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Christopher Conover Named Arizona Public Media News Director

BNM Staff
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Christopher Conover Named Arizona Public Media News Director

Award-winning journalist Christopher Conover has been tapped to lead Arizona Public Media’s (AZPM) newsroom. Conover has been the organization’s Interim News Director since last year. 

According to its website, Conover has been with AZPM since 2005. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arizona School of Journalism.

“Christopher has the respect of the newsroom, the station, our audiences, and the community,” said AZPM CEO Jack Gibson. “During his service as Interim News Director, he displayed the leadership, vision, and initiative required to move AZPM’s newsroom forward.”

Conover told the website that during his time with AZPM, he has realized that the organization is more than just radio stations, TV stations, and digital platforms. “It (AZPM) is a part of the Southern Arizona community.” 

“I believe we have a responsibility not only to bring the audience the voices of its neighbors but also to serve as a trusted watchdog. Looking to the future, AZPM is poised to continue to reflect the voices of our community and to expand our audience, bringing the stories of southern Arizona to the world.”

Arizona Public Media (AZPM) is made up of four radio stations (NPR 89.1, Classical 90.5, Jazz 89.1 HD2, and the BBC World Service) and three three television program services (PBS 6, PBS 6 Plus, and PBS Kids). 

Mark Levin: Media Is To Blame For Joe Biden Being President

BNM Staff
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Fox News host Mark Levin said that there is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to President Joe Biden’s job performance.

The “Life, Liberty, and Levin” host spoke out Sunday against several factions, including Democrats, people in academia, and the media.

“You knew damn well he was incapable of doing what a president needs to do for a whole variety of reasons. You knew he was not mentally fit to become President of the United States; you knew that experimentally he has been a disaster when it comes to foreign policy.”

Levin was referencing what some analysts believe was a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, culminating in a bombing that left 13 U.S. service members dead in Kabul.

“You Democrats, you people in the media, you people in academia, you brought us, Joe Biden,” screamed Levin.

Levin asserted that the media consists mainly of “low-IQ inexperienced radical leftists dressed up as journalists.”

“You are responsible for the man who sits in the Oval Office today, you never-Trumpers, who have a hate on him, an obsession that requires deep psychological treatments. You are responsible for the man who is in the Oval Office today,” Levin said.

Report: Rachel Maddow Will Take Hiatus From MSNBC Show  

BNM Staff
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Rachel Maddow appears to be stepping away from the news desk. Business Insider reports that the MSNBC host will be taking a hiatus beginning February 7th. 

Maddow is taking a break from the daily news scene because she will be working on new projects with her former boss Phil Griffin. The report states she will announce her hiatus on Monday night’s edition of the “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

There’s no exact date for her return, but ill be back in “a few weeks,” said an MSNBC insider. The network will be using rotating anchors in the interim to fill Maddow’s chair on her show. 

Departing for a few weeks will allow Maddow to work on a Focus Features film based on her book and podcast “Bag Man” regarding a political bribery scandal. Ben Stiller will direct the movie; meanwhile, Maddow will be an executive producer. 

Upon her return, the MSNBC host plans to continue her primetime show five nights a week, one of the sources stated to Business Insider. Furthermore, the source said that Maddow wouldn’t vanish from the network completely as she would return for special event coverage during this hiatus.

When Maddow extended her contract with NBCUniversal last year, the agreement permits her to decrease the hours on-air and gives her time to set up a new production venture.

Newsmax Sees Viewer Spike During Donald Trump Rallies

BNM Staff
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It’s been a rough start to 2022 for Newsmax as DirecTV is dropping the news channel; however, there’s a silver lining as CNN’s Brian Stelter said in a segment of “Reliable Sources” that Newsmax sees an uptick in viewers when former President Donald Trump speaks. 

Viewership numbers for Newsmax soar when they air Trump’s rallies due to other networks are showing them.

“On a normal Saturday night, Newsmax might have 50,000 viewers, but when Trump held a rally two weeks ago, more than 1.5 million found the channel, beating Fox because Fox ignored the rally,” Stelter said. 

Newsmax noted last week during their airing of Trump’s Arizona rally on January 15 drew 2.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen data.

Most networks, including Fox News, do not air Trump’s campaign-style events. The former president has held two “Save America” rallies this month, one in Arizona and one in Texas on Saturday, which have all been on Newsmax.

Gayle King Confirms New Contract with CBS

BNM Staff
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Despite speculation regarding the future of Gayle King at CBS, she isn’t heading anywhere. 

The “CBS Mornings” co-host announced on her SiriusXM show, “Gayle King in the House” that she has signed a contract extension with the company. 

“I officially signed on the dotted line. So I will be with CBS a little longer,” King said. 

King staying with CBS ends speculation regarding a possible departure as her contract expired this year. Furthermore, there was a recent report that CNN President Jeff Zucker had reached out to her agents. 

The news channel viewed King as a possible replacement to the 9 p.m. ET slot left open following the firing of former anchor Chris Cuomo last year. 

“I don’t know why people thought that just because you have a grandchild now all of a sudden you just want to give up your career and go sit in California,” King said. 

“No. I still, you know, I still feel that in many ways, I’m just getting started. So I celebrated my ten-year anniversary; that was always great fun.”

King also discussed the ongoing changes at CBS News under Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon, the president and co-heads of CBS News and Stations. The two are emphasizing streaming. She revealed seeing the new studio for CBS News Streaming and said, “the vibe and the energy was so great over there.”

“The only thing I don’t like about this job are the hours,” she said. “But you can’t complain about the hours cause the job is what it is. And I’m so proud to be a part of the team; I’m so glad that the negotiations are over.”

On her show, King shared some details on the behind-the-scenes negotiations, even revealing how the company gave a presentation as to their plan for the future under Khemlani and McMahon. 

“Now I looked at that, and I thought, ‘God, do I wanna be a part of that?’ You know they believe in swinging for the fences, and I’m thinking I wanna play. I wanna to play,” King said. 

Dylan Dreyer Leaves “Weekend Today” After Nearly 10 Years

BNM Staff
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After nearly a decade at NBC’s “Weekend Today,” meteorologist Dylan Dreyer has announced she’s leaving the daytime show.

Dreyer is cutting back her workload, aiming to spend more time with her family. However, she’ll continue as weather correspondent for “Today” during the week.

“I really don’t want to step away,” Dreyer said on Saturday’s sendoff show. “I just don’t think I can do six days a week anymore. The boys certainly keep me busy.”

Dreyer recently returned from her maternity leave and has three sons in Calvin Bradley, 5; Oliver George, 2; and Russell James, four months.

“You know, I’m just watching that and looking back — I started in September in 2012 and I got married in October, so in the time I’ve been on ‘Weekend Today,’ I’ve gotten married, and I’ve had three sons,” Dreyer said. 

“It really is incredible just to look back and think of the things I’ve been through, and not to mention everything I’ve done on the show.”

Dreyer will dedicate her time to her husband and kids with her weekends now free. 

“These boys are my whole life, and Brian and I, we love being a team on weekends and spending as much time as we can with them and having as much fun as we can,” Dreyer said. “That’s really all I’m going to be doing, just sitting at home and just loving up on those three.”

Spotify Adding Advisory Labels to Podcast Episodes Talking COVID

BNM Staff
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Spotify Adding Advisory Labels to Podcast Episodes Talking COVID

Spotify will attach advisory labels to podcasts that discuss the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement, which was made on the company’s website, did not specifically mention Joe Rogan who has come under fire from several musical artists who use Spotify to distribute their music.

In recent days, Neil Young, Nils Lofgren, and Joni Mitchell have all left Spotify citing Rogan’s propensity to disseminate “COVID misinformation.”

According to Mediate, the Swedish-based company is under tremendous pressure to censor Rogan’s discussions ever since his controversial interview with Dr. Robert Malone.

The company said, “this new effort to combat misinformation will roll out to countries around the world in the coming days. To our knowledge, this content advisory is the first of its kind by a major podcast platform.”

Rogan signed an exclusive content deal with Spotify in 2020 worth an estimated $100 million.

“This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 Hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources,” the statement said.

Last week, Spotify removed Neil Young’s music from the platform after the singer demanded that the company choose between keeping him or Joe Rogan.

KOMO Newsradio Loses Legendary Call Letters

BNM Staff
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KOMO Newsradio Loses Legendary Call Letters

The end of an era in Seattle talk radio is fast approaching. Starting Wednesday, KOMO Newsradio will no longer possess the legendary call letters that it has for the past 95 years. 

According to the Seattle Times, the station will rebrand as KNWN, for “Northwest News.”

The change centers on a deal involving Sinclair Broadcast Group and Lotus Communications Corp. KOMO’s Program Director Rick Van Cise said it is a mere formality.“There won’t be any difference in the sound of the radio station. The personalities, the reporters are all staying the same.”

The deal between the two companies includes Lotus Broadcasting acquiring  “Newsradio” KOMO-AM and FM, “Star 101.5” KPLZ, and “Talk Radio” 570 KVI. 

Sinclair Broadcasting is primarily a television broadcast company that sold its radio stations to LA-based Lotus Broadcasting for $18 million. 

Locals reacted to the news on social media. “I could have come up with something a little catchier,” says Jason Remington, creator, and publisher of the website PugetSound.Media.

The station will continue to air news and weather produced by KOMO-TV. 

Sometimes Listeners Just Want Sports Radio Comfort Food

Demetri Ravanos
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Sometimes Listeners Just Want Sports Radio Comfort Food

Recently, I was talking to a friend that is looking to make the jump from music radio into sports talk. He is a bright dude and he recognizes that if he wants to stay in radio, talking for fifteen seconds between songs isn’t where it’s at. So, he wanted to pick my brain to see if what he thought he could offer matched up with where I see the format going.

One thing he told me was that he didn’t want to do a typical show. He wanted to innovate and “push the boundaries of the format.”

When I asked what that meant, he said “No Xs and Os at all. There may be some days I don’t even talk about the local teams.”

That is where I told him to press pause. Take a breath and think about what he just said.

Then it dawned on me that this could be a pervasive problem. As we look for fresh voices and young talent, how much are we considering their motivations and visions? In an age where so many young broadcasters want to be the next Dan Le Batard or are inspired by podcasts and not traditional sports talk radio, how many otherwise talented people are being derailed by thinking about the show they want to do instead of the show their listeners want to hear?

Let me be clear. I am pro-innovation. I love Le Batard. My sports podcasts of choice are The Right Time with Bomani Jones and Shutdown Fullcast, two shows that definitely do not mirror a traditional sports talk format.

The stuff that we find boring isn’t always useless. Look, sometimes your audience just wants to hear you talk about special teams or shooting percentages. Entertainment means different things to different audiences, and a sports talk radio audience wants to hear you talk about sports.

Do you understand why interviews are important? It isn’t about what is being said. It is about piquing interest.

You’ll hear people call ratings an inexact science and act like they are some kind of mysterious puzzle that cannot be solved. That’s not false necessarily, but ratings, particularly in a PPM world, are more of a math problem than we sometimes let on.

PPM is all about appointment listening. Creating more appointments strengthens your chances to increase ratings. Interviews are the most basic of appointments in sports talk radio. Whether it is who is on or what they are talking about, interviews are a pretty tried-and-true way to create interest for staying put or checking back in with the show.

How many times have you been told to play the hits? It is one of the cardinal rules of radio regardless of format. Give the people more of what they are telling you you want to hear.

Good hosts know the right topics. Really good hosts know how to be creative with those topics. Great hosts know that there is a balance you have to find between being creative and having fun and connecting with educated sports fans.

Many of us have been in radio for a long time. Nearly all of us have been watching sports most of our lives. It makes sense that playing the hits may not excite you the way it once did.

Have you ever been to a John Mellencamp concert? He doesn’t play “Jack & Diane” the way it sounds on the radio because he has played it so many times that it bores him.

You know what else you hear at a John Mellencamp show?

A lot of people that paid for tickets complaining that “Jack & Diane” doesn’t sound right.

The hits in sports radio aren’t just the topics and teams your listeners care about. Some times it is the way those topics are presented.

Think of it this way. Do you like chicken? For the sake of this column, let’s say you do.

Chicken Cordon Bleu is great. Chicken Marsala is delicious. When chicken is prepared in a decadent way, everyone is happy. But you know what? Chicken strips make everyone pretty happy too. Do you think great chefs are jazzed to make chicken fingers?

Interviews, X and O sports talk, and other “old school” vestiges of sports radio are the audience’s comfort food. If comfort food is all you do, you’re show is going to be pretty boring. You better know how to do comfort food though, because it is part of what keeps the audience coming back.

‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ Starts 20th Season With Similar Ratings Performance

BNM Staff
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Weekly talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher” began its 20th season on HBO back on Jan. 21 at 10 p.m. ET. His guests included Yale University professor Timothy Snyder, podcast host Bari Weiss and Bronx congressional member Rep. Ritchie Torres. Its initial telecast drew 867,000 total viewers and 187,000 adults 25-54; including the three re-airings on HBO during the weekend of Jan. 21-23, “Real Time” combined for 1.226 million (in total) and 277,000 adults 25-54.

Its 19th season premiere fared way better, initially drawing 1.53 million total viewers; its four-telecast weekend cume of 1.97 million. However, the comparisons to that time must come along with a large caveat. Those airdates were Jan. 15-17, 2021 — less than two weeks following the insurrection at the Capitol and mere days prior to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris being sworn in to office.

The recent figures for “Real Time” were on-par with those for its end-of-season editions: for Nov. 12-14, initial telecast drew 890,000 viewers / four-airing cume of 1.21 million; and, for Nov. 19-21, initial telecast drew 760,000 viewers / four-airing cume of 1.07 million.

The Friday night original edition of “Real Time” routinely achieves HBO’s most-watched weekly single telecast mark (based on live plus same day data) for the vast majority of a calendar year. The week ending Jan. 23 was no different. The week’s runner-up HBO telecast, in total viewers: the pay cable network premiere of the Bob Odenkirk action movie “Nobody” (380,000 viewers) from Jan. 22. The week’s runner-up HBO telecast, in adults 25-54: an original episode of teen drama “Euphoria” starring Emmy winner Zendaya (134,000 adults 25-54) from Jan. 23.

Additionally, President Joe Biden commemorated his time in the White House on Jan. 19, the eve of the first anniversary of his inauguration, with a lengthy press conference detailing the issues he faced and continues to face. So many of those issues, in fact, he spent two hours fielding questions from reporters and speaking to the public.

Biden’s current overall approval numbers are at a subpar 42 percent. While the economy is recovering, rising inflation and a limited supply of goods — of course, attributed to the ongoing coronavirus and its Omicron variant — have tampered the positive vibes.

Another important factor of Americans’ critical sentiment of a sitting President, especially a Democratic one (as seen during the years of Barack Obama), is the prominence of Fox News Channel — an aspect Biden attempted to downplay during his presser. Fox’s audience continues to attract still-engaged and active voters, more likely of a conservative nature. And it propels the outlet to not only dominate the world of cable news but, in addition, the entire cable television landscape. For the entire week ending Jan. 23, that standing was no different; Fox News averaged 1.513 million viewers per minute, according to Nielsen Media Research — more than doubling its nearest cable competitor, ESPN (0.699 million) during a week where the sports outlet had aired an NFL playoff game (between the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 17).

As for Biden’s presser, it aired from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 19. Fox News Channel was the nation’s top outlet covering it, averaging 3.78 million total viewers with 594,000 from the key 25-54 demographic. Similar to the ratings of most other news coverage in the past year, the cable news rankings had MSNBC as the distant runner-up among total viewers (1.34 million to CNN’s 1.04 million) while CNN was a distant second in adults 25-54 (188,000 to MSNBC’s 168,000). The second hour of Biden’s press conference (5-6 p.m. ET) on Fox News Channel and CNN were the most-watched hours of the week for each respective outlet in total viewers, figures listed at article’s end).

Cable news averages for January 17-23, 2022:

Total Day (January 17-23 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 1.513 million viewers; 243,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 0.670 million viewers; 78,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.474 million viewers; 96,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.199 million viewers; 63,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.168 million viewers; 27,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.147 million viewers; 37,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.123 million viewers; 19,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.104 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54

Prime Time (January 17-22 @ 8-11 p.m.; January 23 @ 7-11 p.m.)

  • Fox News Channel: 2.427 million viewers; 356,000 adults 25-54
  • MSNBC: 1.187 million viewers; 134,000 adults 25-54
  • CNN: 0.578 million viewers; 129,000 adults 25-54
  • CNBC: 0.213 million viewers; 64,000 adults 25-54
  • HLN: 0.205 million viewers; 65,000 adults 25-54
  • The Weather Channel: 0.185 million viewers; 41,000 adults 25-54
  • Newsmax: 0.151 million viewers; 27,000 adults 25-54
  • Fox Business Network: 0.054 million viewers; 11,000 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. 1/19/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.203 million viewers

2. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 1/20/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.842 million viewers

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/19/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.731 million viewers

4. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 1/20/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.664 million viewers

5. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 1/19/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.517 million viewers

6. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 1/21/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.515 million viewers

7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/18/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.489 million viewers

8. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/20/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.481 million viewers

9. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 1/18/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.439 million viewers

10. The Story (FOXNC, Wed. 1/19/2022 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.350 million viewers

20. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 1/20/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.420 million viewers

120. The Lead With Jake Tapper (CNN, Wed. 1/19/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.056 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. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 1/19/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.657 million adults 25-54

2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 1/19/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.617 million adults 25-54

3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 1/20/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.588 million adults 25-54

4. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 1/20/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.563 million adults 25-54

5. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 1/21/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.561 million adults 25-54

6. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 1/20/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.540 million adults 25-54

7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 1/18/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.536 million adults 25-54

8. The Story (FOXNC, Wed. 1/19/2022 4:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.531 million adults 25-54

9. Special Report with Bret Baier (FOXNC, Wed. 1/19/2022 6:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.518 million adults 25-54

10. Hannity (FOXNC, Wed. 1/19/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.506 million adults 25-54

32. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 1/20/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.321 million adults 25-54

73. Erin Burnett Outfront (CNN, Wed. 1/19/2022 7:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.232 million adults 25-54

116. Forensic Files “Deadly Valentine” (HLN, Tue. 1/18/2022 11:30 PM, 30 min.) 0.168 million adults 25-54

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

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