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Twitter Account of Piers Morgan Hacked, Briefly Deactivated

BNM Staff
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Former CNN host Piers Morgan saw his Twitter account hacked and then briefly deactivated Monday.

The hack came in the early morning hours, which saw the account begin rapidly tweeting vulgarity and several racial slurs. In addition to the offensive messages, the hackers also tweeted fake news items designed to illicit reactions from followers.

The hackers later leaked a direct message conversation between Morgan and tennis star Andy Murray. The leaked portions of the discussion were light-hearted in nature, mostly centered around the 2022 World Cup.

Morgan’s account was then deactivated by the social media platform, conceivably for its violation of the terms of service after the racially charged tweets. Morgan’s account has now been restored, but is completely blank.

The Daily Mail has inferred the hack could have come from a hacking group called the “Chuckling Squad”, which has previously hacked high-profile Twitter accounts in the past.

WBEN Radio Serves As Lifeline For Listeners During Blizzard

BNM Staff
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In Buffalo, New York an unrelenting blizzard over the Christmas holiday left thousands without power and killed dozens of people. Once again, local radio played a huge role in helping disseminate life-saving information. 

WBEN Radio remained fully staffed during the crisis using its regular local hosts and news staffers to provide critical updates, broadcast emergency press conferences, and update its digital platforms on a regular basis. 

WBEN Operations Manager Tim Wenger hosted a Christmas Day morning show with his wife Susan Rose from their home in Orchard Park. 

Longtime WBEN news anchor Tom Puckett was forced to spend days at the radio station.

“A very snowy Merry Christmas to all…I’m in the WBEN newsroom this morning, stranded by the Blizzard of 22!” Puckett said. 

A local restaurant donated food to WBEN employees who were stuck at the radio during the snowstorm. 

“Best Christmas gift for the crew @WBEN as the dedicated staff gained access to the Sunshine Cafe!” Tim Wenger tweeted. “Eggs and bacon for all and a re-energized staff to bring you the information you need. @TheJoeBeamer.” 

WBEN opened its phone lines for people stranded in their cars. Hosts and reporters are credited with serving as a lifeline to people and reconnecting them with their loved ones. On Christmas, a local nurse shared with listeners that she was trying to get to her local hospital to relieve some of her co-workers who had worked several straight days.  

Learn more about WBEN’s round-the-clock storm coverage by clicking this link. 

Kimberly Klacik Hired at WCBM, Will Officially Start on Jan. 2

BNM Staff
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Commentator and political activist Kimberly Klacik is headed back to Baltimore talk radio. The one-time Congressional candidate announced on Twitter that she will begin hosting a show on WCBM 680 on Jan 8. 

“I am excited to talk to everyone again. We have so much to discuss. Both national & local issues,” she tweeted. 

Klacik also announced that she will begin her tenure at WCBM a week earlier when she fills in for Derek Hunter on Jan 2. Klacik exited WBAL Radio in November. She had taken over the midday show from Yuripzy Morgan in April. 

WCBM’s current lineup is a mix of local and national shows. The station broadcasts live and local with Sean Casey and Bruce Elliot in the morning and Derek Hunter middays. 

Klacik was recently deposed in a defamation lawsuit she filed against the Daily Wire’s Candace Owens. A Tennessee judge ruled Klacik to pay a total of $115,000, which includes all attorney fees and discretionary expenses.

Last year, Klacik filed a $20 million lawsuit against her after Owens took to Instagram live with some explosive allegations. Among other things, Owens accused Klacik of using campaign funds for cocaine.

Klacik founded the political action committee (PAC) Red Renaissance, which according to its website, advocates for school choice, economic empowerment in the inner city and develops political candidates.  

WABC Radio Management Excited About 2023 and Beyond

BNM Staff
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When Red Apple Media owner John Catsimatidis purchased 77 WABC Radio from Cumulus Media in 2019, he pledged to make the radio station great again. As the station embarks on a new year, station management feels like it’s on the path to making that happen. 

In a news release received by Barrett News Media, WABC touted its centennial celebration as a recognition of service to the community coupled with a vision for what WABC will look like in 2023 and into the future. 

“77 WABC has been on the air during the Roaring ’20s, The Great Depression, two World Wars, the assassination of John F Kennedy, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and September 11th, 2001,” said Chad Lopez, President, Red Apple Media. 

Catsimatidis purchased WABC during the first month of the pandemic. 

“John Catsimaidis, thank you for making WABC fun again. And thank you for bringing success back to this crown jewel of American radio,” said WABC host James Golden. 

Earlier this year, the WABC family suffered a tragedy when morning show co-host Bernie died after a battle with prostate cancer. 

“His absence will leave a hole not just at WABC but across the airwaves and in America’s hearts. Bernie was our brother, our friend, our mentor, our colleague,” Lopez wrote in an email to staff at the time. 

Through ups and downs, WABC Radio heads into 2023 optimistic about its current direction. The station has a live and local lineup and a slew of familiar voices to keep listeners coming back. 

“The son of the soil who grew up listening to WABC and now we’re back to being the number one talk radio station in the nation,” host Curtis Sliwa said. 

The NFL Owns Christmas Now

Garrett Searight
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It was only a matter of time before the ever-hungry corporate behemoth that is the NFL gobbled up every bit of real estate on the fall and winter sports calendar for itself. And after the past two years it’s official: the NFL owns Christmas.

The NFL has made it clear under Roger Goodell’s leadership it doesn’t care about social justice, it doesn’t care about professional etiquette, it doesn’t care about unspoken agreements, or anything. The only thing the NFL cares about is money and how to get more of it.

So, you should not have been surprised when the league schedule was debuted and there were three (in theory) marquee games scheduled for Christmas, with the rest of the schedule taking place on Thursday, Saturday, and Monday.

Really, the NFL’s shift to try to own Christmas began in earnest in 2021, when it scheduled a pair of games in national windows on Christmas, which fell on a Saturday. It’s full out assault on winning the holiday came this year. In 2023, Christmas is on a Monday, and I’ll be flabbergasted if the only game on the schedule is Monday Night Football.

The NFL is completely in on Christmas from here on out. Even when the holiday falls on Tuesday, don’t be shocked to see the league schedule two or three games in the future. The only day where it may not make sense is when Christmas is a Wednesday. That schedule might be too tough to pull off that late in the season without risking having the same teams play in national windows on Wednesday and then again on the following Monday.

However, the NFL making the decision to “own” Christmas is one of the rare issues where it didn’t act alone in it’s complete money grab. The league got the slightest push from it’s TV partners not named ESPN, and fell head-over-heels in love with the idea of owning another day to itself. The NFL already has Thanksgiving in it’s back pocket, and will try to gobble up Black Friday in 2023 with a game on Amazon Prime Video. It’s only a matter of time until the league begins playing its season-opening game on Labor Day — in primetime, no doubt — and schedules the Super Bowl on the Sunday before President’s Day to ensure it holds the entire fall/winter calendar to itself.

There will come a time when the NFL will need a new television package to slice up and sell off to the highest bidder. Can you foresee a “holiday”/International package? The season opening game on Labor Day, a game on Halloween night with special uniforms, a Thanksgiving tripleheader, followed by Christmas Eve or Christmas Day games, in addition to games in Europe. Paired with the option to put a game or two on New Years Day, College Football Playoff or bowl games be damned. I’m assuming the NFL would love to make another $500 million a year from some suitable new partner — TBS/TNT, perhaps? — for 8-10 games on the schedule to help grow those ever expanding revenue sheets.

But, as I mentioned, the league didn’t act alone. FOX, NBC, and CBS propelled the league to this. And it makes sense, for a very long time, those networks simply allowed the ESPN/ABC/NBA triumvirate to control the holiday, and everyone else took a backseat. But now with simply the sheer amount of dollars put into sports television rights, you can’t concede any day. You can’t just allow your competition to have a win.

So, rather than pull in paltry ratings with re-runs of The Big Bang Theory, the Westminster Dog Show, and whatever second-rate Christmas movie marathon the networks decided to air while millions tuned into the premier NBA matchups of the season, FOX, NBC, and CBS decided to get in on the action.

Now that those networks have had a taste of the Christmas Day ratings bonanza, it’s unlikely they give it up anytime soon. Soon, the NBA and ESPN will long for the days that — for one single day — it was the 10,000 pound gorilla on the block. It will reminisce about the days where it was simply understood that it owned the sports schedule for the day. Because those days are over. The NFL now owns Christmas, like it owns every other Sunday, Monday, and Thursday between September and January. And there’s nothing you can do about it.

Gary Parrish Show Leaving 92.9 ESPN For New Digital Home

BSM Staff
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The Gary Parrish Show now belongs to the Memphis Grizzlies. The host announced that Friday was his last show on Audacy’s 92.9 ESPN. It will now be distributed by the Grizzlies’ Grind City Media.

“I’ve been presented with an opportunity to leave 92.9, my family and I have weighed the pros and cons of staying or going, and every other time we’ve decided to stay,” Parrish wrote on his Facebook page. “I still believe we made the right decision in each of those instances. But this time we were presented with an opportunity that’s simply too good to pass up for a variety of reasons. So, this time, we’re making a move. I hate that I am walking away from something I built and love but am excited to get started with this new adventure.”

Gary Parrish is a Memphis native. He wrote for the Commercial Appeal prior to joining CBS. He had been with 92.9 for over a decade.

In moving to Grind City Media, Parrish notes that he will get to work with Chris Vernon again. They will each have their own shows, while making regular appearances with one another. Vernon had been at 92.9 until 2016.

“I grew up listening to sports-talk radio in the Memphis market,” Parrish said in thanking everyone with Audacy and ESPN 92.9 for their support over the years. “If you would’ve told me when I was a teenager that I’d get to host an afternoon drive-time show on a big FM station in my hometown, wow, what a dream. And it really has been a dream. I’m forever indebted to Dan Barron and everybody at 92.9 who made it possible for me to talk there for 13 years, and to Bennett Doyle and Brad Carson for helping me succeed as my producers.”

Grind City Media launched in 2016 and currently boasts a roster of 12 podcasts including Vernon’s show and Rise & Grind with Jessica Benson. Gary Parrish says his show will join the lineup in April.

Early Bowl Games Seeing Viewership Gains

BSM Staff
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Early Bowl Games Seeing Viewership Gains

December is called “the most wonderful time of the year” for plenty of reasons. For most, it is about the holidays. For college football fans though, it is all about the bowl games, and early rating info suggests that ESPN is enjoying some serious interest.

Four bowl games have already scored more than 2 million viewers. Those are the Las Vegas Bowl (Oregon vs Florida), the Celebration Bowl (Jackson State vs North Carolina Central), the LA Bowl (Fresno State vs Washington State) and the New Mexico Bowl (SMU vs BYU). the Fenway Bowl (Cincinnati vs Louisville) just missed the 2 million mark.

Ratings are up year over year for the Celebration Bowl and the New Mexico Bowl.

The ratings seem to suggest that there is passion for lower-tier bowl games, but big names still matter. Three of the five most-watched games so far have included at least one team from a power five conference. Another, the Celebration Bowl, was the final game Deion Sanders coached at Jackson State.

Bowl Season executive director Nick Carapelli told Front Office Sports that he is not worried about the effects that the College Football Playoff has on games played in mid-December.

“The College Football Playoff is great for the game of college football,” he said. “That being said, Bowl Season is equally important, if not more so, for a greater number of institutions.”

Pat McAfee: ‘NFL Should Invest Some TV Profits in the Pro Bowl’

BSM Staff
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On Wednesday night, the NFL revealed the rosters for the 2023 Pro Bowl. Players from 30 of the league’s 32 teams received the honor. On his show Thursday, Pat McAfee said it is a big deal to the players, particularly those named an all-star for the first time. He doesn’t think it is viewed that way by the public though.

According to the former punter, the NFL has allowed the Pro Bowl to become something of a punchline by letting the narrative that players do not want to participate in the game continue to exist.

His solution? If there is a problem, spend the money necessary to fix it. He noted that the NFL makes more than $1 billion per month on media rights deals alone.

“The NFL should want Pro Bowlers to be held at a standard,” McAfee said. “‘Oh, these are our best players. Our all-stars. Our superstars.’ And they make money off of the Pro Bowl game, a lot of it. That’s a part of those media rights deals.”

The NFL has the money to spend, for sure. But spending would cut into the profits that the league and its team owners can take home.

In McAfee’s eyes, the Pro Bowl does not have to be something that struggles to find an audience. There has never been a better or easier time to make the product better.

“I just think you can invest in things, and when you do they get better. That’s something businesses should think about doing, most specifically the NFL should think about doing in this time of gross profit. This is the most the NFL has ever profited in its entire life. This is a time, I think, where you can invest in some things and bring them back to a standard I think the NFL would want and the Pro Bowl is certainly one of them.”

Nick Faldo Doesn’t Regret Leaving TV Behind

BSM Staff
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Earlier this year, Sir Nick Faldo announced his retirement from golf coverage on both CBS and Golf Channel, and in an interview with Golf.com’s James Colgan, said he doesn’t regret leaving the work behind.

“I think it was time to do something else,” said Faldo. “I want to do other things.”

Faldo said he has spent the majority of his time since retirement at his 125-acre ranch in Bozeman, Montana, and is focusing on other things.

“I’m fed up talking golf,” Faldo said. “TV is a great life, but I’ve been on the road since I was 18.”

Since he stepped away, Faldo has amassed a following of more than 23,000 on TikTok, and says he’s not being idle.

“I’m not sitting on my ass, no. Well, some days I am, which is nice. But most days, we’ve got other bits going on.”

Seth Payne: ‘Greg Gumbel May Have To Have A Tough Conversation With Himself’

BSM Staff
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It is safe to say that outside of Western Pennsylvania and the Carolinas, there weren’t a lot of people paying attention to the Steelers’ win over the Panthers on Sunday. The television call of the game has become a story that has people in media circles talking though after Greg Gumbel misidentified Mitch Trubisky multiple times on a single drive.

Gumbel, who was on the call alongside Adam Archuleta for CBS, referred to the Steelers’ quarterback by Sam Darnold’s name. Darnold was in the game, but he was playing for the Panthers.

Thursday morning, the mistakes were a topic of discussion on Payne & Pendergast on Houston’s Sports Radio 610. Host Sean Pendergast noted that Greg Gumbel has had a storied career, but he is getting older now and wondered if that played a role in the mistakes. He also wondered why CBS allowed it to keep happening.

“At some point, don’t you kind of elbow him and say ‘It’s Trubisky’?” he asked his partner Seth Payne.

Payne said he wouldn’t expect Archuleta or a CBS producer to correct Gumbel in the middle of a play. He added that overall, he didn’t think it was such a big deal, but it is worth asking some tough questions.

“He’s not known for that,” Payne said. “He might have to have a conversation with himself.”

Greg Gumbel is 76-years-old. He began calling NFL games for CBS in 1988. He has called the on-field action for Super Bowls and for the Olympics and hosted studio coverage of countless events. His face is well-known to American sports fans.

Payne said that fact could play into how Gumbel feels when he watches the tape back. He knows how these moments have affected other broadcasters closer to the end of their career than the beginning.

“I’m not doing this to protect anybody, but as a show of respect to some veteran broadcasters who do play-by-play who retired. They said they could sense they weren’t as sharp as they used to be and they didn’t want to go down that road where you start making little errors like that here and there and you can just tell that you aren’t what you once were.”

He reiterated that he did not think it was a particularly big deal that Greg Gumbel misidentified Mitch Trubisky, particularly because Sam Darnold was a part of the game. Little mistakes do happen. He added that he hoped that rather than it being a wake up call that it is time to retire, Gumbel would view it the way aging athletes do an realize that his self care routine my have to change in order for him to be as sharp as the audience is used to seeing him.

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