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Op-Ed by The Salt Lake Tribune Incites Controversy

BNM Staff
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Pundits of vaccine mandates are questioning an op-ed by The Salt Lake Tribune that called for the National Guard to keep unvaccinated people confined to their homes.

The article said the best tool for fighting the virus is the current vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“That fluttering noise you hear coming from the direction of the Capitol building is the sound of the state of Utah waving the white flag of surrender in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Tribune’s editors wrote.

Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) reacted with outrage to the op-ed.

“The Salt Lake City Tribune editorial board – while masquerading as journalists – call on the military to target their own neighbors,” Roy tweeted. “Remember – these people want to come after you.”

Utah has the fourth-highest number of new COVID-19 cases of any state, and the Omicron variant’s prevalence has forced some students to return to remote learning.

“Gov. Spencer Cox and the new state epidemiologist, Dr. Leisha Nolen, let it officially be known Friday morning that there are so few tests available in the state, and so many people who reasonably fear that they have contracted the coronavirus, that anyone who is feeling the kind of symptoms associated with the disease should just assume they are infected and stay home,” the editorial added. 

Joe Lockhart: Media Cares About Viewers, Not Informing Public

BNM Staff
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A political commentator blames the media for its “unfair” treatment of President Joe Biden. CNN analyst Joe Lockhart joined Brian Stelter to discuss how the current administration’s media coverage compares to his predecessor.

“I think the press is failing,” Lockhart said. “They’re treating him [Biden] unfairly. First off, there ought to have been a dividend for returning truth and decency to the White House, and we didn’t get that we didn’t get that at all,” Lockhart said.

Stelter suggested that Biden might be inviting some negative media coverage with the small number of press conferences he has held.

Lockhart said the media have become more concerned with viewership and ratings than informing the public.

“It is more about getting viewers than letting people know what’s going on in the country. And that’s a failure, as far as I’m concerned.”

Howard Kurtz: Joe Biden on a Losing Streak Since Afghanistan

BNM Staff
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Fox News anchor Howard Kurtz said the media’s criticism of President Joe Biden is coming from all sides. 

The “Media Buzz” host pointed out that even Biden’s most ardent supporters in the mainstream media are turning on him as he struggles to sell his plan and gain the public’s trust in his handling of the pandemic.

Kurtz made his comments Friday on “America Reports” with Sandra Smith and John Roberts.

“For the pundits to say that Joe Biden had a bad week, I think is actually giving him a pass,” Kurtz said. “He has been on a spectacular losing streak since the Afghanistan debacle, more unforced errors than Novak Djokovic in Australia.”

Kurtz said Biden’s most significant failures to date might have come last week as he struggled to convince lawmakers to pass the Build Back Better package. Biden also delivered a speech in Georgia that failed to resonate with the general public. 

“The press knows that these are miscalculations, and they’re all saying the obvious now, right now, Joe Biden doesn’t have control of his own party,” said Kurtz.

Dallas Cowboys: Proof That Marketing Works

Demetri Ravanos
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Why do people still hate the Dallas Cowboys? Give me a good football reason that the Cowboys are worth your time. I get that there was an era where if the NFL was Mortal Kombat, the Cowboys were Shang Tsung, but those days ended three decades ago.

It’s 2022. There are adults in their late 20s that have never seen a Cowboys’ championship. Since 2000, the franchise has been to the playoffs fewer times than the Falcons. They have won as many playoff games in that time as the Jaguars. At this point, hating the Cowboys is about as useless as hating Luxembourg.

So why do people still have such a deep-seated disdain for the star and the players that wear it? Why was a national celebration set of on Sunday when the Cowboys lost in the stupidest way imaginable?

The answer is pretty simple really: marketing.

Good marketers can convince you their products are anything they want you to believe those products are. Great marketers can get you to behave like those products are what they say they are even when you know that isn’t true.

Jerry Jones is a great marketer.

People tune in when the Cowboys play. Maybe a good chunk of those people are hate-watching, but they’re watching. That is why the team was on in primetime six times this season. Of those other eleven games, seven of them were called by either FOX’s or CBS’s top broadcast team.

ESPN completely rebuild and rebranded First Take around the idea that Stephen A. Smith doesn’t like the Dallas Cowboys. That is it. The whole promo package for the show was just Smith wearing a cowboy hat and chomping on a cigar and laughing.

Shouldn’t we be doing this to the Patriots? Afterall, in the time since the Cowboy’s last Super Bowl appearance, New England has gone to the game an astounding ten times and won six titles.

It’s easy to read that sentence and say “Well, Tom Brady isn’t there anymore. The Patriots aren’t what they used to be. It isn’t as much fun to hate them.”

Uh, dawg, who in Dallas has been worth hating since Troy Aikman retired? You know, like 22 years ago!

Jerry Jones isn’t the man that coined the phrase “America’s Team, ” so he didn’t set its initial meaning. What it became, by virtue of him leaning into the branding is something that forces you to react. Either you buy into the blue and the silver and the star and you’re with America’s team or you recoil at the branding and the goofiness of the whole aesthetic and want to watch it burn.

Notre Dame football could be doing this too. The problem is they do not have the great markerter out front pushing that slogan over and over again.

Even “how bout them Cowboys?” is a solid positioning statement. It’s easily repeatable in good times or bad. The genius of Jerry Jones embracing that statement and that clip of Jimmy Johnson shouting those four now-iconic words is that it is a question that always has an answer.

Fans can celebrate with “how bout them cowboys” when the team wins. Haters can say it facetiously when they are on a losing streak. Either way, you are saying it and the Dallas Cowboys are occupying a part of your brain.

Positioning statements work. That is why so many stations tag their imaging with the same phrase or sentence every single time. That is why so many stations are called The Fan or The Game or The Ticket.

Admittedly, sometimes we need to rethink how our listeners are receiving the message. If we are all going for homogeny, nothing can stand out. Maybe that is a reason to rethink what I jokingly call “sports radio’s magic hat of five acceptable station names”, but the larger point is that you want every message you put out to point to the brand image you are trying to portray.

Jerry Jones’s message to the NFL and the media is no matter who they root for, fans care about my team. His positioning statements reflect that. Whether you think they are great marketing or goofy corporate branding, they work. The proof is everywhere.

Chicago Legend, 670 The Score Overnighter Les Grobstein Dies

BSM Staff
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Les Grobstein was a staple in the lives of Chicago sports fans. He had held down overnights at 670 The Score since 2009. He was found dead in his home on Sunday. He was 69 years old.

“Our staff is devastated. Our audience lost a great friend overnight,” Mitch Rosen, The Score’s operations director, said in a statement. “Les was a legend that will never be forgotten. He was a best friend to so many that knew him that he never knew. That’s the power of radio.”

Grobstein’s presence in the Chicago sports media far predates his time on The Score. He began his broadcasting career in 1970 as part of Northwestern basketball broadcasts. He also served as the sports director of WLS and a reporter for ESPN 1000 before joining The Score.

The longtime Chicago sports radio personality had not been on the air recently. The only explanation given was an illness.

The Score memorialized The Grobber on Monday. The station played a loop of some of his most memorable moments multiple times during the day. Mark Grote called Grobstein “a friend, a colleague, and a classic” and noted that it was hard to figure out exactly the right way to memorialize him because he was such a unique individual.

Grote clearly did something right. Grobber’s son Scott texted the station to say that he was laughing at all of the clips and memories of his dad that the station was sharing.

In addition to Scott, Les Grobstein is survived by his long time partner Kathy.

Jason Rantz, Chris Stigall Talk Crime Increase in Their Cities

BNM Staff
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A pair of conservative radio hosts are speaking out about significant increases in crime in their respective cities. 

Jason Rantz of AM 770 KTTH in Seattle and Chris Stigall with 990 The Answer in Philadelphia and KCMO in Kansas City, joined Fox News’ Dan Bongino over the weekend on his show “Unfiltered.” 

Stigall told Bongino that the crime problem in Philadelphia stems from District Attorney Larry Krasner’s propensity to reduce jail time for people convicted of serious crimes. 

“The criminals in Philadelphia who I suppose largely are the Democrats too, they know Larry Krasner as “let ‘em loose Larry,” said Stigall. “The crime infestation has been huge; you’ve had businesses burned and looted.” 

Rantz said people who commit serious crimes need to be punished accordingly. 

“Laws no longer apply anywhere,” Rantz said jokingly. “It’s not like conservatives are saying every single crime that’s committed by every single person deserves life in prison, nobody is taking that position.” 

Several cities in the U.S. including Philadelphia established new records for murders in 2021.

DirecTV Drops One America News Network From its Lineup

BNM Staff
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According to Reuters, satellite TV provider, DirecTV is dropping One America News Network (OAN) from its lineup. 

DirecTV said the decision was made “following a routine internal review,” adding that keeping OAN wasn’t a good business decision.  

‘We informed Herring Networks that, following a routine internal review, we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement expires,’ a DirecTV spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

OAN is owned by Herring Networks. The network’s contract with DirecTV is reportedly set to expire in several months. DirecTV began airing OAN in April 2017. 

At a rally in Florence, Arizona, Saturday, former President Donald Trump told his supporters that OAN was being targeted because of politics. He also urged the crowd not to purchase AT&T products; the phone company owns 70% percent of DirecTV. 

“Maybe what we should do is not use AT&T,” Trump said.

Ninety percent of OAN’s revenue came from a contract with AT&T-owned television platforms, including DirecTV, according to 2020 sworn testimony by an OAN accountant.

What Should Radio Be Thinking About On Martin Luther King Day?

Demetri Ravanos
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Monday, January 17 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A lot of you will get the day off of work. Some of you will attend prayer services or civic events to honor the civil rights leader and his legacy.

Dr. King, like all humans, had his flaws but is undeniably a man worth celebrating. In a world where the divide between the powerful and the rest of us seems to be growing out of control, it is good to take a day to celebrate and think about a man that made a career out of speaking up for the little guy – whether that means black and brown people during the Civil Rights Era or it means workers in times of labor unrest.

Across the media landscape, we will see stations and networks running promos touting their “commitment to Dr. King’s dream!”. The sentiment is great, but I do wonder what it means to the people making those promos and the stations and networks airing them.

Look at the archives of this site. Think about the BSM Summits you have attended. How often have we been willing to shine a spotlight on the amount sports radio talks about embracing diversity versus actually putting plans into action? Jason has written and talked about it a lot. Every time, the message seems to circle back to him saying “I am giving you the data. You are telling me you recognize that this is a problem. Now do something about it.”

It’s something I found myself starting to think about a lot last year when Juneteenth became recognized as a federal holiday. Suddenly every brand was airing ads telling me how they have known how special this day is all along. And look, I hope that is true. It seems like if it was though, I would have been seeing those ads in plenty of Junes before 2021.

I am going to put my focus on the media because that is what we do here, but this can be said about a lot of companies. So many brands have done a great job of rolling out the yellow, black, red, and green promo package to acknowledge that it is Martin Luther King Jr Day or Black History Month or Juneteenth. I worry though that for so many, especially on the local level, that is where the acknowledgment ends.

That isn’t to say that those stations or brands actively do not want more minority representation inside their company. It just isn’t a subject for which they can say they have taken a lot of action.

Look, I am not here to debate the merits of affirmative action. I am saying in an industry like sports radio, where we thrive on fans being able to relate to the voices coming through their speakers, shouldn’t we be doing a better job of making sure minority personalities know that there is a place for them in this industry? Shouldn’t we be doing more than just waiting for resumes with “black-sounding names” on top of them to come across our desks?

WFAN went out and found Keith McPherson in the podcasting world to fill its opening at night after Steve Somers’s retirement. FOX Sports added RJ Young, who first made a name for himself on YouTube and writing books, to its college football coverage. 95.7 The Game found Daryle “Guru” Johnson in a contest. JR Jackson got on CBS Sports Radio’s radar thanks to his YouTube videos and when it came time for the network to find a late-night host, it plucked him from Atlanta’s V103, one of the best-known urban stations in America.

That’s two guys in major markets, another on national radio, and a third on national television. In all four cases, the companies that hired them didn’t just sit back and wait for a resume to come in.

Some of you will read this and dismiss me. After all, I am a fat, white Southern man. If I were a hacky comedian, I would say “the only four groups you are allowed to make fun of” and then yell “Gitterdone!”.

In reality, I point those things out because I know there is a large chunk of you that will call this whole column “white guilt” or “woke” or whatever your talking point is now.

Whether or not we are about the be a majority minority nation is up for debate, but here is a fact. America is getting darker. I look at the radio industry, one that is constantly worried about how it will be affected by new innovations in digital audio, and wonder how anyone can think doing things like we always have is going to work forever.

I’m not damning anyone or saying anybody should be losing their jobs. I don’t know most of you reading this well enough to make that judgment. What I am saying is that our industry has lived on the idea that this business is always changing and we have to be adaptable. I think it is time we do that, not just with the content we present on air, but in how we go about finding the right people to present it.

Biden, Harris Jan. 6 Speeches Deliver Viewers To All 3 Networks

BNM Staff
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Biden, Harris Jan. 6 Speeches Deliver Viewers To All 3 Networks

Marking the start of the one-year anniversary of the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 were remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris, followed by President Joe Biden. Harris stated, “On Jan. 6, we all saw what our nation would look like if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful — the lawlessness, the violence, the chaos.” In Biden’s speech, he said “At this moment, we must decide what kind of nation are we going to be… Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth, but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth, to live by it.“

Both speeches occurred in the 9-10 a.m. Eastern hour on Jan. 6. The rankings according to viewer figures among the cable news networks were, once again, similar to those of recent news events. Fox News Channel was first overall, drawing 1.44 million total viewers and 215,000 of the audience in the key 25-54 demographics, according to Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC was a close runner-up in total viewers with 1.31 million.

The window for CNN’s coverage went from 8:45 a.m. to 10:28 a.m. ET; while more precise data for the speeches themselves were not made available, the time period offered was still enough to achieve cable news’ runner-up spot in adults 25-54. CNN drew 187,000 in the demo while MSNBC did 182,000.

CNN delivered their most-watched hours of their week (ending Jan. 9) in the hours following Biden’s speech. Within the time frame of 10:28 a.m. to noon Eastern, which included a 22-minute speech by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the network averaged 1.25 million total viewers and 238,000 adults 25-54. Still, Fox News Channel topped those figures; from 10 a.m. to noon, they averaged 1.74 million total viewers with 272,000 adults 25-54. For FNC, the week marked 21 consecutive weeks in which they outdrew CNN and MSNBC combined according to total day data.

The Weather Channel achieved its highest rated week since the week ending Sep. 5, 2021 (Hurricane Ida). Winter Storm Garrett swept from Colorado to Maine, helping bring more than 6 inches of snow to parts of the Tennessee Valley and the Northeast. Snow totals have ranged from 2 to 5 inches in the Washington, D.C. to Baltimore to Philadelphia corridor to close to 10 inches at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and in southern Connecticut; the five boroughs of New York City received snow levels in-between. Most of the channel’s top hours occurred between the 8-11 a.m. ET time period from Jan. 3-7.

Cable news averages for January 3-9, 2022:

Total Day (January 3-9 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.408 million viewers; 223,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.746 million viewers; 88,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.548 million viewers; 113,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.196 million viewers; 58,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.191 million viewers; 37,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.161 million viewers; 39,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.121 million viewers; 21,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.105 million viewers; 12,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (January 3-8 @ 8-11 p.m.; January 9 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.303 million viewers; 365,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 1.284 million viewers; 154,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.705 million viewers; 153,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.227 million viewers; 73,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.206 million viewers; 66,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.218 million viewers; 47,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.142 million viewers; 29,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.053 million viewers; 8,000 adults 25-54

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

1. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 1/5/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.606 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 1/6/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.576 million viewers

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/6/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.515 million viewers

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/5/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.382 million viewers

5. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/4/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.365 million viewers

6. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 1/3/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.330 million viewers

7. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 1/7/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.311 million viewers

8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/4/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.279 million viewers

9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 1/3/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.125 million viewers

10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 1/7/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.953 million viewers

18. Rachel Maddow Show “Democracy In Peril 1/6 Anniversary” (MSNBC, Thu. 1/6/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.444 million viewers

133. CNN Newsroom (CNN, Thu. 1/6/2022 10:28 AM, 32 min.) 1.260 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. 1/5/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.620 million adults 25-54

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/6/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.576 million adults 25-54

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/4/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.565 million adults 25-54

4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 1/3/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.557 million adults 25-54

5. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/4/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.502 million adults 25-54

6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 1/7/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.487 million adults 25-54

7. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 1/5/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.486 million adults 25-54

8. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 1/7/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.483 million adults 25-54

9. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 1/6/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.483 million adults 25-54

10. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 1/5/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.472 million adults 25-54

22. Rachel Maddow Show “Democracy In Peril 1/6 Anniversary” (MSNBC, Thu. 1/6/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.359 million adults 25-54

65. CNN Newsroom (CNN, Fri. 1/7/2022 3:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.255 million adults 25-54

177. Forensic Files “Time Will Tell” (HLN, late Sat. 1/8/2022 12:00 AM, 30 min.) 0.155 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

New Sunday Night Baseball Booth Focused On Modern Game

Derek Futterman
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New Sunday Night Baseball Booth Focused On Modern Game

Amid a period of skepticism and uncertainty across Major League Baseball, ESPN continues to look forward to the conclusion of the lockout, which it hopes leads to the start of the 2022 MLB regular season. The network recently announced a new Sunday Night Baseball booth with play-by-play announcer Karl Ravech and analysts David Cone and Eduardo Pérez, a trio it believes will fit the current landscape of baseball in the digital age.

“I think that the beauty of this team, in short, is [to be] able to embrace the traditional aspects of Major League Baseball and mix in the more modern aspects, whether that be analytics or something else,” said ESPN Senior Vice President of Production and Remote Operations Mark Gross.

Balancing traditional and modern aspects of the game is critical for Cone, who still intends to broadcast 50 games this season as a part of New York Yankees baseball on the YES Network. The importance of emphasizing and embracing the game today, rather than solely reflecting on what the game was like when he and Pérez played, is something he believes will enhance the broadcast for its viewing audience.

“In a lot of the baseball broadcasts around the country, you hear a lot of: ‘Yeah, the game was better back when I played.’ That’s not the case here,” Cone explained. “You’re going to see us genuinely get excited about today’s game at a time when that’s really needed on a national broadcast.”

Despite criticism regarding the previous Sunday Night Baseball booth not talking about the game enough, Ravech believes there is a place for the conversational nature of broadcasting in the evolving digital age. Talking about subjects not related to baseball, though, is something dictated by the action on the field and the rapport of the booth.

“I tend to be real dependent and reliant on my analysts,” said Ravech, who has been with ESPN since 1993. “I’m not an ‘I’ or ‘me’ guy – I’m a ‘we’ guy – and this group of three is what [will make] this succeed… The chemistry aspect of [the booth] is the last part of my concern. This will be a group that gets along really well, and [I hope] it will show.”

Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN will return for the 2022 regular season and telecast 25 games, along with other exclusive games throughout the season, including MLB Opening Night. Additionally, ESPN will also debut a new alternate presentation titled Kay-Rod, which will discuss the game each week, along with special guest appearances and on-air integrations of analytics and fantasy baseball.

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