Home Blog Page 2616

Rumble Offers Joe Rogan $100 Million to Join its Company

BNM Staff
-
0

Online video platform Rumble offered Spotfiy’s Joe Rogan $100 million to join its company Monday. 

In a letter tweeted out and signed by the company’s CEO, Rumble promises to stand by Rogan and his “legions of fans.” 

“We stand with you, your guests, and your legions of fans in desire for real conversation,” said CEO Chris Pavlovski. 

Currently, Rogan is in the crosshairs of multiple controversies involving alleged COVID misinformation and his use of the n-word in podcasts unearthed by Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter India Arie. 

 “It looks f***ing horrible. Even to me,” Rogan said on Instagram Saturday. “I know that to most people; there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast. And I agree with that now; I haven’t said it in years.”

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek condemned Rogan’s use of the n-word but claimed the company wouldn’t silence him. Rogan signed an exclusive $100 million content deal with the company in September 2020.

“So, we’d like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place. How about you bring all your shows to Rumble, both old and new, with no censorship, for 100 million bucks over four years?” Pavlovski added.

Barrett Sports Media’s Top 20 National Sports Radio Shows of 2021

Jason Barrett
-
0
Barrett Sports Media’s Top 20 National Sports Radio Shows of 2021

Welcome to the 7th annual edition of the BSM Top 20. To kick off this year’s series, we shine the light on the Top 20 National Sports Radio Shows of 2021. These shows have the largest reach in America, being distributed by the largest networks in the industry, and airing across hundreds of radio stations, as well as on various digital and television outlets.

As you review this year’s selections, please remember that the results represent the collective opinions of 46 industry executives. Yours truly does not vote. I’d like to thank Stephanie Eads, Dylan Barrett and Demetri Ravanos for helping me with the Top 20 process, and Point to Point for being our exclusive sponsor for this year’s Top 20. Tim Bronsil and his staff are a valued resource to many across the media industry, and if you’re not familiar with their work, you need to make time to learn more. That can be done by clicking here.

As it pertains to the voting, here are a few things to understand.

#1 – These results are based on 2021’s performance. 2022 changes have zero to do with this. Therefore, a show like Tiki & Tierney, which moved to WFAN in January 2022 is still eligible. A show like Maggie & Perloff, which joined CBS Sports Radio’s lineup in January is not eligible until next year. Our one rule since starting this series in 2016 is that a show must finish the year on the air and in the timeslot for which it’s being considered.

#2 – Our executive panel consists of program directors and corporate executives from a number of top broadcasting companies including Audacy, iHeart, Cumulus, Beasley, Hubbard, Good Karma Brands, ESPN Radio, FOX Sports Radio, SiriusXM, Spotify, and independently owned and operated radio stations. We involve a large number of people in order to receive feedback from all parts of the country, as well as to avoid the results heavily favoring one company.

#3 – A total of 84 shows were eligible for voting consideration in the National Sports Radio Shows category.

#4 – The executive panel picked their Top 20 shows based on a few factors; the ear test, originality, ability to entertain, multi-platform impact, on-air chemistry, and ratings success. Keep in mind that voters live in different cities, have different tastes, and value certain factors higher than others. This isn’t a perfect science, but it’s the best system we’ve been able to come up with to showcase how sports radio’s brain trust view the best in the format.

And that now brings us to the rankings for this year’s National Sports Radio Shows. For the 6th time in 7 years, industry voters have selected The Herd with Colin Cowherd as the best National Sports Talk Show of 2021. Colin’s show earned the most 1st place votes (13) of any 2021 nominated show. BSM congratulates Colin, Joy Taylor, Don Martin, Scott Shapiro, Greg Toohey, Ryan Musick, Dave Coelho and the entire FOX Sports Radio crew on earning this year’s top honor, as well as every other show which earned a spot on this year’s list.

Now, here are the full results of “BSM’s Top 20 National Sports Radio Shows of 2021!”

Additional Notes:

  • Colin Cowherd finished 27 points in front of The Pat McAfee Show, picking up a category high thirteen (13) first place votes. McAfee had the second most first place votes with eleven (11).
  • 21-25 was occupied by Brick At Night, Bart & Hahn, Spain & Fitz, The Zach Gelb Show and After Hours with Amy Lawrence.
  • The closest contests saw Morning Men edge The Odd Couple by 2 points, and Jason Smith and Mark Packer separated by 3 points.
  • Of the 84 shows eligible for consideration this year, 11 received at least one 1st place vote.

Here is the remaining schedule for the BSM Top 20 of 2021.

  • Tuesday February 8 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Morning Shows of 2021
  • Wednesday February 9 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Midday Shows of 2021
  • Thursday February 10 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Afternoon Shows of 2021
  • Friday February 11 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Program Directors of 2021
  • Monday February 14 = The Top 20 Major/Mid Market Sports Radio Stations of 2021
  • Tuesday February 15 = The Top 20 Original Sports Podcasts/Specialty Selections of 2021

To view prior years of BSM’s Top 20 results, click here.

New Era, Same Ratings Success For The Five and Fox News

BNM Staff
-
0

New shows. A popular show’s new revamp. Same old success.

Fox News Channel began their new era of several new news hours as well as a change in its hosting panel on “The Five” on Jan. 24. Yet, one thing remained constant: their dominance on cable.

Already their current No. 1 show, “The Five” premiered the addition of new full-time co-host Jeanine Pirro. Her former Saturday night program “Justice with Jeanine Pirro” concluded its 11-year run back on Jan. 22 (which, despite opposite a 49ers-Packers game on parent network Fox, drew 1.4 million total viewers and 148,000 adults 18-49). Also on “The Five” are a rotation of Harold Ford Jr., Geraldo Rivera, and Jessica Tarlov — the three succeed the spot previously held by the show’s original panelist Juan Williams who had exited back in May 2021. They all join current co-hosts Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino and Jesse Watters.

The Jan. 24th edition of “The Five” (as also noted in the list near article’s end) drew 3.86 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research; its episode the next day (Jan. 25) grew to 3.87 million total viewers. Both not only led the week’s telecasts among cable news channels but on cable overall. Fox News Channel secured 76 of the top 100 most-watched cable telecasts for the week, including the entire top 20 — four of the five weekday editions of “The Five” placed in the top ten; its Friday Jan. 28 edition (3.08 million) ranked 15th.

Also on Jan. 24 was the debut of the 7 p.m. hour “Jesse Watters Primetime”. Its 3.8 million total viewers ranked third on cable overall; its Monday thru Thursday editions (Jan. 24-28) all landed in the top 13. The show’s five-weeknight average of 3.26 million viewers was FNC’s best for that hour since the week of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election (Nov. 2-6, 2020). Watters’ former Saturday night program “Watters World” concluded its five-year run on Jan. 22 with 1.585 million viewers and 173,000 in the key 25-54 demographic.

Then, on Jan. 29, FNC’s brand new Saturday night lineup averaged 1.49 million total viewers in prime time — a figure that would normally top the night on cable but not on this particular evening, as noted in the next paragraph. Leading off the night at 8 p.m. was the premiere of “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade” (1.54 million total viewers) hosted by the “Fox & Friends” personality. “Unfiltered with Dan Bongino” (1.465 million total viewers) moved up its regular slot to one hour earlier to 9 p.m. and, with 247,000 adults 25-54, improved upon its “Kilmeade” (189,000 adults 25-54) lead-in in the key demo. The launch of “Lawrence Jones Cross Country” at 10 p.m. slightly built upon its “Bongino” lead-in in total viewers (1.47 million) and its 239,000 among adults 25-54 retained nearly all of “Bongino’s” demo crowd.

The networks of Lifetime and A&E scored a hit on the evenings of Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 with their two-night, four-part documentary “Janet Jackson”. The following are the figures for each of its original airings:

Part 1 — Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 @ 8-9 p.m.

Lifetime: 1.903 million total viewers; 715,000 adults 25-54

A&E: 0.925 million total viewers; 365,000 adults 25-54

Combined: 2.828 million total viewers; 1.08 million adults 25-54

Part 2 — Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 @ 9-10 p.m.

Lifetime: 2.114 million total viewers; 821,000 adults 25-54

A&E: 1.057 million total viewers; 443,000 adults 25-54

Combined: 3.171 million total viewers; 1.264 million adults 25-54

Part 3 — Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 @ 8-9 p.m.

Lifetime: 1.796 million total viewers; 675,000 adults 25-54

A&E: 1.222 million total viewers; 456,000 adults 25-54

Combined: 3.018 million total viewers; 1.131 million adults 25-54

Part 4 — Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 @ 9-10 p.m.

Lifetime: 1.882 million total viewers; 706,000 adults 25-54

A&E: 1.345 million total viewers; 534,000 adults 25-54

Combined: 3.227 million total viewers; 1.24 million adults 25-54

Overall, the profile on the pop/R&B singer was the week’s top cable program among adults 25-54.

It had the highest viewership of any non-fiction program on Lifetime since the documentary on another R&B singer but with much more controversy, “Surviving R. Kelly,” which aired in January 2019.

“Janet Jackson” also marked the best nonfiction debut in viewership and ratings on cable since “The Last Dance” (Apr.-May 2020), the ESPN docuseries that chronicled another pop culture icon of the 80’s and 90’s, Michael Jordan, and his Chicago Bulls team.

Cable news averages for January 24-30, 2022:

Total Day (January 24-30 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.549 million viewers; 255,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.675 million viewers; 76,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.453 million viewers; 90,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.210 million viewers; 63,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.196 million viewers; 35,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.164 million viewers; 39,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.146 million viewers; 23,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.107 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (January 24-29 @ 8-11 p.m.; January 30 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.440 million viewers; 390,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 1.258 million viewers; 146,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.542 million viewers; 117,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.285 million viewers; 49,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.244 million viewers; 77,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.213 million viewers; 66,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.208 million viewers; 45,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.052 million viewers; 9,000 adults 25-54

Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC, HBO, CNN and Weather Channel programs with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:

1. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/25/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.870 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 1/24/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.862 million viewers

3. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 1/24/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.803 million viewers

4. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 1/26/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.782 million viewers

5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 1/24/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.774 million viewers

6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/25/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.700 million viewers

7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/26/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.700 million viewers

8. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 1/25/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.600 million viewers

9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/27/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.556 million viewers

10. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 1/27/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.533 million viewers

26. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 1/27/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.398 million viewers

155. Real Time With Bill Maher “587” (HBO, Fri. 1/28/2022 10:01 PM, 57 min.) 0.893 million viewers

156. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Wed. 1/26/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.861 million viewers

201. Weekend Recharge (TWC, Sat. 1/29/2022 11:00 AM, 60 min.) 0.682 million viewers

Top 10 cable news programs (and the top MSNBC, CNN and HLN programs with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54:

1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/26/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.649 million adults 25-54

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 1/24/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.636 million adults 25-54

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/25/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.624 million adults 25-54

4. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 1/24/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.588 million adults 25-54

5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/27/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.577 million adults 25-54

6. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/25/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.563 million adults 25-54

7. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 1/26/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.559 million adults 25-54

8. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Tue. 1/25/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.558 million adults 25-54

9. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Mon. 1/24/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.537 million adults 25-54

10. Jesse Watters Primetime (FOXNC, Thu. 1/27/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.526 million adults 25-54

41. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 1/24/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.324 million adults 25-54

111. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN, Thu. 1/27/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.195 million adults 25-54

114. Forensic Files “Chief Suspect” (HLN, Wed. 1/26/2022 11:30 PM, 30 min.) 0.194 million adults 25-54

115. Daily Show “44586” (CMDY, Tue. 1/25/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.193 million adults 25-54

156. Real Time With Bill Maher “587” (HBO, Fri. 1/28/2022 10:01 PM, 57 min.) 0.155 million adults 25-54

170. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7203” (TBS, Thu. 1/27/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.150 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

College Contest, Ticket Winners, New Speakers & 20% Off BSM Summit Tickets

Jason Barrett
-
0
College Contest, Ticket Winners, New Speakers & 20% Off BSM Summit Tickets

Our 2022 BSM Summit is only twenty two days away, and the lineup we’ve assembled for this year’s conference is strong. We’ll have more to announce as well leading up to the show. If you haven’t bought a live or virtual ticket, today’s your lucky day. We’re having a special one-day only 20% off sale on tickets TODAY. This will be the last time discounted rates are available, so take advantage of it.

A few folks won’t need to purchase tickets to the show due to their participation in our special email and Facebook contest. Congratulations to Matt Fishman of ESPN Cleveland, Ryan Haney of WJOX in Birmingham, Sandy Cohen of WHB in Kansas City, Ryan Hurley of 98.7 ESPN New York and Ryan Maguire of Good Karma Brands in Chicago on winning live tickets. Additional congratulations goes out to Danny Zederman of ESPN 1000 in Chicago, Robert Mueller of 98.1 The Sports Animal, Mike Ragozino of 1380 The Fan in Fort Wayne, Jeff Austin of 1080 The Fan in Portland and Ray Necci of ESPN on winning virtual tickets. I’ll touch base soon to confirm details for enjoying the conference.

Looking ahead to the show, I’m pleased to add Good Karma Brands Executive Vice President Debbie Brown and Beasley Philadelphia Market Manager Joe Bell to this year’s lineup. Next on the to-do list is announcing our winners for this year’s Mark Chernoff Award and the Champion’s Award, and our ESPN After Party special guests. Those should be revealed during the next week or two. For those wondering when the full schedule of sessions will be out, that should be out next week as well.

This event is specifically for industry professionals. We don’t sell tickets to the general public. However, as we gather sports media’s most talented personalities and executives in NYC for two days, I want to make sure tomorrow’s generation of broadcast professionals have a chance to learn from some of the smartest people in the industry.

With that in mind, I’m thrilled to share that BSM will be giving away five (5) virtual tickets to college students who are interested in learning more about the broadcasting industry. This applies to all college students across the United States not just Tri-State area students. The winners will be decided by myself, Demetri Ravanos, Cumulus Media and Westwood One’s Senior Vice President of Sports Bruce Gilbert, Premiere Networks and iHeart Senior Vice President of Sports Don Martin, and ESPN Radio Program Director Justin Craig.

In order to qualify for a free virtual ticket, students are asked to submit a 2-minute video by email to JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com explaining why they’d like to watch the event. Included in the email should be a list of steps they are or have already taken to explore opportunities in the media industry, what they hope to pursue in the business upon graduation, and any audio or video clips they wish to attach showcasing their work.

Students must be pursuing a degree that involves course work either in radio, television, print or the digital business. Those attending trade schools which focus on broadcasting are also invited to participate. BSM will accept submissions until February 18thth. The winners will be announced during the week of February 21-25.

Two years ago, we gave away tickets to students to this event. One of the winners was Derek Futterman. He now writes for BSM and does an excellent job for us. Though the option to attend in person doesn’t exist this year, if students are hungry to gain knowledge, learn the names and faces of influential people charged with shaping the industry, and understand what goes into creating successful brands and business, there’s no better education than this show.

That’s all for now. Hope to see you in person or online at the Summit. You may now return to the website to enjoy and debate BSM’s Top 20 madness, our biggest traffic driver of the year. Have fun!

Don Martin Loves Everything About The BSM Summit

Demetri Ravanos
-
0

Don Martin has a way of making everyone he talks to feel ten feet tall and bullet-proof. Seriously, if you ever get the opportunity to speak with the Executive Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Sports, jump at it! The guy is smart, kind, and relentlessly positive.

Many of you will have the chance to speak to Don and hear him speak next month in New York. He has become one of those faces we just cannot have a BSM Summit without.

It’s hard to tell Don Martin that though, because he is always more interested in lifting someone else up.

“Well, first of all, it’s not even about what we get to do,” he says when I ask him what he is interested in teaching people this year. “I need to say that this has become the seminal event for sports radio across the country, okay?  It’s the one and only real sports talk event that pulls everybody together that’s built around our industry and I want to say thank you to you and Jason and everybody there that pulls it off.”

See what I mean?

Don will be on stage next month in New York at the 2022 BSM Summit. He will have plenty to teach, but he doesn’t think that makes him any more important than anyone else there. The value of the Summit for everyone is back-and-forth conversation.

“What I appreciate is you learn, but you also get to have your voice,” he says. “And I don’t care if you’re an on-air host or if you’re an audience member, if you’re a producer, if you’ve decided to go on your own. I don’t care if you’re a sales person that gets to go in there and figure out what’s going on within the vertical. This is a place you want to be because none of us are short of opinions and none of us are pulling in any direction other than the same direction to make the vertical better. And that’s what makes this group work so well.”

The industry doesn’t come together nearly often enough. That is why it has always been important that the BSM Summit is not just about giving knowledge, but also about giving credit.

Don Martin has watched a lot of people be called up to accept an award at events in the past, and he has noticed a trend. The awards at the BSM Summit honor industry trailblazers, standout hosts, and programmers that have built and led unstoppable brands. Martin has been impressed to see every one of them show real humility and gratitude when they step to the microphone.

“I mean, you see all of the emotion. You see that it’s legitimate. To be honored by your peers, there’s not a bigger thing I don’t think. You can get honored by the people in your building or your upper management, etc., but to be honored by your peers is sensational. You can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices that they’re speaking from their hearts and that it really does mean something to them.”

In Don’s eyes, there is something special, maybe even poetic, about the BSM Summit being back in New York for 2022. After all, the last time we did one of these, the country was a little over two weeks away from using the phrase “the new normal” in everyday conversation.

In 2020, the event took place on February 26 and 27. On March 13 of that year, Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19. The games were halted. Shows went from everyone in a single studio to a collection of zoom feeds and hosts learned to stretch the boundaries of the format.

“The Barrett Summit closed down the media and the Barrett Summit is now going to open it back up and it’s all in the same city,” Don Martin laughs. “We closed it down when we left New York, and now we’re opening back up by going back to New York.”

There is a virtual ticket option for those that can’t or don’t want to attend in person, but Don is right. This is going to be the first full gathering of the sports media industry since Covid became part of our lives. Hopefully, that means people are ready to get out and network.

Don Martin has a little advice. Don’t show up with your sole goal being to tell you’re story.

“When you put a lot of people into the room, there’s a diversity of voices,” he says. “So, you’re not hearing it from one side or the other. You’re hearing it from all of them and they all have a really good point. So the one thing I will tell everybody, while we all have a great opinion inside every one of these brains, the more you can listen, the more you’re going to get out of this.”

Steve Malzberg: Whoopi Goldberg Isn’t Anti-Semitic, Just a Fool

BNM Staff
-
0

Television host Whoopi Goldberg is still suspended for her comments regarding the Holocaust. “The View” announced it was sidelining Goldberg for two weeks amid public outrage.  

Recently, Jewish-American broadcaster Steve Malzberg reacted to Goldberg’s suspension on his “Eat the Press” show on the RT American platform. 

Malzberg said there was a breaking point for Goldberg’s comments, but she crossed the line of acceptability when she said, “Blacks, whites, and Jews, eat each other.” 

“There are so many problems with that; I’ll just keep it simple,” Malzberg said. “Blacks, whites, Jews, Italians, may all eat each other, but they don’t throw each other into gas chambers and ovens as part of the final solution in an attempt to wipe out what was referred to as an inferior race.” 

About two out of every three Jews living in Europe before the war were killed in the Holocaust. When World War II ended in 1945, six million European Jews died. 

Malzberg told his audience that Goldberg is “not an anti-Semite, just a fool.” Malzberg used Gina Carano, former star of The Mandalorian, as an example of the hypocrisy that exists in Hollywood. 

Carano was fired from the show last year after sharing a post on social media implying that being a Republican today is “like being Jewish during the Holocaust.” 

“To me, both ladies made similar comments, so why was one fired and Whoopi not?” Malzberg asked. “Whoopi take your two weeks paid vacation and shut up, or better yet quit; I dare you.”

Spotify Pulls Over 100 Episodes of Joe Rogan’s Podcast

BNM Staff
-
0

Spotify has reportedly removed more than 100 episodes of the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast from its site. 

According to The New York Post, approximately 113 episodes of his show are missing, many older episodes released before the COVID misinformation controversy began. 

In recent weeks, Rogan has become a household name for better or worse as former Spotify artists have lined up to leave the platform amid claims that Rogan disseminates “COVID misinformation” using some of the most controversial guests in the world. 

Episode # 1757  featuring Dr. Robert Malone, drew the ire of several critics, including artists/songwriters Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Mary Trump, and writer Brene Brown. They left the platform abruptly after Spotify sided with Rogan. 

Those artists demanded that Spotify terminate Rogan or remove their content from its site. 

Clips of Rogan using the n-word were recently circulated by Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter India Arie who demanded the streaming service remove her music; earlier in the week, she had already sided with Young and Mitchell. 

“I believe in freedom of speech. However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons other than his Covid interviews,” Arie wrote on Instagram. “For me, it’s also his language around race.”

Rogan took to Instagram Saturday to address the clips. “It looks f***ing horrible. Even to me,” he said. “I know that to most people; there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast. And I agree with that now; I haven’t said it in years.”

His missing shows feature conservatives with the Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, Michael Malice, Alex Jones, and Milo Yiannopoulos, and comedians like Rich Vos and Little Esther and Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey.

Daniel Ek: Too Early to Know if Joe Rogan Controversy Will Impact Spotify

BNM Staff
-
0
Daniel Ek: Too Early to Know if Joe Rogan Controversy Will Impact Spotify

The controversy at Spotify involving Joe Rogan disseminating alleged COVID misinformation was addressed this week by CEO Daniel Ek. 

Ek hosted a town hall event where he spoke to employees, some of whom reportedly pressed Ek on why the company continues to allow Rogan to host shows that indulge in anti-vaccine/mandate rhetoric. 

“If we want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with,” he said. “Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad.”

Ek also addressed investors. He said the company saw a double-digit increase in the number of monthly active users that listened to a podcast during Q4 compared to the prior quarter.

This week, Spotify also revealed that it was going to start placing advisory labels on podcasts that contained content related to the pandemic. Ek shouldered the blame for not acting on this type of thing, sooner. 

“We should have done it earlier, and that’s on me,” he said. “We don’t change our policies based on one creator nor do we change it based on any media cycle,” Ek said. “And while Joe has a massive audience, he’s actually the No. 1 podcast in more than 90 markets, he also has to abide by those policies.”

Elk said as far as the Rogan-COVID misinformation controversy that has ensnared the company, it’s too early to tell whether this past week’s event will have an impact on subscribers.  

“It’s too early to know what the impact will be,” Ek said. “Usually, when we’ve had controversies in the past, those are measured in months and not days.”

Sunny Hostin: Allison Gollust Shouldn’t Keep Her Job at CNN

BNM Staff
-
0

“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin said Thursday that CNN should fire Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer, Allison Gollust after it was revealed that she was romantically involved with former President Jeff Zucker. 

On Wednesday, Zucker abruptly resigned his position after disclosing his long-term relationship with Gollust. 

“I have to say [the relationship] has been an open secret,” said Hostin. “It’s something that everyone talked about, about the length of their relationship, when it started, and now you have someone like Allison Gollust who says I am going to stay here. 

Hostin stated that Gollust started out at CNN as a senior publicist and rose to become the executive vice president at the network.  

Co-host Joy Behar asked Hostin if she attributed that promotion to her relationship with Zucker. 

“It could be interrupted that way, right?” Hostin responded. “It could be interrupted that she got those positions to be second in command at CNN because of the relationship. It’s the appearance of impropriety.” 

Hostin argued that as a woman she wants other women to be held to the same standards that men are held to. 

“Why does Allison get to keep her job, when she also had an incredible indiscretion and an incredible lack of judgment?” Hostin added.

Talk Radio Should Watch Spotify Closely

Pete Mundo
-
0
Talk Radio Should Watch Spotify Closely

In recent days, Joe Rogan and Spotify have been at the center of the media world. Washed-up rock n’ rollers (Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and others) who most under the age of 70 don’t know or thought were dead are pulling their libraries from the popular streaming platform over Joe Rogan.

This podcaster has committed the crime of having conversations with people on his show who do not parrot the talking points of CNN, MSNBC, and the White House.

Spotify did announce that it would add disclaimers to any podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19. Usually, I’d laugh off the absurdity. I still want to. But there’s a part of me that won’t allow it.

That’s especially true after White House press secretary Jen Psaki spoke about the situation this week and said something that should concern any proponent of free speech.

“This disclaimer is a positive step, but we want every platform to continue doing more to call out mis- and disinformation while also uplifting accurate information,” Psaki said in response to a reporter’s question at her regular press briefing.

Notice there still has not been any concrete outrage over what Rogan has specifically said that they would label as “disinformation,” but I digress. “Our view is it’s a good step,” Psaki concluded. “It’s a positive step, but there’s more that can be done.”

That is one of the scariest and most underreported comments from a White House official in modern American history.

We can all have our political differences over what the best policy is in a given economic or international scenario. But for the most powerful in government to be twisting the arm of media companies to censor and shut down speech they don’t like is dangerous.

Thankfully, Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek isn’t falling for the outrage. Specifically said on an earnings call this week, the company is just as much a platform as a publisher, meaning they are a place for the content to be distributed but are not necessarily a creator of it.

That’s a great first step, and I sure hope Ek doesn’t budge off his position. But the mob doesn’t go away after a few comments on one earnings call.

However, given the moment, those in power, and their willingness to publicly support censors of speech they disagree with, what should talk radio stations and hosts be thinking?

I’m not writing this predicting the government will be shutting down talk radio any time soon, but as these free speech debates linger on. Furthermore, the censorship requests are generally only coming from one side of the political aisle; it’s fair to wonder how far this could go, how deep it runs, and who/what is next?

As has always been the case with cancel culture, there’s always something and someone next. There has to be to keep the movement alive. One scalp has never been enough, and history proves as much time and time again.

It’s more critical than ever that regardless of how the CEOs of major media companies feel about any content unless concrete, undeniable facts are being misrepresented, they are protecting the most basic American right we have: the ability to have free and open discourse.

Stand strong with Daniel Ek. Your time is now.

1...2,6152,6162,617...2,761Page 2,616 of 2,761