The final weeks of 2023 allow for reflection from many radio hosts. SiriusXM host Michael Smerconish took time to note he is living proof that you don’t have to be a stereotypical host to see success in radio.
During his final live radio show of the year, Smerconish shared his appreciation for his audience, and the length of time it took to feel as if it was a special bond.
“I’m really appreciative of the audience we’ve built,” said Smerconish. “It’s taken us 10 years, but we’ve really built something special here. It’s no bullshit. We love this audience. They get us, they get me, and what I’m trying to do here.”
He then said being on an outlet like SiriusXM and its P.O.T.U.S. channel allows him to do radio differently than traditional AM/FM radio.
“We don’t do it the way that terrestrial talk radio does. We have proven you don’t need to be angry. You can cultivate a reasonable audience there are independents all over the country yearning for a place to go. And this is your clubhouse. So I appreciate the audience.”
Michael Smerconish left terrestrial radio in 2013 to join SiriusXM. At the time of his move, he shared that shifting to satellite radio was more in line with his political stances and career aspirtations.
In an online survey of 1,600 journalists last year, the results showed a dramatic drop from the previous study. In 2013, 7.1% of journalists called themselves Republicans. In the first study in 1971, that figure was 25.7%.
Meanwhile, the portion of journalists calling themselves Democrats has risen from 28.1% to 36.4% since the last study was conducted in 2013.
Those who call themselves independents grew slightly, moving from 50.2% of journalists in 2013 to 51.7% in 2022.
A Gallup poll earlier this year revealed that 58% of Democrats and 29% of Independents have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media. However, only 11% of Republicans responded similarly.
The end of the year is upon us, and I hope you’re happy, healthy, and excited about what lies ahead in 2024. The older I get, and the more I work with different companies and people, I’m reminded that the relationships and results are what makes this all worthwhile. In my thirties, I wanted to stomp competitors into the ground, and own the space in the cities I worked in. I even did it a few times. But as happy as I was for my crew and seeing our strategy work, the more I learned it was about growing a business, and enjoying the ride with colleagues, not seeing others unemployed. If there’s only one game in town, the game itself becomes less fun. The professional benefits shrink too for those on the winning side.
It’s no secret that 2023 has been a roller coaster ride for the media industry. Take for instance this recent Forbes article. If their math is correct, more than 20,000 people lost media jobs in 2023. That can’t make you feel good about the state of our business. It doesn’t inspire confidence in advertisers to invest in us either. With 2024 approaching, there’s optimism, pessimism, and focus on what may change. The common belief is that revenues will rise due to a political year, but we can’t just look at dollars and cents when it comes to evaluating our industry. If we do, we’ll be back here in 2025 when political advertising shrinks.
I started covering sports media in 2015. News media coverage was added in 2020. During that time, radio and TV revenues haven’t risen like a Phoenix and headlines about both mediums have been mostly negative. Do a quick google search and look at how many stories focus on low stock prices, headwinds/layoffs, revenue projections missed, bankruptcy, executive’s on shaky ground, brands losing their identity and purpose, AM radio becoming extinct, etc.. This is what investors and advertisers see every day. It creates a negative perception of our business. You’d see it that way too if you were in their shoes.
Now combine that with the way media sells the next big thing. Meta told us virtual reality was the future but bailed on that idea in favor of artificial intelligence. Spotify dove into podcasting with its foot on the gas but is now driving under the speed limit. Elon Musk bought X to be the everything app yet can’t inspire confidence in the advertising community.
Radio’s issues are more self inflicted. Groups have been saddled with so much debt that even a good year in local markets gets ignored due to larger corporate problems. Judging from what gets printed you’d think no radio station grew revenue this year, which is false. TV isn’t immune either. All too often the focus is on viewers aging or watching less, and young people streaming yet the biggest point gets missed – people are still watching content, most of it produced by the TV industry. They just do it in different ways.
I’m sure there are exceptions but those I know who work in radio, TV, podcasting or social media do so for the access, content, creativity and fun. If you do the job well enough and long enough, the pay can be pretty good too. Most don’t enter the business to discuss plans to boost a stock, raise quarterly revenue or frame a press release to soften the blow when laying people off.
Our industry is attractive because we create programming that excites viewers/listeners and is led by people who are passionate about the content featured on their brands. When that content is supported by data that shows people enjoy it, it attracts advertisers. If those paying clients invest in a brand, and it increases sales, that creates a healthy business. This isn’t rocket science, folks.
My hope for 2024 is that the media industry puts greater focus on resetting its messaging and marketing its stars. Podcasting and streaming get discussed with high enthusiasm. Marketers are made to feel that they are growing spaces they have to be in. Radio and TV, which are both larger, and have delivered results for decades, are seen as less attractive. But they shouldn’t be. We’ve allowed that to happen. The only way to change it is to remind people what makes radio/TV special, and how well it works. It starts with marketing the right people and message. Otherwise perception becomes reality.
Too often I see narratives shaped for advertisers and investors instead of the public. If you want the business world’s money and attention, don’t bore them with business headlines. Create a party with your stars, attract a passionate audience, and generate results. Do that consistently and watch how fast the money follows. Given how our industry has been portrayed the past decade, we’re not inspiring many with hype about revenue projections, profitability, and staff reductions.
An Important Year For Barrett Media
We enter 2024 with a lot of promise. Dave Greene was recently announced as our new Chief Media Officer. I also revealed a few additions, and shared that I’d write a weekly column and host a podcast in April. But we’re not done. We’re adding two more columnists, who I’m very excited about.
Mark Kreidler joins BSM to write a weekly column on Wednesday’s. Mark is an award winning author who previously wrote for ESPN, the San Diego Union-Tribune, and Sacramento Bee. He has also worked in radio for 95.7 The Game, Sactown Sports 1140, and ESPN 1320.
Dave Williams is also joining us to write a weekly column each Friday on BNM. Dave has spent over four decades in news/talk working for top brands such as WBAP/KLIF in Dallas, KNX in Los Angeles, and KFBK in Sacramento. He announced his retirement from radio in early November.
Cementing our position and value as a media outlet is a priority. We root for the industry, support it, and try to educate, celebrate, inform, and challenge those inside of it. But with that comes a responsibility to offer opinions and cover the news. We prioritize 4 key things on our websites: features on industry people, expert opinions from columnists, daily news about brands/people changes or performance, and industry reactions. The occasional 5th area of focus is original projects like the BSM Top 20.
Our editors and news writers watch, listen and read daily. If it’s said on the air or social, it may end up on our sites. You’ll agree with some, and disagree with others, but it’s no different than how athletes react to hosts talking about sports. The difference is we highlight discussions about media brands, people, and the industry not local teams.
If you see something you don’t like, Garrett and Dave manage our websites. Both are accessible – GarrettSearight@gmail.com or DaveGreene34@gmail.com. Just understand that if brands make decisions, results are bad or public comments are offered, we are going to cover it.
We’ve spent 8 years building two respected brands and working hard to attract industry professionals. With two websites, newsletters, social media brands, and conferences, I feel good about our progress. The web traffic, social media impressions, and newsletter data shows that we’re on the right track.
Consulting clients and executing top notch events remain my top priority but growing our marketing partnerships is vital too. Stephanie Eads has worked hard on this and we are excited to welcome Ramsey Solutions, JJ Surma Voiceovers, Harker Bos Group, Doug Stephan’s Good Day Networks, and the Motor Racing Network as 2024 partners. We’re also thrilled to extend relationships with our friends at Point to Point Marketing, Backbone, Steve Stone Voiceovers, Core Image Studio, Jim Cutler, and Premiere Networks. If you’d like to work with us too, contact Stephanie by email at Sales@BarrettSportsMedia.com.
To continue building BSM and BNM, we are launching two new newsletters next week. BSM will deliver the 8@8 weekdays at 8am, and the Press Pass at 5pm. BNM will distribute the Rundown weekday mornings at 9am, and the Wrap Up at 6pm. Our afternoon editions will feature a different content approach so I look forward to your feedback on it. To sign up for BSM’s newsletters, click here. For BNM, go here.
Sticking with BNM, we will have a special announcement on Tuesday January 2nd at 9am. I’ll be announcing the dates, host city, and venue that day for our 2024 BNM Summit. Our 2023 event in Nashville was excellent but I think this next one could be even bigger and better. The Rundown and BNM’s website and social media accounts will relay the details. Also, BNM is launching a special series the week of January 22-26. Public Radio Week will feature NPR folks all week long.
Before I wrap up the column, I want to address a few BSM items. First, the BSM Top 20 of 2023 drops February 5-9 and February 12. Voting opens next week (January 2nd) and emails will go out to all PDs and executives invited to participate in the process. We’ll also have two new original projects in January starting with Social Studies written by Alex Reynolds on Wednesday January 3rd. Peter Schwartz’s monthly feature Where Are They Now debuts Tuesday January 30th.
We have other things in motion for February including a cool project titled “A Day Spent With.” Derek Futterman will run point on that series. I’ll share more in my next column on January 8th.
Last but not least, the 2024 BSM Summit takes place March 13-14, 2024 in New York City. We’ve already announced a number of people and I’ll have another announcement next week. If you plan to attend, don’t wait until the last minute to buy a ticket and reserve your room. Go to BSMSummit.com to take advantage of our holiday sale. It expires Sunday December 31st.
I want to thank you for continuing to read our work, following our brands, attending our events, and considering the different ideas and opinions offered by our writers. Covering this business is complex. It has its fair share of warts but it also provides a ton of value, massive creativity, incredible content, and a path full of untapped potential. More importantly, it’s full of quality people. I look forward to watching each of you build stronger businesses in 2024, and helping those who I’m fortunate to work with.
Could we see Chris “Mad Dog” Russo take over for Stephen A. Smith as the main host and executive producer of First Take? Russo joked that Stephen A. should watch his back.
The SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio host and channel namesake was in Smith’s seat Wednesday opposite Marcus Spears and Victoria Arlen, who was filling in for moderator Molly Qerim, when he had some fun at Stephen A’s expense at the very top of the show.
Russo claimed Smith was in danger of being Wally Pipp’d.
“There was a baseball player named Wally Pipp. Back in 1925, he had a headache,” he said. “He took himself out of the lineup. Do you know who they put in the lineup? Lou Gehrig, baby. And he played for 2,000-some odd games in a row.”
“Molly ain’t in the house,” he continued. “We have the lovely Victoria with her wonderful shirt. We have Marcus here. We know we love him. Kimberley (Martin) joins us every Wednesday. We know we have (her). And guess what? This seat is finally occupied by a guy who can do a professional television talk show. And his name ain’t Stephen A. It is Christopher Michael Russo.”
Stephen A. Smith has been very open about discussing his future in the media space. He has stated previously that he doesn’t anticipate doing First Take forever and that he would ultimately like to do something away from the sports world like potentially taking over for Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s late-night talk show.
But apparently, Smith didn’t take kindly to Mad Dog’s assertion in jest that he was going to take over First Take. Almost instantly after watching Russo open the show, Smith took to X to let Mad Dog know he shouldn’t get too comfortable in that chair.
How Dare you @MadDogUnleashed. How Dare you? The unmitigated gall of you to sit in MY CHAIR, and be so disrespectful. You are in a world of trouble when I get back. Remember, it’s a huge responsibility sitting in that chair! Can ya measure up? Enjoy this moment. It will be your…
94WIP has added Ashlyn Sullivan to its talent lineup.
Sullivan is currently a host and reporter for NBC Sports Philadelphia, where she hosts the pregame, intermission, and postgame shows for Philadelphia Flyers games alongside Al Morganti.
Ashlyn made her on-air debut Wednesday evening hosting with Sean Bell from 6-10 p.m.
“SO excited to get started!!” Sullivan wrote on X after WIP announced her hiring. “Being on sports talk radio in the best sports city in the country is a dream – thankful for the opportunity.”
Welcome to 94WIP Ashlyn Sullivan!!????️
Between Flyers games and Eagles coverage, Ashlyn will now be on our airwaves as well! Tune in to her first shift TONIGHT with @seanbelllive from 6-10p. pic.twitter.com/7qlgzghxlN
Sullivan has been at NBC Sports Philadelphia since 2022. Prior to that, Ashlyn was the team reporter for the Jacksonville Jaguars for six years.
She has also done some freelance TV work in recent years, working on coverage of the Korn Ferry Tour on Golf Channel and covering college lacrosse and softball for CBS Sports and ESPN+.
Sullivan graduated in 2017 from the University of Florida with a degree in telecommunications.
Quarterback Russell Wilson’s time as a member of the Denver Broncos is coming to an end, and Seattle Sports host Stacy Rost is ready to take a small victory lap.
On Wednesday’s edition of Bump & Stacy, Rost knew she was right in believing that Russ wasn’t the best fit in Denver despite pushback from Broncos fans.
But Stacy Rost first wanted to make it clear that she was not celebrating Wilson’s demotion.
“Look, we’re not dancing on anyone’s grave here,” she said. “I want to start by saying that.”
Co-host Michael Bumpus said he was surprised when he first learned that Broncos head coach Sean Payton was benching Wilson in favor of backup Jarrett Stidham. He felt like with Denver still in the AFC playoff hunt, the timing of Wilson’s benching was poor. But obviously, the team didn’t see him as the quarterback of the future.
“Let’s keep it real, Russell’s had a good year after bouncing back from last year,” he said. “You’re benching a guy that gives you the best opportunity in my opinion – unless I see something in Stidham that I haven’t seen in the last five, six years or something like that. You’re benching that guy and that lets me know you’re done. You’re ready to move on no matter what happens this year. You’re not worried about making the playoffs. You want to make sure your guy’s in there, and you don’t want to guarantee him 37 million dollars. The relationship is ruined over there. It is a wrap.”
Rost said the main story isn’t that Wilson was playing badly and was deserving of being benched. It is more about Payton and the Broncos front office being ready to write a new chapter at the quarterback position.
“This is them saying, ‘Hey we don’t care if Jarrett Stidham isn’t as good,’ and he’s not,” she said. “Like Russell Wilson at a subpar Russell Wilson, which is who he’s been in Denver, is better than Jarrett Stidham. This is about Denver saying, ‘We’re ready to move on.'”
Stacy Rost in 2022, when Wilson was traded from the Seattle Seahawks to Denver, appeared on sister station Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan, and faced criticism from Broncos fans for speaking about the risks involved with taking in a guy like Russ at this point in his career.
“When I went on the Denver station, I said look, Russell’s a complicated person,” she said. “He’s a Hall of Fame caliber player, but there are some issues in that marriage when he left Seattle that you’ve gotta figure out. Is he gonna take feedback, is he gonna continue to grow, is he going to find those things that he wants to correct within himself.”
Rost continued by acknowledging that Wilson wasn’t exactly set up for success under then-head coach Nathaniel Hackett, and that it was clear that Payton never considered Russ to be his quarterback. So not having the backing of the head coach meant the writing was essentially on the wall for Wilson.
Rost later took to X to ask Denver Sports host Mark Schlereth if it was a good time for that victory lap. Schlereth in October of 2022 responded to Stacy’s mention of him saying to pump the brakes on the idea that the Russell Wilson experiment in Denver was a failure.
You already know what you’re going to get from the news media in 2024. If you’re a radio talk host or a reporter or (heaven forbid) a cable news pundit, you know — pretty much — what you’re going to be doing, even if the details aren’t quite formed yet.
You will, despite endless entreaties from people like me, treat the entire year as a horse race, analyzing polls, and each twist and turn of the news with “What does this mean for (insert name of candidate here)?”
You will do this, no matter how you feel about it, and you will be criticized for it, and nothing I say here will change that. It’s unavoidable, and since we’ve trained generations to expect it and to treat election years like the Super Bowl and root for their team, you really have to do it to some extent.
But you don’t have to do it the same way everyone else does it, and if you’re a local talker, reporter, or columnist, you have a great option. It’s a variant of the old “All politics is local” trope: just explain to your audience what, in every election story, it will mean to them, on a local, individual basis. Bring everything down to how it affects the listener, viewer, or reader, and make it specific to your own area.
Doing this will make the big issues less abstract, less theoretical, less doesn’t-matter-to-me to the people you’re trying to reach. You can boil economy stories down to pocketbook level, job stories to whether your local area is benefiting, democracy issues – hard to believe we’re debating whether to preserve democracy, but here we are – to whether, and how, your state is interfering with voting rights.
You can talk about whether your representatives have been successful in bringing jobs and grants to your districts, or whether they’ve gotten mired in the performative aspects of Congress. People glaze over when you report on the economy until you talk about what it means at the grocery store and gas pump, or the rent, or their taxes, and those vary by state, county, and even city. (Example: Gas prices have plummeted, but whereas it’s no longer an issue in places where the price is low, it’s still higher than comfortable in, say, California, so the discussion is different depending on where you are.)
There are myriad ways of taking pretty much any political issue and focusing on aspects that are germane to your audience’s everyday lives. Candidates go to primary states to make a show of caring about what Iowans and New Hampshire voters need, and then forget it the moment the primaries are over. You, on the other hand, aren’t moving on to the next state. You’re still there, in the community. You can keep the focus on what matters to your audience. You can leave the national perspective to the national media.
That, after all, is your strategic advantage in competing with the national press, your ability to focus on the local angle. Besides, whenever the national reporters deign to look at anything local, they end up just interviewing randos at diners, and you can do a lot better than that. (If you do talk radio, your callers are randos, but at least they’re your randos.)
If you are indeed a local news person, let that be your 2024 resolution. Aspire to do better than reporting the horse race. And if you’re in the national news business, try to do the same. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
– – – –
On a personal note, looking back at 2023, I’m just happy to have made it to the end of the year. (Assuming, that is, that I make it through the next few days. Can’t be certain about anything these days.) I’m grateful to Jason Barrett for giving me a great platform to continue this column, and I’m looking forward to annoying everyone every week in 2024 and pursuing new creative opportunities, whatever they may be.
If there are topics about which you’d like me to bloviate, or projects for which I might be a good fit, you can reach me at perrysimon@gmail.com.
Oh, yeah. Happy New Year. This one oughta be interesting.
“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” says movie character Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas in Wall Street. There were many fans left thinking the NFL shared that thought. Especially after the game between the Bills and Chargers last Saturday was shown exclusively on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock.
If you didn’t live in Buffalo or the LA area, you had to either go to a bar or fork over more of your hard-earned money to yet another streaming service.
The NFL is a multi-billion-dollar entity, and at the surface, it seemed unnecessary to reach for more money from fans’ pockets. Unnecessary was an understatement when it came to the immediate reaction from fans on various social media platforms, voicing their displeasure.
NFL decision-makers have been flat-out INSULTING to NFL fans.
Insistence on Thursday games every week.
Giving Amazon a Black Friday game to manipulate us into staying home & ordering from Prime.
Partnering with Peacock to manipulate us into subscribing.
“NFL decision-makers have been flat-out INSULTING to NFL fans,” wrote another. “Insistence on Thursday games every week. Giving Amazon a Black Friday game to manipulate us into staying home & ordering from Prime. Partnering with Peacock to manipulate us into subscribing. A monopoly on Christmas… All to make a cheap buck.”
After you pay an arm and a leg for NFL Sunday Ticket, plus $9.99 a month for Prime to watch Thursday Night Football, now you get to pay $5.99 to watch the Bills vs Chargers on Peacock… the #NFL… pic.twitter.com/6otYPsHjrA
Sounds like a well-oiled machine so far, huh? The problems technically and with exclusivity were probably greater than expected by Peacock, but that’s the chance you take when you take a chance like this.
Fans who weren’t used to the idea of the game not being on broadcast television were confused by and large. That’s because the game earlier in the day between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals was on NBC. Some fans just figured that this would be the doubleheader game and also be shown on NBC. Nope.
How could you expect fans to be happy about a decision to take away a game, and coming soon a playoff game from their regular viewing habits? Considering most of us pay for cable and pay enough already for that just to see a game for “free”, now you have to shell out another $5.99 a month to see two games?
It starts to add up. YouTube TV is the new home of the NFL Sunday Ticket, regular prices for the service started at $299 for subscribers and $399 for non-subscribers. YouTube also offered a monthly payment option this year, for subscribers and non, at $74.75 and $109.75 respectively. I’m no economist, but that’s a lot of cash to be spending on football. Fans feel like they’re being nickeled and dimed to the point where they are losing the will to watch and pay.
The game they just aired is being tested as a dry run for the league’s first-ever streamed playoff game. That will air on Peacock on January 13, 2024, during the Wild Card Weekend. That doesn’t give the folks at Peacock a lot of time to fix whatever was technically wrong with the first broadcast.
The NFL and Peacock are touting last weekend’s game for producing two broadcast firsts. We know the first of the firsts is the exclusive stream, but the second was for the ‘commercial-free’ 4th quarter. As a result, NBC said, fans will get 12 additional minutes of game coverage. Great, huh? Hardly a consolation for those who couldn’t see it right? It’s kind of like the old, if a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody there to hear it does it really make a sound?
I get that the league sees what’s going on with Amazon Prime Video broadcasts and how well they’ve done without being on broadcast or cable TV. So of course, another network was going to try and get into the fray and it’s NBC’s turn.
“We said, ‘Hey, let’s try and be innovative – what can we do?,’” NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said during a phone interview with The Buffalo News last Thursday. “We can go to the studio to talk about Sunday’s games. We can talk in the context of the live game. The idea is, ‘Let’s stay on the action more than we typically would on a Sunday Night Football game.
“Sports is often used as a catalyst to get people in the door, but the hope is once they’re in the door, they see all of the other great content we have to offer,” Cordella said to The Buffalo News.
Ok, but who is going to spend that kind of money monthly when a true sports fan only wants to watch a couple of games each year? Not many, probably. When is enough, enough?
Before you answer that question Big Ten fans, understand that NBC Sports has gained the rights to exclusively stream up to 47 Big Ten Men’s Basketball games this season. This being the inaugural season, Peacock will carry 34 games, 32 regular season and 2 games will exclusively stream during the early-round games of the Big Ten Tournament.
So, this isn’t a one-off experiment. This is reality. As far as the NFL is concerned, this is such an unneeded intrusion into the customer’s wallet. How much is enough when it comes to ways of squeezing every dollar out of your fan base? The NFL makes billions off its network partners already, so why appear even more greedy than this league that pays its commissioner $44 million a year?
From the network perspective, I actually understand some of it. Trying to grow and diversify in the changing landscape of the media is understandable. Given the issues with RSNs across baseball and basketball, executives have to be a little concerned about satisfying a board of directors and keeping the cash flow coming. These days that flow comes from streaming.
In the non-sports domain there’s Magnolia, Discovery+, and just about every other plus you can think of. In sports, there’s ESPN+ and others that have followed suit to appeal to younger demographics that prefer to watch things on devices rather than on their televisions. Diversification of the audience seems to be what some of these networks are trying to achieve by switching some programming to exclusive apps or subscription platforms.
I’ve got an idea for these companies. How about using your app/platform for good rather than its perceived evil? Offer me something. It has to be a little more than a “commercial-free 4th Quarter”, I mean come on.
How about this? Before you decide it’s time to start exclusively streaming things, why don’t you offer me a free, that’s not a misprint, free preview to watch a game and see what it’s all about?
I want to see what you have to offer, maybe it’s worth it for me to join, maybe I’ll pass, but give me an option with a preview for free.
That’s an opportunity to stream on the app/platform and on broadcast/cable television at the same time. This way I get to find out what’s different about the app than a normal broadcast.
Then give me more as a subscriber. Maybe it’s an ‘alternate’ broadcast of sorts. Yeah, I know, been there done that, but I’ve got to get something out of this for $5.99 a month. Bring me different camera angles, mic’d up stuff, something value-added. Differentiate yourself from the everyday broadcast or the other platforms that are exclusively streaming games. Maybe grow and develop a new broadcast team?
Offer a different pricing structure for a “sports tier”. Perhaps that would include another aspect of the platform in order to entice a viewer to spend more if he/she wants. It would be a good way to get a newer audience member more comfortable with your app.
Actually, wait, I have a better idea. Just stop this nonsense and let me watch the NFL on television. For free.
Four months removed from her departure from ESPN, former SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele knows she’s exactly where she’s supposed to be. Steele no longer feels like she’s living in fear.
“For my entire career, which is 28 years, I’ve lived in structure,” Steele said. “All I’ve ever done is lived and thrived in structure. And when you’re doing live television every day there’s so much prep that goes into it, and you cannot be late. So now I’m learning to live outside of structure, and I have to create that on my own. So it’s been a little bit of a challenge.”
Sage Steele, who considers herself a conservative politically, said her views on many of the social and cultural issues that ESPN tackled in recent years led to differential treatment by her bosses and coworkers. She told Gaines that she was regularly afraid towards the end of her 16-year tenure at the network.
“I’ve lived in fear for many, many years,” Steele said. “Fear of disappointing others, fear of disappointing myself, fear of not being liked, fear of everything…I think now that I’ve hit that point where I knew that if I didn’t stand up for myself – it was now or never – I would always regret it. I knew I would regret it, and I knew that I would have to live with it forever. I’d be embarrassed that at a moment that I had an opportunity and a big platform, I chose to shrink like I have my whole life. And I just said enough.”
Steele filed a lawsuit against ESPN in the spring of 2022 alleging a First Amendment violation and breach of contract. She said suing the network was the culmination of just bearing the brunt of backlash for being outspoken on subjects like Disney’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and transgender women in women’s sports.
“The decision to stand up for myself based on how I was treated, which was completely different from those who fit a different narrative, was heartbreaking and devastating and all of the things, right?” she said. “But I said this to Megyn Kelly on Megyn’s show. I didn’t know what my line was until it was crossed, and then it was like, oh hell no. Now I’m done.”
“You can’t allow all of my coworkers to go on ESPN platforms and on NBA shows and NFL and do all these things and talk about Roe vs. Wade or ignore – for instance, ignoring the Lia Thomas/Riley Gaines story,” Steele added. “I asked for months to talk about that, and they quieted me. And so I went on social media, and I was told to be quiet on social media. And I was like nope, because I support women, and you can’t say we support women and then not support women. I just got tired and sad and said enough.”
With the lawsuit behind her, Sage Steele feels like she can turn the page and express herself how she wants. She said it was only a matter of time before she had to leave.
“To settle it to me it is a win because it was like no, I’m not going to be quiet anymore,” she said. “It’s too late for me. I knew my career there was over.”
Sage Steele called on those still at ESPN and elsewhere who are fearful of giving opinions on sensitive or hot-button topics that are against the status quo to no longer sit on the sidelines.
“I know that if we are silent, we are complicit,” she said. “That’s what I believe. I hope it doesn’t take everybody else 50 years to get where I got.”
Pontus Pilate once asked a man named Jesus, “What is Truth?” This is a simple question but in our current reality, it is almost impossible to actually find truth and not confirmation bias. Thiele’s guide to truth. I also give an example of how to think through a complex issue.
The rise of Artificial Intelligence is generating large amounts of content and there is real evidence that the number of falsehoods is mushrooming.
We all wish to have our personal biases confirmed as well.
Reality seems to be only seen on shows like Survivor. I actually worry about our nation and world.
I have a confession that you likely will admit to doing. You may outwardly agree with me or like Jimmy Carter said… You will agree with your heart.
I have posted things that are bullshit. I was buffaloed. I pulled it down as soon as I realized the error. I was victimized by ‘Confirmation Bias.’ We have all done it. You see something that you agree with, but do nothing to confirm if the post, blog, or news source is legit.
Confirmation Bias is truly the greatest evil of the internet age. There are 1.13 billion websites, according to Google, which could be a legitimate outlet for such information. If 1% of all websites are misinformation, that is over 11 million websites dealing in falsehoods. The flood of information is overwhelming and almost impossible to sift through.
We are members of the media. We are gatekeepers of the truth. I love it when listeners send me YouTube video links or article links. I can usually confirm or lance the misinformation boil in the heart in less than 60 seconds.
The first thing that I do is Google search the author. You can learn a lot about someone from that quick search. Are they real? Have they written for websites like BarrettNewsMedia.com? Or are they a nut living in their mom’s basement? Generally speaking, the website that the article comes from is another quick clue. If you have never heard of the website, dig a little deeper. You may have found a great new site to get good stuff for your show. You could also find a website filled with vipers.
The second thing that I do is try to confirm the facts presented. Sometimes this can take a bit. Good articles with misinformation have some solid facts. The falsehoods begin with the conclusions of one particular factoid. This happens with Religion often. I grew up attending religious elementary school and high school. Learning The Bible was part of the curriculum. Verses from either the original or New Testament can be shortened to suit the religious point one may want to make. Context is key. In the book of Job, there is a verse where it says, “Curse God and die.” That was not the intent. Job was a good man who was going through struggles that would break most people. He didn’t break. Job’s wife told him to “Curse God and die”. (She seems like a keeper.) My point is that context is the key. Donald Trump recently got a lot of blowback saying that he would be a dictator on only his first day in office. It was a joke, but out of context, it sounded terrible.
If I still don’t buy what the article or video is selling, I search for the main point of the presentation. If I confirm it, then it is gold.
When you are doing show prep, you are probably seeking unique information to make your show special. Here’s the truth: the information you seek is often in nearly any article on the subject on which you opine. You must digest the article, video, and data. You then can build your show around it. I have been doing a multi-person show for the past few years.
When I set up the subject, I leave details out. Why? I want my news guys to add in the missing information. It creates discussion and makes them seem really smart. If they correct me or push the conversation forward, that is good for the show. Drama. If you do a multi-human show, let your team come across as well-informed and brilliant. It adds to the show. This can also apply to callers. Let them be the star with great details. I hear a lot of hosts who just vomit out all the details and that takes away the drama of the show.
It doesn’t matter what your point of view is on a given subject. We are all tempted to seek the truth that conforms with our opinion. This is really dangerous. You have heard the term “settled science”. For years, we were taught that life on Earth spawned from Amino Acids in a primordial soup billions of years ago on our planet. Now, there is some evidence that every comet or meteorite that has slammed into this blue ball has the potential to carry some form of life on it. I wasn’t here billions of years ago. I am willing to think that makes more sense that life spontaneously generating in the ooze. By the way, the only science that is settled is something that qualifies as a scientific law. Gravity? Pretty unquestionable. Climate Change? Well, Earth’s climate has been changing since the beginning. Man being the lone reason for Climate Change in the modern era? This is a complex question and answer. Pumping pollution in air. Has it had an impact on our planet? Probably. Is it the only reason? Well, the Earth was once covered in glaciers. Humanity was not the reason for that era ending. I really don’t have a good historical idea of those questions and most scientists don’t either. The Climate Change gang are victims of Confirmation Bias. Are they wrong? I don’t know if they are right or wrong. They base the information only on carbon in our atmosphere. That is a very simple sample of the conditions that impact our climate.
Question everything. Question it harder if you believe that it is right. Confirmation Bias is a real evil of our time.
