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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
One year ago, NewsNation was the first outlet to announce that President Donald Trump won the White House back. While the outlet’s Political Editor and anchor, Chris Stirewalt, won’t guarantee they will be first for this year’s elections, he does assure viewers they will be the most transparent and accurate, in part thanks to their partner Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).
“As members of the media, we have to build trust [with the audience], and we have to honor that,” Stirewalt affirmed. “And you can’t fool around. You can’t screw up.”
According to Stirewalt, the transparency DDHQ provides allows NewsNation viewers “to see what’s happening, and they can also engage honestly and openly with the results.”
With just 180 different elections on Tuesday, November 4, it’s a relatively small number, but many hold high importance. “On a typical election night, you’re moving inventory, you make a call, [then] make another call, and make another call,” Stirewalt said. “[But the small number of elections] lets us savor a little bit and dive deeper into the data.”
There will be some elections that are easy to call because “the priors tell us a lot,” according to The Hill Sunday anchor. This is “because partisanship is a hell of a drug.” However, it also has to do with the counting capabilities of each state. “Virginia does a great job. We thank you, Virginia. [The state] has well-run elections, and it’s efficient.”
Stirewalt noted that states like New Jersey could take a lot longer to call. “New Jersey does not have the count speed that some other places have. If I had to guess right now, we may still be counting New Jersey, and looking at New Jersey, even at a time when we’ve called the race for Proposition 50 in California.”
Proposition 50 seeks to authorize temporary changes to congressional district maps in the Golden State. A Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll claims 60% of California voters are looking to approve the proposition. It’s one of the many races Stirewalt will be watching closely and asking, “Did polling consistently miss turnout for working-class voters?”
Chris Stirewalt affirmed white, working-class voters are “the hardest votes for polling” because they “have the lowest response rate [for polls].”
Another key (and sometimes overlapping) voting bloc with a low response rate is Republicans. “There is a demographic, cultural, and I think partisan bias against polling,” Stirewalt explained. “And it just makes it tough [to predict] these races because there’s a silent majority vote out there.”
A veteran journalist, Stirewalt got his first gig at 16, writing baseball box scores for The Wheeling Intelligencer. “I did not go looking for a job in sports. I went looking for a job, and they put me in this group. And I found my people.”
Comparatively, Stirewalt says covering sports is similar to politics, but the likeness also causes some problems. “We do treat politics, right? My team versus your team, I win, you lose. In one sense, that’s okay,” the political analyst said.
The problem with this is that “people watch and consume politics in the same way they would root for their team.” Stirewalt elaborates, saying this mentality might be why there is such an appetite for biased news.
“I’m a fan of the West Virginia University Mountaineers,” he explained as an example. “I want the Mountaineers to win, and I want them to succeed. If they are not having a great season, not having a good time like this year, I am not going to be interested in consuming media coverage that emphasizes how bad the Mountaineers are this year. I don’t want that.”
“We want bias,” Stirewalt affirmed. “We want to be flattered. And we are willing recipients of condescension because we want our feelings to be protected. That makes it very hard to have a grown-up discussion about self-government.”
Stirewalt remarked, “If we want to have self-government, we are obliged to work with and deal with people from the other team, and we are obliged to see the humanity, decency, and patriotism of people who are trying to beat us in elections.”
This is also what makes journalism a vocation and not just another job. “We have to honor those [vocational journalistic] principles [of presenting all sides of a political debate]. We also have to regularly interact with people with whom we disagree.”
These interactions, Stirewalt said, should not be “the funhouse mirror version [of the other side of politics], not to hold up ridicule and mockery, but to sincerely engage with the opinions of Americans with whom we sincerely disagree, and that’s hard. People don’t like to do it.”
For those looking to follow in Stirewalt’s footsteps, he suggests, “Don’t do it. Find another line of work.” However, if you do feel the vocation calling, Stirewalt suggests, “Don’t get a journalism degree.” Instead, “get a broad, useful, intensive education.”
He does not mean to offend any of the incredible journalism schools and even encourages students to join the school paper and take journalism classes. Stirewalt believes, “I can teach someone how to write an inverted pyramid news story. Someone can teach you how to edit. Someone can teach you how to set up reporting. Those skills can be taught.”
Stirewalt went on to say, “I can’t teach you the origins of the War of 1812, and I can’t explain the political pressures around the Vietnam War. I can’t. And I don’t have time.”
After getting a good broad education, “find someone who will pay you, and it will not be much,” Stirewalt said bluntly and honestly. “Go get the dirt under your fingernails and start grinding it and doing it. You will learn so much more doing journalism than you will [by] being taught about things that lack application in the real world.”
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.
This week’s column was not unplanned. It’s about legacy. Something we often overlook. Especially now. I’m writing it last minute after processing the sudden and shocking death of WMMR broadcasting legend Pierre Robert.
I do not profess to know Pierre well. In fact, I’ve only met him a handful of times, (once with his beloved dog Lucy which I will never forget). However, we did work for the same company (twice) and we both understood the importance of having a strong, connected midday show, getting out in the public, and connecting with the audience and community outside of drive time hours.
On Wednesday, when my phone started blowing up with messages from colleagues, industry folks and friends, it took my breath away. “How could someone so vital to his profession and community be gone in an instant”? “The eternal, ageless rock fan”?
I asked myself – “Is This Death Of Rock Radio”?
What occurred In the days following for radio was remarkable.
Pierre was one who still believed in the medium. He understood it, and never abandoned it for a new shiny business model. He was a true believer.
I remember streaming WMMR and hearing him talk about a contest. “They want me to ask you to text to win, no, CALL ME to win. I’m here. I want to talk to you”.
Not many are brave enough to go to the wall for that one. Pierre believed in people, listeners and connection. Not the digital ear static we have been fed.
Artist tributes poured in from everywhere. Bon Jovi, Sublime, The Offspring, Billy Idol, George Thorogood, Geddy Lee, I could go on. Bryan Adams dedicated “Heaven” to Pierre at his Philadelphia show. His death was national news with USA Today, Rolling Stone, and the NY Times covering it.
It seemed radio was relevant once again. Because of one man.
Listener tributes poured in, photos with Pierre from those that counted on him everyday to navigate them through life. Not just an air shift but their actual lives.
Multi generations of people STILL listening to the radio, for their favorite DJ. Good times, troubled times, businesses he affected, charity causes he touched. The tributes kept coming. His loss was massive.
Pierre also united. Not just when he was working, but even after his death. The attention from other radio groups and their staff, who abandoned “competition” for the moment and focused on honoring a man who dedicated his life to connecting with his listeners, his community, and the artists and their music.
He gave a crap. Pierre championed the live voice, the voice of a city and state, and his local community. He loved the music and that was evident in what he did everyday. He was a champion, not a yes man. The true spirit of the rock music he played every day.
I spoke to one of Pierre’s co-workers in Philadelphia who told me. “Today, we were all united. No talk of business, or BS. It was all about radio. It felt like it used to feel, when everyone believed in and loved the business of radio. We laughed, we cried, we were all together. We need more of those days. Radio needs those days.”
In today’s troubled radio waters, that IS a legacy. One I believe Pierre would have been proud of.
So I say ‘Thank You’ to Pierre Robert. Thank you for reminding us how important those of us behind the mic are and have been to the audiences that share life with us everyday. The good, the bad, the moments in between, life as we know it. The final act of our Good Radio Citizen.
What a legacy indeed. I truly hope radio is listening.
PS – Pierre had a final conversation with Mike Stern the day before he passed away. Click the YouTube video below to hear it.
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.
We’re in the market for a car. Sort of. It’s not like our current cars are nearing the end of the line—they’re Volvos; they can last forever — but we’d like a few things the old cars don’t have. That means getting a handle on which makes and models we prefer, whether to go with new or used, how much this is going to cost us, the usual tire-kicker stuff.
I approach this with a mixture of excitement and dread. On one hand, I can’t wait to drive a car with all the bells and whistles that I don’t have in my current vehicle, and we need more cargo space in case we have to evacuate, always a consideration in Florida.
On the other hand, car buying means haggling and the suspicion that the dealer is piling on unnecessary fees, and I can’t stand any of that. There are, of course, a few fixed-price cars and dealers out there, but I don’t want a Tesla, and I don’t want to pay more than a car is worth just to avoid the hard sell. So it’s off to the dealers we go.
If you ask practically anyone you encounter, they’ll say they hate haggling too, and they wish they could just go online, check off all the options they want, and pay a price that’s the same for everybody—no negotiating, just a single price like you’d buy anything else. There’s a price tag; you pay it. That’s it. Yet, with a few exceptions, every attempt at a fixed-price car or dealership has failed. Remember Scion? Or Saturn? They were fixed-price cars, made, respectively, by Toyota and GM. They’re long gone.
Why? Because research told the car companies that there was a vast audience for no-haggling auto sales, based on what potential car buyers told the researchers, but those car buyers weren’t being honest. What they really want is to feel that they got a great deal, that they pulled one over the dealer, that what they paid was a bargain. It’s all about bragging to your friends that you got your car for X dollars under the sticker price or a discount from the invoice price. You go to the dealer, you do the Dance of the Finance Manager, and you walk out with the keys and the feeling of superiority. It’s a powerful emotion, and it overrides what you say about hating the process and wishing it were easier. No, you don’t.
It’s the same thing for radio listeners. They will tell you that they want more variety in music and deeper cuts, yet stations with tight playlists and rotations inevitably beat stations in the same format with a wider selection. They say they want less talk and more music, but when the ratings come out, they’re listening to morning shows that are essentially talk shows. And they say they want “fair and balanced” talk and news, but they only want to hear talk that confirms their own viewpoints.
The graveyard of radio is littered with stations that tried wide playlists and centrist political talk and flopped. Wider playlists mean you’re playing more stiffs, because when listeners say they want more variety, they mean they want to hear THEIR favorites over and over rather than someone else’s. When they say they want balanced, they really watch Fox News Channel.
The dissonance between what people say they want and what they really want has always been the case; the trick is to know what the public’s desires really are, as opposed to what they say they are.
If that sounds like an apologia for the sameness of current broadcasting, or a warning not to try something different, it isn’t. You can reverse the results: what listeners say they don’t want may just be unfamiliar, or the target audience may not be who you assume it is.
Also, look, things can’t really get much worse for radio at this point, and perhaps it’s time to throw everything onto the air and see what happens. Lord knows you can’t cut your budgets much further to help your bottom line. And the audience’s opinions might be changing — maybe there’s finally an audience for well-done liberal talk where there wasn’t before, as polling might indicate. Or not. But if what you’re doing isn’t generating enough interest or revenue, it might be time to try something else.
TL;DR: People say they want one thing but really want something else. Your job in radio is to figure out what they really want. Alternatively, you can just throw all the research out and try something else if you really don’t have anything to lose. You can also go find another line of work that’s not as confounding. I understand Buc-ee’s is hiring.
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.
