NBC News has announced it is adjusting the roles of several White House reporters ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump next week.
The network announced that Capitol Hill reporter Garrett Haake will move to the White House beat as a senior correspondent. He has spent four years working in the Capitol before covering Donald Trump for the network for the past two years.
Additionally, Yamiche Alcindor and Vaughn Hillyard will serve as White House correspondents during Trump’s second term. Like Haake, Hillyard has covered Trump for the past two years, while Alcindor worked the White House beat for NBC News during the first Trump administration.
The outlet will keep Peter Alexander as its chief White House correspondent. He’ll be joined by senior correspondents Kelly O’Donnell and Gabe Gutierrez.
Other White House reporters for NBC News to begin Trump’s second term include Monica Alba and Aaron Gilchrist.
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WBAP host Chris Krok is no longer with the Cumulus Media Dallas station after more than 12 years with the station, sources close to the situation confirm to Barrett Media.
Krok hosted the 8 PM-Midnight show at the station. He had previously spent two years in afternoons at sister station KLIF before moving to WBAP.
His exit coincides with a recent social media post that received pushback. Krok shared a meme about the wildfires in Los Angeles that said “LA County: 72 genders, 0 operational fire hydrants.”
In addition to his time at WBAP and KLIF in Dallas, Chris Krok also has hosted at WSB in Atlanta and KSTP in the Twin Cities, among other stops.
On social media, Krok confirmed his departure.
“Friends and family, I’m no longer with WBAP 820 AM. It’s been an amazing 15-year run at the biggest news/talk station in America’s 4th largest market,” he wrote. “We’ve gotten to know each other so well and I can’t wait to share the airwaves again, doing what God made me to do — tell stories, react to life, and have fun together.”
The Cumulus Media Dallas station has yet to publicly address the departure.
The news of Krok’s departure was first reported by RadioInsight.
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NBA TV is a veritable buffet for the basketball fan. With pro games from across the Association, a variety of studio shows, documentaries, features, and profiles, there is nothing left on the table once the dinner line ends. One of the best things about the network is its incredibly diverse roster of basketball literate analysts. Included in this group are Basketball Hall of Famer Vince Carter and former NBA stalwart Channing Frye. This pair joins host Lauren Jbara on one of the top programs on NBA TV, NBA GameTime.
This nightly series looks back on the day’s slate of games with highlights, commentary, stats, and focus on key players and plays. The fast paced action of the show features the pretty passes, dynamic dunks, thrilling three’s, and tremendous teamwork that make the NBA perhaps the most exciting sport on television.
Today’s NBA has certainly taken some shots with many people reducing the game to three point shots and slams. There is no question that the current game lacks the physicality and angry rivalries of bygone years, but it does boast a bevy of young talent on both established and emerging teams. When top teams like the Celtics, Knicks, Cavaliers, Nuggets, or Thunder do battle, the game remains riveting.
The NBA may not have the raw toughness of the NHL, the collision-based grit of the NFL, or even the strategy of MLB, but those sports do not have the NBA’s frenetic speed, grace, and non-stop action. From elder statesmen like LeBron James to exciting young players like Anthony Edwards, the NBA still offers a blitz of action, and NBA GameTime captures this action as well as any daily show on television.
The program features a vibrant opening with colorful team logos blended in with players from those teams. I caught the January 14 edition of the program hosted by Lauren Jbara alongside Carter and Frye. This on air crew is emblematic of how NBA TV constantly mixes and meshes its talent roster together for different perspectives.
Jbara is a rising and versatile star in sportscasting. Her extreme competence both in studio and as a reporter in the field across the sports landscape is notable. Jbara’s national resume includes work at Bally Sports and TNT, as well as coverage of MLB and the 2024 Paris Olympics. She has also forged a strong social media impact. Jbara consistently combines pleasance and presence in her on air work.
On this edition of NBA GameTime, Jbara offered a light exchange with her panelists then immediately moved to highlights of the Spurs at Lakers game. As with all of the game highlights, NBA GameTime eschews the traditional highlight narration. Jbara takes on a sort of play-by-play role with Carter and Frye as color analysts.
Jbara calls the action, then pivots by asking a question to Carter or Frye in a very casual and conversational style. Both former NBA stars then interject their thoughts on a particular play. The Spurs-Lakers commentary largely focused on Victor Wembanyama, the dynamic young player for San Antonio.
The style of the show is pretty much three people watching highlights of an NBA game and sharing a nice exchange. Jbara brings a crisp and concise style to her work, recognizing that Carter and Frye are the basketball experts and giving them space to talk. She also does a good job of providing key game stats intermittently in the conversation.
I like the rhythm and pace of NBA GameTime. Following the game highlights, the show returned to the studio with Carter and Frye taking a deep dive into what we just watched. Frye had a telling take, commenting on how the Lakers go into a negative mode once they fall behind in a game. He also gave credit to veteran point guard Chris Paul for raising the collective games of his San Antonio teammates.
Jbara has a great sense of timing, knowing when to push the show from one area of discussion to another. She ended the Spurs-Lakers talk and moved the proceedings to analysis of the Grizzlies-Rockets game in Houston – again asking direct questions to both Carter and Frye. The production team at NBA GameTime does a nice job supporting the video highlights with graphic box scores of the game featuring leading scorers and individual statistics. The show will also periodically feature postgame interviews with players offering their takes on the night’s action.
NBA GameTime is a huge promotional tool for the Association, and Jbara and company are sure to mention upcoming NBA games on TV across all networks. As with most sports networks now, the lower third NBA TV graphics crawl provides constant hoops news and promotes upcoming NBA programming amid the commentary.
Jbara, Carter, and Frye really work well together and have similar styles. Jbara provides upbeat and enthusiastic highlight setups thereby raising the games of Carter and Frye as they jump in with their thoughts. During a look at the Pistons at Knicks game, Jbara highlighted New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, respectively. Both Carter and Frye chimed in with some high praise for both players.
Carter lauded Cunningham saying that he is excelling at all levels and in all aspects of the game and should be an All-Star this season. Jbara pointed out that the Pistons rose to two games over .500 for the first time since 2019 and that they had an 8-1 record since January 1. The pace of gametime fits the pace of the NBA itself. While the commentary on each game is insightful, there is no wasted time nor words as Jbara moves the discourse forward.
The trio did a nice job whipping through the Wolves-Wizards matchup and highlights of the tilt between Golden State and Toronto. The best part of NBA GameTime is you don’t have to wait around too long to see highlights and analysis of your favorite team. For those fans who happened to miss a night’s action, the show provides a comprehensive way to get caught up on all the news and scores.
Prefacing highlights of the Heat at Clippers game, Jbara mentioned the LA Strong theme as the NBA, its teams, and players continue to support those suffering through the devastating wildfires in Southern California. She offered a subdued style in calling highlights of the game, while Carter and Frye focused on the high-level play of the Clippers’ Norman Powell and the sharp shooting of Miami’s Tyler Herro. Following the Miami-LA highlights, Jbara circled back to the wildfire relief efforts showing an NBA Cares graphic and urging people to contribute to the cause. Carter reflected on his personal experiences with such disasters in Florida, and Frye revealed that several of his family members have been displaced by the current wildfires.
This was a fitting end to this edition of NBA GameTime, a show that is all about the word relevancy. The show is a thorough and complete package for NBA viewers meting out a perfectly prescribed dose of highlights, analysis, news, and previews.
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Ever start reading about one topic or watching something on YouTube, and then you fall down a rabbit hole with a related topic?
Needless to explain, I ended up learning more than I ever knew I needed to know about 19th-century French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and something he’s quoted as saying inspired me. “I don’t give up easily. My advice to young painters? Feel. Be true to yourself and your vision, and don’t let critics or trends dictate your choices. Paint what you love and love what you paint.”
First, I believe there’s something important to remember in this era of radio defined by layoffs and cutbacks. Just like acting, singing, improv, writing, or any highly defined skill that, when done well, motivates and moves masses, radio hosts create art. Art is a craft, and it is the body of work the talent gives and ultimately leaves behind.
One of the failings of content being created for radio today is how bland, if not inane, it is in many instances, particularly on music radio stations. The ever-common “DJs talk too much” listeners love to sling, I’ve always taken to mean, “I am not entertained by the jocks I hear.”
No one ever complained about being overly entertained. For far too long, radio has been micromanaged and controlled, with too little freedom for creative talent to create or, worse, put forth preconceived babble totally unlike and unreflective of the talent’s true personality.
While every QB needs a head coach, and every team needs a strategy with plays to run to have a shot at winning the game, you’ve got to let players do what they do and not overly interfere (looking at you, Bill Belichick).
Additionally, talents are being stretched thin and expected to host multiple full shows in multiple places. That’s commerce, not art. Cousin Brucie once noted, “This used to be the radio business and it has become the business of radio.” What Brucie is referring to is the Wild West, where talents like Alan Freed and Wolfman were not only groundbreaking in their delivery but in the music they broke.
Guardrails and direction are important, but talent should create art that is true to them and reflects them. It’s on both them and their coach to recognize when a situation is a fit; there are casting directors and editors for a reason, another facet of performance radio has routinely missed.
Perhaps young creators might seek to bring their talent to terrestrial radio rather than streaming or podcasting if they had that kind of support and freedom coupled with radio’s still vast and massive reach.
Creators, create! Listen and absorb coaching, research, advice, and ideas, but ultimately, just create radio content for yourself. Enjoy it, give of it, and hang up what I call “the coat knowledge” at the door; if you wear it while performing, it’ll restrict and interfere with your art.
The more talent tries to appeal, or to do, or be something, the less authentic they are and the less likely they are to connect with people they are, create, and it’ll find an audience, with some luck and focus a large one. Much like a Renoir hanging on the office wall…
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Radio still, for some reason, insists on doing remote broadcasts. We have all been to that client location trying to explain away the crowd that only showed up for the free hotdogs.
When I was working for then Entercom Madison, we found a way to create a huge remote crowd, deliver prospects to the client, and create a fun atmosphere.
Every salesperson was tasked with taking $100 from every remote package sold. That went into a jackpot pool, creating a progressive prize that listeners had the opportunity to win.
We had a six-foot-tall “Super Prize Machine,” a bigger-than-life slot machine. However, it’s not necessary to have a prize machine to execute this just a good, fair, random game of chance.
In our case, when the slot machine hit three station logos, the listener won the prize pool.
The Saturday at the car dealership, when the jackpot had grown to over $3,000, the line to play was 400 deep. Were all those people in the market for a car? No, but we did our job and delivered prospects to the lot.
Just one word of caution. Make sure you adhere to NO PURCHASE NECESSARY so you don’t run afoul of your state’s gaming laws.
Breakfast At Mom’s
Solicit entries from people who would like your morning show broadcast from Mom’s kitchen on the Friday before Mother’s Day.
Bring a local chef from a well-known breakfast restaurant in your market with all the groceries needed to cook breakfast during the morning show broadcast.
Let the winner invite all their friends. You’ll be surprised how many will drop by during the broadcast.
At the end of the show, a cleaning service comes in to clean up the kitchen and announce that they are providing the same service for an entire year.
The sales team can sell sponsorships that give Mom gifts that can be opened throughout the broadcast.
Dinner With Dad
It works basically the same, except it’s an afternoon drive and outdoors with a new grill that you bring and leave behind.
Work with a local meat shop to bring the grilling items and give Dad a significant gift card so he will have something to grill all summer.
Get a logoed pop-up tent to stage the event and leave that as well.
Don’t forget to invite your local television station to attend both events.
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Over the last decade, the marketplace for broadcast rights surrounding sports leagues and properties has flourished despite cord cutting and innovation focused on digital media. This past year, the NBA signed 11-year media rights contracts with The Walt Disney Company, Comcast and Amazon collectively worth approximately $77 billion. As the new rightsholders search for on-air talent, agents like Matt Kramer are actively presenting potential fits. While portions of the new talent rosters have been revealed, there are still openings that have yet to be determined.
Kramer, who serves as the co-head of the sports broadcasting group at Creative Artists Agency, has spoken with NBC Sports and Amazon’s Prime Video as the conglomerates prepare for NBA broadcasts next fall. While the talent market has fluctuated throughout the years, he references an analogy made by Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones in 1994. In signing John Madden to form an esteemed announcing duo with Pat Summerall, Jones emphasized that FOX had already purchased the steak, referring to NFC rights, and questioned why the company would go cheap on the accompanying sauce.
“I think the thing that we understand is that we recognize that sports media talent valuations are predicated in some way, shape or form on the sports media rights landscape,” Kramer said. “So certainly, at most of the networks or some of the networks, NFL football, college football and NBA basketball, by virtue of how large their media rights deals are, are the most important and/or impactful sports on those networks. So, when you have that, that means that the sports media talent associated with those sports demand and expect the largest salaries.”
Kramer provided an example in ESPN deciding to pay a premium for Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, both of whom are CAA Sports clients, to form its Monday Night Football broadcast booth. Discerning the paradigm shifts within sports media, he and his colleagues look to keep their clients satisfied and understand their needs and desires. Part of being successful for clients can involve taking meetings with networks to better understand what they are looking to achieve, providing insights and perspectives for the negotiation process.
“I think every network, after they acquire a right, they have to make a determination for how they want the look and feel of their product to be,” Kramer said. “Our job is to help them with our clients [and] identify which of our clients are the right people to help them hit the goals that they want.”
CAA Sports has a deep roster of experienced sports media professionals among its clientele, including Grant Hill, Doris Burke, Tony Romo, Adam Schefter, Ian Eagle and Kevin Harlan. At the same time, the company is trying to add people it considers rising stars in the business, some of whom Kramer divulged as Laura Rutledge, Noah Eagle, Ryan Ruocco and Malika Andrews. The agency possesses a roster of clients who are at different stages in their professional careers in different occupations, and Kramer remains aware of how the talent marketplace is affected by various factors.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter their age, and it doesn’t really matter how many years they’ve been in existence,” Kramer said. “We want to represent the very best of the best. It just so happens that we have a great group of established clients and a great group of young, up-and-coming stars.”
Relationships with both clients and executives at media companies is what Kramer considers sets CAA Sports apart from other media groups at talent agencies. Although he is cognizant that they work for their clients, the company wants to ink deals that both parties can feel good about, something that he affirms can only happen with strong relationships. Kramer is hopeful that networks would say the same thing pertaining to the company and its negotiations.
“We’re interested in creating a win-win situation where the client feels like he or she got the absolute best deal possible, but at the same time, the network feels very good about the deal that we did on behalf of not only our clients, but for them,” Kramer said. “These deals never work long term if one side feels like they absolutely destroyed the other side in a contract negotiation, so we’re very clear with our clients.”
Upon graduating from the University of Michigan, Kramer started his career working in public relations for the San Francisco 49ers, NFL Europe and the Atlanta Falcons. After nearly two years, he decided to join Career Sports and Entertainment, a boutique talent agency in Atlanta, where he pitched journalists stories about clients and doing other communications work. One reporter with whom Kramer was in frequent communication was Adrian Wojnarowski, who focused his coverage on basketball insights and breaking news.
“One day Adrian said to me, ‘Hey, would you introduce me to a television agent somewhere? I’m looking to be represented, and I need somebody to help me at one of the agencies,’” Kramer recalled, “and for some reason, a little bit of a lightning-bolt moment, I said to Adrian on the phone, ‘I’ll represent you.’”
Wojnarowski subsequently pointed out that Kramer did not work as a media agent but still allowed him to work on his behalf in negotiations with Yahoo Sports. On the phone, Kramer had pointed out how valuable Wojnarowski was to Yahoo Sports, articulating instances when he was breaking news about clients that those at the agency did not know about. This launched Kramer’s career in representation, and he eventually became the vice president of broadcasters and new media personalities at the firm.
“Adrian, for a number of years, was a professional and personal advocate of mine, and it opened up so many opportunities for me to be able to represent sports media personalities all across the globe, and I owe so much of that to Adrian,” Kramer said. “And obviously, Adrian retired from the journalism industry a couple of months ago, but he had such an impact on my life, and he was the reason why I became a sports media agent.”
Wojnarowski remained a client when Kramer moved to CAA in 2015 and joined the television department, and he has continued to expand his client roster within the sports media business. In his role, Kramer works alongside Tom Young, who he contends has different skillsets and understands how to collaborate to assist their clients and colleagues. Other agents within the sports media group include Kevin Belbey, David Koonin, Sydney Lipsitz and Matt Olson, all of whom contribute to fueling growth and success.
“[At] the end of the day, our clients expect and demand great service, and if each of the agents can provide great service, then becoming a manager or leading them is a lot easier,” Kramer said. “We just want to make things simple for our colleagues and for people that we manage, which is, ‘We just want you guys to be able to be the best agents that you can be.’”
More athletes have assimilated into sports media while they are still playing through starting podcasts or seasonal work with media entities. For example, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and forward Josh Hart, both of whom are represented by CAA Sports, co-host the Roommates Show where they discuss topics pertaining to their careers, sports and pop culture. The division also maintains contact with sports agents spanning multifarious disciplines in order to position their clients to receive broadcasting opportunities should they be interested.
“Tom Young had been working with Tony Romo’s player-agent for over a decade and was ready to activate on behalf of Tony as a media personality,” Kramer said. “Or when you look at a number of other clients who have come through our list, it starts with the relationships that we’re trying to build with our colleagues at CAA Sports where they’ve trusted us that when their player’s career or coach’s career end, that we’ll help them transition into great sports media personalities.”
Content production and dissemination continues to evolve within the industry, and CAA Sports has looked to remain situated on the cutting edge. Dude Perfect, the hit sports and comedy group that started on YouTube, is represented by the agency and recently unveiled new headquarters in Frisco, Texas in a star-studded video filled with unique trick shots. Kramer perceives the group as a paragon of what the next generation of industry personalities could resemble.
“I’m super, super excited about our next generation of sports media talent and who’s going to be the next big star,” Kramer said. “I don’t know who it’s going to be yet, but we hope that it’s somebody from the CAA Sports Media stable.”
Congratulations to our client @DudePerfect on their landmark capital raise to fuel their next chapter as the world's leading family-friendly content platform!
CAA Evolution served as financial adviser to Dude Perfect throughout this historic process. pic.twitter.com/I5z0hw7krr
No matter the client, those working in the sports media division at CAA Sports seek to foster strong representation with the best resources. With an avidity for growth and development, the company is investing more into its international venture while maintaining its commitment to domestic clients and properties. As sports media continues to adapt to altered consumption habits and new technology, Kramer and his colleagues CAA Sports are embedded within the service business and look to keep delivering for stakeholders.
“I think no matter how long I do this job, that’s going to be the biggest concern,” Kramer said. “It’s never going to be about an individual sports media rights deal or an individual talent contract deal. The concern is always, ‘Are we making sure we’re providing the best value every day for our clients?’”
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Kenn McCloud and Ness Heraldez are “Kenn & Ness In The Morning” on Bakersfield’s Country KUZZ. KUZZ is owned by Buck Owens Productions and was started by legendary Country star Buck Owens.
The station has a big legacy with Owens and is the keeper of “The Bakersfield Sound.”
Kenn and Ness have just been together as a morning show for a year and a half, but a couple of things that you notice talking to them are 1) that they respect the station’s heritage and 2) that they seem to genuinely like each other and are having fun.
The two come to the show from different perspectives and blend well on the air.
“The unique thing about the show, I would say it is the fact that we’ve got two different ends of the spectrum covered. Even as parents, we’re similar, but we’re not. She’s got an eight-year-old, and I have an 18-year-old, said Kenn.
Ness added, “We have one child each, not together, but we are very similar in our morals and ethics. Our opinions on things are pretty much the same, but we are so different in navigating them. So different perspectives.”
Ness came to radio from a unique background. Before joining KUZZ, she worked in a California prison where she taught computer and college programs. A career she said helped define her on-air personality.
“Working with inmates, and I talk to Kenn about it, defines my personality, what I will put up with, and what I won’t. Knowing that when we hit the studio, it’s game time, like we don’t have bad days, and you’re ready to do things for inmates. You’re ready to work. Whatever’s going on in your personal life doesn’t exist. You take that into being on the radio as well.”
The duo’s number one tent pole is for the show to be authentic.
Ness said, “Number one is authentic like I’m always making sure no matter what we do, it is truly authentically us. And, unfortunately for Kenn, I’m crazy.”
Kenn adds, “My goal every day is to make her laugh. And if I can figure out a way to make her laugh, I know I’m doing the same thing for people in their car.”
Kenn and Ness take the station’s legacy seriously and intend to keep it alive.
“This is an incredible gift they’ve given us, and we have to be able to keep this going. We’re really the only third morning show in the history of this radio station as far as teams go. There are big, huge shoes to fill. And we don’t take that lightly ever,” said Kenn.
“Ness added, “When we started this morning show, one of the first things we said was we should make Buck proud. He has a bronze statue in the front office when you get in, and we always say good morning.”
A humble Kenn added, “And we point out that the red, white, and blue guitar, which is our logo, is way more important than either one of us.”
The Buck Owens Crystal Palace is a music venue next to the station. It is used for station shows and concerts.
“It’s the world’s greatest radio home field advantage,” said Kenn. “Every time you go in there, it’s a piece of Buck. And you’ll see something you didn’t see before. We still learn things about Buck and the artists that have been through there. It’s still a big deal. I still get goosebumps going in that building.”
Kenn and Ness spend time gathering content during the day, and Kenn sees an advantage to having a younger co-host in this area.
“One of the blessings of having a younger co-host is that she’s so plugged into TikTok and Instagram and things like that. She minds that so well. Whether we talk about it on the next show or the show three days from now, she looks for ideas that will spur something that we can wrap our lives around and talk about.
The two started by sending videos to reach each other before simplifying it to notes.
Ness said, “Now, what we’ve been doing, instead of sending videos, I will take the idea and have it in my notes. So, when we’re sitting down, what do you want to do?” I go back to my notes. I was like, ‘What if we did this, this, or this?’ Because sometimes it gets so redundant, we’re like, hey, what happened to this? And we’re scrolling back, trying to find it.”
The team is focused on Bakersfield radio, and while ideas like a podcast are appealing down the road right now, it’s about serving the listeners and the city.
“A podcast would extend the brand, but we’re mostly worried about extending our reach in this town. A podcast can be something more global, and that’s great, but for us, we want to dominate. We want to be number one in Bakersfield, as we have been, and we want to stay there because if it doesn’t relate to Bakersfield, it’s not on our show,” added Kenn.
In addition to dominating Bakersfield, Ness said upping the social media game is a 2025 opportunity.
“Our goal this year is to do more socials and go that way. Kenn and I are more focused on that, number one. That’s what we agreed on for 2025,” said Ness
The two are optimistic about the future and looking forward to tackling it as a team.
“I tell people, and I will say this, I wouldn’t be doing this job without her, and I don’t want to do this job without her because it was magical when we first met,” said Kenn.
“We knew then that something special could happen. We worked hard to put it all together. We kept working hard once they gave it to us because we can’t take anything for granted, and we will continue to give it 100% because this is a dream job.”
“To be doing mornings on KUZZ is a huge deal, and we will never forget that.”
.
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From TV to radio, David “Bloomdaddy” Bloomquist can do it all, but he’s made his home in the City of Light on 1100 WTAM.
“I love what I do and where I do it. Cleveland is a very underrated city, and the people of Northeast Ohio are awesome,” Bloomdaddy — who recently finished as the 5th ranked mid-market afternoon show in the Barrett News Media Top 20 — said. “They love WTAM 1100 and it’s an honor to be a small part of this legendary station.”
It all began in Wheeling, West Virgina, as the young Bloomdaddy embarked on his career as a news anchor/sportscaster.
“I was a morning news anchor and sportscaster at a CBS TV affiliate in the early 2000s, when I was approached by WOMP-AM in Bellaire, OH about me hosting a radio show.”
The extra cash was helpful in a small market so, “I decided to do it without having any clue as to what I was doing.” Bloomdaddy worked both the TV and radio gigs. But the two-hour daily show was more than he bargained for.
“I was honestly a little too green. I thought it wouldn’t last long, but when the ratings started climbing, I got a call from iHeartMedia to join the legendary 1170 WWVA and got out of TV altogether.”
He recalled the transition from one medium to another to be relatively painless. “The transition was easy for me because radio is all about personality and I have plenty of it. TV is so regimented and scripted that I was ready to ad-lib and just let it rip from the hip.”
Bloomdaddy doesn’t credit his big personality for his success. He also has strong opinions, which, for many in talk radio, gives life to a better show. However, building a better show wasn’t all easy.
“I really had no idea about how to put a show together until I was guided by the coaching from the numerous resources at iHeartMedia, who helped me tremendously,” Bloomdaddy said. “From there, it’s just been about refining skills and trying to get better.”
He’s refined his skills with the help of coaches at iHeart.
“[They] continue to help me grow each show. I was always on my own researching and putting in the hours daily to formulate my monologues and opinions. Their guidance has given me insight into making what we do entertaining. I’ve honed my listening skills as an invaluable tool to improve.”
Part of Bloomdaddy’s training is to remember he is more than just a host; he is a friend to the audience.“I remind myself daily that I’m a companion to a listener. I talk with them as I would if we were sitting in a restaurant or coffee house. And I consider myself ‘down to Earth.’ I want to make sure that comes through every day with a little bit of show biz thrown in.”
Another key to his success at 1100 WTAM? Keeping it local.
“I believe local hosts need to focus on one word: local. There are plenty of places to get opinions about national issues and the administration. Listeners should expect that when there is a big story in Cleveland, my show is where they should come.”
For Bloomdaddy, he does more than just keep it local. He brings radio to the listeners. “I’m a big fan of being in public. I love remote broadcasts, especially from the stadiums and arenas.”
He went on to note how important being with the listener is. “We must get out of the studio and meet the listeners. Be visible in the community more frequently. When people get to meet you, they feel like they know you. Connections are important and the best way to do it is to be up close and personal with the public.”
Some of the ways he connects with listeners is by living life to the fullest. “I live my life like a Clevelander would. I attend the Guardians, Browns, and Cavs games, I check out the hot new place that opened, and visit the restaurants that have been around for 80 years.”
Bloomdaddy went on to say, “I love to meet and talk with new people. That ‘face to face’ connection is the best way to maintain and gain listeners.”
For those looking to transition to radio or TV — or those looking to the mic for the first time — Bloomdaddy’s advice is simple.
“You can’t let haters get in your head,” he shared. “In this business people are going to dissect and ridicule just about everything you have to say. Don’t let it change your opinions or who you are.”
He later added, “There is an entire subculture living on social with nothing to do but get in our heads. Don’t let them.”
As for handling naysayers on and off air, he follows a simple rule of thumb. “If it’s a spirited conversation on-air, we have the discussion. Off-air? I don’t engage. If it’s not coming through the speakers, it doesn’t matter. Silence is a true friend who never betrays.”
Most importantly, when you have strong opinions make sure you have the facts to back it up. “Research your topics, formulate a great opinion, and lay it out there like you own it and never look back,” the 1100 WTAM host concluded. “If the audience senses any lack of confidence in your ‘take,’ you’re cooked.”
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Rachel Maddow is MSNBC’s biggest star. I know that, she knows that, and the network knows that.
So it makes sense for a network like MSNBC — who takes a decidedly liberal political stance — to bring back Maddow for a nightly show for the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second administration, which it announced earlier this week.
With that news, it brought Maddow to the forefront once again. Because it’s easy to wonder if Maddow has lost some zip on her proverbial fastball after dropping down to just one day a week. Conventional wisdom would suggest that doing something less frequently — even if it’s a cable news show — would mean you’re not consistently at the top of your game as when you were doing it nightly. But is that reality?
I watched The Rachel Maddow Show this week to get a feel for how the 100-day stretch — that will last until May 1st — might go for MSNBC as it tries to reestablish itself after seeing a significant ratings decline since the 2024 election.
Before we go too far into dissecting Maddow’s program, I think it’s important to note that I like MSNBC’s presentation. I like the somewhat stripped-down on-screen style the network utilizes during its primetime programs. It doesn’t utilize some of the grander graphics that clutter and overwhelm the screen that some of its cable news counterparts use.
In the episode of Maddow’s show that I watched, she began by talking about the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump, and how January 20th, 2025 couldn’t possibly be worse than January 20th, 2021 — or, by proxy, January 6th, 2021. And while Maddow made good and fair points in her monologue, there was a nagging issue: there was feedback. Or maybe an echo is the better term. Every word Rachel Maddow said was repeated to me, faintly, a few seconds later. It was accompanied by a loud and noticeable hum. To the point that I question if someone was using an electric shaver just off-screen.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. So, I went back and watched the video on YouTube. And on MSNBC.com. I also found a clip on TikTok just to make sure it wasn’t my TV going bad. Nope. MSNBC was just having audio problems. Which happens. But this is primetime, baby. With your biggest, most recognizable star. There are just some things that can’t happen. The echo did go away after a while, but the hum persisted. But enough about the audio.
Monologues can be a finicky thing in the cable news world in 2025. While hosts still have plenty to say, and make larger points, it’s harder than ever. Attention spans are shorter, and there’s certainly a pressure to create viral moments that will play well on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok.
And yet, I was enthralled with Maddow’s opening monologue on this Monday night. Not to dive into the political content of her statements, but the way with which she connected dot to dot to make her about how the Trump administration has taken shape, and why — in her opinion — it was off to a disastrous start was great television.
Whether or not you agree with the statements is one thing. But the presentation was another. It was unlike anything else I’ve seen since beginning this series.
Instead of an opinion being shouted down from the mountaintops, I felt as if Rachel Maddow was teaching me about why she felt the way she did. To borrow a phrase from a teacher, she “showed her work” on why she felt the way she did, taking a step-by-step approach that made her thought process difficult to argue with. It wasn’t a sales pitch for me to agree with her. Her presentation left me with an understanding of why she felt the way she did, rather than with a “You should agree with me because I feel this way, and I’m the only person you should trust today” air of superiority that persists in cable news today.
Has Rachel Maddow lost her fastball? In a word, no. She hasn’t. Now, while I’m sure she’d like to be returning to a nightly show under different circumstances, Rachel Maddow is still good at this. And while she told USA Today she has no interest in returning to MSNBC on a full-time basis, I hope she reconsiders. I think cable news is better when both sides of the political aisle are well represented by high-profile, smart talents making salient points. And it’s something that MSNBC could use right about now.
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Seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady will continue his first season in the broadcast booth on Sunday when he calls the NFC Divisional Playoff game between the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders. Brady has been operating under limitations this season since putting forth a pending bid to become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, which was eventually approved by NFL owners last October. Brady is unable to attend production meetings in person or online, cannot access team facilities and also is prohibited from divulging public criticism of league officials and other organizations. Yet Dan Patrick and his colleagues discussed a potential conflict of interest forthcoming when he is on the call Sunday afternoon.
The Raiders fired head coach Antonio Pierce last week following his first full season in the position, creating a vacancy that the team is looking to fill. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is reportedly considered a lead candidate for the job and is said to be “seriously considering” the position, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic. Patrick articulated a possibility of people reading into some of what Brady says on the air, perhaps looking for clues surrounding the direction of the Raiders’ head coaching search or other plans.
“What happens if they show Ben Johnson on the sideline?,” Patrick asked on Wednesday’s edition of the Dan Patrick Show. “Is Tom Brady, minority owner of the Raiders, allowed to talk about Ben Johnson? Does he have any inside info, which I would believe he would. I like how the NFL makes it seem like, ‘This isn’t a conflict of interest.’”
Offering an analogy to compare the situation, Patrick reiterated what director of operations Paul “Seton” O’Connor said Wednesday morning. O’Connor hypothesized Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones serving as an analyst for a game while looking for a head coach and wondered if that would be a conflict of interest there. Brady is slated to call Super Bowl LIX with FOX Sports next month, marking the conclusion of his first year as the lead analyst on these broadcasts.
“The NFL is bending over backwards to help Tom, it feels like, or looking the other way,” Patrick said. “‘Conflict of interest? Oh, it is what it is,’ and then you go back in the wayback machine to how they went after Tom. They were going after him in a big-time, big way; like they were investigating him then. This, it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s with FOX, he’s going to be calling the Super Bowl. Let’s play nice. Probably his last year as a broadcaster – no conflict of interest here.’”
O’Connor emphasized that this is a “blatant conflict of interest,” and it made him wonder what other situations the league could potentially be choosing to neglect. Patrick then thought that if the game was a blowout and the broadcast was looking to fill time, Brady could potentially discuss Johnson in the greater context of NFL news and rumors. The show also mentioned possibilities of Brady pretending he is not interested, questioning Johnson’s style of calling plays or accidentally letting information slip about the Raiders.
“How many times do you listen to a game where you’re going to be reading into maybe an ulterior motive?,” Patrick said. “Troy Aikman came out after the last game that he and Joe [Buck] did and said something about the Cowboys’ job not being a good job or desirable, but Troy is not part of the Cowboys, or he’s not part of another organization ripping the Cowboys. Tom, he’s got his fingerprints all over this. He’s going to making these changes, he’s making these decisions, but he’s also going to be broadcasting a game where maybe the No. 1 candidate for the head coaching vacancies is going to be coaching.”
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