Bob Trumpy, the former Cincinnati Bengals tight end who built a Hall of Fame-worthy second career behind the microphone, has passed away at age 80. Trumpy’s story was one of rare achievement across two arenas — first as a player who helped put the Bengals on the map, and later as one of sports broadcasting’s most respected voices.
A 12th-round pick in the 1968 AFL Draft, Trumpy became an original member of the Bengals and made an immediate impact by scoring the first touchdown in franchise history. Known for his speed and athleticism, he redefined the tight end position in an era when the role was far more limited. Over 10 seasons, he earned four Pro Bowl selections and finished his career in 1977 with nearly 300 receptions.
Yet for as much as Trumpy accomplished on the field, his work in broadcasting took him to even greater heights. After hanging up his cleats, he launched a local sports talk show in Cincinnati that quickly made him a trusted and familiar voice.
That early success paved the way to national prominence with NBC Sports, where Trumpy joined the network’s top NFL announcing team and became a fixture for nearly two decades.
Between 1978 and 1997, Trumpy called four Super Bowls for NBC, along with coverage of three Ryder Cups and three Olympic Games — a résumé few broadcasters can match. His on-air style blended intelligence, preparation, and the kind of plainspoken credibility that comes from experience in the game.
Trumpy later transitioned to radio, serving as the lead analyst for NFL Sunday Night Football on Westwood One from 2000 to 2007. His ability to explain the game with clarity and candor made him a favorite among listeners nationwide.
Bengals president Mike Brown praised Trumpy’s rare combination of athletic skill and broadcasting talent in a statement.
“I’ve known Bob since we started here and he had an extraordinary career as both a player and a broadcaster,” Brown said. “He was an exceptional and rare tight end who could get downfield and split zone coverages. Speed was his hallmark. … As a broadcaster, he made his mark both locally and nationally, and excelled at sports other than football. He did it all very well and I regret his passing.”
In 2014, Trumpy’s decades of excellence behind the mic were recognized with the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Radio & Television Award, honoring his “longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football.”
Bob Trumpy’s impact will forever echo through The Jungle. Our hearts are with the Trumpy family.
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Featuring a Canadian team and airing on what’s typically the least-watched night of the week, Saturday’s Game 7 of the World Series still managed to pull in a massive audience across the United States.
According to Nielsen fast-nationals, the Dodgers-Blue Jays finale averaged 25.98 million viewers across FOX Sports platforms, including 25.45 million on FOX alone. It marks the largest Major League Baseball audience since Game 7 of the 2017 Astros-Dodgers World Series, which drew 28.29 million viewers.
The Dodgers’ extra-inning win, which peaked at 31.54 million viewers around 11:30 p.m. ET, also surpassed the most recent World Series Game 7 in 2019 between the Nationals and Astros. That matchup averaged 23.19 million viewers, though Nielsen did not begin including out-of-home viewing in national estimates until 2020 — meaning the 2019 game likely would have rated higher under today’s measurement standards.
Saturday’s showdown was historic for another reason. It was the first World Series Game 7 played on a Saturday since 1931, and the audience reflected the rarity. The 25.98 million average made it the most-watched Saturday MLB broadcast in 29 years, dating back to the Yankees’ World Series-clinching win over the Braves in 1996, which attracted 30.44 million viewers on FOX.
While some past games — such as Indians-Marlins in 1997 or Yankees-Diamondbacks in 2001 — would likely rank higher with modern measurement methods, the 2025 World Series still represents a remarkable 20-plus-year high for Saturday baseball viewership.
For perspective, before this weekend’s Game 7, the most-watched Saturday baseball game of the past two decades was Game 4 of the 2016 Indians-Cubs World Series, which averaged 16.7 million viewers.
Outside of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, few major championship events take the risk of airing on a Saturday evening — and none have ever drawn as many viewers as this year’s World Series finale.
Canadian ratings from SportsNet were not immediately available, but if trends hold, the combined North American audience may come close to matching the legendary Cubs-Indians Game 7 from 2016 — one of the most-watched baseball games of the modern era.
25,984,000 viewers tuned in for the @Dodgers back-to-back, dramatic clinch of the Fall Classic across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services – the most since 2017. 🏆
🏔️ On FOX, #WorldSeries Game 7 peaked with 31,543,000 viewers from 11:30-11:45 PM ET
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Paramount Skydance enacted widespread layoffs last week, affecting hundreds at CBS News. More names have emerged in recent days of those who are no longer with the organization.
After previously sharing that Dana Jacobson and Michelle Miller would exit, as well as companion streaming shows for CBS Evening News and CBS Mornings were cut, names from both the network level and from the CBS owned-and-operated stations locally have been released.
Lisa Ling, who worked as a contributor to the network, shared in a post on social media that she had been one of the hundreds who saw their positions eliminated.
“So yesterday, I got a call from CBS that I was among the massive layoffs at the network,” Ling said. “Now this didn’t entirely surprise me, because I wasn’t a full-time employee, but rather a contributor, and we’re easy to cut.”
She had joined CBS News in 2023 after her time working with CNN ended.
Deborah Patta, who reported out of the network’s Johannesburg bureau, has exited after the South African bureau was closed by the company.
Other on-air staffers exiting include Nancy Chen, Nikki Battiste, Nicole Baker, and Janet Shamlian.
The cuts come just over two months after the merger of Paramount and Skydance was officially closed, receiving government approval for the move. The merger was part of an $8.4 billion deal between the two organizations. As part of the eliminations, Paramount Skydance hopes to cut $2 billion from its annual operating budget.
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It was a night filled with emotion, nostalgia, and well-deserved recognition inside Bridgestone Arena on Saturday. Longtime Nashville Predators broadcast icons Terry Crisp and Pete Weber were officially inducted into the Preds Golden Hall as members of the Class of 2025.
Before a loud crowd for Nashville’s matchup against the Calgary Flames, the organization honored two of the most familiar and beloved figures in franchise history. During a break between peiords. Fans joined players, coaches, and executives in celebrating the duo’s decades-long impact during a special ceremony benefiting the Nashville Predators Foundation.
Crisp and Weber became the fourth and fifth members of the Preds Golden Hall. Joining David Poile, Pekka Rinne, and Shea Weber, who comprised the inaugural 2024 class.
“When you think about the Predators, there’s a strong chance the first people who come to mind are Pete and Terry,” said Predators CEO Sean Henry, in a press release earlier this year. “They’re synonymous with our franchise. For more than two decades, they’ve brought our team to life and helped define what SMASHVILLE means.”
The evening served as both a celebration and a reflection. Weber, entering his 28th season as the Voice of the Predators, has called more than 2,000 games and collected multiple Emmy Awards along with nine Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year honors. His unmistakable enthusiasm has been the soundtrack of Predators hockey since the team’s debut in 1998.
To the legends who taught hockey to the South: thank you!
Crisp, who retired from television duties following the 2021–22 season, spent 24 years in the broadcast booth and studio. Known for his sharp hockey mind and colorful storytelling, Crisp transitioned from analyst to studio personality on Predators LIVE alongside Lyndsay Rowley. Before his broadcasting career, he earned three Stanley Cups — two as a player with the Philadelphia Flyers and one as head coach of the 1989 Calgary Flames — and was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
As fans cheered and old highlights played on the video board, it became clear why both broadcasters occupy such a revered place in Predators lore. Their voices, humor, and humanity helped turn a fledgling expansion franchise into one of the NHL’s most passionate markets.
And now, fittingly, their names are etched among the legends of SMASHVILLE forever.
Katie Pavlich has announced she’s stepping away as the editor of Townhall.com, the Salem Media Group digital conservative news and political commentary outlet.
Pavlich has spent the past 16 years working as editor of the site.
However, in a post to social media on Friday, she shared that the time was right for her to “step back” from that role.
“I am deeply grateful to the dedicated Townhall team for many years of accomplishment and extraordinary news coverage,” Pavlich shared. “Thank you to our dedicated readers for their support. The outlet is in good hands and the future is bright.”
In addition to her work with Townhall, Katie Pavlich also serves as a contributor to Fox News, where she appears on shows like The Five and The Ingraham Angle, as well as in programs for the FOX Nation streaming platform.
She previously worked as a columnist for The Hill and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review before joining Townhall.com.
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iHeartMedia has announced the promotion of Grace Blazer to Senior Vice President of Programming for its Miami market, effective immediately.
In her new role, Blazer will oversee all programming operations across iHeartMedia Miami’s diverse portfolio of more than eight stations spanning music, talk, and news formats. She will work closely with on-air talent, content teams, and sales leadership to strengthen audience engagement and deliver measurable results for advertisers. Blazer will report to Marc Chase, Executive Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia.
“Grace is a powerhouse of programming excellence,” Chase said. “Her ability to elevate brands, inspire teams and drive meaningful results has made her an invaluable leader within iHeartMedia.”
Blazer has been with the company since 2013. She currently serves as National News, Talk, and Sports Brand Coordinator, News Director for the Florida News Network, and Program Director for WIOD and WINZ in Miami, as well as WFLA in Tampa. Her track record includes shaping local news and talk brands into consistent market performers. Guiding teams through a rapidly evolving audio landscape.
Before joining iHeartMedia, Blazer began her career at KDKA in Pittsburgh. She later rose to Program Director roles at WPHT in Philadelphia and 96.9 FM Talk in Boston. Her experience across multiple major markets has positioned her as one of the industry’s most versatile and respected programmers.
“At iHeartMedia Miami, we’re fortunate to have exceptional programming leadership, and Grace is a shining example of that excellence,” said Shari Gonzalez, Market President of iHeartMedia Miami. “With 12 years of unwavering passion, strategic vision, and meaningful impact across our organization, Grace has consistently raised the bar. We’re thrilled to recognize her achievements and promote her to lead our dynamic cluster into the future.”
Blazer succeeds former Senior Vice President of Programming Pedro Gonzalez, who continues to oversee iHeartLatino and consult Miami’s music strategy.
“I’m incredibly proud and excited to step into my new role at iHeartMedia Miami,” Blazer said. “iHeartMedia is a powerhouse of creativity and bold ideas. I’m energized by the opportunity to help shape our Miami brands’ growth and collaborate with some of the most extraordinary programmers in the industry.”
iHeartMedia Miami remains a dominant force in the market. Leveraging its robust cross-platform presence that includes broadcast, digital, and live event assets. The company’s reach extends across mobile, social, and iHeartRadio—its all-in-one digital music, podcasting, and live streaming service. Available on more than 500 platforms and 2,000 devices.
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I’ve never been nervous about writing an article before. Not for Billboard, not for Radio and Records, not for the Jacobs Media Blog or any other publication. I’ve been nervous plenty of times getting ready to interview someone for an article. Like I was last Tuesday afternoon when I opened my Zoom room to interview Pierre Robert. He had been on WMMR in Philadelphia for more than four decades, a legendary personality on a station known for having larger than life talent.
As it turned out I should not have been nervous. In no time at all he made me instantly comfortable just like he’s done for millions of MMR listeners. We talked for over ninety minutes as he shared stories and wisdom that only come from a career’s worth of experiences and a life lived with joy. Then, the next day, it came out that Robert had unexpectedly passed away sometime during the night.
That’s why, for the first time I’m nervous to write this story. You see Robert had done hundreds, maybe thousands of interviews during his career. It just turned out that his last one was about him. I’m going to do my best to capture everything we discussed and do justice to the thoughts and stories of a person I didn’t know well but also felt like I knew instantly.
Oddly, we started off talking about consultants because he, usually the person doing the interviewing, had asked about me. That led to talking about Lee Abrams coming to the station back in the day and talking about psychographics. It was the first of many made up “consultant words” that were thrown at him during his career. Another was “stationality” which was big in the ‘nineties and just made him shake his head. But his favorite consultant story was when someone (he didn’t remember who), came to the station and told him what really mattered is being on the streets and in the clubs, introducing bands, “and I’m just there thinking, we do that already.”
Pierre joked that he should have been a consultant, but he didn’t think stations would want to hear his suggestions. I asked what his advice would be. “I would say ‘be live’” he answered. Robert went on to explain that he understands there are economic issues that can prevent stations from following his advice. However, he wants to see the stations win. “I want them to win with live and local. Be live whenever possible because there’s just nothing like it.”
Another suggestion, which he also knew isn’t economically feasible, is to bring back overnight hosts because that’s where young people coming up can learn how to be themselves. “You know who you are, your personality, everybody at least has a semblance of that idea,” he explained. “But getting you, the essence of you, through that microphone, there’s something different there. Being able to carry who you are through that microphone; it doesn’t happen automatically.”
Robert feels it’s important for radio hosts to develop their personalities. It’s what sets radio apart from other places consumers can get music. “There’s a trend to diminish radio and think of it as not so vital now with streaming services like Spotify and Pandora but it’s not the same.” He goes on to explain that radio is like a restaurant. Listeners go there primarily for the food (the music), but a close second is the vibe, the ambiance. “(mimicking a restaurant maître de) Hello, Mike. Nice to see you again. Do you want your usual table? Here, please have a seat.”
In the case of a station like WMMR, that plays both new and older music, Robert thinks of it as offering a variety of dishes, “(now as a waiter) would you like that dish that you’ve loved for years? Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones? Or the chef has just come up with this great new thing, the Struts or the Record Company or Dirty Honey. Would you like to try some of that? Maybe a combination of both? An appetizer of the Struts and a main course of the Rolling Stones.”
As someone who honed his personality in the overnights, I asked Robert to explain who he was on the air. Like many great talent, he struggled some to put it into words. He finally came around to, “personal, warm, friendly, open, sharing.” He then went on to say, “I want to be your friend. I want to share my life. I’m a vegetarian, I like everything from the Grateful Dead to the Ramones and people know it.”
He also added that he wants to go on the listener’s journey. “I tell people, take me with you. Wherever you’re going. I want to go. I’m just like a dog that wants to go for a ride. You want to go to the market? I’ll go with you. You want to go to the beach? Sure. I’ll go. Want to go to the mountains? I’ll go. Want to go on running errands? I want to go with you. And because people do that, even now, it allows an intimacy.”
Another big part of building his persona came from being out with the listeners at shows. “A lot of DJ’s would go introduce a band, collect their $200 and leave,” Robert remembers. “I would go introduce the opening band and the middle band and the headlining band. And I’d walk around and shake hands with people. Then I’d sit on a stool by the exit of the club and shake hands with people going out. That’s how I built my brand. And I did that from the smallest clubs to the largest venues.”
And even forty years later, he was still working to keep his brand front and center with the listeners. He shared plans to see Bryan Adams and Pat Benatar the next night saying at the end of the show he’d likely wind up in a visible spot so if people want to come up and chat or take pictures they could. He said his friends called it running for mayor. Robert felt it was important to maintain that accessibility even after all these years. “Fame, notoriety is a very relative thing, you know, so no DJ should get too complacent.”
There was, however, at least one time that being close to the listeners nearly backfired. It happened when Sean “Rabbi” Tyszler, who has since also passed away, was working at WMMR. Robert remembers when Tyszler, a huge metal fan and orthodox jew known for being in mosh pit with his WMMR yarmulke, walked into the studio with a proposition. If Robert went with him to a metal show, Tyszler would agree to attend a Grateful Dead show. The pact was announced on the air and when Slayer came to town it was time for Robert to go. “I thought oh dear god. Although I appreciate all kinds of music Slayer’s not exactly my cup of tea.”
The listeners knew he was going to Slayer so he dressed the part the best he could and along with a couple of other staff members headed off to the show. This is the point in the conversation when reveals he loves mosh pits. “My first one I was probably fifty years old. It was the first time I saw Green Day and I thought ‘I got to get in that mosh pit’ and I did and I loved it. It was so tribal and crazed.”
Back to the Slayer show, Robert is in the audience interviewing people about what he should expect with his tape recorder, a fixture at every show he attends, when the light go out, three upside down crosses descent from the ceiling and the show starts, “and it’s about five million decibels.” That’s when he sees a mosh pit start on the floor. “Our then overnight, now evening host Jackie Bam Bam said ‘you can’t go in there. That’s not a Green Day mosh pit. That’s a Slayer mosh pit.’” But Robert wouldn’t be stopped, “I responded ‘Don’t invite me to the party if you don’t expect me to attend.’”
Robert and Rabbi headed down to the floor and jumped into the mosh pit. “It’s this moving wave of humanity and I made it maybe one and a half rotations and someone bumped into me, and I went down, pow, flat on my face. That’s when I started thinking I’m going to die in this mosh pit. This is not a Green Day, fun, power pop punky mosh pit.”
But then his close relationship with the listeners saved him. “All of a sudden, these giant arms pick me up. It’s a guy that looks like Hagrid from Harry Potter and he says, ‘Pierre?’ and I say ‘yes.’ He says you’re with me now, puts his arm around me and we make several more rotations around the mosh pit.” The listener who rescued him from the floor then asks if he wants to “go up” meaning crowd surf. “Fuck, yes, I want to go up. And up I go. I surfed over the barricade, the security guards caught me, and I went back, and I did it a second time. I think I was fifty-four at the time and I was pretty proud of myself.”
When the dead and company came to town soon after, Robert says Rabbi paid off his part of the agreement. He attended the show with a tie-dyed yarmulke a WMMR listener made for him. “He met other people there from his congregation which was amazing. It speaks to the power of music but also of inserting your personality into your show and sharing what you’re doing with your audience, so they are part of the journey.”
The mention of Robert’s ubiquitous tape recorder leads to another unique part of his personality and work ethic. Not only would he go to shows and interview listeners to get on air content, he would also narrate parts of the show, as a sort of play-by-play describing the scene to use on the air the next day. “It speaks to the power of radio. Back in the ‘thirties and ‘forties people would listen to dramas on the radio. They called it ‘theater of the mind.’ If you describe something well enough, people don’t have to be there.”
Sometimes his use of the tape recorded went beyond fun at shows. One instance was when he went to New York just days after the 9/11 attack. “I just walked down the avenue describing the scene. I got as close as I could to ground zero, and even talked to a firefighter who was still convinced they would find live people.” Once again, Robert tied those recordings to the music relying on that power to fully illustrate his feelings. “There’s a song for everything. You could play ‘Imagine’ or any number of songs that were applicable to that situation.”
Pierre Robert with Mick Jagger, Chris Cornell, Steven Tyler, Dave Grohl and Geddy Lee (photos courtesy of Pierre Robert on Facebook)
Thinking of Robert’s tape recorder in a metaphorical sense the other important role it played across his career was helping him interview many artists. “Mick Jagger and Keith Richards is probably the pinnacle. I’ve gotten to interview them twice. It was amazing sitting across the table from Mick fucking Jagger who is the greatest front man of the greatest Rock band of all time.” He also talked about having a connection with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave. “Chris was on my show a number of times singing and playing.” Graham Nash was another all-time favorite. “He’s probably the nicest of any person, not just rock star, but person. He’s got so many crazy Neil Young stories, and CSN stories, and drug fueled madness stories.”
The hardest he ever worked to secure an interview was with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam who Robert thinks is one of the most fascinating people in Rock. “I campaigned for over 10 years to get an interview with him. We had every other member of the band on but couldn’t get him. We even found a stat that said we were playing more Pearl Jam than any station including Seattle but there was just this barrier.”
Robert finally broke through when the station gave away meet and greet passes to a Pearl Jam show. He accompanied the listeners and got the chance to talk with Vedder. He talked about the station’s long history, how they take requests, are live and local, host a giant annual food drive and more, all of which Vedder wrote down in a notebook. At the end of their time together, Robert mentioned that he’d been trying to get an interview for years. Vedder agreed to do one before the next night’s show. “I calmly walked out the door and then started skipping and jumping all the way down the hallway going holy fuck!”
That next night two amazing things happened. The first was at the end of the interview when Robert asked Vedder if he would do a station ID. “I was leaving and I said I don’t mean to be corny, but would you do a station id. He looked and said, ‘for you I will.’ It’s a four second ID where he says, ‘this is Eddie Vedder, pause, with MMR. Yep that’s what you’re listening to.’”
The second was at the end of the show. When the band came on for an encore Vedder not only dedicated “Last Kiss” to Robert and former WMMR host Matt Cord but proceeded to talk to the crowd about all the things Robert had told him the night before. Robert remembers the moment vividly.
“He goes ‘you know it’s not often we get to shout out local radio stations, but you know what they’re live and local, you can call up and a DJ is actually going to answer the phone and talk to you, and they’ll play a request for you’ and he goes ‘hell you might even get laid.’ He went over everything I had told him the night before that he had written in his journal. All the people around me started high-fiving and I had to sit down. I started crying I was so moved by it.”
But even the reach of MMR hasn’t made it possible to interview everyone he wanted to. “My biggest frustration is MMR has been playing Bruce Springsteen since he started, more than the stations in New York and New Jersey, where he was from and in 43 years I’ve been there we haven’t even been able to get a phoner and I don’t know why.” But don’t misunderstand, Robert was incredibly happy with the stars he did speak to. “Sure there’s frustration that I can’t get some of these other ones that are still on my list, but I’m quite pleased with the ones I have.”
For any talent who want to take over Robert’s legacy of talking to the stars, he says it all starts with preparation. “I do a lot of research and try to get as much information about the band as possible, even if I already know them.” He also makes sure to get ahold of any new projects and ideally prefers to get an album or CD so he can look at the details. “You learn things by reading the liner notes and the artwork is a whole conversation you can have. The more questions you have, the more you know about the person or the project they’re promoting, the better off you are.”
The other important piece of the equation is how to use the interview once you have it. He was always frustrated by television stations that would get the same length of time to talk with an act but only use ten seconds of material. He once turned a ten-minute interview with Bono into a two-hour on-air special. “I don’t like short form. I like long conversations like the one we’re having.”
As the call began to wrap up we started talking more about the power of radio. “Radio is still a vital commodity. It’s a vital part of the landscape,” Robert said. “It has the ability to be that audio scrapbook, and sure anyone can do that on their own, but it sounds better when it’s on the radio.”
He also respected the power of radio to impact the community on an individual level and on a larger scale. “We can accompany people through their journey. I’ve helped listeners get through when Chris (Cornell) killed himself and when Chester Bennington killed himself. I was able to play songs from those guys and say, ‘there’s a lot of shit out there and you must not give up’ and I got feedback later that said it helped people.” On a larger scale he talks about the Preston and Steve Food Drive and the impact those sort of efforts have. “You find something in your community that needs fixing and go try to fix it. We can be helpful in that way.”
He continued, “In MMR’s case, we’re blessed that we’ve been the soundtrack for people’s lives from t-shirts and jeans, you know, to death. I get calls from delivery rooms where a baby is coming and from funeral processions where people are driving home.” He continued, “That’s a blessing, to be able to put out a message of kindness and friendship and spend a person’s life with them. That’s our blessing.”
For anyone who never got the chance to get to know Pierre Robert I hope this shines a light into the life of one of the greatest Rock radio hosts ever to put on headphones. For those who did know him, I hope this final conversation brings some comfort in, what I’m sure is, a difficult time.
In drafting this article, as I do with all pieces like this, I have cleaned up and altered some of Robert’s words for clarity and narrative always careful to capture the true spirit of his comments. If you want to hear the full conversation to hear Robert’s voice one more time, click the video up above.
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There’s plenty to criticize about 60 Minutes. Sometimes the show edits interviews too heavily, sometimes it leans too hard on the host’s posture of superiority, and — at times — it can be downright pretentious. But the criticism surrounding 60 Minutes airing an interview with President Donald Trump is misguided.
Regardless of how anyone feels about him, Donald Trump is the President of the United States, and any news outlet worth its salt should want to speak directly with the most powerful person in the world.
Yes, Trump sued CBS and 60 Minutes’ parent company after an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris was edited in a way his campaign claimed was misleading. That lawsuit, in my opinion, was frivolous. It felt less like a genuine legal grievance and more like a political maneuver — a well-timed attempt to exert pressure that might grease the skids for the Paramount–Skydance merger. But that’s politics. It’s not new, I hate it, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
But it’s not a reason to shy away from covering the sitting president.
And that’s what this comes down to: Donald Trump isn’t just a former president or a candidate anymore. He’s the President of the United States. When 60 Minutes sits down with him, it’s not “platforming.” It’s journalism.
Whether viewers love him or loathe him, millions of Americans are directly affected by his decisions. It’s the same argument I made when CNN faced internal outrage over airing a town hall with Trump during the Republican primary. At the time, he was leading in nearly every poll, dominating the conversation, and reshaping the party. That made him newsworthy then, and it makes him newsworthy now.
There’s a dangerous impulse inside many newsrooms to conflate discomfort with irresponsibility. Some journalists and producers believe that because a figure like Trump has attacked the press, lied, or manipulated coverage, the media has a duty to deny him attention. That’s not how journalism works. The press doesn’t exist to validate feelings. It exists to inform the public. The second 60 Minutes starts choosing who gets airtime based on internal politics instead of public relevance, it stops being journalism and starts being activism. And regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I feel like that’s something we can all agree on: journalism is great, and activist journalism isn’t.
Even if some CBS News staffers or 60 Minutes correspondents personally dislike Trump — and many probably do — that doesn’t change the facts. He occupies the Oval Office, he’s making foreign policy decisions, he’s setting domestic priorities, he’s got his hands in the middle of the government shutdown, and he’s got plenty to say about the New York City mayoral race. Those are all topics deserving of tough, direct questioning. That’s what 60 Minutes is supposed to do.
If anything, this interview represents a moment for the show to prove it still matters. 60 Minutes built its brand on asking hard questions to powerful people — not avoiding them. Whether it’s the president or a corporate CEO, the program’s credibility comes from its willingness to engage, not retreat. Refusing to interview Trump because of past lawsuits or perceived slights would be an admission that the network’s skin has gotten thin.
Critics might say Trump will spin, lie, or deflect. Of course he will. That’s part of the job of interviewing him — to confront, to follow up, to press for clarity. If 60 Minutes can’t do that, then it deserves criticism for execution, not for the decision to conduct the interview in the first place.
Ultimately, journalism is about accountability. It’s not about comfort, agreement, or optics. The fact that Donald Trump sued CBS News doesn’t erase the reality that his presidency impacts the lives of every American. Pretending otherwise would be malpractice. The more journalists forget that, the more they abandon the purpose of their profession.
So yes, maybe the lawsuit was ridiculous. Maybe it was performative. But that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that 60 Minutes is talking to the President of the United States. And that’s exactly what journalism is supposed to do.
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I had the pleasure last week of spending time in Chicago for the Radio Hall of Fame. It was a spectacular event. Kraig Kitchin and Dennis Green knocked it out of the park, and this year’s class was spectacular and very deserving. Accomplished executives, leaders, agents, advertising professionals and talent could be found everywhere. What stood out most was how many successful people came to support Colin Cowherd, Julie Talbott, Mike McVay, Martha Quinn, Alice Cooper, Tom ‘Mojo’ Carballo, DeDe McGuire and all of the inductees. Stephanie Eads and I sat at the ‘Friends of Mike’ McVay table, and were so thrilled for Mike, Julie, and Colin, three people I’ve known a long time who I hold in high regard. It was a special evening.
On Friday morning, I had some time to think about the one piece of sad news from last week. That was the passing of Pierre Robert. WMMR’s longtime personality was a larger than life figure in radio. He had an unbreakable connection with his audience and artists, and was always kind when we crossed paths during my short stay in Philadelphia in 2006. His warm spirit and decades of success warrant special consideration, and I will get to that shortly.
First, the next time someone in advertising questions radio’s relevance and importance, direct them to how the world grieved over Pierre. Bryan Adams dedicated the song ‘Heaven’ to him on-stage last week. Jon Bon Jovi, Living Colour, The Offspring, Alice Cooper, Billy Corrigan, Collective Soul, Shinedown, Papa Roach and countless other artists flocked to social media or to the airwaves to explain how much he meant. The tributes Preston and Steve delivered to their longtime colleague on Thursday and Friday were very touching. If you didn’t have a chance to listen, make time to do so. They were great.
But that’s just the radio and artist side of things. Scroll through Facebook, X, Instagram, etc. and you’ll find hundreds if not thousands of posts, photos, and special memories shared by radio professionals, record labels, radio stations and Pierre’s ‘citizens’. All saw him as a larger than life friend on the radio, and special human being. They understood how giant of a loss this is. Jacky BamBam’s post was especially moving.
Last Friday, I swapped texts with Chuck Damico and emails with Mike Stern after being reminded that we had just interviewed Pierre for an upcoming feature. Mike spoke with Pierre last Tuesday, the day before he passed. This was likely the final interview Pierre did with an industry outlet.
Given the situation, I knew we had to make sure this piece was handled with care. Today, you can find that conversation on our website. Mike did a GREAT job on it. Their discussion can be heard in the video down below. It allows you to hear just how much love and passion Pierre had for life, music, and radio.
As I thought about last week’s Radio Hall of Fame ceremony in Chicago and Pierre’s unexpected passing, I was surprised to learn that the Philadelphia legend wasn’t in the Radio Hall of Fame. Fred Jacobs wrote an outstanding piece in Pierre last week. In it he mentioned that Pierre was nominated for the hall in 2022, but missed the cut.
Selection processes for any hall of fame are hard. Many are deserving but only a limited number of spots exist. I think I speak for many though when I say that Pierre Robert is without question a hall of famer. His life’s work speaks for itself. I’m sure his induction will come in the future, and when it does, I know it will mean a lot to Pierre’s WMMR teammates, the Beasley Media family, every single Philadelphia listener of his, and countless artists and record industry professionals across the country.
But while I’m confident that Pierre’s work will one day be celebrated with a radio hall of fame induction, I think this conversation needs to be broader. Pierre Robert belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame too.
Pierre Robert was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame in 2019 (photo courtesy of 93.3 WMMR on Facebook).
Non-artists such as Alan Freed, Tom Donahue, and DJ Kool Herc have been inducted in years past. Label execs, producers, and editors have earned inductions as well. It’s time for the hall to make room for one of the most influential voices ever to grace the rock radio airwaves.
The golden period for a band typically lasts seven to ten years. If they last four decades, they’re usually considered an all-time act. That’s what Pierre Robert was in radio. He was 70 years old when he passed, and was as successful and important today as he was in the 80’s, 90’s, 00’s and 10’s.
That’s not just tap into the moment speech either.
Just two weeks ago, WMMR made history, winning 3 Marconi awards. That recognition was a reflection of the special work done by Pierre Robert, Preston and Steve, Chuck Damico and the entire WMMR team. Then yesterday, an impromptu meet up in Philadelphia attracted hundreds of fans to Rittenhouse Square (one of Robert’s favorite places) to remember Pierre.
How many people in the entertainment business have helped sell millions of records and concert tickets for over four decades? How many have used their platform to help artists and other organizations raise millions for important causes? Who has introduced millions of people to rock music, and continued that bond from teen life to adulthood? Let’s not forget how that established bond has helped one of America’s top rock stations deliver massive ratings and large revenues, and grown business for local and national advertisers.
Pierre Robert did all of it.
When Rick Springfield, Billy Idol and George Thorogood mourn a loss along with Dave Grohl, Eddie Vedder, and Jacoby Shaddix, you know a special connection was made. Cox Media’s Bob DeBlois shared on Saturday, “WMMR – Means More Rock…but to me it ‘Means More Robert’. Pierre Robert was Mr. WMMR.” If being the face of Philadelphia’s highly successful rock radio station for decades, helping launch and support countless artists, and introducing and educating millions of listeners about the history of rock music and the artists behind the songs isn’t hall of fame worthy, then I’m not sure what is.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doesn’t need to take my word for it. Just ask the artists, labels, and citizens of Philadelphia. Pierre Robert left an indelible mark on radio, music, and the world. His body of work is worth highlighting so future generations understand how much his influence mattered. It may even rub off on the next Pierre Robert.
My condolences to Pierre’s friends, family, and listeners. He was a special talent. Although he is gone, he will never be forgotten. I’m sure his new all-access pass in heaven is allowing him to have some amazing conversations. I only wish we all could hear them.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Every year, the Radio Hall of Fame holds its annual ceremony to induct the latest crowd of radio royalty. This year was no exception. Ten of radio’s best were celebrated at a gala in Chicago for their accomplishments in the industry. Tom Carballo from Mojo in the Morning, DeDe McGuire, and a personal favorite of mine, Colin Cowherd, etched their names into the hall.
For one night, the radio industry came together to celebrate the accomplishments of the past and elevate the stories told by these ten individuals. For a single night, the challenges that the industry faces were washed away as the evening recalled the great memories of the past.
As I glanced at the photos from the night, there was one question I couldn’t avoid. In ten years, what will this night look like for the Radio Hall of Fame? Will it be filled with just the best of the best from the radio industry as we’ve known it? Or will it be time for the doors of the hall to open to a new generation of content creators?
If you’ve followed the industry at all, the buzzwords that surround it have begun to morph over time. The radio business is now the audio business. Talent are now content creators. The output they provide is no longer shows—it’s content feeding the ever-moving hamster wheel of the content business.
Radio Has Evolved
Honored and humbled last night by my induction into the radio HOF. Thank you to @iHeartRadio and Julie Talbott for ten years of support. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/arMetKHWHv
For as long as I’ve been involved with the radio industry (or is it the audio industry?), I’ve heard the narrative: Radio is dying, dead, forgotten, but also still here somehow. Music radio stations have gone from live and local talent (content creators) to voice-tracked personalities who supplement multiple markets for 15–20 seconds at a time.
Or are personalities now called influencers? I digress.
At this time, the 18–34 demographic that most radio stations once owned is now dominated by streaming services such as Spotify and YouTube. The age of peer-to-peer sharing changed the music industry forever in how people purchase music. The streaming age has changed forever how people consume music—wherever and whenever they want.
Furthermore, Nielsen just released its latest audio reports, showing a 22% plunge in AM/FM Cume listening since 2020. That’s only five years ago. The data also shows Spotify and YouTube Music now capturing 59% of the 18–34 listening share, up from 38% five years ago.
In ten years, where will those figures be, and how involved will radio be in it?
Sports Content Conversation
While many sports radio stations say they focus on the M25–54 demographic. In fact, the real secret sauce is that many truly lean on the 35–64 crowd. Much like streaming and peer-to-peer have morphed the music radio world, podcasting has continued to chip away at the sports radio world.
As each day passes, the demand from consumers is content (see, there’s that buzzword again) on their schedule. Appointment listening no longer applies in many cases. Attention spans are at an all-time low, and the consistent messaging at every turn on social media, broadcast, and digital media has weakened the hype machine for promotion.
Sports radio stations used to be the destination for sports conversation. Is there a sole destination today?
People are adapting as technology continues to adapt. The radio talent that grew to be my companions during my youth are no longer the type of companions that the 18–34 demographic flocks to. In ten years, that demographic plays squarely into the 25–54 window.
Which brings me back to the Radio Hall of Fame. While it’s almost certain that the hall will induct an all-radio class in a decade. Because it takes history to be considered for induction. Will there be an adaptation within the Radio Hall of Fame?
In other words, will podcasters be represented? Influencers? Could we see the hall begin to look at different wings for its induction ceremonies? Maybe a sports podcasting wing or a streaming video wing?
Open the Doors
The mission statement of the Radio Hall of Fame states the following.
“The Museum of Broadcast Communications’ Radio Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the development of the radio medium throughout its history in the United States,” reads via RadioHallofFame.com
Broadcasting is changing. Radio is audio. Talent are creators, and shows are now content.
If the Golden Globes can begin recognizing the podcast industry with an annual award this coming winter, will the Radio Hall of Fame make way for the same in the future? The podcast industry is over twenty years old. In another decade, where will the podcasting industry be, health-wise, compared to the radio industry?
If podcasts and broadcasts are kissing cousins, it’s long past time for the Radio Hall of Fame to begin inducting podcasters and recognizing the industry’s finest in the same light as radio. Professional sports recognize different eras of their individual sports—why can’t the Museum of Broadcast Communications?
Broadcast communications is a ubiquitous term in today’s media landscape. Broadcast can mean many things. But content (or shows) is what people consume. No matter where the content is distributed.
The Radio Hall of Fame can’t keep guarding the gate to a house that’s already been remodeled. Podcasting isn’t a threat to radio’s legacy—it’s the next generation of it. Moreover, if the hall wants to stay relevant to the world of audio it claims to represent, it’s time to turn up the volume on inclusion.
The future isn’t about transmitters or feeds—it’s about storytelling that connects. The hall can either evolve with that truth or risk becoming a museum of what used to be.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
