Indiana Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark was involved in multiple scuffles during the Tuesday night game against the Connecticut Sun. While the team ultimately qualified to play in the final game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, there was tension and emotion evident throughout the contest that led to three players being ejected from the proceedings in the fourth quarter. Ken Carman broke down the situation in morning drive on 92.3 The Fan this past Wednesday, during which Carman referred to what transpired as a “watershed moment” for the league.
“You want to take that next step as a pro sport, you got that,” Carman said. “Scrums and fights and things like that, that’s part of it. Now I don’t want to see Malice in the Palace in the WNBA. I don’t want people going into the stands, but you know it. Any major sport, people are playing for high stakes, there’s jealousy involved, there’s paychecks are involved here. There’s the survival instinct, there’s going to be a fight.”
Lima opined that the broadcasters missed half of what happened and deciphered what took place for those on the airwaves. Carman added that the crowd was into the game and reacting to Clark but accentuated how her own league has yet to accept her holding this status per se. In fact, he drew the comparison to when LeBron James first entered the NBA and there were people who took liberties with him on the floor. Carman credited former Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas for having his back and causing opponents to back off.
“I think the league started to call it a little bit different, like, ‘Hey, this is a star,’” Carman said. “The WNBA has not done that with Caitlin Clark, and then she was out for two weeks with the injury and people were thinking, ‘Okay, now you’ve got your biggest star injured.’”
This was Clark’s second game back after missing time with a left quad injury, during which the ratings for the WNBA began to fall off. A recent article from Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY cites Nielsen Media Research data conveying that national television ratings were down 55% since Clark had been injured.
“The ratings immediately tanked and the league was irrelevant for two weeks without her,” Lima said.
Clark returned over the weekend with a standout performance to lead the team to victory over the New York Liberty. The matchup, which aired on ABC, averaged 2.2 million viewers and finished as the third most-watched ESPN WNBA game to ever air on the network. ESPN televised the Tuesday night matchup between the Fever and Sun, and Lima recognized that it is Clark who is selling the tickets and bringing more viewership to the league. During her rookie campaign last season, the WNBA registered 22 regular-season games that averaged at least 1 million viewers, which took place after no league contest had eclipsed the threshold since 2008.
“I understand that any time we talk about women’s basketball, there’s going to be guys, I’m sure there’s tweets out there to tell us to stop talking about women’s basketball. ‘Okay, Shedeur, Shedeur, Shedeur, Shedeur, Shedeur, Shedeur. Women’s basketball. Okay, we’ll get back to it,’” Carman said. “I think that that’s what’s frustrating to anybody who likes basketball and has watched her over the last two years in the WNBA is that everybody in the world wants to say she’s a star except for the league she plays for, except for the people who are calling the fouls. Nobody at [the] WNBA seems to want to admit that she’s the star, she’s their version of Michael Jordan, nobody.”
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Tucker Carlson welcomed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to his digital video program for a discussion about the conflict between Iran and Israel. To say it grew contentious might be an understatement.
Carlson revealed that he had sat down with Cruz for a full-fledged interview that is set to drop on Wednesday.
In a clip promoting the interview, Carlson and Cruz raise their voices at one another over the Senator’s lack of knowledge about Iran.
“How many people live in Iran, by the way?” Carlson asked.
That led to a back-and-forth of arguing that neither knew anything about the country and whether or not Iran was involved in the assassination attempts against Donald Trump last year.
Later in the clip, Cruz insinuates that the United States is involved in the bombing of Iran, before backtracking to say that the government is providing support to Israel.
“You’re breaking news here, because the US government last night denied — the National Security Council spokesman Alex Pfeiffer — on behalf of Trump, that we were acting on Israel’s behalf in any offensive capacity,” said Carlson.
“We’re not bombing them. Israel’s bombing them,” replied Cruz.
“You just said ‘We’ were,” Carlson interrupted. “These are high stakes. You’re a senator. If you’re saying the United States government is at war with Iran right now, people are listening.”
Ted Cruz has since responded to the clip — which as of this publication, has seen more than 22 million views on X alone — by arguing that it included a series of “gotcha” questions from Tucker Carlson.
“Did a long interview (with) Tucker. He released a snippet playing a ‘gotcha’ on the population of Iran. I declined to play that silly game,” Cruz wrote. He added that in the interview, Carlson attacks President Donald Trump and “falsely claims Iran is not trying to assassinate” the sitting president.
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Hilary Doneux has been named Brand Manager of Alternative 91X Tijuana/San Diego. She fills the spot left open when Garett Michaels departed for KSER in Everett, WA. (BMM 6/11)
Doneux said, “For a Southern California kid who started on 91X back in 1997, I am humbled, honored, and so stoked to get the opportunity to steer this legendary ship! Joining the list of incredible programmers who’ve helped shape 91X for 40+ years fills me with gratitude (and butterflies). Huge thanks to Gregg, Norm, Joe, Garett, and the whole LMSD team for believing in me!”
Gregg Wolfson, President/GM, added, “While we are sorry to see Garett go, we are excited that he will remain on the 91X Team as a consultant to the station. Hilary has earned the promotion to Brand Manager and will do an amazing job moving 91X forward. Likewise, we will be bringing Marty back home to host 91X mornings where he belongs. I’m excited for 91X’s position as one of the leading and most influential alternative rock stations ever.”
Previous career stops include 105.5 KNAC Los Angeles and 96.5 KNRX Denver.
Michaels will continue with the station in a consultant role.
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Jason Fitz worked for ESPN from 2018 to 2023 in the same hallways of the Bristol, CT campus that many other network commentators did. One of those commentators was First Take co-host Stephen A. Smith, whom Fitz took notice of following Smith’s comments Tuesday about why, in his opinion, NBA players don’t want to play for the Memphis Grizzlies. After guest analyst Markieff Morris asked Smith why he thought players preferred to avoid the city, Smith responded by saying players have told him it’s not the safest environment and that local authorities need to “clean some of that stuff up.”
Subsequently, Fitz—who now works for Yahoo Sports and FOX Sports Radio—joined 92.9 ESPN in Memphis on Tuesday to address the comments made by Smith. During the interview, he told Jason & John that his former ESPN colleague lives in stereotypes.
“What the hell does Stephen A. know about the city of Memphis? The answer to that is only what his friends or his people on his phone, tweet him or text him. That’s all he knows. He is so separated from actual reality. What does he know,” said Fitz on 92.9 ESPN.
Importantly, the former ESPN host—who lived in Tennessee for over two decades—referenced how people like Smith, who have never been to certain areas of the country, often base their opinions on stereotypes rooted in a narrow view of one particular section of a city. Fitz claimed that’s exactly what Stephen A. Smith did Tuesday on First Take.
“Stephen A. walks and talks and lives and eats and breathes stereotypes. That’s all he knows,” said Fitz. “How many times has he ever even been to Memphis, talking about Memphis, based on little perspective to Memphis, and he’s talking about Memphis basketball. Frankly, he has to talk about the city of Memphis, because my guy hasn’t watched a single Memphis basketball game in probably three years. Stephen A. has a staff and info group that feeds him information so that he can have somewhat informed opinions, and they’re usually not because he works too hard to actually watch any games.”
Furthermore, Fitz referenced the final day of the previous Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio, in which Fitz sat in studio with Smith for the launch of First Take, Last Take. He recalled how Smith told him to get out of radio because there was no money in it.
“We sat in the studio together, and I looked at him. I was like, ‘Stephen A. It’s such an honor to get to take this time slot and this show. I really appreciate it.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Get out of radio. There’s no money in it, and if there’s no money in something there’s no reason to do it,’” explained Fitz.
Now, Fitz pointed out the irony that Stephen A. has just announced a new radio show. According to Fitz, this reveals Smith’s true motivations.
“So what does that tell you? It tells you that he doesn’t care about the work, he doesn’t care about the process. He cares about the cash, and he will always make the cash because people flock to him. I just got to be honest with you. Yesterday’s toilet paper is more useful when it comes to having an actual opinion about Memphis than Stephen A. Smith’s.”
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I love unconventional thinking. It’s why I was enamored with my colleague Pete Mundo’s column last week on why news/talk radio hosts should emulate ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
Because, for so many reasons, Pete’s right when he says that the news/talk radio genre could be helped by those branching out into new content avenues, like Smith has with his newfound eye on politics and culture. Furthermore, Pete’s right in that the objective of news/talk radio content should almost universally be entertaining, which is something some hosts don’t always get right.
I also thought Pete’s comparison of Smith to Donald Trump circa 2010-2015 was an insanely unique thought, but was right on the money.
Like him or love him, Stephen A. Smith is almost always entertaining, which isn’t an easy feat to pull off.
So, unlike Jason Whitlock — who was not at all pleased with the stance Mundo took last week — I believe that there are definitely aspects that news/talk radio hosts should take from Stephen A. Smith and incorporate into their shows and styles.
But they shouldn’t take everything that the ESPN and soon-to-be SiriusXM host does. Because it isn’t all good.
These are the three things I’d advise news/talk radio hosts to not copy from Smith, or anyone else for that matter.
Never Admitting When You’re Wrong
Stephen A. Smith is on TV a lot. Like, a lot. That’s in addition to his podcast, which is about to be in addition to his radio show. So the likelihood that he’s going to say something factually incorrect at some point is insanely high. That’s just a byproduct of being on the air all the time.
But sometimes you’re going to be wrong. That doesn’t mean you weren’t entertaining. That doesn’t mean that you’re an idiot.
It just means that you’re wrong.
And Stephen A. Smith doesn’t admit when he’s wrong.
Just this past week, a photo of Smith at the NBA Finals — which should, in theory, be his biggest assignment of the year — went viral after it showed him playing solitaire while watching the game.
That should be an insanely innocuous moment. “Yep, you caught me. Haha. But if the damn game were more interesting, I would have been watching that!”
But, instead, Smith initially asserted that the picture had been taken during a timeout, which made any criticism of him null and void. Except that wasn’t true. There was an accompanying video that showed him playing the card game on his phone during game action.
Why lie? Because you don’t have the ability to admit you’re wrong. And why doesn’t he have the ability to admit he was wrong? Because it might damage his credibility if he gives even an inch. There’s already a heaping helping of that in today’s news/talk radio climate. It percolates our politics and has filtered down into the media ecosystem. No one is ever willing to give an inch because “the other side” might take a mile.
He has since doubled down on being caught playing solitaire, saying on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Tuesday, “I was doing what the hell I always do. For those out there that don’t like it — kiss my ass.”
We need less of that. Not more. When you’re wrong, say you’re wrong. Don’t be like Stephen A. Smith.
You Don’t Have to Have an Opinion About Everything
It has never been easier to have and share an opinion on every single topic known to man. Gone are the days of television, radio, and newspapers being the only avenues to get your stances out.
Social media, podcasts, streaming, YouTube, and everything in between are inundated with everyone’s opinion on everything. That’s not an exaggeration. In many instances, the reason those avenues exist is to literally allow anyone to say anything about any topic at any time. It can be harnessed for good, absolutely. But that means the alternative is true, too.
Stephen A. Smith is a victim of his own success. Due to his prominence, people expect his reaction to everything. And that everything — by his own doing — now includes politics, culture, and race in addition to sports.
The problem is that Stephen A. Smith doesn’t have the capacity to be knowledgeable enough about everything to have an opinion on everything. No one does!
Saying “I don’t know” isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of maturity, if anything. And all too frequently, the ESPN pundit has put his foot in his mouth with his sports opinions to prove that he doesn’t always know what he’s talking about.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to hear the opinions of someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. If you aren’t knowledgeable on a topic, that’s ok. Find someone else who is, get their reactions, response, or what have you, then piggyback off that.
Don’t shoot off at the mouth and look like an idiot. No one wins when you do. Don’t be like Stephen A. Smith.
It Isn’t Always About You
Stephen A. Smith has a unique ability to make whatever he is talking about the top stories of the day. Despite what listeners or viewers might believe are the biggest stories, in reality, for ESPN, whatever he’s talking about becomes what everybody is talking about. Which is a gift, truly. When your opinion has the ability to shape the conversation, that’s a great ability to possess.
However, the people who have the ability often fall into the fallacy that they are the topic of conversation, rather than the subject at hand. While they have the ability to shape the conversation, that doesn’t mean that they are the conversation, and there’s a distinction worth noting there.
It’s my view that Stephen A. Smith gets as much satisfaction from being at the center of the story rather than being a member of the conversation surrounding the story.
And that’s not good.
It isn’t always about you. So don’t always make it about you. Don’t be like Stephen A. Smith.
I give Stephen A. Smith a lot of credit for his ability to shape the conversation. He’s an undeniable star in our industry. But that doesn’t mean everything he touches turns to gold. There are chinks in his armor, just like everyone else.
There’s good. And there’s bad. Take the good from Stephen A. Smith and branch out into new topics and avenues rather than local and national politics. There’s a whole big world to talk about out there. Take that content oyster and shuck it. But don’t be an egomaniac while you do it. Don’t be like Stephen A. Smith.
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Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything. If the NBA Finals have proven anything to Commissioner Adam Silver, it’s the fact that his sport lives in a constant state of nostalgia. Progress can never be achieved if the past is never left alone.
It makes you wonder how a sport as progressive as basketball has a fanbase that remains constantly yearning for the past. Change is rarely welcomed, and complaining is the norm. With a continuous need to develop the future of your business with the stars of tomorrow, the focus on the sport remains on ‘what was’ as opposed to ‘what is.’
Attention sports media! Sound familiar? Let’s come back to that later.
I’ll admit, I get caught in the debates and the demand for a little sense of nostalgia time and again. I remember the days when I didn’t have to take out a small loan to take my family to a ballgame just so we could have a meal under the lights watching our favorite stars of the game. There was a day when I could sit down on the couch and watch a game without wondering what streaming service I must use to watch it.
Where the NBA Lost the Battle Against Nostalgia
🏆 GAME 5 STARTERS 🏆
Tyrese Haliburton Andrew Nembhard Aaron Nesmith Pascal Siakam Myles Turner
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Luguentz Dort Jalen Williams Chet Holmgren Isaiah Hartenstein
This year’s NBA Finals we knew would be one of the least viewed NBA Finals in league history. There’s no denying the fact that two small markets with little star power would drive a huge national audience. If you’re running a business, wouldn’t this be the most opportune time to try something new and fresh? To try and give an original look to maybe drive some added eyeballs to check out what’s different?
The NBA sat on their laurels and paid for their laziness.
However, the outcry was not about what they could have done… it was about what they haven’t done and haven’t for a while.
The first element of this was during game one of the NBA Finals, many in sports media cried out how the telecast didn’t have that NBA Finals ‘feel.’ Where were the signature cursive logos and the giant Larry O’Brien Trophy in the middle of the court?
I don't know why this pisses me off so much but there's literally nothing on the court that would indicate we're watching an NBA Finals game. Yes, the Larry O'Brien Trophy on the court was beautiful and should be brought back but there isn't a Finals logo anywhere. Ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/VhmCLMApyI
Sports media needed nostalgia, fans flocked like sheep, and the NBA responded.
Game two, digital overlays of the Larry O’Brien Trophy were projected on the court to provide that NBA Finals feel!
The response by the NBA to the demands for on-court logo nostalgia was weak, but how could you blame them? Commissioner Adam Silver noted that the logos on the court had been gone nearly a decade ago.
The issue isn’t that the logos weren’t on the court, the issue is the demand for them.
Monday, the NBA made a massive announcement that for the remainder of the series fans tuning in can now watch the pre-game starting lineup announcements—another element of an NBA Finals telecast that had previously been gone for more than a decade.
Why would the NBA make such an announcement? Is three minutes before the game begins going to make that much of a difference with the lackluster viewership that the Finals have received?
When the announcement was made, many celebrated the concept of the starting lineups making their return to the NBA Finals telecast for the first time since 2013.
The issue isn’t that the starting lineups weren’t broadcast on air, the issue is the idea there’s a demand for them.
Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything.
NBA Media Are Gatekeeping the League From Progress
It’s no secret that the coverage of the NBA is generational, where the biggest figureheads who commentate on the league hold to a higher standard the greats of the past. Acceptance of the rising stars of the league has been replaced by how they can’t compare to the legends of the NBA’s past.
How many more conversations about comparisons to Michael Jordan can ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith create out of simply nothing to fill time on First Take?
How many more complaints will Charles Barkley have about load management and how the middle-of-the-road stars of today’s game make so much more money than he did during his career?
How much more whining will Draymond Green and other older and current members of the NBA make regarding All-Star Game formats and exhibitions for the fans?
It’s a fact that this NBA Finals has been filled with more controversy than conversation, all in the name of nostalgia. We’re talking about on-court logos, televising starting lineups, and Tyrese Haliburton’s place among the greatest of all time—when he’s playing in just his second postseason in his career.
The NBA is a league that not only leans into the past, but lives in it.
Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything.
Need further proof? The NBA next season is returning to NBC Sports, and the announcement during this year’s upfronts was magical. The television return of Roundball Rock, composed by John Tesh, and the stunning announcement of Michael Jordan joining the NBC crew as a special contributor. The elements of inserting Tesh’s composition and Jordan’s aura can only be described as jumping into a pool full of nostalgia.
When your sport’s culture and conversation is constantly comparing today to the past, you can’t escape nostalgia.
When the presentation of your grand finale is a bigger talking point than the games that encapsulate it, you can’t escape nostalgia.
When your future television rights agreements are being marketed as a blast from the past instead of a step into the next generation, you can’t escape nostalgia.
Circling back to the question toward sports media, does this all sound familiar?
Sports media is no different than the NBA.
How many articles have been written, and conversations been had with hopes that sports radio returns to being the destination for community it once was? Only to be reminded that the failures of its business model have cut more talent than grown it.
The era of developing different ways of presenting television programming for sports fans has been replaced by licensing podcasts to fill airtime. There used to be a sense of professionalism in telling the stories of sports and holding teams accountable—only to be replaced by ‘bro culture’ and the battles for likes/shares/views on social media.
There is too much focus by those in sports media where it leans on complaining about ‘what was’ no longer being alive instead of ‘what is’ and where it’s going.
Joon Lee wrote a fantastic opinion piece in The New York Times this week that stated that sports, as a community, is dying because some of its shared moments are disappearing. Sports leagues have made it harder not just to attend games but to watch them. When fans must pick and choose which teams or leagues they want to support with their viewing dollar, the connection fades and the community aspect sports brings dies.
If connection is fading and community is dwindling, sports media cannot be the NBA and just rest on their laurels. This is no better time to embrace ‘what is’ and build on the communities for tomorrow than right now. It doesn’t require a ticket or a subscription—it just demands your attention and passion.
Sports media must conquer nostalgia the complete opposite of how the NBA has approached the battlefield.
Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything. Progress can never be achieved if the past is never left alone.
It’s time for sports media to step up their game and not just make noise but make a difference.
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The other day, I was listening to a playlist on my phone. I know this is a radio article—hang in there, I’ll get there in a minute.
The song “Driving” by Everything But The Girl came on. I have no idea where it charted or how many records it sold, but it remains one of the coolest songs I’ve ever heard. My passion for that song goes beyond it being a favorite. Besides being a great driving song, it transports me to a time and place when things were very different from today. Music tends to do that.
A few days later, the same feeling came over me. This time, while listening to the radio. Alas, not terrestrial radio. The song was “Never Had a Love Like This Before” by Tavares, a group from New Bedford, just outside Boston. What a great record, and what an incredible vocal by Arthur “Pooch” Tavares.
Image Tavares Album Cover
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of songs that evoke that kind of emotion in people. Yes, it’s tied to the time they were in. What was currently in rotation. The city they lived in, and the circumstances they were facing—but it’s more than that.
It’s how those songs were introduced or “talked up” by the radio personality. The anticipation they built for a song you loved. I was taught, “If you sell the music, it will sell you.” And we had a lot of great music and on-air talent to sell back then.
So, in Urban radio today, what exactly are we selling?
This isn’t meant as an indictment of today’s music. But more of a plea for the music that’s missing from the radio. One of the most exciting parts of being an Urban program director is witnessing listeners’ animated reactions to their favorite songs.
One of my fondest memories is from moderating music tests. Where several participants would come up to me afterward asking for the CD that contained the hooks they had just rated, so they could take it to the record store and find the songs they didn’t know by name. You can probably tell when this was based on the keywords: “moderating a music test,” “CD,” and “record store.”
Urban programmers—here’s a thought: What if we brought back not just one weekend show, but a couple of them? Maybe it’s just me, but I think curated concept shows for those great 1990s and 2000s tracks that aren’t in regular rotation would work. The same goes for a show spotlighting the 1970s and 1980s.
I get it. The later decades might raise concerns for some PDs. A full ‘70s and ‘80s format might only attract a weekend amount of audience after launch. But think about the content opportunities. With tools like ChatGPT, your jock could sound like the most knowledgeable DJ ever.
To wrap it up, I’m not suggesting this just for the music’s sake, but for the sake of your brand. People still get excited about their favorite songs. They should feel just as excited about your radio station.
I’m just saying.
I always love hearing your thoughts. Feel free to reach out atkenjohnsonmedia.com. Oh, and check our Black Music Month feature, the Lost Art of Album Art, on our IG @meanolelionmedia
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In 2005, Michael Brown was the Director of FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The government’s response to the heartbreak in New Orleans was not exactly what the people of Louisiana were looking for. This led to the much-remembered and somewhat controversial comment from President George W. Bush, who said, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
In the years following Katrina, I saw Brown speak at a radio seminar, where he addressed the need for radio managers to have a plan in place for tragedies in their markets.
What sent a chill down my spine and left me shaken was when it said, “It’s not if it happens in your market. It’s when it happens in your market.”
For the Minneapolis/St. Paul market it happened last weekend with the politically motivated killing of Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the wounding of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
Last month, I wrote a feature story on KS95 Minneapolis morning show “Crisco Dez & Wes.” (BMM 5/15). The show promotes “Wake The Fun Up,” and was described to me as three people “being ourselves and goofing off and having fun like that.”
So naturally they came to mind over the weekend, with me asking myself, how will a show like that pivot during a tragedy in their market? I circled back on Tuesday with show lead Crisco to find that out.
“There’s really no right answer,” Crisco said. “You have to balance it. We’re lucky enough to have KSTP Channel Five right here in our building. Matt Belanger, who works there, said, ‘Hey, I can come up. I can give you guys all the breaking news stuff.”
So, how does the tone of the show pivot to match listener expectations?
“You can’t just ignore it. You can’t just not talk about it. It’s too big a thing. What you try to do is take moments to honor those we’ve lost, who were the Hortmans, and be able to also still go.”
“We also want to make people smile in an awful and devastating moment of tragedy. Sometimes you need a break from it. Sometimes you need to be able to go, okay, I have all the details.”
“I know exactly what’s going on in the world because KS95 helped us out, thanks to KSTP Channel Five. But I also walked away, going, they said something silly or they tried to make us laugh and try to be goofy and things like that.”
In cases like this, there is an intangible, unknown line that you can’t cross, to appear tone deaf to the situation, but also not violate audience expectations. Crisco agrees it is a balancing act.
“There is that line. We also want to be ourselves and make jokes and still do stuff like that. And sometimes the best recipe for sadness is laughter. And that doesn’t change what happened. It doesn’t make anything go away. But in those few moments of laughter, it can help you kind of go, oh, okay.”
“Bucks for Babe” is a charity fundraiser for animal rescue born from the loss of Crisco’s dog Babe. In its fourth year, the campaign launches today, and this year it will have another deeply personal tie.
“Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark had a dog that was a bit of a foster fail. That foster fail happened with their dog, Gilbert. The accused shooter also killed their dog.”
For Crisco and KS95, it made sense to include the local organization Helping Paws in this year’s fundraiser.
“I said, take a terrible dark day in Minnesota and turn it around and really help and really do what we can. Thanks to Blaze Credit Union, a local sponsor, they’re matching $30,000. Helping Paws is a place near and dear to the Hortman family, who are obviously going through an immense amount of grief and sadness on their own right now.”
“Anything we can do to brighten their day. Our listeners take those sad moments and go, let’s help. We’ve had our laughs over the years with KS95, and we’ve had good times, but now we need to help. And when it’s time to help, our listeners are second to none.”
Coming from my background as an OM during the 9/11 attacks, I asked Crisco how he would know when it was time to “get back to normal.”
“This is something we’ve never dealt with. And never had a type of grief, like having two people shot to death in their own home. You don’t even know how to wrap your head around it.”
“I think the fact that ‘Bucks for Babe’ landed on that same week, you almost turn the corner right there. Once “Bucks for Babe” is complete on Friday morning, we will give a grand total of what we raised in the two and a half days.”
“I feel like that’s the community coming together and going, obviously we still have a long way to go to unwrap a lot of these answers, but together we did something pretty incredible.”
“We did something pretty amazing for not only the animals that are going to be saved, rescued and helped here, but the Hortman family to hopefully help them start healing. Because we need them to begin healing before we can even start healing and moving forward.
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Last week, Quu released data compiled in a study on the impacts visual ads have on radio listeners. Quu CEO Steve Newberry was impressed by the results.
The data from Quu came from a survey of more than 1,200 respondents in conjunction with Quantilope. It showcased that 89% of respondents said their purchase intent grew when advertisers utilized in-vehicle visual advertising compared to those brands that didn’t.
An additional 64% of respondents said they had made purchases and had higher viewpoints of those advertisers who utilized visual radio ads.
Furthermore, 58% said they viewed brands that used visual ads more favorably than those that didn’t, and 56% said their purchase consideration was altered by visual radio advertisers.
When asked where he thought visual ads for radio was in its life cycle, Steve Newberry had a quick answer.
“I think we’re in the sunrise,” he shared. “I don’t want to say the beginning, but we’re probably now moved past the toddler stage. There’s so much more that we’re going to be able to do. But there’s a ton of opportunity. We’re beginning to get our legs beneath us.
(Photo: Quu)
“I don’t want to pretend that this is the end-all research, to end all things that will ever happen on planet Earth. This is a contribution to the conversation,” Newberry continued. “But it’s legitimate research from a third party, and it certainly has caused a lot of conversation. I think we’re very much in the early stages. I think that it’s not a newborn anymore. It’s not a toddler. We’ve got our legs under us, but we’ve got a lot of opportunity to grow even more in the life cycle.”
The Quu CEO stated that he was “overwhelmed by how positive the results were” and impressed by how much visual ads impressed upon radio listeners.
“Radio has long been known for its ability to develop a brand (and) brand awareness,” Newberry said. “But we saw that we had full funnel impact, not just top of the funnel, but in terms of all the positives as you move through, including purchasing intent. It showed the real power of what radio stations and visuals to the messages can do.”
The data is also likely to be an important message for both advertisers and broadcasters about the power that adding a visual component to an already familiar radio ad can be.
“I think it’s hugely important, because in today’s world, that has more digital competition for radio broadcasters, lots of times, I think the digital technology gets an overabundance of credit for what radio delivers. Listen, I’m a strong believer that the combination of radio and digital is a powerful tool for advertisers, but I want radio to get its fair share plus,” said Newberry.
“When you see that those numbers just get stronger as you go down through the funnel, it’s really amazing. Increasing the purchase intent of a product by 89%? That’s a dramatic number.”
The Quu CEO added that he believes that the data highlights the power that AM/FM radio still possesses with wide swaths of audiences and has an ability to leverage that familiarity with the audience into a medium that drives results for advertisers.
“One of the things we wanted to test, which is, does it get a plateau? Does it cause fatigue? The more people see the display — the more loyal audiences — do you see a diminishing number? And, in fact, it is the opposite of that. You see the numbers get stronger and stronger.
“So if I’m listening to my favorite rock station and I see a message on my favorite rock station, that endorsement appears, but the endorsement of the station, displaying that message adds even more power to it. We’ve known that for years: people feel strongly about their radio station,” Newberry continued. “They feel emotionally connected to their radio station. And I believe this research conveys to the advertisers when they’re seeing their visual message on the screen, reinforcing who is advertising on the station or supporting the station, or has that same sense of value, sense of purpose, sense of entertainment that the radio station offers.”
Quu CEO Steve Newberry was asked what the action item should be for radio broadcasters and station ownership groups after the data was so overwhelmingly positive.
He said that the industry needs to sing its praises to everyone who will listen.
“Radio still has a visual component that is valuable, meaningful, and impactful to their advertising clients,” said Newberry. “There’s a way to reinforce the message. There’s a way to tap into the loyal radio audiences. I’m a huge radio advocate, as everybody knows, but radio’s long been a great way to emotionally connect with advertisers and the listeners and to build that brand awareness.
“But now we see how much it builds the loyalty and the intent of those consumers. So if I’m a radio station operator, the first thing I want to do is make sure that I’m taking advantage of the technology to deploy the visual side. But the other thing that I’m doing is taking this information, getting in front of my advertisers and saying, ‘Don’t miss this very efficient, very smart way to increase the impact of your brands on radio and really drive the consumer’s positive impact and positive perception of what those products are.'”
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Warren Ballentine, radio host, author, and speaker, launched a new program on SiriusXM’s HUR Voices Channel 141 on Tuesday, June 17th, at 1 p.m.
“Common Ground” tackles critical contemporary issues by incorporating a range of perspectives from across the political spectrum.
“We need to have important conversations from a higher perspective. Embodying light, love, and enlightenment, where there is no arguing or finger-pointing,” said Ballentine.
Ballentine, recognized for his skill in discussing intricate issues surrounding race, politics, and spirituality, announced his intention to launch a weekly show aimed at engaging prominent figures, including President Donald J. Trump. The focus of the show will be on solutions rather than sensationalism.
“Common Ground” is produced by media innovators Gary Bernstein and Rick Party, who serve as co-creators of the project.
Bernstein, President of Oceanic Tradewinds, emphasized the importance of bridging political divides: “In today’s challenging and rapidly changing environment, it is crucial to bring political parties together to find common ground on divisive issues. Who better to lead this effort than Warren Ballentine, a nationally renowned syndicated radio host and respected independent thought leader?”
Party added, “Listeners can expect enlightening discussions each week with key leaders from both political parties, as well as significant contributors from the spiritual community. We aim to provide content that expands awareness and shifts perspectives like a refreshing breath of fresh air.”
HUR Voices General Manager Sean Plater said, “We are delighted to welcome Warren Ballentine to our line-up of award-winning shows. We know that ‘Common Ground’ is just the right fit to further explore issues affecting everyone, especially communities of color. Ballentine will present the facts on various topics, allowing listeners to make informed decisions. His depth of knowledge as an author, motivational speaker, attorney, and historian makes him uniquely qualified for this role.”
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