird acts as children should by the end of their tenure for watching the show. The importance of understanding and developing coping mechanisms when death or tragedy strikes is essential to Big Bird’s character and is missing from modern-day storylines.
The marketing ploy of today’s Sesame Street is very blatant and brazen. Producers of Sesame Street today no longer feel the importance of holding up the integrity of the show. They are instead only interested in maintaining the integrity of their own social justice pursuits. Conversely, Stone, Henson, and their music producer Joe Raposo could not spend enough hours of the day maintaining the show’s integrity. The pursuits of what was then considered progressive programming always came in a distant third to integrity and education.
While the news media of yesteryear applauded the hard work and educational value of the show, today, news media lauds the history and feelings it invokes for adults, not the quality of content it is providing children.
Today’s edition of Social Studies features a mainstay of the Dan Le Batard universe, JuJu Gotti. While JuJu’s responsibilities at Meadowlark Media have evolved – hosting Wake and Take, Sunday Night Live and launching branded merchandise – his bread and butter remains on the social media side. JuJu is charged with Tweeting from the main Le Batard Show which includes pulling clips from the show and handling the fan-favorite Twitter polls.
When he started with the show in 2020 JuJu was a one-man department on social. He also isn’t based in South Florida like much of the Le Batard crew. Couple that with the non-stop nature of social media and JuJu found himself under a lot of pressure early on. And that’s where the heart of our conversation pivoted to. How he learned to lean on other people on the social team, how his camaraderie with talent blossomed and the responsibility he feels to portray the Meadowlark talent – people he now considers close friends – in the best possible light on social.
Enjoy this conversation with JuJu Gotti of Meadowlark Media. Be advised this conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity. For the full interview visit the Barrett Sports Media YouTube page.
Alex Reynolds: “Put it on the poll Juju @LebatardShow” is something that is said about 20 times an episode. Put me in that place when Dan is saying that on the show, what you’re doing and why polls are so important for the show.
JuJu Gotti: Yeah, I’m usually pooping myself because it always jars me at attention. Because it’s while he’s doing the show. I’m trying to get clips from a certain part of the show. So I have one headphone on this, another headphone on this. So that always snaps me out of what I’m doing.
When I was a listener of the show, and not working with these people, the polls would kind of be like a mystery. What could that possibly be about? Why would that question ever be asked today?
But now I understand it is important because those polls have so much engagement, like thousands and thousands of people vote on simple things.
AR: Take me through an average day in your world.
JG: I wake up around 6:45 or so and put a little mental oil on myself. When I say mental oil I mean I do my meditation, do the things that remind me to be present. Then around 8:00 we have our production meeting with the show where all the ideas are bouncing. Mike gives us the rundown and we pitch our ideas to Mike. We go live at 9:00. We go live and I start listening for clips and posts. Around 10 in the morning we get our first break and we’re cutting more clips. It’s just a clip-a-thon pretty much and you just have fun. You see Dan in a ridiculous outfit and laugh at him, you make fun of him. You see somebody in wack shoes we talk about them and then you keep cutting clips.
AR: For you, what is a good clip for social?
JG: Anything that catches my eye and doesn’t put someone in an embarrassing situation. Bomani Jones gave me a great phone call one time during this job and reminded me of certain ways to post certain things. Because certain aggregators out there, they’ll clip you out. And so [you post] stuff that’s this whole piece of the pie. A whole piece.
It’s basically my honor to get this message out. When Dan says something, I’m like, people gotta hear that. You gotta hear the way he put it. And so it means a lot to me to make sure it is up to par.
AR: How do you know what’s going to be the right clip to put the talent in the perfect position?
JG: It’s getting to know them for real. That’s basically the key. I think that’s the key to make the whole world around, communication. It’s one thing to say, ‘Okay, this is what I think about this person and this is what I assume they would like.’ It’s another thing to invite them over for dinner. It’s another thing to invite them out to a movie or the bar. Hang out with your brothers and sisters. Me and Jessica (Smetana) hang out, Lucy (Rhoden), the production, the camera crew, we all hang out as friends. You feel me. And so whenever it comes to the work side, I kind of know what they like, because that’s my friend. Like you understand and you take care of your people. It’ll hurt me if I put something out that they didn’t want. So I take it into context. Just being a brother.
AR: Tell me a little bit about strategy. Like what are the different strategies you have for different platforms?
JG: That’s one thing I’m getting schooled on right now because at first I was just a guy who’s you know, posting things that I think would be cool. But now we’ve got people in place like Kirsten and Thomas. Thomas is a YouTube specialist – algorithm wise, keyword wise. Kirsten, she’s an algorithm expert on Twitter, Instagram, what time of day to post, what times of day when you’re not getting traffic. So I’m soaking up information from like I said, hanging out with these people. So I’m getting the game from them and learning as I go.
Another important part of it is I’m not ashamed to let somebody know that I don’t know what I’m doing. Or I don’t know what this is. And I found that I’ve learned more in those moments of humility than I’ve learned trying to do it myself or handle it on my own. I love the community aspect of this job.
AR: How much would you say of the content that you’re doing, and also what you’re putting out on social media, is trying stuff and being experimental?
JG: I would say when it comes to Dan and his costumes, and ping pong, everything is a trial for the most part because they’re so different. These are not 20 year old men that even know the trend. First, I gotta introduce the TikTok to them. And so getting the buy-in is always hilarious. I get so much joy in seeing Dan and Stugotz try some young person stuff.
AR: How important is it for you, personally, to have a team that you can lean on for new and emerging platforms?
JG: It’s important because from 2020 to 2023, it was only me. And Ryan Cortes as well, salute to Ryan Cortes. Whenever he could find time to help me out, he helped me out, taking clips from different shows as well. That whole time I was so petrified that I was gonna make a mistake. Because we got Jemele Hill, we got Dan Le Batard we got Bomani, we got intelligent people. And me putting their words online, I felt the pressure from 2020 to when the first formal help came in, because I’m just that kind of person. So if I make a mistake, if I make a typo, if Clay Travis aggregates this I’m like ‘oh my god.’
It’s been very important for me to feel like if I do make a mistake it’s not the end of the world. During the first three years, I couldn’t handle it because I was acting like I could. They didn’t know I was juggling all these plates. But now that I got help, it’s way more fun to do. And way more, I’d say therapeutic just for me as a man to just be able to lean on a brother or sister for help. Because I’m used to doing everything alone. And I don’t think that that’s healthy in the long run.
AR: To wrap up anything else you want to say, any bold takes about the social media space or anything like that?
JG: Man, I think that we need to show more love man. If we can band together and just no matter what, no matter what your allegiance is, if your show is left, right, if your show is Democrat or Republican, we can do a better job of showing each other love online. We don’t got to stoop to all the negativity that the world is used to. It’s up to us to be the change we want to see.
I feel like as social media people, people be listening when we tweet and stuff, so if we can make it more about peace and love. And if we do have an opinion, let’s make sure that thing is still wrapped in respect. You know what I mean? So let’s progress the game social media people, let’s progress the game with love.
**This story has been updated to include the release put out by ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery
CNBC was first to reportESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are going to join forces on a new sports streaming platform sometime this fall.
According to the report, the platform does not have a name or a price point as of yet.
The three entities have released the following:
ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery have reached an understanding on principal terms to form a new Joint Venture to build an innovative new platform to house a compelling streaming sports service. The platform brings together the companies’ portfolios of sports networks, certain direct-to-consumer sports services and sports rights – including content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports. The formation of the pay service is subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements amongst the parties. The offering, scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024, would be made available directly to consumers via a new app. Subscribers would also have the ability to bundle the product, including with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.
The platform would aggregate content to offer fans an extensive, dynamic lineup of sports content, aiming to provide a new and differentiated experience to serve sports fans, particularly those outside of the traditional pay TV bundle.
By subscribing to this focused, all-in-one premier sports service, fans would have access to the linear sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, as well as ESPN+.
Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company said, “The launch of this new streaming sports service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business. This means the full suite of ESPN channels will be available to consumers alongside the sports programming of other industry leaders as part of a differentiated sports-centric service. I’m grateful to Jimmy Pitaro and the team at ESPN, who are at the forefront of innovating on behalf of consumers to create new offerings with more choice and greater value.”
Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of FOX said, “We’re pumped to bring the FOX Sports portfolio to this new and exciting platform. We believe the service will provide passionate fans outside of the traditional bundle an array of amazing sports content all in one place.”
David Zaslav, Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery, said “At WBD, our ambition is always to connect our leading content and brands with as many viewers as possible, and this exciting joint venture and the unparalleled combination of marquee sports rights and access to the greatest sporting events in the world allows us to do just that. This new sports service exemplifies our ability as an industry to drive innovation and provide consumers with more choice, enjoyment and value and we’re thrilled to deliver it to sports fans.”
More details, including pricing, will be announced at a later date.
ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch joint sports streaming platform this year https://t.co/GPU9t7gZy2
This is what inevitably will happen. All this streaming and having to toggle back and forth on apps – which ends up costing more money when you add it all up – people are going to be like, can't we just watch all this shit in one place?
This news comes at a time when sports media rights have skyrocketed and when leagues are looking for more ways to monetize their respective sports broadcasting fees.
This is a developing story and we will post more information as it becomes available.
Jim Rome announced today on The Jim Rome Show he will be ending the show’s simulcast on CBS Sports Network at the end of this week. The show will eventually be seen live each day on X, however, no start date has been announced.
“This radio show that I have done, The Jungle, in its current format has been around for about three decades,” Rome said “As a simulcast and TV show, it’s been around now for seven years on CBS Sports Network. We have had this amazing run with CBS Sports Network, it’s been an amazing company to work with, we have had an amazing staff. I did hint at something recently when I made an announcement and said I was going to start something new with the X platform. What I am talking about is this. This is officially going to be our last week on CBS Sports Network as a simulcasted radio program. The radio program continues in its normal format.
“But, after this week, this will be our final week. And it’s been an amazing run, a seven year run, and I have got so much gratitude for everyone that I have worked with and for the way the show has been taken care of and put out, but this is our final week.”
Rome then explained how the transition will work. “What will happen is, after this week we will go dark for a short period of time and then the show is going to re-emerge on the X platform. We will broadcast the show on the X platform. Right now, we are in the stages of building this thing, developing this thing, putting it all together. I don’t have an actual launch date for you, but I’ve got one in mind and it’s not that far down the road.”
Rome again thanked everyone at CBS Sports Network and said it had been a great run. He added, “I am really, really excited about the future and really, really excited about going to the X platform.”
Rome mentioned having been out at the X offices in Santa Monica recently, meeting with the sales team and executives. He added, “We’ve got some really big plans. It’s going to be really, really good for the brand.”
Yesterday, reports surfaced claiming CNN would scrap its CNN This Morning program — hosted by Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly — after it failed to gain ratings traction against competitors like MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Fox News’ FOX & Friends.
While the network has remained mum on the potential changes, both Mattingly and Harlow have spoken out about the morning show’s demise.
On Monday, Mattingly somberly shared that his only regret is he “couldn’t deliver a different outcome” for those who worked behind the scenes.
Tuesday morning, co-anchor Poppy Harlow also took to social media to address the situation.
“Could not be more grateful for (Phil Mattingly) — it is an honor & joy to get to sit next to you each morning,” Harlow wrote in a post to X. “And the amazing CNN This Morning team — I love you like family. Thank you for being remarkable in every way. Walking in to see your smiles each morning is everything.”
Could not be more grateful for @Phil_Mattingly — it is an honor & joy to get to sit next to you each morning. And the amazing CNN This Morning team — I love you like family. Thank you for being remarkable in every way. Walking in to see your smiles each morning is everything ???? https://t.co/gXV2gG4qos
After the changes, CNN will reportedly see Kasie Hunt anchor from 5-7 AM, with a new edition of CNN News Central to air from 7-10 AM. Jim Acosta will host a one-hour show at 10 AM, followed by a new show from Pamela Brown at 11 AM. With the moves, all morning production from CNN will now be based at its Atlanta studios.
Linda Wertheimer, viewed as one of the “Founding Mothers” of NPR, has announced her retirement from the network.
“I have had a great ride over more than fifty years – and now that ride is over,” Wertheimer wrote in a memo to staffers, according to Deadline. She noted that when she was hired as the network launched in 1971, she was there when “the only part of the company that was fully staffed was top management and engineering.”
Wertheimer, Susan Stamberg, Nina Totenberg, and Cokie Roberts were dubbed the “Founding Mothers” of the outlet when it first debuted. Wertheimer lauded the network for its early adoption of women in the newsroom in her farewell message.
“There were also more women doing that kind of work from the beginning than there were at most broadcast operations,” she wrote.
After becoming the first director of All Things Considered in 1971, Linda Wertheimer eventually ascended to host of the program in 1989. She then rose to senior national correspondent in 2002.
She was a staple of election night coverage on NPR. She anchored coverage of 12 Presidential elections, in addition to coverage from 10 party conventions during her illustrious career.
“Along the way, I spent many years traveling and listening to voters. I can say without a trace of modesty that after all those conversations I always knew who was going to win the election,” she said.
Cocaine was a prominent drug in the professional and media fields in the 1980s. KFI-AM 640 host Bill Handel was under the drug’s grip in those days but says going to drug rehab now is a much bigger deal than it used to be.
On Tuesday, Handel joked that one of his colleagues would be out until March due to entering drug rehab. He then joked that when he went in 1983, it was only a 30-day program.
“When I was in Dry Island drug rehab, I had quite a dependence on drugs and cocaine for the most part. 1983. Can you imagine I’ve been cleaned for over 40 years?,” Handel marveled. “It was big then. It was it was huge. And I mean, it was enormous. When I was going in, it was 30 days. I don’t know how long it is now.”
Handel, who was a lawyer at the time, told an anecdote of just how prevalent the drug was in those days.
“Every lawyer in the world was doing cocaine at that time because no one knew how insidious it was. And it was sort of just people did it. Doctors did it. Lawyers did it. It was not considered a big deal. I’m there in the hallway, downtown at the county courthouse. And there’s about 15 of us talking and all of a sudden you hear a clink and a little vial of cocaine starts rolling down the hallway,” said Handel. “Every lawyer there starts patting their pockets, their shirt pockets, their pants pocket. We never did figure out who it was. Of course, I grabbed it and I used it myself.”
Handel concluded by doing the math to realize that the price of cocaine hasn’t risen since he got clean in 1983.
Joe Buck was a guest of The Opening Drive on 101 ESPN yesterday and said he will not be attending any of the Super Bowl festivities this week in Las Vegas.
Host Randy Karraker asked Buck, “Do you have any desire to be at a Super Bowl you are not broadcasting?” Buck said he went to Super Bowl LVI in 2022 because his daughters wanted to attend the game in Los Angeles.
As for this year’s game in Las Vegas, Buck said, “I do not have any desire to be there. It’s a lot of logistics, it’s a lot of congestion. I am just not that way, I am not looking for the Maxim Party and going out all night. It’s not my thing. Then, you combine that with Vegas. There’s going to be some story, there’s going to be something that happens because it’s Vegas and it won’t stay in Vegas. I have no idea. I just think that is going to be a mess in my mind.”
????????????????????????????????: Joe Buck is predicting that the Super Bowl in Las Vegas will be a “mess”
“I do not have any desire to be there. There’s going to be some story, there’s gonna be something that happens because it’s Vegas and it won’t stay in Vegas. There’s gonna be a big… pic.twitter.com/0gmX5qxXqY
710 WOR host Mark Simone has never been shy in his criticism of the political affairs “Sunday shows” on ABC, NBC, and CBS. However, he believes he’s noticed something about George Stephanopoulos.
During This Week Sunday, Stephanopoulos received widespread criticism for his conduct during an interview with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). Many conservative media figures bashed the ABC host for cutting off the sitting Senator in the final moments of the interview. Mark Simone argues Stephanopoulos’ conduct is completely different when he welcomes Democratic guests to the show.
“If you want to see how bad this guy is, how bigoted, biased this guy is, watch the first half hour,” said Simone. “He has a couple of Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries, and every time he asks him a question, after their answer he goes, ‘Uh huh. Well, thank you very much. Now, here’s the next question.’ He’s just very gently asked the question. Whatever they say, he just nods.
“He has a Republican on, J.D. Vance. It’s like Jekyll and Hyde. He’s a whole different guy. He asks JD Vance a loaded, ridiculous question. And then whatever Vance says, he starts yelling at him, screaming at him, ‘You didn’t answer my question.’ And he’s banging away, pounding away at him with every follow-up again. It’s two different guys. It’s Jekyll and Hyde.”
Simone continued by noting that former NBC Meet the Press host Tim Russert set the gold standard for hosting political affairs programs.
The 710 WOR host argued Russert’s approach was “Whoever the guest is, doesn’t matter who it is, Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, the job is to find out where he stands, what he thinks, what he’s going to say, and you argue the other side. Nicely, diplomatically, but whatever he’s saying, argue the other side. That’s what you’re supposed to do. Stephanopoulos is a complete crook should be removed for fraud.”
