KDKA night host Robert Mangino has departed the station after 13 years.
In a Facebook post announcing his exit, Mangino said he listened to the venerable Pittsburgh station as a 13-year-old. His interaction with overnight host Perry Marshall during a late-night phone call was what propelled him into a radio career.
He said after working at a station in Youngstown, Ohio for 14 years, a move to KDKA was his dream job.
“But alas, all dreams come to an end. Life is shaking me awake,” said Mangino. “There’s disappointment just like we all experience when it’s time to get up, wishing you could keep on dreaming, but at the same time, are so thankful you remember the dream so vividly.”
Mangino thanked station management that brought him to KDKA and kept him there through the years. He added that he worked with “some of the best people”, naming Larry Richert, Marty Griffin, and Rick Dayton, among others.
The station website now shows the 6:00-10:00 PM timeslot previously hosted by Mangino as now hosted by Rob Pratte, who has worked at the station since 1984.
Mangino’s last show with the Audacy-owned station was Sunday, March 26th.
Former ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas is slated to debut her new show — Elizabeth Vargas Reports — on NewsNation this evening, and says it will intentionally be unlike anything else on cable news.
In an interview with TVNewser, Vargas claimed the program isn’t simply going to be an hour-long version of network news shows like World News Tonight or NBC Nightly News, saying that by the time her show hits the air — 6:00 PM ET — most viewers have already digested the headlines.
“We’re going to go much deeper into our stories, and we’re going to pick a handful of the most interesting, most important stories that have happened, and provide a lot of in-depth analysis,” Vargas said. “We’ll talk to the newsmakers and do a lot of live interviews, which is kind of my wheelhouse and what I enjoy doing most. I’m really looking forward to it.
“I think viewers right now are craving nuance and context. There are a lot of shouting, talking heads and highly partisan takes on things, and I think it’s important to stay away from that and get more in depth into what the big stories are each day.”
Vargas joins NewsNation after spending the 15 years anchoring 20/20, and also working on documentaries for A&E. In addition to her work at the cable outlet, she also hosts a syndicated program called iCrime with Elizabeth Vargas.
Last week, NFL Network’s Jim Trotter announced he would be departing NFL Media after being told his contract would not be renewed.
Trotter had publicly questioned NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about the lack of diversity in NFL Media’s executive and newsroom roles at his “State of the League” address at the Super Bowl in February. It was the second consecutive year Trotter had asked the question, which he argued wasn’t an attack on the Commissioner or a “gotcha” moment, but simply asking that “the league’s actions reflecting their words”.
While announcing his departure, Trotter said “I thank NFL Network and NFL.com for the lessons learned and affirmed over the last five years.”
After his departure was announced, The New York Post included a tidbit that 58% of new full-time hires at NFL Media were people of color, with the three most recent executives hired by the organization fitting that description. Trotter balked at the claim, saying that the entity saw zero Black senior managers at the news desk. He called the claim “a banana in the tailpipe.”
Many in sports media viewed Trotter’s non-renewal as retribution for his public questioning of Goodell. He told Peter King’s Football Morning in America that he was offered a severance agreement from NFL Media, but refused to accept the terms.
“I was offered a three-month severance package, with an NDA [non-disclosure agreement]. I declined,” Trotter revealed.
King said the situation was “wrong on several levels”, and added that Trotter “got railroaded”.
Trotter is not the only NFL Media employee to depart the company recently. Both Rachel Bonnetta and Willie McGinest exited last week.
Whether or not you watched the NCAA Women’s Final Four is irrelevant. The games set ratings records for the Women’s Tournament, and Iowa’s semi-final win over South Carolina is the most-watched college basketball game ESPN has aired since 2008. That includes both men’s and women’s games.
The growing popularity of the women’s game matters, but the timing may matter even more.
“I think this is definitely something that’s on our radar,” New NCAA President Charlie Baker told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “The program, I think, is at exactly the right time peaking here because the contract is up.”
The current NCAA Championships television package with ESPN is set to expire in 2024. The women’s basketball tournament is part of that agreement. Several experts have concluded that inclusion in that contract severely undervalues the tournament.
Baker told host Chuck Todd that stars like Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark turned the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament into must-see television this season. He and his staff know it won’t be the last time and want to maximize the event’s value going forward. That would mean testing the value of the tournament as its own television package.
“We do have an opportunity to put it out separately and we’re going to work really hard to make sure that those student-athletes, those schools, those programs get what I would describe as what they should get,” he said.
Currently, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament loses money each year. That is under the terms of the NCAA Championships contract with ESPN. The network pays a total of $34 million for 29 events.
A study commissioned by the NCAA last year estimates that by 2025, when a new TV contract would begin, the women’s basketball tournament would be worth between $81 and $112 million on its own.
Twitter had vowed to remove “legacy” verified checkmarks on accounts on Saturday, April 1st. For the most part, that has failed to happen. But Twitter owner Elon Musk did appear to revel in the fact that The New York Times had been stripped of its verification.
The Times lost its verified checkmark, and immediately imposters began attempting to appear as the news outlet on the social media platform.
The publication has a following of over 55 million on the platform, but in a series of tweets, Musk claimed that the “tragedy” of the account “is that their propaganda isn’t even interesting”.
He later called the Twitter feed from the company “the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s unreadable”.
Also, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s unreadable.
They would have far more real followers if they only posted their top articles.
Like most media entities, The New York Times claimed it would not pay to retain its verified badge, and would not reimburse employees who subscribed to Twitter Blue to keep their checkmarks either. The NYT Books and NYT Food accounts continue to bear a gold symbol, which claims “This account is verified because it’s an official organization on Twitter.”
A noticeable change for Twitter is the way blue checkmarks are now described. While clicking on the actual badge, a pop-up window now reads “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.”
Previously, there was a delineation between whether a user was a legacy verified account or if it was simply subscribed to Twitter Blue.
As of this publication, The New York Times appears to be the only major media entity to have been stripped of its Twitter verification.
The election machine company had previously asked the court to make a judgment before the case was presented to a jury. However, Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that a jury would hear the case, rather than make the summary judgment himself. He argued that neither side had presented a convincing enough argument for him to rule on the matter.
While announcing the decision, Davis said it was “crystal clear” that allegations made by attorneys for former President Donald Trump were factually incorrect. Dominion has continually contended that Fox News knowingly shared false statements about the 2020 presidential election.
“Fox knew the truth,” Dominion argued in court documents. “It knew the allegations against Dominion were ‘outlandish’ and ‘crazy’ and ‘ludicrous’ and ‘nuts.’ Yet it used the power and influence of its platform to promote that false story.”
The cable outlet has defended its actions by pointing to the First Amendment.
“Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings,” the network said in a statement last week.
Davis also ruled that Dominion did not have to prove monetary damages to its business to establish liability by Fox News. Critics of Dominion’s $1.6 billion case have argued that the company only has a valuation of only $60 million.
Barring a settlement between the parties, the trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 17th.
After Jason Benetti signed a deal to join FOX Sports, many wondered who would be the play-by-play broadcaster for Peacock’s MLB Sunday Leadoff package. We now know that Brendan Burke has filled those shoes.
Burke — the current television voice of the New York Islanders — has network experience, working NHL broadcasts for both NBC and TNT. His work with TNT will cause him to miss the first several broadcasts of the streaming platform’s package, as the NHL Playoffs commence.
Chicago Blackhawks television voice Chris Vosters is expected to work the MLB games on Peacock while Burke is handling his NHL Playoffs duties for TNT, according to The New York Post.
The 38-year-old has also worked in a fill-in role for John Sterling on New York Yankees radio broadcasts. It is reported that both the franchise and WFAN are high on him as a potential replacement for Sterling, but Burke has previously stated that “At this point, I’m a hockey guy“.
The report also claims NBC had “significant talks” with Baltimore Orioles television play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown for the role, but did not reach an agreement.
In the debut season of the package, Peacock paired Benetti with analysts from the participating teams, and that arrangement is expected to continue for 2023.
Hal Jay, the host of the “WBAP’s Morning News,” is set to return to the Dallas airwaves on Monday, April 3rd, after a nearly two-month absence following a successful heart transplant.
Hal Jay was missing from the “WBAP Morning News” lineup after the holiday season. On January 16th, he explained to his audience that he had experienced two ventricular tachycardia events within a week. Medical professionals at Baylor Scott & White Hospital had informed him that his heart was irreparable.
After being added to a transplant list, doctors said the estimated waiting period for a new heart would be 2 to 6 months. However, Jay didn’t have to wait that long. On February 3rd, a heart had become available, and he would undergo surgery that night.
Jay underwent the transplant surgery the following day, and after several hours of recovery, he returned to his hospital room. Remarkably, just nine days after the surgery, Hal was discharged from the hospital and could drive back home to Fort Worth with his wife, Ann.
WBAP had been consistently airing promos with Hal Jay’s voice, and on March 29th, listeners finally received the news they had eagerly awaited. Hal made a triumphant announcement declaring his return to the airwaves with the exciting proclamation, “I’m coming back!”
Hal Jay has been a vital member of the WBAP team since 1981 and is currently in his 42nd year with the station.
Syndicated radio host Dana Loesch is discussing an incident in the White House press briefing room involving a reporter claiming press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre demonized him. Simon Ateba, a White House reporter for Today News Africa, has frequently challenged Jean-Pierre.
During a recent special visit to the press room by the cast of Ted Lasso, Ateba once again demanded to be allowed to ask a question. He accused Jean-Pierre of mocking the First Amendment, which several other reporters defended. Other reporters told Ateba to mind his manners in the press room.
Loesch remarked that one aspect of the clip that caught her attention was the conduct of the other journalists. She questioned the free press’s loyalty and said reporters should support their fellow journalists by asking questions.
“He (Ateba) is there because he has serious questions to ask,” Loesch said. “He wanted to ask his questions; he didn’t want to sit there for a press tour of Ted Lasso, which is what they were doing it for. I was shocked by that because he is rarely called on.”
Loesch shared disappointment at the negative response she witnessed in the media towards Ateba’s attempt to ask a question.
“From programs like The View, I expect it, but from other reporters who were there, what blows my mind, if that had been a Republican administration when people like Jim Acosta would yell questions, he was defended.”
Ateba joined Loesch to delve into the intricacies of the press briefing room at the White House. According to him, CNN analyst, Brian Karem, was among those who criticized him.
“He’s very disrespectful; he was removed from the White House because he became violent in the Rose Garden,” said Ateba. “He was fired in 1992 by a TV station because he was rude to President Bush. He confronted President Trump’s press secretary and was warned many times.”
“Simon Ateba is one of the few real journalists left in the world,” added Loesch.
Studying to attain a law degree is an intensive task that requires commitment and dedication, along with having an erudite understanding of different types of law and standards of litigation. Completing law school is usually laborious for most students since the occupation involves meticulous preparation and the application of knowledge into real-world situations pertaining to intricacies such as burdens of proof, depositions and arraignments. Of course, the job of an attorney is to represent a plaintiff or a defendant and advocate on their behalf, and while much of their time is spent in offices and courtrooms, some have given broadcasting a try. It is fair to consider Jay Bilas a part of that group, specializing in commercial litigation and all things college hoops.
History scholars are surely cognizant of a maxim authored by former Pennsylvania governor and American pantologist Benjamin Franklin which states, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” It is evident that preparedness is paradigmatic in effectuating a greater chance at success, mitigating ostensible roadblocks before they occur. Bilas, through his law training, was taught methods of preparing for cases and today is of counsel at the law firm Moore & Van Allen.
Working as a lawyer, however, is not Bilas’ full-time job. That would be working for ESPN as one of its top college basketball commentators, providing analysis of players and teams both on studio programming and courtside for select matchups. His journey in sports media, unconventional in and of itself, kept him around the game he has fervently scrutinized in a variety of roles. It has afforded him a chance to disseminate his esoteric perspectives on the sport based on his previous experience – voluminous and stratified – along with his means of interpretation.
“I’ve learned about the game since I’ve played it and since I was an assistant coach,” Bilas said. “That’s been one of the great things about this job. If I had stayed as an assistant and had [my] own program at some point, I probably wouldn’t know as much about the game as I feel like I know now.”
Indeed, Bilas has been present around several accomplished college basketball programs through his role at ESPN, something that would not have been possible had he remained a member of the Duke University Blue Devils men’s basketball team’s coaching staff.
Led by head coach Mike Krzyzewski for 42 seasons, the team won five national championships and qualified for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament 36 times, posting an overall record of 97-30 and 13 appearances in the Final Four. Krzyzewski, an undisputed savant of the game, recruited Bilas to play for the team as one of the top high school basketball prospects in the country.
Before Bilas considered institutions in which to matriculate, he participated in an interview with a local media outlet where he expressed an interest in broadcasting after playing basketball. In his youth, his mother encouraged him to try a variety of different activities, including various debate courses and competing in ballroom dancing, shaping him into a multifaceted, avant-garde recruit with recognizance in many different subject matters.
Interested basketball programs took notice and made sure that they introduced Bilas to executives in their communication departments during his visits, giving him a more comprehensive understanding of interacting with the media. During his visit to Duke University, Krzyzewski introduced Bilas to Chuck Howard, an 11-time Emmy-winning producer with ABC Sports and pioneer in sports broadcasting.
In the end, Bilas had a decision to make between playing for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes; the Syracuse University Orange; the University of Kansas Jayhawks; or the Duke University Blue Devils. Shortly thereafter, he found himself packing his bags to travel from his hometown of Los Angeles to Durham, N.C. and immersing himself in its system and the shrewd intellect of Krzyzewski.
On top of that, his conversation with Howard led to Bilas landing a job with ABC Sports during the summers as a runner where he assisted in the production of signature events. Some of these spectacles included the 1983 PGA Championship, the 1984 Summer Olympics (held in Los Angeles) and Monday Night Baseball broadcasts featuring premier voices of “America’s Pastime.”
“It just kind of got me interested in it,” Bilas said, “and I just sort of pursued it, I guess, from there…. “I think [that for] anybody who gets into this kind of thing, you’re always thinking, ‘Well, can I do this? Is this something I should do?’ Chuck was very positive all the time.”
Bilas was a four-year starter under Krzyzewski and faced off against difficult opponents, most notably the University of North Carolina Tar Heels featuring a dynamic guard by the name of Michael Jordan. After winning the NCAA Division I men’s basketball national championship in 1982, “His Airness” proceeded to win six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and is referred to by many basketball pundits as the greatest player of all time.
He also was a two-time participant in the Olympic Games including in 1984 before his NBA debut, meaning that Bilas covered him when working for ABC Sports. He and the Blue Devils had ended Jordan’s Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) career just a few months earlier in an epic 77-75 upset, but it was one of the few games Bilas did not start because of an injury he had sustained three days earlier.
As a member of one of the highest-scoring college basketball recruiting classes ever assembled – which featured Mark Alarie, Dave Henderson and Johnny Dawkins in addition to Bilas – the team developed and made it all the way to the 1986 NCAA Division I men’s basketball national championship game. Although Duke was defeated 72-69 by the University of Louisville Cardinals, the team helped set the foundation in place for the program to thrive in forthcoming seasons.
Upon graduating Duke University with a degree in political science, Bilas was drafted to the National Basketball Association in the fifth round by the Dallas Mavericks; however, he never played an NBA game. After some time playing professionally in Italy and Spain, Bilas returned to Duke University where he served as an assistant coach on the basketball team and worked to earn a law degree. Having served as a player and a coach, Bilas has utilized these experiences to handle and implement feedback from media bosses over his time in the industry, rounding him into a bonafide professional and adept colleague.
“You welcome feedback because it lets you know what other people think and people whose opinions you really value and whose judgments you value, and you act on it, especially when it’s right and reasonable,” Bilas said.
“When you get criticism – constructive or otherwise – you have to ask yourself [first] if it’s right, and if it’s right you need to deal with it. Second, if it’s reasonable, and if it’s reasonable, you need to consider it carefully; if it’s unreasonable, you just dismiss it. I’m not saying that’s what you do with your bosses because anything you get from your bosses is going to be reasonable.”
With this year’s tournament having been the first Final Four without a qualifying No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed – and busting all brackets in the process (there is approximately a 1 in 9.2 quintillion chance of compiling a perfect bracket) – it was an intriguing watch for college basketball fans. Bilas was part of ESPN’s coverage live from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on College GameDay and called the semifinal matchup between the University of Connecticut Huskies and University of Miami Hurricanes alongside Brian Custer on ESPN’s international feed, syndicated to over 180 countries worldwide.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all event, but it’s as compelling a sporting event as I’ve ever watched and certainly that I’ve ever been a part of,” Bilas said. “I think there’s something special about having played in it, and [having] a role as an assistant coach and then having a role as a broadcaster. You’ve seen it from a lot of different angles – and before all that, I consumed it as a fan. I was the same kind of kid that watched it and dreamed of doing that someday, so there’s a dream aspect to it that’s really cool, and it’s something you have a hard time putting it into words.”
When it comes to sharing his opinions of college basketball, Bilas has worked at the craft of broadcasting to divulge compendious insights and viewpoints to viewers. Having that ability came in part because of his experience following, playing and coaching basketball, along with his abilities as a lawyer. Yet part of what makes Bilas a versatile broadcaster and the recipient of numerous industry honors, including the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, is by starting his sports media career in radio.
Less than a year after Bilas graduated law school and relinquished his duties as an assistant coach, he was offered a chance to work with Bob Harris on the Duke Radio Network as a color commentator for basketball games. He was hesitant about making the jump because he knew it would make it difficult to regularly practice law, but was urged to do so by legendary play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg, whom he met while in college.
“He felt like it was really good training,” said Bilas regarding Enberg’s view of radio. “If I remember right, he said, ‘Television is color by numbers, but the real artists are in radio.’ I think starting there really helped me because the play-by-play person is the one that paints the picture.”
Enberg was helpful for Bilas throughout his formative years in the industry, and they ended up working with one another beginning in 2003 covering the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament for CBS Sports.
Over the years working with ESPN and CBS Sports, Bilas has had the good fortune to be paired with play-by-play announcers such as Dan Schulman, Sean McDonough and Brent Musburger, and thoroughly enjoyed his time working with each of them. With Enberg though, the two formed chemistry on the air and a friendly relationship off the air, including one memorable outing to Belmont Abbey College, the place where Al McGuire first coached.
“We spent the whole day there and saw his old office [and] walked around the campus,” Bilas remembered. “He told Al McGuire stories all day. It was just a wonderful day; he was just a very thoughtful human being and very kind. I think that came through with him as a broadcaster.”
Even though he worked with CBS Sports for parts of its March Madness coverage, Bilas has primarily been with ESPN since 1995, causing him to diminish the amount of work he can do as a lawyer. As he assimilated into the network and its coverage of college basketball, Bilas’ abilities to make sense of the action stood out wherefore he earned desirable assignments. In attempting to describe his commentary style, Bilas underscored the importance of being genuine with your audience, ensuring his analysis is precise and any criticism is justified.
“I just kind of say what I see and interpret the game [in] the way I understand it and the way I was trained,” Bilas said. “….Getting inside all these different programs and being in their scouting reports and their practices and their coaches’ meetings over the last 27 years has taught me more about basketball than I think I ever could have learned if I had just stayed on that particular path I was on.”
Amid a typical college basketball broadcast, there are ebbs and flows engendering the accentuation of information and entertainment, along with balancing objectivity and subjectivity. Through this multifarious discourse, consumers in part remain engrossed in the on-air product, although some pundits would argue that the games themselves are the primary drivers of ratings and revenue rather than the commentary.
Even so, listening to a lackluster broadcast booth can foment indignation and displeasure from consumers, sometimes acting as a catalyst for viewers to change the channel.
“I think all of our jobs in this are saying the right thing at the right time in the right tone,” Bilas said. “….There are certain times when somebody may take something the wrong way or not how you intended it. I don’t place that responsibility on the listener. If I didn’t get the point across for them to understand it in the way I intended, that’s on me.”
Occasionally, Bilas will be criticized by viewers for showing bias towards one team, an accusation he considers an example of fans being unreasonable. Game commentary, in essence, is meant to communicate what is happening during a contest.
The broadcast equips statistics, graphics, detailed preparation and quotes from interviews to enhance its storytelling and provide context to moments. National commentators will usually place more attention on the team winning the game and/or discuss what everyone is talking about, maintaining their ethos and objectivity while doing justice to the product on the floor.
“Of course I may have said some nicer things about the team that won than the team that lost; that can happen,” Bilas expressed. “You kind of ask the question sometimes: ‘Which was more biased? My mouth or your ears?’”
Since the launch of College GameDay in 2005, Bilas has been a part of its panel as an analyst, causing him to adjust his approach in presenting information. He affirms that the setting cultivates discussion in less of a granular manner than game commentary, instead expounding on the landscape as a whole.
Additionally, Bilas interviews college basketball players in a segment called “94 Feet” for the show, conversing so viewers can learn more about them away from the court. He also appears on other ESPN studio programming, including Get Up!, SportsCenter and select ESPN Radio programs.
“I’ve always tried to just be conversational with my colleagues in the studio,” Bilas said. “I’m answering the question that a colleague asked and having a discussion with my cohort.”
When he is not calling games or voicing his opinions in the studio, Bilas may be writing a story for ESPN.com. In working to disclose his ideas and thoughts to readers, he believes they last longer because of the means through which they are being delivered. In today’s information-driven era with a dwindling attention span and emphasis on timeliness, possessing an alacrity to serve his audience is critical for him to adequately perform his versatile role.
There are opportunities, however, for Bilas to go into detail about topics, just as he did on the definition of “toughness” in his New York Times bestselling book titled, “Toughness: Developing True Strength On and Off the Court.”
“In my life as a lawyer, I had to do a lot of writing,” Bilas said. “You try to convey your thoughts in as concise a way as possible. That’s similar to what you try to do on the air when you’re speaking, but I’ve done a lot of writing over the years and I’ve always really enjoyed it.”
When crafting its booth for Thursday Night Football, the management team at Amazon Prime Video made what was perceived by many people to be a questionable decision in pairing Kirk Herbstreit with Al Michaels. Herbstreit, a former player and insightful college football studio analyst and color commentator, worked a total of 49 assignments in the fall – 33 of those being live game commentary and 16 being appearances on College GameDay. By assimilating himself into broadcasts of National Football League games, he brought unique perspectives realized from his time covering players in college that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Moreover, he was able to implement what he observed during NFL games into his college football coverage, better informing viewers on how the game is changing and what the next generation of players needs to do to prepare.
Bilas has called some NBA games throughout his career, but his primary focus is on college basketball. Where a comparison between Herbstreit and Bilas can perhaps be drawn though is in Bilas’ coverage of the NBA Draft on ESPN through which he discusses the intersection between college and professional basketball. Additionally, he talks about the transition period and characteristics of draftees to supply context to the broadcast.
“Most of these players I see in high school – so you cover them when they’re younger and as they develop to the pro level and how they translate to the pro level,” Bilas said. “I’m not necessarily covering the NBA; you’re covering talent being drafted by the NBA.”
Leading up to the 2014-15 college basketball season, Bilas agreed to a contract extension with ESPN that resulted in him being added to ESPN Saturday Primetime telecasts of college basketball games. While he has appeared on the network’s platforms as a color commentator, studio analyst and writer, he is able to promulgate his thoughts regularly through his use of social media platforms.
Over his career, Bilas has been able to amass large followings across several different mediums despite not having a legitimate strategy in terms of creating and sharing content.
Since being purchased by Elon Musk, Twitter has endured a variety of changes, including removing its signature blue verification check marks from accounts that do not subscribe to its new “Twitter Blue” service. The forthcoming change has received plenty of criticism, being loathed by many users who state it will make it difficult to know the legitimacy of Twitter accounts.
Some people are referring to the shift in strategy as an apocalyptic occurrence that will destroy the platform and companies such as ESPN and The New York Times are declining to expense their employees’ subscriptions should they choose to purchase one. In addition, star athletes including Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have stated that they will decline to pay for verification.
Whether it is sharing opinions on college basketball, posting game highlights and other content or simply tweeting out Young Jeezy lyrics, Bilas uses Twitter in a variety of ways. He declines to engage with many users in the comment sections though, calling it an unhealthy practice, and limits his time on social media to safeguard against the ostensible dangers it presents.
“I don’t think it’s one of my main functions,” Bilas said of social media. “I enjoy it; I’m still trying to figure out some of it.”
When them boys was playing games, I was busy playing chess. I'm real and I'm self-made, I'm what you call a threat. I gotta go to work.
When looking at today’s media ecosystem, virtually any user has the ability to select what, when, where and how to consume content, along with being capable of producing their own independent media and amplifying their own voice. Digital platforms have revolutionized the ways information is shared and connections are fostered and maintained among people, precipitating a culture featuring influencers: prominent users online who have built a significant following.
Even before the onset of college athletes being able to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL), they could be considered part of this group; however, their impact has surely been aggrandized since then with marketing and promotional deals to supplement their play.
In the first year of the NCAA allowing NIL deals, college athletes earned an estimated $917 million, with many of the highest earners being women in college basketball. Bilas has been outspoken against the entity’s principle of amateurism, which stated that college athletes participated in sports because of their love of the game, while coaches, executives and administrators profited from annual multibillion dollar earnings. He has expressed how the NCAA spread what has turned out to be a false narrative stating that compensating athletes would hurt women’s sports in order to protect its own interests, in addition to advocating for the educational value associated with building and managing a brand.
Bilas asserts that college athletes have always had a voice, but digital media and NIL have made it where they need not express themselves through traditional media outlets. Instead, athletes are able to instantaneously share how they feel on digital media platforms, whether that be through social media posts, live streams or podcasts. Athletes feel empowered and are arguably more direct towards their legions of fans than ever before, a trend that continues to augment in prominence across various professional sports.
“There’s no downside to this,” Bilas said. “It’s all just one, moderate step toward where athletes are going to be in the future, and that’s being compensated to their fair market value and being allowed the same economic rights as literally everyone else. They’ve never had that, and they still don’t have that.”
As March Madness comes to a close with tonight’s national championship game between the San Diego State University Aztecs and the University of Miami Hurricanes, Bilas legitimately does not have an interest in one team to win a game over another. In fact, he has not had a rooting interest in virtually any college basketball games over the last 30 years – aside from the contests his son, Anthony, played as a member of the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons – depicting objectivity and an inherent absence of bias in his work.
“When I started in broadcasting, that was the first time I had ever gone to a game where I didn’t care who won,” Bilas said. “It’s been 30 years now where I’ve gone to countless games without caring who wins, and that was a different feeling at first.”
Following the conclusion of the college basketball season, Bilas’ contract will expire with ESPN amid an organizational restructuring of The Walt Disney Company under new CEO Bob Iger, which will reportedly result in company-wide layoffs eliminating $5.5 billion in operating costs. The strategy was uncovered ahead of an annual shareholder meeting today where Iger is expected to field questions over his strategy and the company’s involvement in sports media through ESPN.
As part of the restructuring, ESPN is now considered to be its own entity and is being overseen by Jimmy Pitaro, who earned the title of chairman in the process. Since then, Pitaro has established a new executive leadership team which included naming Burke Magnus as president of programming and original content. ESPN veterans such as Norby Williamson, Stephanie Druley and David Roberts report to him in order to foster continued success and innovation pertaining to the network’s programming and future strategy.
Consumers may have a louder voice, but finding an open door into traditional media outlets can, perhaps, be considered more difficult than ever before. When he was young, Bilas received sagacious advice from his father, who operated a television sales and repair business, which stated: “The best way to get a job is [to] do the one you have.” These words encapsulate part of the reason why Bilas remains invested in the moment. He implores young people to do the same, focusing on the journey more than the destination, but being intentional in their actions and how they present themselves to an industry fueled by innovation, hard work and passion.
“I’m not looking beyond what’s in front of me today, and it doesn’t mean I don’t have plans [or that] I [have] never planned anything,” Bilas said. “I don’t think about sort of those kinds of goals and, ‘Accomplish this; accomplish that.’ I just want to accomplish enjoying what I’m doing, and if I do that, whatever opportunity comes my way, I’ll be able to evaluate it in time.”
