Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan is the first guest on the Managing The Crisis podcast. Offering an executive point of view, Jeff weighs in on the challenge of running a media business while advertising rapidly declines, when he expects business to return to normal, how to keep employee confidence and performance up while news across the nation is negative, what the focus of a company should be when dealing with an unexpected and unavoidable crisis plus much more.
Last week was a bloodbath for the radio industry. iHeart, Entercom, Townsquare, Beasley, Adams and Gow Media all announced layoffs, furloughs and/or salary reductions. The coronavirus’ crippling effect on the economy has led to a steep decline in advertising revenues and stock prices, forcing media companies to adjust and make difficult choices.
With many across the nation practicing social distancing, operating from home, and American business stuck in neutral, it’s raised many questions about when we’ll return to normal, how quick we’ll recover, and what the new model of our industry might look like. The industry’s most optimistic executives know that this situation is unlike any other. The only positive is knowing that 2021 should make for a heck of a bounce back year.
Given the dark reality of where we are, many are searching for answers to questions they never expected to ask. I’ve been on my phone and computer constantly with clients, trying to help them navigate murky waters. This isn’t a time for content analysis and ratings conversations, it’s about business survival, and doing whatever it takes to weather the storm.
MANAGING THE CRISIS
Since there isn’t a playbook for how to run a business as the country deals with a global pandemic, I wanted to do something to help. I had an idea for a new podcast which I felt could explore different areas of the industry, and so I’m proud to announce today the forthcoming launch of, ‘Managing The Crisis‘. This new program will feature conversations with executives from radio and TV groups, sports betting operations, advertising agencies, local business owners, imaging companies, podcast networks, and more. The plan is to release 3-5 episodes per week, and if we can pass along 1 tip, idea or piece of information to help a brand avoid further economic damage, then I’m more than happy to invest my time to assist.
The podcast will launch this week and be available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and the BSM website. I’m taping the first conversation later today with Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan. The rest of the upcoming schedule includes discussions with the Action Network’s Chief Content Officer Chad Millman, Benztown Branding President and co-founder Dave ‘Chachi’ Denes, Ad Results Partner and Chief Revenue Officer Steve Shanks, 95.7 The Game Program Director Matt Nahigian, and former WEEI morning host turned independent podcaster Gerry Callahan. Others are in the works too. For guest inquiries, email JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.
THE BSM MEMBERS DIRECTORY HAS ARRIVED
We’ve been working on this project for a year, and planned to launch it in mid March, but had to hit the pause button due to the coronavirus. After seeing the carnage across the radio industry last week, I knew we had to act fast to help people. The next few months won’t be easy for folks who have lost jobs, but the time away will provide an opportunity to recharge your batteries, fine tune your skills, and make more people aware of your talent. To help you take your next step, I’m thrilled to share that the BSM Members Directory is now live on our website.
If you go to our home page, you’ll see a tab on our menu that reads BSM MEMBERS. Click on that tab, and you’ll see an introduction note from yours truly, and a link option inside the tab to see our member profiles. When you click on each profile, you’ll see the person’s name, location, email address, resume, audio files of their work, and in some cases, a video sample. We have 8 listed right now, the members of our staff, and as others sign up, the section will grow.
I’ve had hundreds of broadcasters reach out over the years, wanting to put their work in front of PD’s and executives, but not knowing where to start. Anyone can create videos for YouTube, launch a podcast, conduct a chat on Facebook Live or host a radio or TV show, but getting the right people to see your work isn’t easy. Equally as challenging is keeping expenses low as you try to start or advance your career.
Fortunately, I’ve built a good reputation in this business, and have formed a lot of friendships and relationships across the country. As a former PD turned consultant, I’ve had a hand in hiring people, so I know how to help folks who are going thru the process. That experience is part of the reason why brand leaders read and support the BSM brand, and I know they’ll appreciate being able to dig thru our profiles and learn more about individuals who might be able to help them in the near or distant future.
When I thought about adding a directory, there were a few things I felt were important. First, I wanted to make it affordable and offer incentives. That’s why we went with the low monthly rate of $14.99, and an annual rate of $149.99 which saves folks two months of costs. We’ll also be giving all members a 25% discount on tickets to future BSM events, and any merchandise we produce in the future.
Secondly, being informed about job opportunities is vital. Some can be found online if you’re willing to spend hours digging for them, but others get relayed to BSM in advance. Those you won’t know about until it’s too late. When openings do occur, we don’t want to slow down the process. I think the hiring manager should be able to reach you directly rather than needing to go thru a middle man. Isn’t that partly why you signed up for a membership? A good PD will find you on social media anyway if they think you’ve got something to offer, so we’re eliminating the extra step.
Third, when you land an opportunity, earn a promotion, or launch a new project, we want to help draw attention to your success. BSM has earned a stellar reputation by relentlessly covering the sports media industry, and featuring contributions from accomplished professionals. We’ve generated over 3 million views of our content by reaching PD’s, GM’s, CEO’s, Hosts, Anchors, Reporters, Writers, Producers, Sellers, Ad Agency Reps, Digital and Imaging Directors, Corporate Executives, and folks from sports leagues and franchises on Google, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, various podcasting platforms, and email.
Last but not least, in the near future our members will be able to consume original content produced by BSM. For example, we haven’t yet released full video sessions from the 2019 or 2020 BSM Summit. However, those are in the works, and when they’re ready to be released, they’ll be available only to our paid members.
Having said all of that, I want to make sure one thing is crystal clear – I can’t promise you that you’ll land a job by placing your demo and resume here. BSM has helped many people land jobs in the sports media business, but there are many factors that go into being hired. Reputation, talent level, salary, market fit, and the preference of the hiring manager are all important, but none of it matters if they don’t know you exist.
What I can promise if you sign up for a membership on our website is that you’ll be displayed on a platform that reaches the right audience. You’ll also be notified of opportunities that become available, offered a discount to attend our events and network with the right crowd, given access to exclusive content to improve your craft and expand your knowledge, and supported when you earn a break or make news. If that appeals to you, visit our members section by clicking here.
Investing in yourself is a necessity, and it’s never been more important than right now. We look forward to playing a role in your career development, and appreciate the opportunity to learn more about you.
As media groups continue to struggle as a result of a national crisis caused by the coronavirus, it’s forced operators to make hard decisions. iHeart and Townsquare Media took steps to reduce their staffs to offset lost revenue, and now SB Nation Radio is doing the same.
The national sports radio network owned by David Gow has informed employees they’ll be issuing immediate furloughs. Barrett Sports Media can confirm that afternoon co-hosts Cody Stoots and Jake Asman are both off the air. Producer of Pushing the Odds, Brendan Riley, suffered the same fate, as did Alex Lebowitz, who had just relocated from Lowell, Massachusetts to join the network earlier this month.
SB Nation Radio told the employees that the furlough will last 30 days. It’s possible that could be extended though if the current climate of the country remains in rough shape. The network will continue airing select regular shows and add portions of weekend content from Sports Byline USA as it tries to survive the coronavirus and its effects on the economy.
The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc all across the country, especially in my home state of New York. The big apple has been hit the hardest, and although I’m fortunate to live an hour away where less are affected, cases in my county have spiked from 3 on March 13th to 1247 on March 29th. It’s forced my fiance to take a leave of absence from work, and denied my son an opportunity to enjoy his senior year of high school. At this point, we’re just hoping he has a graduation day.
In my 46 years on this earth, I’ve not seen anything like this. We’ve had wars, deadly illnesses, mass shootings, and terrorist attacks, many which have resulted in a larger number of deaths, but I don’t recall people being stuck in their homes, and concerned about returning to everyday life. It’s made many of us question the importance of certain things, and created a massive amount of difficulty for corporations and small businesses.
When unprecedented situations happen in life, the way we respond has everything to do with our ability to recover. Equally as important is the speed in which we adjust. Credit and blame become part of the daily noise, but none of that matters. What does is your short-term and long-term plan for protecting yourself or your business.
If you’re working right now for a sports media brand, ratings and content should be the least of your worries. This is about business survival. If you’re not spending most of your day thinking about what you can do to help your company retain listeners and clients, your head’s in the wrong place. I’m not telling you to go out and deliver a poor show, but few are going to care about your topics, bits, and guests if 50% of your business evaporates.
I’ve been helping my clients with stories, ideas, information, and examples, and I want to share something with you that I saw take place not too far from where I live. Just a few weeks ago, the President and Governors across the country issued mandates for essential and non-essential businesses. We knew hospitals, supermarkets, restaurants, and police departments would be open, but what if you owned a local printing company, sporting goods store or car wash? Are you supposed to just standby and watch as your life’s work goes up in smoke?
In Montgomery, NY there’s a business called Secret Garden Florist. When NY state mandated everyone stay home, it put pressure on local florists that depend on events and foot traffic. Some might say ‘just shut your doors and deal with it’, but when people lose loved ones or have important days in their lives to celebrate, flowers have a way of making things better. But if people can’t stop in to buy them, and weddings, prom’s, anniversary’s, and other events get cancelled, how do you stay afloat?
What Secret Garden has done to try and survive has been awesome to follow. Rather than throw in the towel, the owner, Bonnie McDermott, adjusted her hours of operation, ran a few sales, and offered drop off and curbside pickup to her customers. But those things are what you’d expect a business owner to do when unexpected circumstances arise. What she did next is what really got my attention.
Bonnie started reaching out to other local businesses to forge partnerships. She worked with The Table, a local restaurant to launch ‘Burgers and Bouquet’s. She partnered with Hudson Valley Chocolates on ‘Cookies & Carnations‘. She teamed with Duffy’s to feature ‘Burgers & Blooms‘. She joined forces with local Verizon Wireless Stores offering a free bouquet of flowers to anyone who showed a receipt from one of their stores. She connected with The Wildfire Grill and introduced a Pandemic Night For 2, and formed an alliance with Cascarino’s Pizza to create ‘Pizza, Garlic Bread, 2 Liter & Pom Pom’s‘.
Then to drive additional awareness, Bonnie got interactive on social media. She posted daily selfie videos inside of her shop. She created the hashtag #spreadflowersnotfear to remind people of the positives that come from giving someone flowers, and supported the message by promoting it in image and video form. She showed feedback examples sent in by customers who thanked her for brightening their day with her great work, and she gave away free flowers to thank people for their continued support.
Rather than waving the white flag, Bonnie did the opposite. She showcased her creativity and love for the community by teaming with other local businesses who were also hurting, and used social media to remind people that there’s a face behind the brand. When the havoc caused by this coronavirus is over, her customers will feel a greater connection to her. That should help with the rebuilding process.
If you’re working in the media industry, you’re dealing with similar issues. Sports fans are less excited to watch or listen due to the sports world going dark. Advertisers are slashing budgets to offset lost revenues. Businesses are cutting employees to avoid shutting their doors. People are making short-term decisions out of fear that they’ll never recover.
As hard as it may be, this is a great time to rethink and retool your business. Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw told Inside Radio last week that as difficult as this situation is, it also presents an opportunity for radio stations to clean up their clocks, lower spot loads, and demonstrate rate integrity for their products. I couldn’t agree more. There’s no escaping the short term damage, but what we do moving forward will determine how quickly we recover, and how successful we’ll be when this situation expires.
Maybe this becomes the time where your radio station launches a web solutions division, subscription business, or a video, podcasting, events or merchandising strategy. Maybe it opens the door to new partnerships (ex: Hubbard and Bonneville in Seattle). For sports stations, it’s a great time to lay the groundwork for developing broadcast training centers. I talked about that at last year’s Summit in L.A.. These are all revenue opportunities independent of on-air inventory.
As a small business owner myself, I’m facing the same challenges and fears. I don’t ever lose sight of the fact that I’m on the last page of the budget. I love what I do, and am thankful to work with partners who don’t panic at the first sign of a problem. That said, if this crisis lasts for months, it could hurt BSM. That’s made things tougher for Demetri Ravanos and I, but as I told him on our last call, if this whole thing ended tomorrow, we’d go down knowing we made a difference. I can live with that.
In the meantime, we’re going to use the situation to examine what we’re doing and how we can make it better. What areas of the industry are we not focused on that we could be? What stories are we not telling that could benefit our partners? When do we launch a member directory to help industry professionals and aspiring broadcasters? Is adding an online store a smart idea? Do our podcasts have value or would we better off focusing on other projects? Would it make sense to host more events for different areas of the media industry? Who on our team is hungry to contribute? Who isn’t on our staff who should be?
Whether it’s BSM, the Secret Garden Florist or the media company you’re working for, we’re all searching for solutions to unfamiliar problems. Our best ideas and execution may help, but they still might not be enough to help us survive. One thing though is for certain, if you don’t take time to analyze your business, and explore new ways to improve your performance and extend your existence, it’ll be just a matter of time until you’re wearing that non-essential label.
Social Distancing, you’re familiar with the phrase by now I’m sure. It’s a necessary evil in the fight against the spread of the Coronavirus. The term means keeping 6 feet of distance between you and another person and it means gatherings of folks are kept very small.
Okay, so what’s that got to do with sports or the media? It’s got a lot to do with both. Have you noticed news anchors on your local TV news sitting at opposite ends of the desk or in different rooms all together? You’ve probably heard your local radio host say he/she is doing the show from home. It’s becoming more and more normal as stations are limiting the amount of people in their buildings to only those deemed “essential personnel”.
My station, WGN in Chicago, is working with a streamlined staff in house. I had to go in last weekend to do a shift and it was like a ghost town. Thankfully there was plenty of Lysol, hand wipes, disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer available.
To add to the craziness, there’s no sports to really speak of.
Our sister television station, WGN-TV is also spacing out it’s working crew on the nightly newscasts. The weatherman is across the hall from the main studio in the “Weather Center” and the anchors are sitting far enough apart it’s difficult to show them both on camera together. One news anchor is actually sitting in the sports chair on the set. That means the sports anchors have been asked to do their reports from a remote location, their homes.
Knowing a lot of the people on the air in Chicago, it has been kind of interesting to see the location they choose. Usually a spot in the house with some memorabilia or a nice bookshelf filled with sports publications. There is a curiosity by viewers to see where your favorite sports anchors live and what their houses look like.
One such anchor is Jarrett Payton who handles the 4pm sports on WGN-TV and is a co-host of a nightly report on the station called ‘GN Sports which airs at 10:30pm. Except that show has preempted by coronavirus coverage for an indefinite period. I caught up with Payton via email this week (social distancing!!) to get his thoughts on a couple of things during this strange time in the world.
First, I wanted to find out the challenges he’s facing, having to do a live sportscast from his basement rather than from the studio. Plus, the fact that he has two young children which provides some extra difficulties.
“The tough part is my wife and I are E-learning with our kids, so trying to do my work and helping them with theirs is whole different ballgame,” he told me. “The show must go on and delivering for the great people of Chicago is something that is very close to my heart.”
I would have imagined from the beginning that the other difficulty would be zero face to face contact with the sports producers in planning out the show. Also, at home there’s no teleprompter, so when JP is on air, it’s ad lib time. It’s also just such a different environment.
“Being at home doing my newscasts has been different but in some ways it feels like I’m out in the field doing a live shot really,” he says. “Technology makes it almost seamless to do what I normally do in the studio, in the comfort of my own home.”
He told me that email and cellphone calls replace the actual contact in the sports office. The fact that he’s done so many sportscasts and live shots make things a little easier to deal with under these circumstances.
Then comes the question of content with zero live sporting events taking place. How surreal is that experience?
“Since I’ve been in the business, I’ve always had the understanding that sports never stops and news never stops. When you’re dedicated to your craft, you also understand there’s no days off in this line of work. So now, to have everything in the sporting world on pause, is very surreal,” Jarrett admitted. “This whole situation has really put life in perspective for me. You take for granted sometimes how lucky we are to live the lives we do and all of the great things that come with it like sports.”
Payton also mentioned to me that these days have tested the creativity of everyone involved in putting a sportscast together. I completely understand that. In fact, on one of my own casts last weekend, I celebrated the 2-year anniversary of Loyola Chicago’s Sweet 16 win over Nevada. I found some audio and made that a “kicker” story.
The natural question to ask anyone involved in the sports media these days is what are you doing to pass the time? There is more downtime than usual now.
“Being at home means a lot of family time,” Jarrett responds. “This whole situation is bringing us closer as a family. Things happen for a reason and for us it’s giving us more time with each other which we normally don’t have. Being dad is always first for me.”
The work from home mentality has become the way of life in the coronavirus pandemic. It isn’t clear exactly if these changes are being widely accepted by audiences or not. To me, it shouldn’t make a difference what location your sports anchor is delivering the report from. It’s still the news you want and need, it’s just not coming from a familiar location to viewers and listeners.
I applaud these stations around the country, both radio and television that are focusing on the important things in this time. Providing informative and accurate news on the pandemic and keeping their employees healthy.
I will always remember March 12, 2020. It started off simply as my mom’s birthday, a normal day in Arizona covering the White Sox. What it turned into was the day sports went silent.
You can actually trace it back to the night before, when Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the Coronavirus, aka COVID-19. The NBA acted quickly in suspending its season and the NHL soon followed. The NCAA canceled conference tournaments and then in a stunning turn of events, called off March Madness.
On an off day in Arizona the news came down: no baseball for a while. Wow, this is really happening! A virus that seemed so far away several weeks ago came close to home. There was a feeling of “ok, what now?”. I scrambled to get a flight back to Chicago and when I got home, it already felt like the off-season.
I was curious about what some of my fellow broadcasters, beat writers and even a few media relations folks were thinking about that day. What was their initial reaction to finding out your season was either postponed or cancelled? Here are some of their reactions.
Brian Anderson, play-by-play, Milwaukee Brewers TV, Turner Sports: I worked an NBA game on a Tuesday in front of a sellout crowd. Wednesday, I was shocked to learn about NBA players testing positive for COVID19, then expected the NBA to postpone games. Postponing the season surprised me and it was sobering to grasp what this virus was doing to our way of life.
Thursday morning, I was sitting court side ready to call the Big Ten Tournament in front of no fans. Minutes before tip, they cancelled the tournament. A few hours after that the NCAA Tournament was cancelled, then MLB suspended play and delayed opening of the season. In a flash, everything I do was no longer. My only thought was to get home and get to my family.
Wayne Randazzo, play-by-play, New York Mets: To me, it was the worst day as a baseball fan since the beginning of the 1994 strike and eventual cancellation of that year’s World Series (I was 10). I understand all the reasons for this, and safety is obviously the most important thing, but it still hurts to see baseball, which has always endured, not being played right now.
It’s wild how quickly things turned. I don’t even think Howie (Rose, Randazzo’s partner on Mets’ broadcasts) and I really discussed the virus on the air. It went from being something to sort of keep an eye on to a monster problem with extreme speed. I also broadcast a decent amount of Big East and Big Ten basketball over the winter, and I’m sad to see a bunch of great stories from those two conferences won’t ever get to be completed.
Mike Ferrin, pre/post game and play-by-play, Arizona Diamondbacks, co-host MLB Network Radio “Power Alley”: I follow the news pretty closely, and, even while the league and players association worked to come up with concepts of what “might” happen early in the week, with no recommendations of a shut down, it certainly felt inevitable. My professional passion is baseball, so while it was a disappointment to see college leagues, then MLB, then Minor League Baseball shutdown in rapid succession, I also knew that it was 100% the right thing to do. Listening to the NIH and CDC talk about what we need to get through this, the idea of continuing to play in front of crowds of people was dangerous.
Joe Brand, play-by-play Kane County Cougars (Class A), sportscaster WGN Radio Chicago: I didn’t take it seriously at first. Once the NBA season was suspended, I came to an understanding it was only a matter of time before the NHL, MLB (along with MiLB) would follow. That day I felt disbelief, helplessness, awkwardness and misunderstanding.
The past couple of days have just opened my eyes to what type of global experience we are dealing with. Aside from rain during baseball season, it’s very difficult to suspend/cancel any games at the professional level, let alone multiple sports’ entire seasons. This is definitely a historic time we’re living and working in. I’m trying to soak in the responsibility of being in the media during this time.
I’ve been searching for things to try and keep me sharp and ready to go during this hiatus. I wanted to see what these guys are doing to keep their minds in it.
Anderson: I call 150 games per year and spend half of every year on the road. I am not thinking about staying sharp. I am using this time to rest and spend time with my wife and daughter. To be fully present with them.
Randazzo: I am voicing over some things including a passion project that will probably never see the light of day, so I suppose that’s my way of staying sharp. I have a bunch of books, baseball and otherwise, that I want to read or reread so this will give me some time to do that. Perhaps I’ll do something for WCBS or WFAN in the meantime, but that hasn’t been determined yet.
Ferrin: Well, fortunately I still work every day, though it’s with our programming being altered to ensure the safety of our studio staff, so that makes it easier. Hosting a baseball talk show with no baseball is a challenge, but, a fun one. Jim Duquette and our producers, Hunter Reiser & Brady Gardiner, have some ideas on what we want to do. Deeper player breakdowns, a few goofy things to lighten the mood, maybe looking at some random baseball games or matchups to create some fun baseball-reference inspired worm holes.
We realize we have to cover the news as it pertains to COVID-19 and how it impacts baseball, but we also need to give people a distraction. Something they can get lost in for 30-45 minutes at a time that give them a mental release.
Brand: Clearly, I can’t call any games, so I’m planning on updating my reel and website. One fun thing I’ve done to make light of the situation is ask Chicagoland coaches and PE teachers to share their scores from games on Friday or student athletes to recognize. I’ve been using them in my weekend sports updates. We’ve had people texting in YMCA basketball scores, kindergarten gym class stories, and plenty spotlights on HS seniors that had abrupt endings to their seasons.
Something most of us have in common now is a little downtime. What are you actually doing with this unexpected time to yourself?
Anderson: I’ve been doing a few projects around the house every day. I cleaned out the garage, cleaned up the floors, ran some Cat5 cable to various spots from the router, cooked a bunch of meals, worked out, read, and organized some accounting projects. But mostly I’ve been hanging with my family doing all the things I can’t do when I’m on the road.
Randazzo: It is always nice to spend as much time with my 6-year old daughter as possible, and she’s off school too so this will give us more time than usual. Even during the season, I’ll fly home on off days to be with her as close to 100% of my free time as I can. That’s certainly a great thing even under these dubious circumstances. Otherwise, I’ll do a few things around the house and constantly check the news for updates on flattening the curve and when I can call the curve again.
Ferrin: Cooking. Lots of cooking. My wife is working from home too, so, we’ll cook, walk the dogs, I’ll ride my Peloton and just try to weather the storm. Our hatches are battened, so we’re ready for it. I assure you though, I’ll be ready when baseball is back. I miss it, but, it ain’t going away. It’ll be back and I’m excited for that.
(Writer’s Note: Mike is a very good cook, grilling out is a specialty of his. He forced me to eat lots of BBQ one night recently in Arizona.)
Brand: Making sure my mom is okay. Cleaning my apartment. Catching up on some shows/movies. Updating my website will be a big one. I’m comfortable with the free time now, but I know I’ll get pretty restless eventually. So, keeping my mentality in check will definitely be something to keep in mind too.
Things of this nature really put sports into perspective. There are bigger things to worry about like the health and safety of family, friends and strangers around the world. The only down side to there being no sports is we can’t provide a much-needed escape from all that is going on today.
I’m reminded about how sports can bring people together in a time of need as well. This is a time of need. Right now, as the diamonds, courts and links are empty let’s think of better days to come, that should be helpful in getting as all through this awful time.
This was supposed to be an exciting week in the world of sports. We were to fill out our brackets, enjoy the play in game, and get ready for another exciting NCAA college basketball tournament starting tomorrow.
But with the entire country focused on a national crisis courtesy of the Coronavirus, the tournament is history, the sports world has gone dark, and bracket busting will have to wait until 2021.
Or does it?
I realize we’re dealing with serious issues, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead has many of us frustrated, nervous, and concerned, but if we don’t allow room to laugh, debate, and do what we’ve always done, we’ll soon go crazy. We’ve been lucky to have a flood of NFL activity to keep us engaged, but big name signings and trades won’t last forever, so we’re going to need more material to keep ourselves and our audiences entertained.
For the past week, I’ve thought a lot about sports radio content that could have mass appeal for hosts and stations. Everyone needs stuff to talk about because segments built around your day at home, the best food you’ve eaten, and the Netflix series you’ve started watching won’t keep people listening for long. Making things harder is the fact that we’re trying to talk about sports with our usual passion, but real life issues are a bigger priority.
That brings me to something we put together to help make your job easier. We think it’s fun, relevant to all markets, and tailor made for sports radio talk shows. We may not be able to put games back on the court, but who says we can’t have some fun? If brackets are synonymous with March, why not create a tournament around something everyone knows – SportsCenter.
The bracket above shows our Greatest SportsCenter Anchors Tournament. We’ve come up with our field of 64, and encourage you to print it out, make your selections, and share it with friends and co-workers. We’ll be posting it on social media too so folks can retweet it and begin creating conversation with fans around it. It’s a universal topic that should appeal to sports fans everywhere, and help take their minds off the real life chaos even if it’s just for 5-10 minutes.
We had the idea to do this last year, but held off because it would’ve been rushed. Demetri Ravanos and I were on a call late last week and had kicked around the idea of doing a World Illness tournament since the Coronavirus has dominated the headlines, but the more we thought about it, it just didn’t feel right to go that direction. After ditching that idea, we brainstormed a few other things, and the SC 64 came up in conversation. We then decided to put the wheels in motion and make it happen.
What’s fun about these projects is there’s so many ways things can go. SportsCenter has been an immensely popular show for decades, and it’s featured a large number of exceptional broadcasters. As is the case with any bracket/tournament, you can debate all day who should be slotted 1st, 10th, 16th, who missed the cut, etc., but we feel good about the layout, and hope you guys can have some fun with it. The 1st round alone has some cool matchups, and I think you guys will enjoy the names we came up with for the 4 regions.
To determine the results, we will introduce poll questions on Twitter, and let people decide who moves on. Each poll will be live for 24 hours. The schedule above shows when each matchup will take place, and your willingness to hit the RT button is appreciated.
This is content that sports fans can play along with. It should help generate listener interest and reaction. The goal right now is to add entertainment to our listeners lives, and keep them from thinking about the stress created by the Coronavirus. This helps you do that.
Now the only question left to be answered is, who wins the tournament? Voting starts tomorrow.
If you were at the 2020 BSM Summit, you received a program when checking in. In it included an ad for the upcoming launch of the BSM Member Directory. We planned to launch a paid section on this website on Monday March 16th where broadcasters and aspiring professionals could create profiles and post audio, video, resumes, and contact information for potential employers to discover them with the ultimate goal being to find work. Members would also be notified of job opportunities in the sports media industry.
But sometimes in life, the best of plans have to be delayed. The nation’s focus right now is on a serious issue, battling the corona virus, and given how important it is, we’ve decided to delay the launch of our member section until a later time. When things start to return to normal, we’ll fill you in on our plans to go live. If you have questions about the member directory, feel free to email JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.
As human beings, our first priority is to keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy. Once that’s secure, we turn our focus towards our work. In the sports media industry, we’re blessed to go to a location and interact with groups of people each day who share an interest in talking about subjects that bring joy to many of our lives. The job is fun, and provides unmatched access to special people, teams, and events, which makes taking care of business matters feel like less of a chore.
Our audience is similar. They also work with other people at various places, and they enjoy the world of sports just like us, though their profession may be less glamorous. We’re their in-car and at-work audio companion, the voices they turn to for information, entertainment, and an escape from real life stress and day to day issues.
But when the government declares a national emergency, and lives stand a chance of being impacted, the thought of watching a game or listening to a host debate with a caller over how much money an NFL free agent should be paid feels far less important. Add the removal of all live sporting events, and you can see why listeners may choose to tune out, and those working in the industry may not want to go to work.
The question we’re all trying to answer right now is ‘how do we talk about sports when sports don’t exist?’ We’re dealing with something that no host, producer, program director or executive has a playbook for. You may have ideas of how to navigate the situation, but you don’t know if it will or won’t work. You’re simply trying to make the best of an impossible situation.
Some don’t think that sports radio stations should continue broadcasting at this time. I strongly disagree. Are sports radio brands supposed to shut down each time a crisis impacts our country? Are music stations supposed to do the same? Where do we draw the line?
If this situation spirals out of control, we may have to take that step, but based on the current events, I don’t see any reason why a sports station should stop informing and entertaining listeners. In fact, with no games on TV and people searching for ways to stay entertained and distracted, you can make a case that creating live content is even more necessary.
I asked a number of broadcasters over the past few days to share how they were approaching their shows during this complex time period. There were some cool ideas presented, and a few internal notes that I thought hit a lot of the right notes. I’m going to share some of the ideas I received, as well as pass along a few of my own.
As you look them over, please remember that there’s more to think about than just how to fill 3-4 hours of daily content. It’s vital for all of us to over deliver for our listeners, clients, and sales teams. This situation impacts much more than just folks in programming, so everything we can do to support each other makes a difference.
THE CONTENT
With the entire nation focused on the corona virus and how it could impact their life, you can’t afford to ignore it on your show. Doing so is a massive mistake. The key is finding ways to connect it to your on-air topics. Whether it’s examining how leagues are handling it, how TV networks have operated without live coverage, what the future of each sport’s schedule will look like once this is behind us, which local people, businesses, roadways in your area have been affected, etc., you need to stay informed and relay vital information to your audience.
The second thing to remember is something I’ve said numerous times, people like to hear people talk with and about other people. Whether you’re interacting with callers, conducting interviews, playing soundbites from other shows/guests and offering your opinion on what was said, people like to listen to conversations. Book some notable guests, gather sound that advances discussions, and involve the audience on topics that strike a chord. If you do, people will continue listening.
Aside from the airwaves, what’s your social media strategy? If people spend 30-45 minutes per day with your show, but over 2 hours each day on social media, where do you stand a better chance of reaching them? Most of the world flocks daily to a social media feed, so it’s wise to take over your station’s social media accounts and conduct live chats thru Facebook Live, Periscope, Instagram Live, etc.. If people are forced soon to stay home, they’ll be looking for positive distractions. Seeing your face appear on their timeline, and having a chance to chat with you will help.
Looking around the country, 95.7 The Game in San Francisco has gone into the vault to bring back Golden State Warriors games from 2015-2018. With the Tennessee Titans making moves, 102.5 The Game‘s Jared & The GM have gone full throttle in Nashville on Titans talk. There’s never a bad time to talk football.
Staying in Tennessee, 92.9 ESPN in Memphis is digging into their past by bringing back Horn Lake vs. Harvard trivia. Afternoon host Gary Parrish hails from Horn Lake, midday host Geoff Calkins from Harvard. The station’s midday show with Jason Smith and John Martin also took the corona virus issue and built a creative segment around the question ‘who would you quarantine yourself with?’
SiriusXM has launched a channel (121) that offers health tips and updates on the latest news involving the corona virus. Some sports stations have also added corona virus news updates or taken reports from national news outlets. All make sense at this point in time.
Pat McAfee used comedy to help his listeners take their minds off of the chaos created by the virus. His team produced two great bits, a video showing how to connect with one another, and a live call in from COVID-19. Both took a serious issue and added some levity to it.
I saw a number of personalities use social media to get a better read on what listeners want to hear. Steak Shapiro at 680 The Fan in Atlanta, Mark Willard at KNBR in San Francisco, Chris Carlin at 98.7 ESPN in New York, and Phil Mackey at SKOR North in Minneapolis all posted questions or polls to get a better read on what their listener’s wanted to hear. Clay Travis has also been active on social media relaying information, articles, and his personal opinions on how the issue is being handled. Sean Salisbury shared how he’s approaching the issue as well.
Sports Radio 1310/96.7 The Ticket and ESPN 103.3 in Dallas have kept their focus on Dallas Cowboys free agency, the impact the corona virus is having on the local community, and everyday conversations. 103.3 is also in the process of launching the ‘Sports Distraction Bracket‘ which will feature four regions “Books, Movies, Video Games, and Netflix/Streaming’. That should make for fun on-air chatter.
Speaking of brackets, John Michaels created the Atlanta sports radio bracket. It’s already produced a ton of reaction. That should give local hosts extra material to work with. Some smaller market stations have also built unique brackets around high school sports, and favorite local landmarks and shops.
ESPN Milwaukee PD Brad Lane and Good Karma Brands VP of Content Evan Cohen did a nice job updating their imaging, and adding updates on how the corona virus is impacting everything. The station’s shows have also been encouraged to talk about issues that matter to local people ranging from the Packers/Bucks, social distancing, working remotely, TV shows being watching due to no sports, future changes to the sports calendar, etc..
In Tampa, WDAE has built on-air content around subjects such as this day in history, where were you when this moment happened, favorite sports movies and TV shows, and local feel good stories. Mike Gill and the folks at 97.3 ESPN used some of their time time to talk up local bars, restaurants, and solicit craft beer recommendations.
I have a few ideas I’ll pass along as well. For starters, maybe you take a day or two to mix up your host combinations or connect one of your shows with another popular program broadcasting in a different city. It could spark some additional interest. So too would utilizing former hosts who are no longer on the air. If you can do it remotely, even better.
Depending on local relationships and availability, maybe you work with your local team(s) to explore having a player, coach or executive do an hour or full show on your airwaves or social media channels. If you can involve the audience that’d make it even more exciting for your listeners.
If you really want to create buzz, and send a message of unity while generating curiosity and chatter, consider joining forces with your local competitor or rival network to feature talent on each outlets airwaves. Imagine if you were in Dallas and heard hosts from The Ticket and The Fan appearing on each other’s shows or if Colin Cowherd and Dan Le Batard did that at ESPN Radio and FOX Sports Radio. Mike Francesa and Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo did it before during Mike’s first retirement tour. Why not do something unique to bring people to the dial?
Because stations and individuals represent different companies it probably won’t happen, but sometimes it pays to do big things. Companies don’t mind when hosts working at station’s under their control appear on each other’s shows, but having the rock station’s morning host on the sports radio host’s morning show doesn’t change audience behavior the way two sports radio rivals coming together would.
By the way, do you think some of these competitors aren’t friends away from the airwaves? Ask them if they’d be up for it. I’m sure many would welcome the opportunity. It’d be cool and likely generate press and tune ins. There will be plenty of other days left to compete.
I mentioned the other day on social media that this is a time where you find out who has the ability to entertain when nightly results and lit phone lines aren’t available. Carrington Harrison of 610 Sports in Kansas City reached out and asked ‘How can you be worried about what to talk about when the answer is anything you want?‘ He’s spot on. If you’re a content creator, this is your chance to take a blank canvas and paint a masterpiece. Welcome the challenge rather than run from it.
THE LISTENER
One mistake that many make is looking at content thru their own lens as opposed to how it matters to the audience. A producer and host can create a topic, bit, book an interview or share a personal story, but is it relevant and important to those listening? It’s like a band playing a concert and featuring the songs they enjoy but not the ones their fans paid to hear.
Since many sports radio stations target the 32-40 year old male, I’m going to build a custom example for you. I want you to picture a 40 year old male sports fan, we’ll call him Jim. Jim is a P1 sports radio listener who watches his local favorite team’s games at night and on the weekend, has a wife, 2 kids, a nice house, good job, and commutes to and from work 40-45 minutes in each direction.
Despite his family’s concerns, and the uncertainty surrounding the corona virus, Jim continues driving to work. He could work remotely, but he likes his routine, and doesn’t want to stop living a normal life, especially since the virus hasn’t affected anyone or anything close to him.
When news involving the corona virus breaks during the day, Jim’s wife texts him to make sure he’s aware. He talks with co-workers about things they’re hearing, checks his social media accounts often (they’re flooded with a mixture of memes, posts and news articles related to the corona virus), and the one thing (sports) that used to provide a daily distraction, is no longer an option since the majority of leagues have stopped playing.
But Jim is still in his car each morning and afternoon, and the sports station he loves is still first in his presets. He wants to listen, but the stress of this situation has his mind in a million places. How are you convincing Jim to continue spending two segments per trip with you?
Remember, he wants to be distracted from his daily stress, but the corona virus has affected everything around him. Does he want to hear you talk about a game from years ago that has no current relevance? Will he listen to a discussion about the Netflix documentary you watched while trying to fill the gap created by a lack of sports? Is he interested in learning where the best place locally is to get a great hamburger or taco?
Maybe he’ll listen to all of that, some of it, or none of it. We really don’t know. People who tune into sports radio shows come for the hosts, conversations, and mental break from serious issues, but when critical matters warrant their attention, behavior changes.
If you stand in Jim’s shoes, you’d see that although he’d rather the corona virus not be a topic of conversation, he knows he has to stay updated on what’s happening. Will he and his family be OK? If they catch the virus, where do they go and what do they do? When can they expect life to return to normal? How long until sports are back? Are the on-air hosts and listeners going thru similar things? If so, how are they handling it? What is he supposed to do for entertainment in the meantime?
Jim’s first instinct is to listen to your show, but real life is tapping him on the shoulder telling him to turn elsewhere. To keep him invested, you’re going to have to connect by talking about the things that matter most to him. If you address that first, he’ll stick around for the rest. If not, he’s likely to change the dial.
THE RATINGS IMPACT
If you’re a market manager, corporate executive, CEO or owner, and haven’t braced yourself for a potential dip in the ratings with your sports station(s), you may want to prepare yourself for it. If you don’t lose any audience during this uncertain point in time, congratulations. That’s a big win. If you do though, get over it. March isn’t usually a big ratings month for the format as it is, and dealing with a global pandemic is bigger than a ratings book.
If people work remotely more, it could result in less listening. Some could choose to not listen at all. Others will put on news/talk or news/television because they want to stay informed. The rest will invest time in reading articles, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos or TV, and engaging with others on social media. It’s why having a strong social strategy is just as critical as having a sound radio plan. People will still be on their phones following your talent and brands. This gives us an opportunity to continue reaching them.
Sports hosts will be challenged to stay up to date on what’s happening with this virus. They may not be excited by news content, but this issue is bigger than anything else. What’s vital is to make sure they’re fully informed and not relaying misinformation that can cause unnecessary stress. They’ll likely have to introduce topics that have a connection to the issue, and though it may not be as fun as other things we talk about, when our listener’s lives are affected, it’s our job to make sure we’re there for them.
THE REVENUE EFFECT
These are unfamiliar times for our stations, staffs, and partners. If people don’t leave their homes and continue spending money on products, it could result in advertisers reducing their marketing budgets. Maybe it’s only for a few weeks or a month or two, but if the economy weakens, our brands could be impacted.
What you hope isn’t forgotten by your partners is the importance of a long term strategy. The strength of the relationship between the radio station and advertiser will also come into play. Both sides will experience peaks and valleys during the course of the partnership, so helping each other in times of need is important. We’re also going to get past this crisis at some point, and when we do, advertisers are going to need media partners to help them regain customers, and make up for lost earnings.
One thing to keep in mind, if your station has the rights to an NBA or NHL team or the NCAA tournament, you’ve regained commercial time on your airwaves due to games being cancelled. Though you may not like to do it, if giving up some of that regained inventory helps keep an important partner or two on the air thru this situation, it’s worth doing so to retain business.
I want to pass along a great letter I saw on social media from Townsquare Tuscaloosa Market Manager David DuBose. I thought David hit all the right notes in reaching out to station advertisers. If you run a cluster and haven’t done this already in your market, I’d encourage you to do so.
CLOSING:
These are unfamiliar times for all of us. The world of sports has shut down, concerts, schools, bars and restaurants are following suit, and the routines we enjoy are being altered by something beyond our control. It’s scary, stressful, and the lack of knowing what lies ahead has many people on edge.
The best thing we can do at this time is be there for our listeners. In doing so, it helps us too. Sports may be less of an option on TV, people may listen less in a car or office, and the content we’re creating may not be up to our usual standards, but sometimes just being available is enough to help people get thru a difficult time. Given what we’re all going thru, that matters more now than ever.
With the Coronavirus spreading, coverage of your local NHL, MLB, NBA and MLS teams will be curtailed. The aforementioned leagues issued a joint statement invoking a policy, believed to be temporary, limiting access to players and coaches before and after games. The policy deems that only those considered essential personnel will be allowed in the clubhouse and facilities operated by these teams. It went into effect Tuesday.
Before getting too much more into how this will factor into coverage of these teams, let me say, I don’t blame these leagues at all. I understand that protecting your players and staff is of the utmost importance, and it should be. With the uncertainty of the virus itself this became necessary. In some ways it’s protecting media members as well, staying out of a place that sometimes becomes an incubator for the flu, colds and other maladies. You’ve undoubtedly heard countless times from a manager or head coach, “Something’s going around the clubhouse…”. Again, I get it. I will admit though, that it’s strange not to be going into a clubhouse today. It’s something I’ve been doing on a nearly daily basis for 20 plus years.
Media Relations staffs across the country are working with front offices to figure out how best to adapt to the policy and still serve the media covering the various teams. I don’t envy this position. You can guarantee that not every media outlet will be happy with this turn of events. I’m a broadcaster for a team involved in this and the policy extends to me as well. Yes, this will make it more difficult to do my job, but I, along with many others, will have to figure out ways to continue to keep an audience informed.
What else can you do? Work harder and more creatively for one thing. Test your abilities to think outside the box and come up with alternative ways of keeping things informative. I’m still going to show up and continue to do my job to the best of my ability. How can I be angry when the goal is to keep people healthy?
The result will certainly be damaging to the coverage coming out of these facilities. Original reporting will be nearly impossible to achieve. Players and coaches will be made available outside of the team complexes to continue a flow of information. It will however be mostly the same information presented by each media outlet. We will be talking to the same people at the same time. It will be tough for media organizations to “break news” during these unusual circumstances.
Again, it’s nobody’s fault. I do admire the extra effort being put in by many of the team’s media relations people. They are affected by this as well. They are trying to accommodate one on one interviews to the best of their abilities.
I’ve seen many things on social media leading up to this decision by the four leagues. Some contend we don’t belong in the locker room to begin with. I completely disagree with the notion. “It’s the players domain”, says one person. “Why do you need to be in there when you can talk to players in other places?” asks another.
Well the truth is, we as media members need to be in the various clubhouses and locker rooms to do our jobs and bring our listeners, viewers and readers information. Do you as an audience member want to read, see, or hear the same information almost word for word on TV, radio, on the web or in your newspaper?
There is a lot of standing around at times, but there are equal times where stories are being developed. They are not always are the negative stories. Personal triumphs, human interest and internal battles are learned about by being around these human beings.
I’ve read elsewhere from fans responding to articles and tweets, they don’t believe the sports media serves a purpose anymore. Those fans feel like the personal social media sites for the player is a better way to “get to know a player”. Some say it’s self-serving to even be talking about the issue of being shut out of the clubhouse because of a spreading pandemic. I couldn’t disagree more with all of those theories and thoughts. I respect your opinion, but I’m not of the same mindset as you.
Journalists, yes there still are quite a few out there, pride themselves in building relationships with players and coaches. Developing a trust, asking good questions and producing original quality stories is what we do for a living. To be asked to do the same while not having access to players or coaches in that setting is not a fair ask. However, your audience is still craving the information. We are going to have to figure out how to get this done under less than ideal circumstances.
For those out there still feeling like “what’s the difference if you’re in there or not?”, the game will go on in either case. Yeah, you’re right but consider what might be next. If this virus keeps spreading, the games may go on, but without you. Meaning, games could be played with no fans in the stands. It’s already happening in other countries. It’s happening for some college basketball tourneys. Why wouldn’t major pro sports be next?
Strange to think that the number 42, retired throughout Major League Baseball in honor of the great Jackie Robinson, is the same number of minor league baseball teams that may be on the brink of elimination. If MLB has its way, the number of teams in the minors will decrease and the pay will increase for players. It’s an economic dispute between the two entities, MLB wants less players with better facilities. MiLB wants the targeted franchises to stay in business.
Forgotten in all of the rhetoric is the economic well-being of communities, players and employees. More specifically for this column the jobs of the many minor league broadcasters will be lost. Young professionals looking to hone their craft in small cities in hopes of reaching bigger minor league cities and eventually the big leagues, what about them? What will happen to the men and women that call the games. The people that ride the busses with the teams, put out game notes and work in conditions that may be less than ideal. What will become of them?
Pay scales in the minors vary from level to level. If you talk to most of the broadcasters, it’s not about the money they’re making today. It is more about the potential earning possibilities based on doing a great job and moving up in the industry. How is it fair for these folks to be left as collateral damage in a fight between a multi-billion-dollar industry and its minor leagues?
It’s not.
Young broadcasters are trying to prove themselves, just like the players are. They are trying to improve, like the players, in leagues where making mistakes are inevitable. How else do you learn? The dreams of the broadcasters and the players at all levels of the minors is to get the call to the show. If this move goes through, 42 or more broadcasters will have that dream derailed temporarily or in some cases permanently.
The elimination of these positions will have an effect on MLB teams as well. Many big-league teams hire minor league broadcasters from within the organization to call Spring Training games. Just like a non-roster invitee player to MLB camp, not only are these broadcasters auditioning for the parent club, there’s always a chance he or she can be heard by other organizations and given a shot. Some of these announcers get a chance to call a major league game from time to time during a season. A few teams have experimented with a rotation of announcers that can include some that call games within the organization. It’s a great opportunity to show their wares at the Major League level. If this proposal is allowed to go through, the pool of available talent gets a bit shallower.
There are some minor league teams that have gained a reputation for grooming the “next” major league announcer. Pawtucket for one has generated more than its share of play-by-play announcers hired by big league clubs. I realize that Pawtucket isn’t on the chopping block, but what’s to say that a team that is can’t be the next to operate a pipeline to the majors? Elimination of opportunity will also make it a much more ‘cut throat’ situation for young, up and coming play-by-play announcers. With many talented people out there looking for jobs and only few opportunities available, some will get left out of the equation all together. That is really a shame.
Hard working, enthusiastic, talented young broadcasters don’t deserve this fate. To be honest there are some hard working, enthusiastic, talented veteran broadcasters working for some of the teams that potentially will go out of business. They don’t deserve it either.
As a play-by-play announcer myself, this is a disturbing thing to see, even as it’s just a possibility right now. When you present this as an option, it opens us up to other ideas in cost saving. One idea leading to the next, further eliminating, rather than investing and figuring out a way to make it work. There is likely enough money being made to not have to consider something this drastic. I know, it’s easy for me to spend someone else’s money but does it really have to come to this?
