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News Media Reacts to Technical Difficulties During Ron DeSantis Presidential Campaign Announcement

BNM Staff
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According to reports, Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, was overheard expressing frustration over the overwhelming server demand during the preparations for a live stream interview featuring Ron DeSantis, the GOP presidential candidate and Governor of Florida.

DeSantis tried to engage in a conversation on Twitter Space with Musk. The session was facilitated by David Sacks, a tech entrepreneur and Republican donor with close ties to Musk. The event commenced with technical difficulties as the owner of Twitter acknowledged that the servers were under strain due to an overwhelming number of individuals seeking to listen to the audio-only session.

One day prior, Musk described the occasion as an unprecedented milestone for Twitter, proclaiming it to be “the first time something this happened on social media.”

Fox News Digital reported that approximately 700,000 users swiftly logged in to access the announcement around 20 minutes after its commencement. However, the event was unexpectedly terminated without any clarification or explanation provided.

Reaction from news media members expressed both sarcasm and disappointment for the much-hyped announcement.

FOX & Friends Sets Summer Concert Series Lineup

BNM Staff
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FOX & Friends airing weekdays from 6-9 AM/ET, is set to launch its fifteenth annual All-American Summer Concert Series on Friday, May 26th. The opening performance will feature the Grammy award-winning rock band 3 Doors Down. 

Spanning every Friday until September 1st, this series will showcase acclaimed music talents, including Flo Rida, Gary Levox of Rascal Flatts, Colbie Caillat, Jelly Roll, and Donny Osmond, among various others.

Every Friday morning, Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade, the co-hosts of FOX & Friends, will gather with fans on FOX Square, the plaza situated outside FNC‘s headquarters in New York City, for an exciting live musical event. This free performance will also be available for streaming on FOX Nation.

The full lineup for the 2023 All-American Summer Concert Series is as follows:

5/26: 3 Doors Down
6/2: Parmalee with Blanco Brown
6/9: Colbie Caillat
6/16: Justin Moore with Riley Green.
6/23: Tyler Farr
6/30: Skillet
7/7: UB40
7/14: Elevation Worship
7/21: Former Rascal Flatts frontman Gary Levox
7/28: Flo Rida
8/4: Donny Osmond
8/11: Jelly Roll will showcase his talent.
8/18: Vanilla Ice and Rob Base

College Professor Fired After Threatening New York Post Reporter With Machete

BNM Staff
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A video that went viral after being published by The New York Post on Tuesday depicts a former professor from Manhattan holding a machete against the neck of a reporter.

The incident occurred when the reporter visited the professor’s residence seeking comments following her verbal attack on pro-life activist students at her university.

During his appearance on Fox News’ Primetime with Jesse Watters, Clay Travis, the founder of OutKick, pondered the possible course of action he might have taken had he encountered a situation where he arrived at someone’s residence for a story and was confronted with a deadly weapon.

“I think I would’ve been totally frozen like that reporter was, who definitely didn’t expect that to happen,” said Travis. “And then to get chased; this woman is crazy, which means she will probably fit in well at the ivory tower at the university.”

As per The New York Post, the reporter and photographer from the publication swiftly departed the apartment building. However, armed with a weapon, Rodriguez promptly pursued them and confronted them outside.

According to Vince DiMiceli, a spokesperson for Hunter College, it was confirmed to The Post on Tuesday afternoon that Rodriguez had been fired from her position.

WBEN Scores Three Regional Murrow Awards

BNM Staff
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WBEN was awarded three regional Edward R. Murrow journalism awards for their exceptional reporting, including their coverage of the Buffalo blizzard.

They also received the Best Newscast award for their program A New Morning featuring Susan Rose and Brian Mazurowski. WBEN’s comprehensive coverage of the Tops attack and the blizzard earned them the Overall Excellence award.

WBEN emerged as the only media organization in Western New York to provide uninterrupted on-air coverage throughout the storm. Their remarkable dedication resulted in WBEN being honored with the first-place award for their exceptional Breaking News coverage during the blizzard.

In a heartfelt account shared on Tim Wenger’s Facebook page, the Operations Manager/Brand Manager of WBEN recollects a poignant moment during the Christmas Blizzard.

“I remember when ‘James called into WBEN for the 3rd time during the Christmas Blizzard,” he said. “It was Christmas morning, and I got a chill when he told Susan Rose he was still stuck in his vehicle, losing feeling in his legs, a diabetic without insulin. In the end, James would be ok. But so many others would not.

“WBEN made a difference by simply making a decision and a commitment to ‘be there’ when the community was in need. And I’m proud the station and staff has been recognized by the judges and received a rare 3 Edward R. Murrow journalism awards for its continuous coverage,” he added.

Meta Cuts Sports Partnerships Leaders Rob Shaw, Kevin Cote, Dev Sethi

BSM Staff
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Another round of layoffs has gotten underway at Facebook’s parent company Meta. Among those being let go are three executives in sports-related roles.

Meta’s Director of Global Sports Partnerships Rob Shaw, Director of Sports Partnerships Kevin Cote and Dev Sethi all confirmed in LinkedIn posts on Wednesday that their positions had been eliminated.

Shaw and Cote had been at Meta and Facebook since 2014, while Sethi joined the company in 2015.

“Those years have been full of innovation and transition within the sports industry, and it was my great pleasure to be a leading advocate for how technology can bring people closer to their passion of sports,” Shaw wrote. Before Facebook, he was the vice president of content and media at Bloomberg Sports.

“I was fortunate to be surrounded by top notch people, and while it is emotional to say goodbye, I have no doubt our paths will cross again soon,” Cote wrote. He noted that working with various athletes, teams and leagues worldwide on business and social needs, partnerships with high-profile athletes, original programming, live sports and working on athlete partnerships were some of the highlights of his career.

Sethi expressed pride in the work he did at Meta and was thankful to work in a position he could put his heart and soul into.

“I’ve been lucky to marry my passion for sports with my professions for years now, and my hope is to continue that marriage in whatever lies ahead,” he wrote.

The shedding of these jobs is part of a larger swath of cuts at the social media giant. Some 20,000 jobs at the company are being eliminated, and that dates back to November when Meta laid off its head of media partnerships and regional leaders in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Meta at one time had rights to broadcast MLB games live on Facebook. The company has partnered with leagues like the NFL and the NBA, as well as the UFC to bring sports-related content into Web3 and the Metaverse. But the focus has shifted away from live sports rights into AI and alternate reality.

9 News Radio Writing Tips

Peter Thiele
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9 News Radio Writing Tips

I am going to share a truth with you: Journalism schools teach newspaper writing techniques. Seemingly, a lot of radio news is written in that style. Radio is different and news needs to follow the following rules.

Start With the Most Ear-Grabbing Detail

Never Bury the Lead…Remember, this is audio…Grab attention. “Murderer Caught”… “The Suspected downtown slasher caused fear in our community”… “Police picked up Joe Blow early this morning”. 

That works much better than “Police have arrested the alleged murderer in a string of downtown murders. His name is Joe Blow of suburban highland park.” Get listeners to lean into the story.

Create a Picture

Radio is theater of the mind and sadly this is not being utilized properly. “Smoke and Flames billowing from a vacant home on Elm Street created a rude awakening for that neighborhood after 2 this morning”. “4-alarm fire”. “More details as they become available”. 

That works better than “The Fire Department says that a vacant home on Elm Street was on fire after 2 this morning. Fire Inspector will determine the cause”. 

Basic Facts Are More Impactful

Most listeners are in the car or at work. They just want to know the basics. Don’t overcomplicate it. If there are many details, send the listeners to the station website. What is the most important part of the story. You need to figure it out. Fire, shooting, death, accident, riot. Those are always pretty good facts. 

When covering a political story, no bill number ever. “Protecting Girls Sports…No Biological Boys allowed, even if the guy identifies otherwise…Passes the Legislature and is headed to the Governor’s Desk.  More details at (station) dot com.” 

More impact with a small number of words.

Don’t Worry About Story Rotation

Play the hits.  If there is a huge story of the day, lead with it until there is another story to replace it. The stories underneath the lead, the biggest stories always trump story rotation.  PPM has taught us the average time a listener is with the station is likely under 15 minutes per listening occasion. Even if you are in a diary market, PPM has been around for over a decade.  The only people who are intently listening all day at shut-ins or people without lives. Think first about that target listener. 

Another note about story rotation: the practice comes from the earliest days of radio that has been passed down to newspeople like Grandma’s Green Bean Casserole recipe. Was it good?  Probably, when radio was the only thing. People are very selfish. If they hear something that they are not interested in hearing, they are gone. Don’t mess with the hits. A CHR has a tight playlist with the biggest hits. They are not playing the #75 song from 2 years ago because of rotation. 

What is the Biggest Story?

Sometimes this is easy and simple. “Bank Robbery in the last 30 minutes at the midtown bank…  Shots were fired… More details as they are available.” Sometimes, it is more difficult to figure that out. Here is the easiest way to pick that biggest story of the moment: Who is your target listener? Which story is most important to that listener? Remember, this is always evolving. 

Something may be bigger in 30 minutes. Bounce it off your Program Director, host, or other news person. 

Sometimes talking about the stories will bring you the obvious choice.  It’s always about listener-focused experience. 

Keep it as Short as Possible

There is a temptation to rip and read stories from the Associated Press. About the AP: They have no understanding of a commercial radio station’s time constraints. Digesting AP Copy and making it concise is an art form. 

While I don’t believe that there should be a hard rule for story length, sometimes like a natural disaster, if that story takes your whole newscast, it is ok. But, generally, I like three sentences or less. If you can do it in two, great news. Look for ways to make things more concise. Your audience just wants to be informed. They are busy. 

Longer Newscasts in Afternoon Drive

I am a subscriber to really getting the information to the audience on the way home. We replace the national news so that we can just get the stories to our audience that they need to know after work. 

Lots of people are totally focused on the workday and want to make sure that everything is ok before they get home. I believe that this helps us connect with our listeners in a very important way. 

Use Your Website

It is your friend for giving the little or even mundane details of every news story. You can share every detail as a newspaper does. There is no time constraint or word limit. 

It also allows listeners to share your words with their friends on social media. It creates an opportunity to promote your brand and provide value for your audience. 

Your station’s listeners trust you. Utilizing your website is essential for top-of-mind awareness. 

Use Your Social Media

My station in Joplin, Missouri has 60,000 followers. Ok, we are using this. Post as many things as possible and news is a great way to promote your brand.

I hope that these details will help free you as you inform your community. If you apply all these ideas, you will have fun. News is essential for a news/talk station. Never forget that.

Mike Florio: NFL Wants Streamers Overpaying Like Networks Do

BSM Staff
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The NFL deciding to allow flexing for Thursday Night Football games from weeks 13-17 has been the subject of plenty of discussions, and that continued Wednesday on 670 The Score in Chicago with Mike Florio.

Florio was asked by Dan Bernstein about the motive behind the league choosing to add Thursday games into the flex mix, and Florio said it’s about making sure Amazon gets as many eyeballs as possible.

“This is about getting maximum numbers to Amazon,” Florio said. “And they don’t want to have the full season average get cratered by a late-season game between two bad teams without a great quarterback that nobody wants to watch during the holiday season.”

Now even with YouTube now being the home to NFL Sunday Ticket, the league is shifting more focus on streaming as viewers continue to cut the cord.

“This is all about the looming and ongoing pivot that our entire society is experiencing from TV to streaming,” Florio said. “It explains the two exclusive Peacock games this year, and I work for Peacock.”

Florio added that even though the NFL is at the beginning of this newest media rights deal, the added attention on streaming is viewed as a tune-up for the next deal. Florio believes the league will be negotiating a new contract by the end of the decade.

“They want to have streaming companies that will do what networks traditionally have done which is pay way too much – more than they should – for this content,” he said.

Florio mentioned the idea that the league floated about going direct to consumer with Sunday Ticket. But the league recognizes that because the TV networks make the league and themselves so much money, the asking price was too good to pass up.

“They’re hoping that streaming platforms will do the same thing, and one way you get them to do that is to deliver massive audiences,” Florio said. “I think that’s what it’s all about. It’s not just Amazon. It’s about Peacock, it’s about Netflix, it’s about anybody else that may come to the table and bid on the packages the next time around.”

Amazon Sports: We Like Smaller Leagues, But Major Leagues Will Be Focus

BSM Staff
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Amazon continues to make its claim in live sports rights, but it’s also gotten into original sports storytelling as well.

The streaming giant has found success with documentary-style shows like Good Rivals, which chronicles the rivalry between the U.S. and Mexico in soccer, as well as Coach Prime, which has been following hall of famer Deion Sanders on his collegiate coaching journey. Both of which have garnered Sports Emmy nominations.

Matt Newman, Amazon’s Head of Original Sports Content, said at the sports and entertainment event 4se in New York City that it’s amazing to be able to make compelling content outside of the big five leagues.

“Naturally the majority of our volume will be in the bigger, major sports, but we’d love the opportunity to kind of tell these stories you may not have heard of,” he said. Newman was promoting an upcoming series on the Professional Bull Riders called The Ride. “And these new stories, these characters will give us access and give us a chance to tell a story in a way that hasn’t been done before.”

Amazon is trying to compete with the likes of Netflix, which have created similarly successful programs like Formula 1 Drive to Survive and Full Swing with the PGA Tour.

But Newman reiterated that live sports will always be the main focus in terms of content.

“We are investing in our live rights. We have a great deal with Thursday Night Football, we just announced a renewal of WNBA live rights,” he said. “When fans are already on our service, we can use that to create culture and content in a way we couldn’t otherwise. It’s a great microphone to have as a service.”

SiriusXM Rolls Out Indianapolis 500 Coverage Plans

BSM Staff
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SiriusXM Rolls Out Indianapolis 500 Coverage Plans

The 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 is on Sunday, and SiriusXM has announced its programming plans for the weekend.

It all starts Friday with the final stretch of practice time on track for the 33 IndyCar drivers competing in the race, also known as Carb Day. SiriusXM IndyCar Nation will air live coverage of the practice starting at 11 a.m.

On Friday afternoon, two IndyCar shows will broadcast live near the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda. NTT IndyCar Series drivers James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi will host their podcast Off Track with Hinch and Rossi starting at 1 p.m. Comedian and Indianapolis native Joey Mulinaro will be the show’s special guest.

From 2-4 p.m. driver Tony Kanaan and broadcaster Jack Arute will host Brick by Brick, an exclusive IndyCar show. Kanaan won the 2013 Indy 500 and will compete in the race for the 22nd and final time on Sunday.

Listeners of both programs can expect to hear insider perspectives from the drivers on competing in the sport’s biggest event, as well as interviews.

Race day coverage of the Indy 500 begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday and can be heard on both IndyCar Nation and NBC Sports Audio channel 85.

This is also SiriusXM’s Listen Free event, so you can try out the service at no charge and listen to all the action.

Dan Patrick: NFL Rule Changes ‘Send Mixed Message on Player Safety’

BSM Staff
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The announced changes to NFL kickoffs continued to receive criticism and scrutiny in the media on Wednesday.

Dan Patrick said it’s clear that the league wants to see the kickoff completely eliminated. Dan believes by altering the kickoff or even eventually eliminating the play altogether takes away potential opportunities for lesser-known players to make an impact on the game and make a career for themselves.

“They want to get rid of the kickoff,” Patrick said on his FOX Sports Radio show Wednesday. “Now they give us the allusion that they care about player safety. But fans, we want to see. The players want to see a kickoff. There’s guys who make a living, a reputation – guys who knocked on the door of the Hall of Fame because they’re great on special teams. You wouldn’t have Devin Hester. You wouldn’t have some of these great kick returners.”

Former Buffalo Bills special teamer Steve Tasker was another name that came to Dan’s mind as someone who likely wouldn’t have had the same career if the league altered the punt as well. He said there’s no such thing as special teams.

“They’re not even special anymore,” he said. “They would love to get rid of the punt as well. But they can’t do that.”

“They have no problem adding an extra game or two,” Patrick added. “But as far as a kickoff, they don’t want that. They want the game to start on the 25 yard line.”

Paul Pabst chimed in saying that the league is claiming there’s a rise in significant injuries on kicking plays, but he doesn’t believe that the NFL is providing accurate proof.

“I think what is happening here is there’s more reported injuries, there’s more reported concussions,” he said. “I don’t understand the policy on this play, because the players want to return the kicks, the coaches want to kick off and return the kicks, and the fans all want the kicks returned. And you’re not giving it to them under the fake guise of player safety.”

Patrick added that hits on the quarterback are another example of the league making a major change to how football is played to the point that it creates a significant disadvantage to one side.

“They don’t even know how to tackle anymore,” he said. “Now you’re saying, let’s take out kickoffs.”

Dan felt like ultimately the NFL has good intentions, but the emphasis is in the wrong place.

“I’m all for safety, but I think a better helmet would be the start instead of ‘Let’s take away the kickoff,'” Patrick said. “They just send mixed messages with a lot of these rule changes. And they have no problem adding an extra game. So you would think if you really care about safety would you add another game? And then they’re going to add another game. We’re gonna have an 18-game schedule.”

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