Last week, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough raised eyebrows with his criticism that if Donald Trump is re-elected President in 2024, he’ll imprison and executive his political enemies. Fox News host Mark Levin took issue with the encapsulation.
During his Life, Liberty & Levin weekend program, Levin argued that Joe Scarborough’s statements were part of a larger issue in media circles.
“If you listen to the American media — which are basically propagandists for the Democrat party and the Biden machine — you would think that Donald Trump is Hitler. No, worse than Hitler. That he wants to execute and imprison everybody,” Levin said. “And if he’s not Hitler, he’s Stalin. And if he’s not Stalin, he’s Mussolini. He’s all these horrid things, and we know this to be the case because Joe Scarborough says so. And whatever Joe Scarborough says is very, very crucial.”
Mark Levin then argued that Trump and his family — which includes a Jewish son-in-law, daughter, and grandchildren — has a long history of supporting the religion and its followers in New York City, despite recent arguments from political opponents,
“So the American media, which is so detestable and unconscionable, and so totally immoral, tries to turn Donald Trump into an anti-Semite, Jew-hater,” Levin concluded, “when in fact, he has spent his entire life supporting Jews and Jewish causes, as had his father.”
Tim Hill, the former program director and co-host of the morning show at 107.5 The Game in Columbia is suing Cumulus Media for failing to accommodate religious beliefs that he claims are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This lawsuit, which has been filed in the U.S. District Court in the locale, is related to Hill’s refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, something that was mandated by the company. In August 2021, Cumulus became the first broadcast radio company in the United States to institute such a mandate, which occurred ahead of its return-to-office date of Oct. 11. Inside Radio was first to report the news of Hill’s lawsuit against the company.
The lawsuit, which also alleges unlawful discharge, breach of contract, and retaliation, states that Tim Hill had worked from home for 18 months beginning in April 2020. With the announcement of the vaccine requirement, he requested religious accommodation to be exempt and answered additional questions about his request from the head of human resources when asked. The next day, his request was denied because of the “undue hardship on the company due to the nature of Plaintiff’s employment position.” Hill’s lawsuit affirms that Cumulus had no further inquiry about his religious beliefs and how they would conflict with the policy.
As the disputation continued, Hill suggested alternative methods to receiving the vaccine, which included masking, social distancing, wearing a face shield, continuing remote work, and installing an air filtration system with no cost incurred upon the company. These proposals were denied without “any interactive process,” according to the complaint. Tim Hill was fired on Oct. 11, 2021, for refusing to get the vaccine and is now suing for back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest, and attorney fees.
Cumulus has yet to file a response to the lawsuit, the second such litigation due to its policy. Former News/Talk 98.9 WKIM Memphis morning show co-host Bob Boccia filed a similar lawsuit in May of this year, which the company denied in court.
Last week, Fox News host Sean Hannity moderated a made-for-TV debate between Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). He took to his radio show to discuss the fallout from the event.
On The Sean Hannity Show Friday, the longtime syndicated radio host said the role of debate moderator wasn’t as easy as critics believe.
“It is harder than you think,” Hannity said, “the amount of work, research, fact-checking that goes on behind the scenes. I’ve been working hard on this for a couple of weeks. We got every single fact right as a basis to every question.”
Some pundits questioned Hannity’s political bias against Newsom during the debate. However, the Fox News host was unconcerned with the reaction to his performance.
“As far as the noise that is going on as far as people complaining? I don’t really care because I know the truth and I have evidence of the truth if need be. The funny thing was Gavin Newsom was fine with it,” claimed Hannity. “Here’s the challenge if you’re a moderator: if you put out a question and the candidate does not want to answer that question, they’re not going to.”
Hannity was insistent he did the best he could to stay out of the way and let the two governors debate each other rather than converse with and argue against the moderator.
CBS Audio Network — including CBS News Radio — has inked an extension with Skyview Networks for national distribution of all its audio content.
“Extending our partnership with Skyview Networks further strengthens and enhances our distribution and sales of our expanding audio portfolio,” said Paramount Global Executive Vice President of Audio and Podcasting Steve Raizes. “Together, we’re focused on delivering our best-in-class news, information, and entertainment content to new listeners around the country.”
The partnership originally began in 2018 and was extended in 2020.
“The CBS standard for excellence shines in our partnership,” said Skyview Networks President of Network Partnerships and CRO Jeanne-Marie Condo. “CBS is deeply committed to radio, working to provide outstanding programming that engages listeners. The continued growth of CBS affiliates is impressive and helps deliver significant results for the ad community. CBS is a profound partner with their forward thinking and dedication to radio nationwide. It is a privilege and honor to continue our partnership.”
“I’m excited that CBS and Skyview are actively exploring additional news and entertainment content for audio consumers. By working closely together, we will increase revenue, enhance listener engagement, and expand our dominant position within the audio space,” added Skyview Networks CEO and President Steve Jones.
Apologies in advance for the length of this column. Today is both exciting and important for yours truly. I’ve spent months analyzing every part of our business, interviewing candidates, and I’m anxious to share with our partners and readers what’s on the horizon for BSM and BNM as we get ready to enter 2024 and look ahead to 2025.
When I wrote my eight year anniversary column in September, I alluded to 2023 being a tough year. Business wise we’ve been strong but managing staff, content, and workload has been harder. Just yesterday I had to deal with a writer bolting without notice. It’s a pain in the ass. Creating and installing a content plan is easy, but if the algorithms change and your team isn’t passionate about the work or in the right roles, growth stalls. You either make changes or accept not being able to reach your goals. For me, the latter is not an option. I’m far too driven, invested and excited by what I do to accept the status quo. I expect us to grow, work hard, make a difference, and enjoy it. If it means having to rattle a few cages to get to where we need to be, then that’s what I’ll do.
The hardest part of 2023 has been knowing we had to move through the present to get to the future. I’ve had to be more protective of my time this year, saving it for clients, partners, staff, Summit planning, content analysis, creating advertising packages, and meeting with potential partners, attending business functions, recruiting staff, and taking a greater role in day-to-day content management. I’ve missed out on calls with friends who wanted to chat about the business, and reduced my writing and podcast involvement because it was necessary. BSM and BNM are both healthy, and as others vacated the space or slowed down, we’ve ramped up and continue to invest in strengthening our coverage.
Before I get into the specifics of what lies ahead, I want to recognize Garrett Searight, Alex Reynolds, Andy Drake, and Stephanie Eads for helping to keep the brand on track during the past few months. I also want to thank all of our writers for continuing to create great content. After the BNM Summit concluded in Nashville, there was so much to do and not enough time. Though it forced many of us to take on more than we wanted to, we got through it, and grew our traffic and impact. That’s a credit to our team, and the trust we’ve built with our audience.
Having set the table now, let me share what’s on the horizon, what’s ending, and where we’re hoping to go in 2024.
Chief Media Officer: I’ve gone through a long, extensive process to identify the right leader to help us grow Barrett Media. The conversations started in May and ran through November, and I had a chance to meet a lot of smart, talented people, and learn a lot about the way our brands are viewed by professional candidates. To everyone I had a chance to interact with along the way, thank you for the interest. It was a pleasure connecting with all of you.
But in the end, there was only one job to offer, and I’m excited to announce that we found exactly what we were looking for. It is my great pleasure to introduce Dave Greene as Barrett Media’s new Chief Media Officer.
The experience Dave brings with him to this position is extensive. He’s been an integral part of building the Podcast Heat Network alongside talented pro wrestling podcaster Conrad Thompson. The company has created, distributed, and monetized podcasts featuring star talents such as Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, Eric Bischoff, Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett and others. Before joining the Podcast Heat Network with Conrad, Dave spent two decades in the radio business, working as a VP/GM, GSM, PD, Owner, and and On-Air talent. He has worked for Audacy, Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media, and Flinn Broadcasting. Among the sports and news brands he’s had the pleasure of helping include KMOX and 590 The Fan in St. Louis, 610 Sports in Kansas City, The Ump and WVNN in Huntsville, and KHMO in Quincy. He’s also served as co-owner and publisher of St. Louis Sports magazine, and was one of our first weekly columnists when we started adding writers in 2017.
When I made the decision to add someone to help me manage the content and grow the company, I knew I’d be looking for a unicorn. I initially sought an Executive Editor but as this process moved along, I realized I needed a leader who provided more than just writing and broadcasting skills. They needed to be adept at content and sales, have a passion and ability to write, connected across the industry, experienced in event creation, and equally as important, they had to know our brands and see growth potential in our business the way that I do.
I took my time with this hire because it was too important to make a rushed or bad choice. Since launching BSM in 2015 and BNM in 2020, I’ve seen other comparable media outlets earn seven to eight figure valuations. We’re not at that level and may never be but I believe we’re on the right track to larger success. Though I have zero interest in selling BSM and BNM, and plan on running this company for 15 more years, it only makes sense to make our brands the best they can be, and elevate our value with each passing year. I’ve spent most of the past eight years reinvesting in content, staff, events, etc. and with Dave on board, I’m confident we’ll take bigger steps in the right direction.
Dave’s immediate focus will be to learn the staff, manage the day-to-day workflow, find and write news stories, add a weekly column, contribute on special projects, and execute our editorial calendar. Additionally he’ll work with Stephanie to improve our sales operation, and collaborate with me on new ways to grow events, traffic, newsletters, and audience data. After previously competing against each other in St. Louis, I’m looking forward to being on the side and working together to maximize the full potential of Barrett Media.
Internal Promotions: In addition to strengthening our team with Dave’s addition, I am equally excited to announce three internal promotions. First, I’m thrilled to elevate Alex Reynolds to the role of Digital Director of Barrett Media. Alex has served as our social media coordinator since August 2022, playing a key role in executing our social media strategy. Moving forward, he will continue overseeing our social media plan, while getting further involved in affiliate marketing, website/content partnerships, newsletter creation, podcast/video production, data analysis, and audience growth strategies for our social channels and newsletters. He will also write a brand new original series, ‘Social Studies‘, which debuts in January on BSM.
The second internal promotion I’m pleased to share involves Derek Futterman. Derek is being officially promoted to the role of Sports Media Reporter. Since joining BSM in May 2021, Derek has learned a ton as a Contributing Editor and News Writer. He started by occasionally writing stories, got further involved with daily news, and in the past few months, has taken on the challenge of writing features on executives and broadcasters. He’s covered industry events, the BSM Summit, established relationships, and continues to grow. I’m eager to help him take another step by having him produce three features per week, contribute to special projects, involving him as our backstage interviewer at the BSM Summit, and having him contribute to daily news, while additionally managing BSM’s Jobs section.
The final internal promotion involves Garrett Searight. Garrett joined us in August 2022 as an Editor, and worked his tail off but learned quickly, this is different from working inside of a radio station. Over the past few months he’s raised his game, and I’m pleased to promote him to Managing Editor of BNM starting January 1st. Garrett will report to myself and our Chief Media Officer while writing daily news, and two weekly features for BNM. He’ll also become the point person for our BNM columnists and features writers. We’ve seen BNM make major strides over the past year despite not having a dedicated leader. I can only imagine how much better the brand will be with Garrett fully focused on it. One thing that isn’t changing, he’ll continue to write his weekly sports media column for BSM, and manage BNM’s Jobs section.
Website Redesigns: You’ve likely noticed that BSM and BNM look different today. We have modified both websites to make it easier to find content. Our main pages are often filled with news stories, making it hard to find things. These new layouts allow us to feature six stories in the main sections, and nine in each of the key lower sections, sports/news radio, sports/news TV, and sports digital/media business. The site will also display better on mobile, and we’ve added a sports betting bar on BSM, conference calendars to the lower right of articles on both sites, and we’ve retained the media stock ticker on BNM. All are available for sponsorship. We’re also turning on the comments to allow readers to chime in on our stories.
BSM Writers: To help us elevate BSM in 2024, we’re adding a few new writers, adjusting roles of a few of our contributors, and saying goodbye to a few of our teammates.
Starting with the additions, I’m excited to welcome Moses Massena as a weekly columnist. Moses is a sports television veteran, who spent 14 years at MLB Network, working as a researcher, segment producer, and producer, winning 7 Sports Emmys for his contributions to “MLB Tonight”. He has also worked a producer at MSG Network, and served as a researcher for FOX & ESPN. His professional television career began with SNY from 2007-2009.
Next, I’m pleased to welcome Jeff Kotuby to BSM as a daily sports television writer. Jeff has written content for many broadcasting and pop culture sites, including The Streamable, eBaum’s World, Twin Galaxies, and more. He has already begun diving in on BSM, and I’m looking forward to our readers becoming more familiar with his contributions in the future.
Moving to the internal adjustments, starting in January, Jordan Bondurant will take on a more defined role writing news stories each night on sports digital matters. Garrett Searight will add local and national sports radio content until Dave has a handle on the daily content, and Peter Schwartz and Demetri Ravanos will continue writing weekly features and helping with original projects. Peter will also add a new monthly feature, ‘Where Are They Now?’, which will run the last week of each month starting in January.
Though most of the news is good, we do have to unfortunately share some bad. Brian Noe and Ricky Keeler will be leaving us at the end of December. Both have been with BSM for a long time and have done a great job for us. In Brian’s case, he was one of the first writers to join BSM in August 2017. We wish both of them well, and appreciate all of the contributions they’ve made to our coverage along the way.
I am still looking to add another weekly sports media columnist to BSM. The ideal candidate will have industry experience, a track record of success, and a passion to write about the business. If you or someone you know fits the bill, send a resume and writing sample to JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.
BNM Writers: BSM has earned a strong reputation in sports media circles, and we’re determined to make sure BNM is highly regarded as well. To help us continue making progress, we’re excited to announce a few additions. First, please join me in welcoming Perry Michael Simon to BNM as a weekly columnist. Perry’s column will be published every Thursday on the site starting on December 7th.
Perry served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com after previously working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. His contributions to All Access were excellent, and his knowledge of the industry, and his willingness to challenge it helped many broadcasters learn, adjust, defend, and grow to appreciate his point of view. After a well deserved break following the shutdown of All Access, Perry is refreshed, refocused, and ready to offer his smart, snarky, and strong opinions on the media business. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for our readers.
In addition, BNM is pleased to announce the arrival of Krystina Alarcon Carroll. Krystina joins us in a hybrid role, writing two weekly features and adding a weekly column. She freelances currently for WPIX in New York and previously worked on live, streamed, and syndicated TV programs at NY1, Fox News Digital, Law & Crime Network, and Newsmax. We’re excited to add her to our team, and you can read her first story today on BNM.
As our readers recently learned, we’ve unfortunately had to say goodbye to Jim Avila. Jim did an excellent job for BNM but a great television opportunity came his way, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward. Ryan Hedrick has also exited. I’m accepting resumes and writing samples from industry pros who have a passion to write daily news TV stories and weekly features. If interested, click here. We have more evaluations to make in the next month to make sure we’re built for success entering 2024. One thing for certain, we are going to keep building BNM and make sure news/talk media professionals have a daily destination to visit and enjoy reading about their format and business.
Two New Newsletters: Another exciting addition coming in 2024 will be the introduction of two new daily newsletters, the BSM Press Pass, and the BNM Wrap Up. We will distribute both starting on January 2nd. The BSM Press Pass will be delivered daily at 5pm ET. The BNM Wrap Up will go out at 6pm ET. We’ll have a different look and approach for both, which I think media folks will enjoy and find useful at the end of the work day.
With the arrival of the Press Pass and Wrap Up, we will continue sending out the BSM 8@8 at 8am ET. The BNM Rundown though will move to an earlier time, going out each morning at 9am ET. The same look, structure and valuable content will be available in both. If you haven’t signed up for BSM’s newsletters, go here. If you wish to receive BNM’s newsletters, go here.
Editorial Calendar: When BSM was born, I wrote and created a lot of features and original stories. From 5 Podcasts in 5 Days to the Sports Radio Draft, the Greatest SportsCenter Anchor Tournament, and a full-day spent with Mad Dog Sports Radio, creative pieces performed well for us. But as day-to-day news grew and our staff expanded, we got away from some of that. We’ve still done things like Meet The Podcasters and Countdown to Coverage, and they too have been well received, so in 2024, we’re going to put more focus on original projects on both BSM and BNM. We have an editorial calendar ready for 2024, and will begin reviewing plans on Tuesday during a zoom call with some of our staff. We’ve got some great things planned for BSM and BNM, so keep an eye out for it.
Member Directory: Since April 2020, we’ve featured the BSM Member Directory to help industry professionals and aspiring broadcasters display their work to PDs, agents, executives, etc.. All members receive jobs listings by email a few times per month, get featured in the BSM 8@8 newsletter, are promoted in content when they have career news to share, and our annual subscribers get a 20% discount on BSM Summit tickets. Memberships are $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year. For 2024, we’re going to explore new ways to deliver more value and grow our member base. Dave, Alex and I will be brainstorming ideas this month in hopes of introducing new benefits to existing and future members during Q1.
Jobs Listings: We’re often asked to post Jobs for companies due to our ability to reach the right people. Knowing how hard it is to find good help, and having used LinkedIn, Indeed and other sites myself, I know it’s not cheap. Other trades charge a few hundred dollars per month to promote openings, and starting today, we’re going to do the same except we’re keeping costs low. For $99 per month companies can now promote open positions through our websites. If you click on the Jobs tab on BSM or BNM, you’ll see the latest listings. If you use the dropdown menu and select ‘Place An Ad on BSM/BNM‘ it allows you to submit an ad and get it posted on the site within 24-hours. I’m hoping it’s helpful.
Ratings Reports: I know the ratings matter to PDs, hosts, and executives. Yet many get upset with the ups and downs of measurement. Maybe it’s not perfect, but this is your report card, and whenever we highlight the industry, it benefits broadcasters, advertisers and listeners. We’re going to write quarterly ratings reports next year for both sports and news/talk radio. We will not do monthlies. All I ask is that we receive the PPM Data reports for each quarter so we can be fair and accurate to all. We write these reports to showcase the strength of two valuable formats, and to recognize all who contributed to each brand’s success. Nielsen is still the king when it comes to measurement, and our stations don’t benefit if they don’t promote their wins to the rest of the business world. My thanks to Harker Bos Group for supporting these stories. I look forward to digging into the data to highlight those who are making an impact in 2024.
JB Column and Podcast: I acknowledged earlier that writing columns and hosting podcasts became harder in 2023. That said, I realize I have a voice that matters. Starting in January, I will begin writing a weekly column on BSM. I will also be bringing back The Jason Barrett Podcast for 26 episodes next year. Half of those episodes will focus on sports media. The other half will explore the news/talk space. We will also video the shows and make them available through the Barrett Media YouTube page. If I was going to do the podcast, I wanted to add a new layer to it. I think this will help us do that and I look forward to hosting it in April 2024. It’s possible that we’ll add other podcasts and video shows in the future, but for now, we’re going to take it one show at a time.
Return of Guest Columns: BSM and BNM have featured guest columns before from Craig Carton, Erick Erickson, Dan Zampillo, Mo Egger, and Bo Thompson just to name a few. I’d like see more media people use our platforms to highlight issues or causes that are important to them. Whether you’re an owner, executive, PD, salesperson, media buyer, host, agent, imager, producer, podcaster or social media director, if you have knowledge to share, and interest in writing a one-time guest piece for BSM or BNM, email JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.
BNM Top 20/BSM Top 20: Our two biggest traffic drivers of the year, the BSM Top 20 and the BNM Top 20 will continue to serve the sports and news/talk radio industries. A huge thanks to Steve Stone Voiceovers for signing on as the exclusive sponsor of the BSM Top 20, and JJ Surma Voiceovers for coming on board as the exclusive partner of the BNM Top 20. The BNM Top 20 of 2023 drops December 11-15 and December 18. Voting for industry executives expires later today. The BSM Top 20 of 2023 will be released February 5-9 and February 12. Voting for that series will start in late December, early January. We’re also looking at a few additional projects to recognize the best in the industry. More to come on that in 2024.
BSM/BNM Summits: The BSM Summit returns to NYC on March 13-14, 2024. We’ll be live at the Ailey Theater both days, and have announced 16 top speakers so far and have more still to come. You can purchase tickets to the show here. For those in the news/talk world, we’re going to host our second BNM Summit in September 2024. We’ve chosen the host city and venue and hope to announce our plans after wrapping up this year’s BNM Top 20. Running our next show two months before the election is going to be excited. Stay tuned!
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For eight years, we’ve grown traffic, influence, events, consulting clients, and our writing team by following a simple philosophy, focus on serving the right audience, not the largest. When you commit to quality over quantity and refuse to chase clicks at the expense of relationships, you land in a much better spot. We are where we are today because of our consulting clients, advertising partners, and earned trust and respect with our readers and industry professionals.
That said, while we have proven our value to top talent, executives, agents, and media buyers, some marketing folks have been harder to reach. Stephanie Eads and I have attended many zoom calls and in-person meetings to share our story, and we’ve created packages large and small to accommodate all budgets. I’m hoping that as we enter 2024, those who have been slow to respond or who have stuck to doing the same things repeatedly, take a chance to discover why BSM or BNM should be part of their media mix.
In closing, I am ecstatic about adding Dave Greene to help us grow BSM and BNM. We have a lot of work ahead of us but I’m confident progress will be made. I appreciate everyone who visits our websites, receives our newsletters, attends our Summits, follows and shares our content on social media, and let’s others know about of our existence. Most importantly, I’m grateful to our consulting clients and advertising partners who give us the support we need to be able to continue doing this. We can’t raise the bar without you, and I’m fortunate to be in this position serving an industry I love, respect, believe in, and root for.
Here’s to Barrett Media’s future. 2024 is going to be awesome, and I’m glad to have you along for the ride!
The Minnesota Twins have found their new TV play-by-play announcer. They didn’t have to look far to tap Cory Provus for the role.
Provus has been the Twins radio play-by-play voice for 12 years. Following the exit of longtime announcer Dick Bremer, he will become the guide for Twins fans on television.
“It’s an exciting day, a humbling day, an emotional day on many fronts,” Provus told TwinCities.com. “I’m just excited for the opportunity, I really am, to be able to challenge myself in a way I haven’t before.”
A radio guy the vast majority of his career, Provus begins the transition into television. Though it requires making a few adjustments, the thought of reaching additional fans now that local blackout restrictions are being lifted was a big selling point to Provus.
“I’ve always thought of myself as being ambitious and challenging myself, and this, to me, is the ultimate challenge by far,” he said. “And the idea of joining this group in this way now, I think I would regret at least not trying.”
Cory Provus will hand over the reins on the radio side to Kris Atteberry. Kris has been with the team since 2007 as the team’s radio color commentator. Now he finally earns his chance to be on the call.
“Let’s be honest: I’ve been calling big-league games for 17 years, not as the lead guy,” Atteberry said. “There is a difference. I’ve called a billion games in my life. But to be the lead guy, that’s what everybody wants. That’s what I’ve wanted to be since I was a 6-year-old kid.”
The Dallas Cowboys picked up a win over the Seattle Seahawks last Thursday, but regular radio play-by-play announcer Brad Sham was noticeably absent from the call.
That’s because Sham suffered a medical issue.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Sham was on his way to AT&T Stadium in Arlington Thursday afternoon when he started experiencing problems.
“Fell ill on my way to the game,” Sham said. “Feel okay but getting a couple things checked out. Really appreciate everyone’s concern.”
Kyle Youmans filled in for Sham on Thursday Night Football. Brad has been the voice of the Cowboys since 1976.
Dallas plays host to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. Sham hasn’t been ruled out to return to the booth for the highly anticipated matchup.
Marquee Sports Network will soon need a new general manager. Longtime GM Mike McCarthy announced over the weekend he is stepping down.
McCarthy helped oversee the launch of the Chicago Cubs-owned regional sports network in 2019, but Chicago Sun-Times media columnist Jeff Agrest shared on X on Friday that McCarthy needed time to focus on his health.
“I need to spend more time on myself and less time stressing about typos on the ticker,” McCarthy said.
All the best to Marquee Sports Network GM Mike McCarthy, who is stepping down from his role to focus on his health after some scares. He'll continue with the network as a consultant. "I need to spend more time on myself and less time stressing about typos on the ticker," he said.
McCarthy was tapped to work on Marquee given his track record at MSG. He rose from coordinating producer in 1982 to the network president in 2000, overseeing the merging of MSG Network and SportsChannel New York.
Between 2005 and 2019, McCarthy enjoyed stints with the St. Louis Blues as the team’s vice chairman and CEO and with the Milwaukee Bucks as chief operating officer. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.
After 27 years, we have seen the last SEC football game on CBS. The network did a marvelous job Saturday night paying tribute to what the two entities did together, but as Brad Nessler said goodbye to the audience for himself, Gary Danielson, their colleagues and predecessors, I couldn’t help but think that it was good for SEC fans that this chapter is over.
While bothsides did their fair share on Saturday to acknowledge the other, nothing spoke louder than that crowd inside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took the mic from Jenny Dell, and before presenting the conference championship trophy to Nick Saban and the University of Alabama, said “Let me ask you first to join me in thanking CBS for 26 incredible years of presenting SEC football”. The response was mixed, but the boos were audible.
Before we explore why though, let’s talk about all that CBS did right. Perhaps what it did best was nothing at all. Verne Lundquist was a master of laying out and letting the pictures and the crowd tell the stories of moments like the Kick Six. A variety of directors, producers and other staffers worked in video of tailgates to give those thousands of miles away from I-22 a sense of what The Grove in Oxford was like or documented the excitement inside the stadium before kickoff so that people everywhere understood the effect that running through the Power T has on a crowd in Knoxville or how “Sandstorm” brings the Willy B to life in Columbia.
At it’s very best, CBS made our Saturday culture in the South look cool as hell and Verne Lundquist didn’t need to say more than “oh my gracious” to convey just how extraordinary the environment and moments really were.
Since the retirement of Lundquist at the end of the 2016 college football season however, there is very little about CBS’s broadcast that feels authentically SEC. Brad Nessler is a fine broadcaster. Gary Danielson is polarizing for many fans, but he is as synonymous with that game as anyone. Overall though, vibe has felt flat.
The fact that Tim Brando bolted after the 2013 season has a little something to do with that too. It was the beginning of CBS replacing the college football diehards and legends on its studio show with a who’s who of “who’s available?”. I mean, Rick Neuheisal previewing Alabama versus LSU? Why?
But the problem was never as simple as me wanting to hear more people that speak the way I do on the CBS broadcast. CBS’s biggest problem is that as college football changes, the network’s presentation doesn’t.
There was a sequence Saturday in the first half of Alabama’s win over Georgia that went commercial, one play, commercial, Bama lets the play clock run down before calling timeout, commercial. That kind of thing was not at all uncommon for CBS. In an era of shortened attention spans, the network’s 3:30 game was running until 7:30 and later with regularity. It always felt openly disrespectful to the audience.
Those commercial breaks being stacked with ads for Survivor (Holy shit! Still?) and various NCIS destinations didn’t help. They aren’t convincing anyone under the age of 60 to watch those shows. They are annoying filler – literally in the way of you seeing what you are actually came here to watch.
It seems like somewhere along the way, CBS stopped seeing what it had as special. That isn’t just a CBS problem. NBC just extended its deal with Notre Dame and regularly puts out a broadcast that looks and sounds like everyone involved just remembered they had to work today like 20 minutes ago. College football doesn’t seem valuable to those two networks. The attitude seems to be “this is football, but it isn’t the NFL, so the price tag is more important than the quality.”
It is a surprise that it happened at CBS, because of what Danielson said as the broadcast signed off Saturday night.
“The concept by Sean McManus and his team [was] to take, in college football, a regional product and make it a national 3:30 game,” he told Nessler. “His deal was to hire the best people he could find behind the camera, in the truck, producer, director, cameramen. And then start it at 3:30 with that music.”
CBS created a valuable brand by investing in something that was small, but distinct and marketing it each week as a can’t miss event. That just wasn’t happening in the same way by 2023. There were still great games on, but it felt like the network approached it as somehow lesser than a 4:05 Week 8 kickoff between the Patriots and Jets.
Beginning with next football season, the SEC moves all of its games to ESPN and ABC. Will the networks offer something innovative? Will the broadcasts move faster and reflect the speed on the field? I don’t know, but I do know it is time for a change.
As for CBS, its college football offerings will be regulated to the second or third best Big Ten game each week and whenever two of the service academies play each other. Honestly, that may be a better fit. CBS continues to do a great job with Army/Navy every year and the Big Ten’s media strategy suggests that it is content to be treated as minor league NFL…and I don’t know if you tried to watch Iowa and Michigan on Saturday night, but yeesh. If that’s the best it has to offer, maybe it doesn’t deserve to be treated much better.
The SEC is in my soul as a native of the geographic footprint and an alum of its current champion. I am not sad to see the CBS chapter of the conference come to a close. Watching the retrospective that closed out Saturday’s broadcast was a good reminder of how many moments and stars I enjoyed thanks to the network’s investment in the conference. It brought back great memories and filled me with true appreciation for what was, but the two sides have done all they can for each other. It’s time to move on.
One of my non-radio pursuits since moving to Bowling Green has been to take advantage of a Kentucky law — KRS 164.284 — which grants free tuition to any state-supported institution of higher education for state residents who are 65 or older. That’s a lot of words, but put simply, those of us who are older can take university classes for free! Bowling Green, besides being the home of the Corvette, is also home to Western Kentucky University. The name of the school is a little odd because this is south central Kentucky and you can drive two hours west of here and still be in the state. However, the team name, Hilltoppers, is deadly accurate as the school is on top of a hill in Bowling Green, and walking uphill to class burns quite a few calories.
I’m wrapping up my first class and for me, it’s my first university-level class as a student since the ‘80s. If you’re like me and haven’t taken a class this century, it’s different because, like most everything else, education has moved online. WKU uses Blackboard, an online tool, and I’ve adapted to sending in assignments and papers online as well as taking exams online in the comfort of my home office.
My reason for all this background is that in the last session of History 349, American History from 1945 to the Present, our instructor, Dr. Tony Harkins, asked us to form small groups and determine the three biggest events of the last 30 years. When each group presented their choices, one was unanimous: the Internet. Sure, there was 9/11, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the COVID pandemic, but no other choices were unanimous. Even 9/11 was problematic for most of the students as they weren’t alive when it took place 22 years ago.
That led to a class discussion and listening in, you really appreciate the difference in outlook when the rest of the group is a half-century younger than you! They referred to their parents adapting to being online and considering that I’m old enough to be a grandparent to any of them, it made me think back to my first PC, a Compaq dual floppy that I purchased in 1984. The Hayes 1200 baud modem was almost $500 extra, but it was worth it to be that far ahead of the technology curve! They have never known a time without the smartphone, high-speed internet, and the ability to find out almost anything they want to know instantly.
Admittedly, a group of WKU history students is not a random sample and is not projectable to the population, but I also heard some misgivings about AI and the perils of the internet. They know the power of the internet to ruin people’s lives if used for nefarious purposes.
What does all this mean for radio? I wish I had been able to ask about their use of broadcast radio, if they use any at all, but to no great surprise, this group is in another world. That’s not a negative statement, but for all formats, we’ve done things the same way for so long that we likely don’t know another way to accomplish our tasks. Yes, radio is multi-platform like just about any other medium today, but as this cohort ages, what happens to our medium?
I’m not the first to bring this up, but we really need to step up if we’re going to have another generation of radio listeners, regardless of the distribution system. What will it take to make radio relevant to their needs and desires? Being in close quarters with them for a class lets me see some of the similarities of what I can remember from my undergraduate days and their different attitudes and experiences, which are very different from what I went through in the ‘70s.
Time to study for this week’s final (I’m auditing, but for the purpose of keeping my brain busy, I do all the required work)! If you’re in the golden years like me, you might want to consider going back to school, too. Most states have some kind of tuition waiver (for more info about your state’s options) and try it out! Not only will you learn something and interact with much younger people, you can even get student discounts as well! Thanks to Dr. Tony Harkins for putting up with me for the semester and “Go Tops!”.
