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Megyn Kelly: Rachel Maddow ‘Wants to Seem Virtuous and Sanctimonious’ Over MSNBC Firing Joy Reid

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Earlier this week, MSNBC host Joy Reid hosted her final show. In the aftermath, Rachel Maddow slammed her own network, but Megyn Kelly believes it was disingenuous.

After Reid’s final program, Rachel Maddow blasted MSNBC for its decision to end The ReidOut. “In all of the jobs I have had in all of the years I have been alive, there is no colleague for whom I have had more affection and more respect than Joy Reid,” Maddow said. “I do not want to lose her as a colleague here at MSNBC, and personally, I think it is a bad mistake to let her walk out the door. It is not my call and I understand that. But that’s what I think.”

During an appearance with Semafor News Editor-in-Chief and co-founder Ben Smith, Kelly was asked about her previous statements about the MSNBC host. She did not backtrack in the slightest.

“Rachel Maddow got out there and tried to act like, ‘Oh, I’m a woman of the working class. I’m here to represent the poor staffers who could lose their jobs now as a result of Joy Reid biting it,'” said Kelly. “Meanwhile, she’s collecting $25 million a year. She’s got multiple homes worth millions. You know what? Why don’t you take a $2 million pay cut and save 10 of those jobs? If you feel that said, you don’t even have to pay it out of your pay your bank account. Just tell them, ‘Pay me $23 million next year instead of $25 million. She won’t do it.”

Megyn Kelly continued by alleging that Maddow cares more about the optics of her stance rather than the principle.

“She wants to see virtuous and sanctimonious. But in fact, she’s only the latter, because she won’t actually put any money on the line and an example of the exorbitant life she leads while she’s trying to remind us ‘Oh, I’ve worked so many jobs. The jobs I’ve worked’, puts, to the point, her hypocrisy.”

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Boomer Esiason: I Don’t Think I Would Have Enjoyed Hosting in Afternoons as Much as Morning Drive

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Boomer Esiason: I Don’t Think I Would Have Enjoyed Hosting in Afternoons as Much as Morning Drive

Earlier in the week, Adam Schein appeared on a Marchand Sports Media podcast where he recalled a meeting with Mike Francesa about a potential succession plan at the station. While meeting at a restaurant, Francesa hosted Schein at a restaurant to go over his thinking, although nothing ever came to fruition. When morning show co-host Craig Carton was arrested and subsequently resigned from the show, it created an opening in morning drive along with availability in the afternoons. According to Schein, morning show co-host Boomer Esiason was thinking about a move to the daypart and, if that were the case, he would have tried to host with him.

Chris McMonigle, who was filling in as the anchor of Boomer & Gio on Friday, talked about how Schein cited former WFAN program director Mark Chernoff as flexible and willing to work with him to figure everything out. Schein was hosting on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio at the time while also starring on his Time to Schein television show with CBS Sports Network. Esiason confirmed what Schein said after Gregg Giannotti and Al Dukes weighed in with their opinions and further elaborated on the situation.

“What you don’t understand and you don’t see behind the scenes is when I floated this idea to Eddie, Al and Jerry, [it] looked like three guys that looked like they were going to have a stroke at that moment,” Esiason said. “Like, ‘We’re going to the afternoon? We’re going to the afternoon? What about traffic? What about this, what about that, what about my life?’”

“Shame on them caring about their own lives,” Giannotti replied. “How dare you.”

Esiason ended up staying in morning drive on WFAN and signed a multiyear contract extension with Audacy last April that will have him eclipse 20 years in this timeslot. With the new deal, Esiason will pass Don Imus to become the longest-tenured morning show host in the history of WFAN. In addition to his role in morning drive, Esiason also anchors the Audacy Sports Minute and co-hosts Kick-Off with Boomer and Valenti, the nationally-syndicated NFL preview show. Esiason also appeared on CBS Sports as an analyst on The NFL Today for 26 years before stepping away from the show after Super Bowl LVIII.

Within the podcast, Schein indicated that he and Esiason would have been phenomenal working together in afternoon drive. Later in the segment, Giannotti offered an impression of Schein trying to discuss several non-sports related topics that could be mentioned on editions of Boomer & Gio.

“On the other side of that, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much,” Esiason said. “That’s true – I like this format a hell of a lot better.”

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Stephen A. Smith: LeBron James Comments About the Media ‘Are BS’

BSM Staff
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Stephen A. Smith: LeBron James Comments About the Media ‘Are BS’

Last night, following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 111-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Lakers forward LeBron James responded to comments made by Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards. During NBA All-Star media day two weeks ago, Edwards stated that he does not feel like a top candidate to be considered the face of the league.

James, who has been widely regarded as the face of the NBA since being drafted in 2003, said he could relate to how Edwards feels about his role in the league. LeBron also explained why he felt this way, saying, “Why do you want to be the face of the league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s**t on everybody?”

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith took issue with James’ remarks about the media during Friday’s edition of First Take.

“That’s some BS,” Smith stated in a nearly four-minute reaction to James’ comments from the night before. “I’m not saying everything he said was BS because I understand there’s an enormous amount of pressure that comes with being the face of the league. I get that, but I don’t appreciate what he said. I really, really don’t.”

Smith then elaborated on why the league—and James in particular—deserved criticism, specifically pointing to how the Lakers superstar withdrew from playing in the All-Star Game just hours before tipoff. He also highlighted the growing number of former players who have transitioned into media roles as analysts.

“I’d like to remind LeBron James that there’s a whole bunch of people covering the league,” Smith explained. “They’re former players. Oh yeah, they’re former players. Not just reporters. Former big-time players. Former Hall of Fame players. They talk about the league too. And it’s reminiscent of what I said about Kevin Durant—can anybody talk about y’all? Is everything negative?”

Stephen A. Smith then challenged James and others in the media to name a host who covers the NBA more than he does, emphasizing that basketball remains a top topic on his network’s programming.

“To sit up there and say, ‘You know what? Why would you want to be the face of the league when everybody’s talking bleep about you all the damn time,’” Smith prefaced, “I’m sick and tired of them acting like everybody’s talking bleep about them all the damn time.”

Smith concluded his thoughts by saying, “This is the kind of stuff we’re dealing with, so it’s just utterly ridiculous.”

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Cumulus Media CEO Mary Berner: Exit of Dan Bongino ‘Will Be An Additional Headwind’

BNM Staff
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Cumulus Media CEO Mary Berner: Exit of Dan Bongino ‘Will Be An Additional Headwind’

Dan Bongino is set to exit Westwood One later next month. The CEO of the network’s parent company — Cumulus Media — Mary Berner admitted the departure will be a challenge.

Earlier this week, Bongino was announced as the new Deputy Director of the FBI, joining the Donald Trump administration to work alongside new Director Kash Patel at the nation’s top law enforcement agency.

During the Cumulus Media earnings call, Berner brought up the impending exit of Dan Bongino. She added it won’t be easy to replace the nationally syndicated host.

“We congratulate Dan on his new position, but his appointment will — of course — mean that while he is serving in the administration, he will be unable to perform his radio show or podcast,” said Berner. “In the meantime, we are working on programming to fill the void, although we do anticipate that this will be an additional headwind.”

In the aftermath of his announcement, Bongino revealed a new media company operated by his wife, Paula. It will handle the media endeavors previously associated with his show. Silverloch Media was created to squash any ethics concerns associated with the radio host and podcaster as he joins the FBI.

Additionally, Bongino has shared that Silverloch Media is working to ink a host to replace him on the nationally syndicated radio show. “I’m not going to leave you without high-quality content,” said Bongino. He later added “These shows will continue. We are going to get a guest host. I will leave that surprise. We’re working on this person right now. We’re very excited.”

Mary Berner did leave the door open to Dan Bongino returning to the company someday.

“We look forward to welcoming him back in the future,” she added.

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How News/Talk Radio Leaders Advance the Story After Breaking News Happens on Their Station

BNM Staff
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How News/Talk Radio Leaders Advance the Story After Breaking News Happens on Their Station

On Wednesday evening, new Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News host Jesse Watters that the Department of Justice will begin releasing files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Those comments made immediate headlines, with the statements being shared hundreds of thousands of time on social media. For many news/talk radio hosts, the story became the top one on Thursday.

But what happens in the news/talk radio world when that breaking news story happens on your station? We reached out to several industry leaders to ask what they do in these situations.

“The challenge broadcasters face in reacting to breaking news stories is something we all wrestle with,” said Salem Radio Network Vice President of News & Talk Programming Tom Tradup. “News anchors toss out a ‘hand grenade’ (in the form of a midair plane crash or a shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania to name just two) and on-air hosts suddenly toss their booked guests and other show prep out the window as they scramble to ‘advance’ the story…immediately and in the second day leads following-up.

“Responsible talk hosts like SRN’s Charlie Kirk, Mike Gallagher, Hugh Hewitt, and Larry Elder, among others, always have two targets: to update listeners with the latest facts and to allow the audience to react in a nationally broadcast town hall meeting without devolving into conspiracy theories of fearmongering,” Tradup continued. “In other words, to avoid the common stereotype of talk radio as ‘a ragtag collection of angry and ill-informed men and women who regularly subtract from the sum total of human knowledge.'”

Tradup added that the responsibility doesn’t simply rely on talents, though.

“Producers, especially, bear the responsibility for feeding unfolding facts to their hosts while simultaneously giving careful attention to call-screening so their shows don’t suffer the embarrassing on-air kooks that CNN and other networks frequently let slip on their programs in their effort to beat competitors,” he concluded. “Being right is always better than being ‘first.'”

At 93 WIBC, Program Director David Wood said flexibility has to be a key to the coverage, while also noting that finding relevant angles — especially local ones — is paramount.

“The first thing is deciding what is the most relevant angle of the story to our audience,” said Wood. “It can differ if it is local or national. Take the Gene Hackman story. It is a national story and, initially, it was not deemed suspicious. Gene is revered here because of Hoosiers, so we got someone local who was in the movie.

“As things started to seem more suspicious, our coverage changed from ‘Remembering the hero from Hoosiers’ to ‘Here is the latest on the story.’ When there is new news about Ukraine, we reach out to a local Congresswoman who came to the U.S. from Ukraine as a young woman. We are looking for an informed perspective. If it is local, we are looking for someone close to the story for their perspective.”

Wood added that it’s imperative for news/talk radio hosts, producers, and managers to keep in mind that the interest of the audience might not always be in lockstep with those continually discussing a story, either.

“As far as extending the story, I like watching TopicPulse. You can see what is generating action on social media. Sometimes we think a story is over, but the audience does not,” he said. “It’s like music radio. The air talent gets tired of a current or recurrent song much faster than the audience.”

620 WTMJ Director of Content Mike Spaulding shared that when breaking news happens on his Good Karma Brands Milwaukee station, it’s important to make sure it is available on every platform.

“The first thing that goes through my mind in a breaking news situation is whether or not we have it not only on the air, but on our digital and social platforms,” Spaulding said. “So many of our listeners find information on social media before they turn on a TV or turn on a radio. So, for me, it’s important for us to have all of our bases covered and can meet our fans where they are.

“Shortly after making sure we have the initial breaking news covered, we turn to finding angles and finding avenues to connect the breaking news to our local audience. We have a very experienced on-air team, so finding guests and experts isn’t an issue. The challenge comes with finding the perfect spot for the perfect guest and strategizing with hosts on how best to spread the content out so we don’t burn through all of our best stuff in a single day.”

Spaulding added that when a station has cultivated credibility as the place to go when news breaks to its audience, you have to continue to be that source.

“It’s simple: our fans and listeners turn to us to know what’s going on. So we need to find ways every hour to hit on that story. In addition to using our local talent, I’m also not afraid to lean on our network partners at ABC News and CBS News to help cover a national event. It’s our job to get the best, most accurate information out there no matter where it comes from.”

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.

Jon Jansen: Everybody Thinks Stephen A. Smith ‘Must Know Something’ If He’s Talking NBA

BSM Staff
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Jon Jansen: Everybody Thinks Stephen A. Smith ‘Must Know Something’ If He’s Talking NBA

The Detroit Pistons are currently enjoying an eight-game winning streak and sit in playoff position within the Eastern Conference standings, representative of a turnaround some people did not see coming. As the team surges in the ranks after a 28-game losing streak last season, it has already surpassed its win totals from the past two campaigns and elicited praise from those covering the league. Jon Jansen observed that the national media, particularly Stephen A. Smith, was discussing the Pistons after the team defeated the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, but Smith that caught the attention of Jim Costa and the morning show on 97.1 The Ticket.

Stephen A. Smith articulated on First Take how Weaver’s name is not mentioned enough, conveying that these are all of his players and that he gave them $60 million in cap space. Yet he prefaced the statement by exhibiting that Weaver was the former assistant general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, currently the best team in the Western Conference.

“What is it with the revisionist history? I’ll tolerate none of it,” Costa said. “The idea that Troy Weaver deserves credit for what’s going on with the Pistons right now? Think about this guys. We do five days a week, show goes on for four hours, we talk about all the local teams. At no point did any host, caller or even Ticket texter want to give credit to Troy Weaver.”

Weaver formerly served as the general manager of the Detroit Pistons for three seasons before stepping down from the role last June. During that time, the organization had a record of 54 wins and 192 losses, but he also acquired key pieces contributing to the winning formula, such as Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.

“He had to start off with a little bit of credibility, and then he ruined it all by saying, ‘These are all Troy Weaver’s players,’” Jansen said. “No, they are not all Troy Weaver’s players. The ones that you did pick that are contributing were not under the team that you constructed.”

A Ticket texter pointed out how Bill Belichick offered praise for former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia and how his legacy was impacting the team. Even though Costa understood the connection between Belichick and Patricia being that they both worked together with the New England Patriots, he was not certain where a potential link between Smith and Weaver could be discovered.

“Well, he’s a former NBA guy, right?,” Jansen said of Smith. “He earned his stripes, and so everybody thinks, ‘Oh boy, if he’s talking about the NBA, he must know something.’ That’s why he brought up the OKC assistant general manager. That’s so long ago – the team is completely different from [that] one.”

Later in the segment, Jansen asked Costa what the current team would look like if Weaver was still the general manager. In response, Costa opined that there would not be enough shooting and a profusion of big men. Costa found it telling that not one Ticket texter over the last two months attributed the Pistons’ success to the former general manager and explained that there was no shortage of other people towards whom to give credit.

“Again, guys, we all watched it, we all lived it,” Costa said. “Stephen A. didn’t, so it’s really easy to just kind of swoop in and do a fly-by and go, ‘Hey, you know what?’”

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Bruce Scott Joins ‘Go Country 105’ KKGO Los Angeles For Mornings

BMM Staff
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Bruce Scott Joins ‘Go Country 105’ KKGO Los Angeles For Mornings

Bruce Scott is joining “Go Country 105” KKGO Los Angeles for mornings beginning March 17.

Scott, who had previous stops at Bay Country 94.5-92.1 San Jose and KOST Los Angeles, follows Tim Hurley, who left the station at the end of January. (BMM 2/3)

Congratulate him here.

In other station news, Westwood One’s “American Country Countdown With Ryan Fox” will join the weekend lineup airing Sundays at 6 pm (PT).

Fox said, “We are so honored to welcome our friends at Go Country 105 in Los Angeles to our fast-growing American Country Countdown family! From my time as a student at the University of Southern California, to later being a part of the on-air team at Go Country, I know firsthand the huge role KKGO plays in the largest Country market in America. I couldn’t be more excited to start counting down the biggest hits in the U.S.A. every week in L.A.!”

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iHeartMedia Reports 3% Revenue Increase in 2024

BNM Staff
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iHeartMedia Reports 3% Revenue Increase in 2024

iHeartMedia has released its fourth quarter and full 2024 financial results, which shows the company saw a 3% uptick in its overall revenue for the year.

For the full year, the company secured $3.9 billion in revenue, up 3%. However, when political revenue was excluded, iHeartMedia was flat for the year.

The company’s Digital Audio Group saw $339 million in total revenue during the fourth quarter, an increase of 7%. Podcast revenue rose 6% to $140 million for the final three months of 2024. In total for the 2024 fiscal year, that division saw a 9% increase for the year, with podcast revenue growing by 10%.

The Multiplatform Group, which includes the company’s 850 radio stations, saw its overall revenue decline by 3%. When political advertising is excluded, that figure drops to 5%.

Additionally, the company moved its Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to $706 million, up from $697 million in the 2023 fiscal year.

“Our fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $246 million was up 18.2% vs. prior year, our highest percentage increase in almost three years, and our consolidated revenues were up 4.8% compared to the prior year, demonstrating the inherent operating leverage in this business,” Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman said.

“We are pleased that we successfully completed the comprehensive exchange transaction discussed last quarter – extending the majority of our debt maturities by three years; keeping our consolidated annual cash interest expense essentially flat; and providing overall debt reduction,” added Pittman. “This provides the company with the flexibility to remain focused on creating shareholder value in 2025 and beyond.”

iHeartMedia reported a cash balance of $260 million and total available liquidity of $686 million at the conclusion of 2024.

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MLB in Media Rights Discussions with Netflix, Amazon, Comcast: Report

BSM Staff
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Major League Baseball is not wasting any time in searching for a new media rights agreement following the mutual opt-out between MLB and ESPN last week. According to John Ourand of Puck, MLB has already begun early discussions with streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon, as well as traditional cable provider Comcast, regarding its media rights.

The current agreement with ESPN is set to expire at the conclusion of the 2025 MLB season. This leaves MLB with the task of determining who will take over a package that includes the weekly Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, MLB Wild Card rounds, and the Home Run Derby. However, Ourand reports that these discussions are not necessarily focused on 2026 but are instead looking ahead to 2028, when all media rights agreements will be up for negotiation.

Last week, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred sent a note to team owners explaining that ESPN was seeking to reduce its current $550 million annual expenditure on MLB rights. ESPN cited the league’s existing deals with streaming platforms such as Apple and Roku as justification for this request. Manfred also expressed MLB’s dissatisfaction with the “minimal” coverage baseball has received on ESPN’s platforms in recent years outside of game broadcasts, as well as the network’s declining subscriber base.

Among the platforms mentioned in the report regarding MLB, Amazon Prime Video already offers locally produced MLB games through partnerships with Main Street Sports Group (MSSG), which currently operates the FanDuel Sports Network’s regional sports channels. Additionally, Amazon Prime has an existing agreement with the YES Network, which recently announced a 21-game broadcast slate on Prime Video.

Comcast, meanwhile, owns several regional sports networks that carry MLB games. Netflix, despite its increasing investment in live sports—including its recent 10-year agreement with WWE for Monday Night Raw and its broadcasts of NFL Christmas games—does not currently carry any MLB content.

According to the report, FOX Sports has also shown interest in acquiring a portion of ESPN’s current deal, specifically the Home Run Derby. Since FOX already owns the broadcast rights to the annual MLB All-Star Game, adding the Home Run Derby could create a two-day marquee event for the network starting in 2026.

As for ESPN, it will kick off its 2025 slate of MLB broadcasts on March 27 with a doubleheader featuring the Milwaukee Brewers taking on the New York Yankees, followed by the Detroit Tigers facing the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Molly McGrath: ‘Trying to Be an Insider for Context’ Rather Than Breaking News

BSM Staff
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Molly McGrath: ‘Trying to Be an Insider for Context’ Rather Than Breaking News

Over the last nine years, Molly McGrath has worked as a college football reporter at ESPN and has worked across several marquee broadcasts, including the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, men’s college basketball contests and ESPN/ABC Saturday college football matchups. As she is slated to take part in coverage of the NFL Draft on ESPN platforms this April, McGrath was recently in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine to speak with a variety of personnel to gain inside information and enterprise stories.

While at Lucas Oil Stadium, McGrath also appeared as a guest on Thursday’s live edition of The Pat McAfee Show. During her segment, she was asked if she had been speaking with venerated football insiders Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter, along with practicing the amount of screen time required to execute the job.

“I’m not trying to be an insider where I’m trying to break news,” McGrath replied. “I’m more trying to be an insider for context because I want these coaches and GMs to trust me inherently, and that’s a part of covering game broadcasts, right? Coaches tell me stuff every week that’s off the record that would be breaking news if I were to tweet it out, but I want them to know that they can trust me.”

McGrath added that she is having conversations throughout the week that include off-the-record information, divulging that if she were to share some of these details on social media, they would be classified as breaking news. Adhering to journalistic principles and ethical reporting, she utilizes the information for context, and it helps her more effectively approach conversations with players and other general managers. There are also instances where she will ask permission to embargo certain information until NFL Draft coverage commences.

“I just want them to trust me and know that I’m not going to spill their secrets or tweet anything out,” McGrath said. “I think that’s the biggest value that I can bring is just to be trusted.”

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