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Alt 98.7 Detroit’s Julia Lepidi Strives To Standout From The Others

Charese Fruge
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Alt 98.7 Detroit’s Julia Lepidi Strives To Standout From The Others

Julia Lepidi is the Morning Host of “The Julia Show” on Alt 98.7 in Detroit. She also hosts Middays for most of Audacy’s Top 40 stations across the country. She started in radio in 2012 as a promo kid, literally on the same frequency as she’s on now in Detroit, except back then, it was “Amp Radio.”

Lepidi got her on-air chops doing overnights there, where she said she found who she really was as a personality. That led to her securing the night show; the rest is history.

The two formats she’s on now literally and traditionally target completely opposite demos, one predominantly male and the other female, and yet, really by accident, they’re kind of the perfect fit.

“I’m so equally interested and listen to both formats,” she says. “I think my personality is a combination of what both of those worlds require.” Which is, by default, very similar to everyone else in her generation, male or female.”

“Work-wise, I have a pinned note in my Notes app for ALT and one for Pop. I just funnel content throughout my day in whatever place it makes more sense, and there is often crossover.”

When it comes to balancing both formats and focusing on so many shows, Lepidi admits she was intimidated at first. “I won’t lie,” I was,” she says. “But I rely on my systems/playbooks. Having structure helps me keep my brain from wanting to crumble and helps me focus.”

“I know what I’m doing every day. It’s just my producer, Rachel, and I. And throughout the course of the years, as it does for anyone, life happens. So, creating a plan for every instance: normal day-to-day, a day full of meetings/station events, when someone isn’t feeling well, emergencies, work travel, etc. We know exactly how we handle pretty much every circumstance at this point. My twenties were a hot mess. My thirties are about planning and leaving little to be a surprise. The better I plan, the better I feel.”

Lepidi is also newlywed, so finding a work/life balance is also important. “Currently, I am incredibly lucky that my husband and I are on a really similar schedule. He also hosts mornings,” she explains. “During the week, we stay pretty work-focused and have an embarrassingly early bedtime. For example, we eat dinner at 4 p.m. the way my 80-something-year-old grandparents did. But hey, it’s great for digestion.”

“Anyway…The weekend is where I get my fill of life. I love doing something on a Friday. I’m big on traveling right after I’m done with my workload on Friday and coming back on a Sunday afternoon. Or just making sure I have something fun planned throughout the weekend, whether it’s hitting a show, trying a new restaurant (I love food), or my friends and I coming up with a theme party to celebrate something minuscule because we love dressing up.”

As for the Detroit community, Lepidi says she strives to be different from everything else in the market. “I grew up as a massive fan of morning radio in Detroit. It’s what made me want this career. The market is full of really great, long-running, full-cast morning shows. However, I’m proudly the only female-lead, music-intensive morning show. Our station thrives on having our own lane.”

Over the years Lepidi says career growth has been incredibly rewarding for her. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of a morning show since I was a kid, so hosting my own in the market I grew up in feels special,” she says. “Lately, I have been lucky to be a part of a few different movie junkets through Netflix, and that has been really special and fun.”

“But I always say the hardest thing about this job is having things go on in your personal life and having to show up and perform through it. Throughout the last few years, I’ve dealt with loss and other particularly tough moments in life. Ya know, like anyone, things happen. And it’s weird because sometimes my brain will go into overdrive like I have this backup generator, and I’ll surprise myself with how much stuff I can come up with and use as fuel to work through it.”

“But other times, if I’m navigating something tough, I’m just really making sure I’m taking care of myself and doing what I have to do to get back to as healthy of a brain as I can. That’s why what I need from management to continue to be successful is frequent communication so we’re all on the same page and help funnel my 100-mph brain of ideas at times.”

Another topic I like to cover in these features is the use of AI in the radio industry. It’s one of the things that concerns us all the most. I asked Lepidi about it.

“The only form of AI I’ve utilized is Chat GPT. I’m creative, and honestly, I will just type out a bunch of nonsensical thoughts and idea starters and have it help organize and make sense of them for me. It helps!” she insists.

“I’ll have it organize prep and make show sheets. It’s nice for a personal assistant tool. As far as how it will impact the industry? Who knows. I know it’s been experimented with in terms of on-air, but I do really think people want a connection with a real person, so I am hopeful that will remain the same.”

About her impact on the industry? Lepidi says, “As a huge fan of audio-based content myself – whether it’s radio, podcasts, audiobooks, or music, I always use it as a way to make the things I don’t want to do more tolerable. Enjoyable even. That’s what I want to provide for listeners. If I throw something on, and it makes things suck a whole lot less, then it’s a win for me and the audience.”

“The Monday episode of my favorite podcast, hearing the familiar voices I love, makes me a little more excited to take on the week and what’s ahead. That’s the impact I want to have. Of course, I want to connect with the listeners. That goes without saying.”

But we all have to do things we don’t want to do all the time, and I hope the audience will bring me with them, and maybe I make their commute or day a little less of a burden. To hear the feedback, or see it on socials, is when I am most rewarded, and I know I am doing things right.”

Follow Julia Lepidi on Instagram/Twitter @theradiohag 

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.

Social Studies: Aaron Spielberg, OutKick

Garrett Searight
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Social Studies: Aaron Spielberg, OutKick

OutKick — the digital media company founded by Clay Travis — has seen strong growth on social media under the direction of Senior Producer Aaron Spielberg.

On YouTube, the outlet has nearly 1,750,000 subscribers. The company’s Facebook page has more than 375,000 followers, with its X account sitting at 338,000 followers. The digital media entity is just under 300,000 subscribers to its TikTok account, while the OutKick Instagram account is not far behind, as it rests with more than 200,000 followers. In total, the outlet had 1.6 million social actions between Facebook, X, and Instagram last month. That represented a 65% increase compared to December 2024. It also featured 21.2 million total video views between Facebook, X, and YouTube, up 129% compared to the previous month.

During the second installment of our Social Studies series, we asked OutKick Senior Producer Aaron Spielberg about the company’s growth in the space, how it has attracted so many followers with its digital video products, and how it has grown engagement on Facebook when the platform has shown such an interest in cracking down on publishers.

*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Garrett Searight: Let’s start on your thousand foot view of of social media as it relates to OutKick. What are the things that you guys prioritize the most from your social media efforts? 

Aaron Spielberg: Well, I think from our social media side, it’s really two things. It’s user-generated content that features viral videos. And then it’s original show content. So we get people into the door with either one or the other, and they like what they see, they stick around, and that’s really the premise. I think, really, it goes the premise of everything, whether it’s user-generated content or it’s the show content. It really kind of all goes back to you.

What Clay (Travis) constantly talked about forever — and I think people lose sight of this — when they try to create content or they’re running after clicks, the most important things that we do is just be funny, be smart, be original. But, really, the most important thing is just be authentic. If you can do all those things, the algorithm doesn’t have to be this crazy thing that people look at and go ‘Wow, the algorithm’s working for us’ or ‘It’s not working for us.’ People find it because it’s smart, original, funny, or authentic. 

GS: Speaking of the algorithms, especially Facebook and Twitter have really made it clear they don’t necessarily love publishers anymore. and yet you guys get more engagement — especially on Facebook — than virtually anybody else. What has been your secret sauce to drive that engagement that so many other people have not been able to crack that code? 

AS: Well, I think that’s easy. And it really does go back to what I was saying about being authentic. A lot of content that we do with the host, it’s reaction type of stuff. So if there are things that are happening that are going viral, we lean into that. If there are things that are happening — you’ll know this from radio — I remember talking to a lot of the talent that I used to work with and I was like ‘Hey just throw your feet up on top of the desk.’ I had talent that actually did that. Just speak to one person.

Let’s just say Clay’s watching the USA hockey game and there were moments in there that he really felt compelled and moved by. He turned around and created content. That content ends up on our social platforms. People like Ricky Cobb or Dan (Zaksheske) or Riley Gaines for that matter will turn the phone on themselves and just speak to whatever is moving them at the moment. That’s not something that they’re setting up and thinking ‘Oh, I’ve gotta do this.’ They feel compelled for this, and we turn the content around and it really resonates because people follow people. They follow brands.

Yes, they will follow OutKick as a brand as a whole and they want the talent that are on there, but they’re following those individuals. We really lean into the individual aspect of it and lean into the authenticity of what they deliver. 

GS: When you get content like that or content from your shows, what does the process look like for you of going through and deciding what content works best for which platform? 

AS: That’s a good question. I think that the process first starts out with what is in the mindset of what everyone is thinking. I don’t mean our producers or host — and yes, it’s important for our hosts, they’re the ones who have to be authentic about it — but we really try to tap into what we think is trending at the moment or is on the top of people’s mind.

The cool thing about Clay or Riley or Tyrus or really any of our hosts is that they look at something and it’s like they’ve unscrewed their head. They’ve turned 45° and then they screw their head back on and they give you this unique take that maybe hasn’t been thrown out there. It’s really just common sense stuff. So we’re not looking to try to twist something or create a narrative. We’re just trying to capture what is in the mindset of everybody in that given moment of time.

We’ll then go out and look for guests that might be able to speak to that, or people that we think the audience are interested in. You’d be surprised. I mean, not just because we are a center-right leaning platform, but we speak across the board to many different people. You wouldn’t think Bob Costas, or Charles Barkley, or Dan Patrick would be in the situations where they’re like ‘Oh, I’ve got to be afraid to go on with them because of whatever kind of content is.’ They’re coming on because they want to talk about the common sense pieces to the puzzle, whether it’s transgender athletes playing in women’s sports or what have you.

We will then take that piece of content, churn it out, clip it up, and take the longer form content — obviously, that plays better on YouTube because that’s where folks are going to watch in more of a long for format — and then we’ll clip things for X that are shorter more bite-size. It could be polls. Ricky Cobb has really done a great job with that from his roots of where he comes from Super 70s Sports.

And then Instagram, we have people like Tomi Lahren and we thrive in that area. We spread all those things out so it touches every touch point and the more you’re in those different spaces and on those different platforms, it all kind of combines to ‘This is the Tomi Lahren experience. This is the Dan Dakich experience.’ People see all of that.

They see the great content and they’re more likely to come back to OutKick.com to get as much of that as they can. Because if you’re a fan of any of those people, you really are searching out wherever you can find it. So you may be very specific to a certain platform, but if you know that there’s more content that exists elsewhere with those people that you like, you’re gonna gravitate to it. 

GS: Speaking of YouTube, I wonder what you have found that definitely does work on YouTube. What drives video retention rate? What drives click-through rate and also maybe what hasn’t worked on YouTube? 

AS: The things that work really well on YouTube for us are we don’t throw out 50 different things or just say ‘Ok, we’re gonna talk with so and so. We nail it down to one specific topic that folks are going to gravitate to because people want very specific things. When we think about YouTube, we think about the process of the topic first, then we think about the thumbnail. The thumbnail is probably the biggest driver from a visual standpoint. We want that to stand out, and don’t want that to be something that’s just a picture of the host or screenshot of the show. And we want that to engage.

Then, the tiling of it’s very important because people are searching for very specific search words. Having the person’s name is a very important aspect to work with evoking an emotion. I can’t overemphasize that enough that. You want people to have a specific feeling or an emotion to be reached. That is the thing that gets people to click on it.

Once you get them to click on it, then the key with YouTube is that first 30 seconds. You have to really engage, whether it’s a show, or a clip, or whatever it is that you do, they have got to be brought in. If you can grab them for that 30 seconds, the likelihood the combination of duration and click-through rate is what drives the algorithm to saying ‘Let’s share this with somebody else.’

So if we can capture those two things, that video most likely is going to takeoff and it’s going to hit the algorithm in a way that gets it shared and in the recommendation folder for other folks. Those are the key things that we do. It helps resonate and push not just that individual show, or product, or clip. It really helps resonate it across the board and helps resonate OutKick across the board.

GS: We talked about algorithm’s a little bit ago. How much have you seen — whether it’s YouTube Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. — changed in the social media world in the last couple of years? 

AS: I could argue that it’s changed quite substantially in the last few months. Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg and kind of the way they’re doing their fact-checking and sort of being biased towards one side. That has been a challenge across some of the platforms. There have been censorship issues that we’ve dealt with, highly publicized specifically with an interview that we had with Tyrus and Donald Trump. That’s something that continues to be a challenge.

We’re not necessarily always playing on the same field, so we have to navigate and figure out what it is that we can and can’t do. It’s not because we’re saying anything that’s wrong or factually incorrect. The content that we put out is straight common sense and I think everyone who watches it would agree with that. You might not necessarily agree with every take like you wouldn’t agree with every columnist or radio show host, but it’s still good content.

That is probably the one thing that is probably our biggest challenge but in the end, it’s just putting out great content and then it takes off on its own. If we can do that on a consistent basis, it really doesn’t matter what an algorithm tells us. It’s just got to be fun, entertaining, and informative for the audiences that we’re reaching out to in the platform we’re reaching out to. 

GS: I think that was everything I wanted to tackle with you, Aaron. If there’s anything else you want to share, I’ll give you the floor.

AS: We’re really just trying to capture the attention the same way other startups and other places have done it. We’ve done a good job of it and I give a ton of credit to our entire staff for being able to do this on a regular basis. I’m pleased at the progress and I really do think that we are on the precipice of doing something that very, very few companies have done. And I really honestly do believe that we’re changing the narrative for the way people are looking at sports media, where culture and sports meet. I think we’re doing something that will eventually be looked back on and thought of in very, very high regard.

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.

How to Create Nielsen PPM Custom Measurement Periods

Dr. Ed Cohen
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How to Create Nielsen PPM Custom Measurement Periods

In the past, I’ve described some of my “tricks” to help understand Nielsen rating results more fully. The best way to get to the data is the PPM Analysis Tool, while not the most elegant piece of software out there, it can do most anything your analytic heart desires.

Today, I’ll cover custom survey periods. As a Nielsen subscriber, you get PPM monthlies and perhaps your company buys the weeklies as well. No doubt, you tear the results apart using any number of dayparts and demos and some may be custom based on your needs. But have you ever played around with custom survey periods?

Here are some reasons to use this feature:

  • Your morning show (or one of the stars of your morning show) was on vacation or out with an illness
  • If you have access to weeklies, you can put the multiple weeks together in AT and see how you’re doing so far in the month.
  • An event in your market caused listening to move in a unique way (think LA fires or your own local weather issues)
  • A national event may have affected ratings. Were listeners more likely to cume a sports talk station on the day after the Super Bowl? How were estimates affected when Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour came to town?

Analysis Tool allows you to create just about any survey period you might want. Would you like to look at a particular day of the week across a number of months?  Or maybe you want to review a monthly minus a day or two?

Here’s how to do it in Analysis Tool: Whether you’re running a ranker or a trend, click on the “Survey” box just as you always would.  However, when the “Survey Manager” box pops up on the screen, notice the tab on the top left for “Custom”.  Click on it. At the bottom of the box, click on “Add”.

Analysis Tool will now give you something that looks like a calendar. There are two options on the left: “Calendar” and “Multi-book”. The latter lets you put together any sort of combination of monthlies or weeklies (not together, though), but let’s focus on the former. 

Now that you’re in the Calendar section, you can choose any individual date(s). You have access to every individual day for which you have data in AT. If you’re only interested in weekdays, click the “Workdays” button in the right-hand column and all the weekend days will be grayed out. Unfortunately, Nielsen’s definition of “workdays” includes national holidays (you can’t have everything), so if your thought was to create a report with a month that includes a major holiday, you can still do it, but the system won’t prompt you for that option.

Pick the days that you want to see as a custom survey period from the calendar. You can mix and match months and even years if the data are in your system. When you click on a specific day, the system will put a circle around it, signifying that you’ve chosen that day.

When you’ve picked all the days that you want, go to the top of the box where there is a white space labeled “Survey Name”. You need to name your unique survey. Just about any characters work. Once you’ve named your unique survey period, click on “OK” and the custom survey period will be saved. 

If you want to use that survey period (pretty obvious, otherwise why bother setting it up?), go back to the Survey Manager and click on the “Custom” tab again. Your new survey period should be waiting for you as an option, just as if you chose a standard monthly. You can now select this custom period and run it in AT as you would any other run.

As always, there are some caveats to keep in mind. AT is set up to run weeklies, monthlies, and quarterlies, in other words, standard measurement periods. Custom survey periods can raise weighting issues. Further, if you cut across years, population estimates change each year, and this could have a minor effect on the estimates. 

You might wonder how I used to use this option during my time at Cumulus. One trick was to look at individual days of the week across multiple months. I wasn’t as concerned about station performance as I was about Persons Using Radio (PUR). What was the heaviest listening day of the week? The lightest? If there was a consistent result (and that was the case in some markets), put your best foot forward on the days with the biggest potential audience. Further, does your station’s performance match the listening levels? If not, why not? 

Your company is paying Nielsen for the data and Nielsen has given you the option to answer your questions in AT. If you aren’t using the data to maximum advantage, here’s one way to get more out of it.

Let’s meet again next week.

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.

Mike Ryan: There is a Difference Between Being a Media Member and a Journalist

BSM Staff
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Mike Ryan: There is a Difference Between Being a Media Member and a Journalist

Throughout his career as a journalist for the Miami Herald, Greg Cote has been involved in breaking news surrounding several sports stories in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area. Having been at the publication for over five decades, he has witnessed changes in the media ecosystem in terms of how information is reported and disseminated and able to discuss these alterations in conversations during weekly appearances on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. Cote was in the studio Monday morning when Le Batard highlighted two different reports surrounding the future of the Miami Heat and being able to land either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant, leading to further discussion with producer Mike Ryan.

Le Batard articulated that there are very few information brokers whose reporting can be summarily trusted without any doubt. Nonetheless, he still voiced having pause over what to believe at this point, questioning what exactly the measurements are to determine senses of credibility. Ryan, who is also the co-owner of Canes InSight, recently saw his site break the news of Miami selecting Jai Lucas to serve as the head coach for its men’s basketball team. Le Batard subsequently questioned whether or not he was following any rules of journalism in sharing information about the University of Miami obtained from sources.

“I do,” Ryan said. “I like to correct people when they say I’m a journalist. No, I’m a media member. It’s different. I don’t necessarily have to adhere to the same type of rules because I’m a booster and I wear that conflict on my sleeve proudly.”

Earlier in the segment, Cote opined that Gary Ferman, former journalist at the Miami Herald, was “never one of the top-tier writers” at the newspaper and that he himself would agree if present in the studio. Yet Ryan explained that Gary Ferman, the founder and publisher of CaneSport, said that the reporting from Canes InSight was not true and continues to push such a narrative. In further analysis of the work, Ryan divulged that Ferman admitted that he is doing the current athletic department a favor in not reporting the information.

“We broke the Mario Cristobal story over here – I say ‘we,’ I did that – but my credibility, you don’t call that into question,” Ryan said. “It’s fine if you don’t have the scoop, but to come out and say that it’s untrue when I know how sound this is and I know what my résumé suggests, I wasn’t a fan of that.”

Cote admitted that Ryan has sources and is a genuine insider for the University of Miami reporting on manners related to the Hurricanes. At the same time, he admitted that what was taking place was indicative of “standard operating procedure in journalism.” Cote conveyed that if a writer does not break a story, they will try to diminish the quality of the report by which they were defeated in the quest to be first.

“That’s the way journalism operates, and I’ll use a perfect example here,” Cote said. “This hiring is not official yet. Okay, so that’s what you say if you get beat on the story. Nobody on either side wants this story to come out right now because they don’t want to interrupt Duke’s March Madness run.”

Le Batard outlined how the changes in reporting and distributing information are evident in the journalism business, and he proceeded to ask the audience just who they trust in the business. In discussing how an entity can build necessary credibility to compete with established organizations such as the Miami Herald, he averred how the outlets are effectively serving an audience that trusts the given source to keep them informed. The curiosity he extrapolated pertained to why some people would visit Canes InSight rather than CaneSport when the subject matter is relatively analogous.

“It was clear we had a very clear jump on this story,” Ryan said. “We had better information than anybody else, we often have better information than everybody else, and do we go into news breaking mode all the time? No. Our approach is, ‘Let’s really build our company on how plugged in we are’ Sometimes it’s not totally advantageous for us to be breaking news because we maintain our relationships.”

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.

News Media Reacts to Lester Holt Departing NBC Nightly News

BNM Staff
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News Media Reacts to Lester Holt Departing NBC Nightly News

In an email to colleagues Monday morning, Lester Holt — who has been with NBC News since 2000 — shared that he will leave NBC Nightly News in the early portions of summer later this year.

Lester Holt replaced Brian Williams at the venerable NBC Nightly News anchor desk after the previous anchor exited amidst controversy over contrived statements about his time reporting on conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with the United States military.

Holt becomes the latest nightly newscast anchor to depart their network’s program. Last month, Norah O’Donnell departed the CBS Evening News after anchoring the program for more than five years. Both the CBS and NBC News broadcasts have continually trailed ABC World News Tonight with David Muir in the television ratings in recent years.

Many news media members took to social media to share their thoughts on the departure. Some ranged from tributes to the longtime anchor, while others questioned the lack of reaction at all.

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.

CRB Executive Director RJ Curtis Reflects On CRS 2025

Jeff Lynn
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CRB Executive Director RJ Curtis Reflects On CRS 2025

CRS 2025 is in the books. By all accounts, it was three days of learning, networking, and great music. So, in other words, it was business as usual. CRS delivers year after year the best of those three things and more.

As CRB Executive Director RJ Curtis orchestrates the entire event, I wanted to know what he thought of this year’s.

“Well, first of all, I think the week was excellent. We were concerned about Wednesday morning when we were looking at the weather.” 

“We started looking at the weather ten days before CRS, watching that, and we were concerned about the different reports about how much snow was going to fall and what effect that would have on people flying from other areas, and certainly local people who are driving in from the surrounding region.”

“But I think two things, the snowfall wasn’t that bad. It was like one to two inches. The city of Nashville has done a better job preparing the roads so that they’re accessible and people can travel on them. And I also think that people that attend CRS don’t want to miss it and would do anything possible to get there.”

And that included a person who was key to a much-anticipated session.

“One specific instance is Carolyn Gilbert, who is co-presenting the research project.”

“She was bound and determined to get here, driving from Cincinnati. She held off a little bit on Wednesday but then made the drive through at the very beginning of it because she’s north of us, some dicey roads, but she made it in time, and just that just speaks to the determination people have to attend the event.”

And as usual, the presentation didn’t disappoint.

“I think the research project itself is something that people are going to really appreciate and learn from, and we will be publishing that tomorrow. We’re going to put a press release out that has the video of the presentation and then a video of all the slides that they shared during the presentation.”

“We’ve been doing that for so long, commissioning a very specific study, and I think people are looking forward to seeing it every year. The room was quite full. A lot of people there were really just on the edge of their seats, and it was really, really well presented and well done.” 

“That’ll be available to everyone tomorrow 2/25). We’re sharing that with the whole world. That’s kind of what we do. We don’t make it exclusive to just the people who were there. We want the whole industry to see that because I think there’s some really good news for radio in there.”

And a takeaway for Curtis was that there is good news for Country radio.

“My takeaways are that while there are a lot of platforms that people use to access Country music, radio is still in the game. We still have a major seat at the table. We have some work to do in a couple of areas that are famously powerful radio tools, and that is music discovery, localization, and the power of personalities on the air.”

“And those are things that come shining through, but we are in this game in a serious way, and I think that’s the encouraging news, and that’s some inspiration to radio operators out there to know that we still have a big impact on the way music is presented and an impact for our local community.”

When Curtis and I talked before the seminar, he said he was looking forward to the artist sit-down between Jelly Roll and Eric Church.

“I was pretty excited about what I would see with Eric Church and Jelly Roll sitting down. I had high expectations for that, and those two exceeded by miles and miles all of my expectations.” 

“It was an incredible conversation. It was content gold. Just from the moment they sat down until the moment they had to end it because of time constrictions and a hard-out that Eric Church had, it was fantastic.” 

“It was that fly-on-the-wall conversation that some of us have had in a dressing room somewhere with two artists who have mutual respect for each other. It was funny. It was insightful. It was meaningful.”

Photo: Facebook

“There were two great sessions on Thursday morning immediately following the research. One was from Honky Tonk to TikTok. That was quite good. The mental health session, which I helped conduct Q&A for, was revealing. Tim Roberts, Michelle Kammerer, and Wyatt Flores were there, and they just bared their souls. It was quite moving, very powerful, and, I think, very helpful.”

“I’m proud that we continue to revisit this issue of mental health and how people can seek resources that are available to them. Now, thanks to CMA with that major financial investment in both financial and human resources, I think it’s an incredible addition that they’re spearheading. Once we get that published, I hope people will watch that and get some help out of it.”

“I think that all of the Digital Music Summit sessions were really well curated and executed. The panelists were great. I’m really proud of how that turned out, and I really give all the credit to Brittany Johnson and her team for dreaming up those topics and presenting them in a fantastic way.” 

“They were solid, better than ever, and I’m glad that we dispersed them through the week instead of bundling them all in one day. I think it was good to have some of that content available on Thursday and Friday as well.”

So now, what happens at the CRS offices?

“I think the next step for us is we’re going to get these videos and all the takeaways available to not only attendees but anyone who didn’t attend CRS, but we hope to have all the videos downloaded and published by next Monday, March 3rd so that people can view them. Then, the next step is to assemble an agenda committee, and we hope to have that done by late April or early May. CRS 2026 is later next year. It’s March 18th through the 20th.”

“The planning cycle will reflect that it’s a month later. For example, our agenda committee selection will be a little bit later. Our summer agenda and board meetings will be in July as opposed to June, as they typically are.”

The videos referenced will be available here.  

Reach out to RJ Curtis here.

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.

Steve Levy Credits Fights in 4 Nations Face-Off for Drawing New Viewership

BSM Staff
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Steve Levy Credits Fights in 4 Nations Face-Off for Drawing New Viewership

Hockey fans across the country are still buzzing about the success of the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off, which concluded last week with Canada’s overtime win over the United States. The NHL returned to business this past weekend, hoping to capitalize on the tournament’s rousing viewership success. 

A reported 16.1 million viewers across the U.S. and Canada watched the tournament final, which took place at TD Garden in Boston, MA, in front of a capacity crowd. 

On Monday, ESPN host Steve Levy joined The Dan Patrick Show to discuss the excitement surrounding the tournament and what he believed contributed to the impressive viewership numbers. 

“I go back to the fights, and people won’t like this, but I think the Tkachuk fights on a Saturday night in Montreal—the three fights in nine seconds—really made the turn,” Levy said. “People want to watch the US and Canada, I get that, but that attracted a certain crowd.” 

ESPN’s prime-time broadcast last Thursday secured an average of 9.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game on record, according to Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal. The previous high for an NHL game in U.S. history was 8.9 million viewers, recorded during Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues. 

Meanwhile, in Canada, Rogers Sportsnet and SportsNet+ drew an average minute audience of 5.7 million viewers for their broadcast of the game, according to viewership data from Numeris. The concurrent audience peaked at 7.3 million viewers when Connor McDavid scored the tournament-winning goal. 

Now, the decision rests with the NHL on whether to replicate the tournament in the future. However, Levy told Dan Patrick that he believes this particular iteration of the 4 Nations Face-Off is unlikely to be repeated. 

“I think this is a one-off,” Levy said. “I don’t think we ever see four nations again. This was a stopgap, despite how successful it was. The NHL has already said they’re going to do the World Cup of Hockey, and that could include eight nations. I don’t think we’ll see the 4 Nations format again, especially with the Olympics next year.” 

While Levy doesn’t see the NHL bringing back the tournament in its current form, he does believe the league may explore a similar concept in the future, possibly incorporating more nations.

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. 

Joy Reid: ‘I’ve Been Through Every Emotion’ Since Learning of MSNBC Exit

BNM Staff
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Joy Reid: ‘I’ve Been Through Every Emotion’ Since Learning of MSNBC Exit

A report surfaced Sunday that Joy Reid would be departing her primetime show on MSNBC after an executive shakeup. She confirmed that in a podcast interview and shared her thoughts on the situation.

While speaking with former NAACP executive Jotaka Eaddy, Reid shared that the situation has been a difficult one for her.

“I’ve been through every emotion,” Reid admitted. “From anger, rage, disappointment, hurt. Feeling that guil that I let my team lose their jobs. But in the end, where I really land, and where I’ve landed today is just gratitude. Just pure gratitude, not just because people would take the time to get on a call like this or to take care of me. But also that my show had value.

“That what I was doing had value. And in the end — I’m sorry,” Reid said as she began to tear up. “I try not to cry on TV. this is kind of like me on TV, so I apologize, but that it kind of mattered … What I will just say is in, in the end, where I land is that the moment of guilt that I felt that I went hard on so many issues.”

Reid said that she is “not sorry” for speaking about the topics in which she did, saying she is “proud of my show, my little team” and what it accomplished during her tenure at the network.

Reid has hosted the program since 2020 after the departure of Chris Matthews from the network. She is expected to host her final program in the daypart in the coming week. MSNBC is reportedly eyeing Jen Psaki for an expanded primetime role, as well as the hosts of The Weekend — anchored by Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez — to take over the 7 PM ET timeslot vacated by Joy Reid.

The news of changes at MSNBC comes as Rebecca Kutler assumes the role of President at the network. She was tabbed to replace Rashida Jones, who departed in January after spending four years leading the cable network.

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.

The Todd Starnes Show Picks Up 3 New Affiliates in Missouri

BNM Staff
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The Todd Starnes Show has seen an expansion in recent months, picking up a host of affiliates. This continues, as three new stations have joined the list of those carrying the show.

The syndicated show will now air weekdays on The Real Talk Radio Network in Missouri. The network includes KRTK-FM (Hermann), KVMO-FM (Vandalia), and KRTE-FM (Steelville).

Currently, the show from Starnes is heard on more than 150 stations nationwide. Airing live from 12-3 PM ET, The Todd Starnes Show originates from The Mighty 990 KWAM in Memphis. Starnes owns that AM brand.

The news that Starnes has procured more affiliates comes on the heels of the finish of the January 2025 podcasting rankings from Triton Digital. During the first month of the calendar year, the program moved into the top 150 podcasts, earning 143th place in the Top Podcasts By Weekly Average Downloads category. Todd Starnes claims to be the only independently-owned program to make the top 150. 

“Our team works incredibly hard to deliver a fun and informative show every day from 12 p.m. until 3 p.m. with an emphasis on fun,” Starnes said. “And we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our great listeners.” 

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.

Date And Lineup Announced For Audacy’s Leading Ladies Event

BMM Staff
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Date And Lineup Announced For Audacy’s Leading Ladies Event

Audacy will host its 5th annual “Leading Ladies” on April 3 at Kings Theater in Brooklyn.

The event, which celebrates women in music, will include Gwen Stefani, Lainey Wilson, Alessia Cara, Haven Madison, and Audacy launch artist Kassi Ashton.

Hosted by Katie Neal, host of Infinity Network’s “Katie & Co.” and New 102.7 New York morning host Karen Carsen, the event showcases women across multiple formats sharing their stories of breaking barriers, personal journeys, and the transformative impact of their music.

Kelli Turner, Audacy’s interim President/CEO, said, “The essence of Leading Ladies is Audacy’s passion for spotlighting music’s most influential female artists and their impact on our industry. Music uplifts, unites, and inspires us all, and we’re proud to cultivate a special evening for our fans by amplifying these wonderfully talented women.”

The show benefits Women Who Rock and Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation with a portion of the proceeds.

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.

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