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Maybe Doug Gottlieb Started a Trend and Bill Belichick Can Also Coach and Continue to Do Sports Media

Dave Greene
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Maybe Doug Gottlieb Started a Trend and Bill Belichick Can Also Coach and Continue to Do Sports Media

Ok, I have to take it all back. I now think what Doug Gottlieb is doing with the whole coaching a college team while still doing sports media is absolutely the way to go. It is great for the school with the publicity they get, and Gottlieb gets to coach. Everyone is happy and it is one of the great decisions ever made. I am completely doing a 180 on the subject only because…and I cannot believe I am saying this…I don’t want to lose Bill Belichick the football analyst, the media guy. I like him, way more than I liked Bill Belichick the coach (it’s the whole being from St. Louis thing).

This new Bill Belichick had much more personality than I ever imagined, but what he has that grabbed my attention more than anything is the ability to explain the game to me in a way that makes me a smarter football fan without feeling like I am being talked down to. He points things out and puts them in perspective but is able to simplify the game.

What I have realized is that is part of what made Belichick so great as a coach apparently, he didn’t overly complicate things. I heard Tom Brady discuss how other coaches have such complicated strategies and think they have to overwhelm the players with information. Belichick said his defensive philosophy was to take away the opponent’s best weapon(s) and make the others beat you. Novel concept, but just one example of where he didn’t overthink it, and explaining what he would do in certain situations, it always reverts back to the same principles.

Now, it is going to be great theater to watch as he goes into college coaching. As Coach Belichick said, the college game has never been more like the professional game so now is a good time to give it a shot, at least he has a pretty good idea of what he is getting into versus the coaches who were forced into this new NIL world and had to immediately adjust after doing it one way for 20, 30, 40 or more years.

I hope whoever needs to work out the behind-the-scenes documentary on North Carolina football already has the cameras rolling. Whether this is a success or failure, that footage will be gold. So, I am already looking forward to the ancillary coverage that comes out of this.

I just hope Belichick is able to have some time to keep doing some media appearances and breaking down the game. I am sure Pat McAfee will at least try and keep his weekly segment with Belichick and things like that could also give Belichick an advantage over a lot of other coaches on the college level – the free national publicity will be insane if he thinks he has time to do it and won’t revert back to “We’re on to Clemson…”

This should be good for college football and for North Carolina. It will most likely be really good for the players who want to learn how to be able to play at the next level. Two groups, however, that this will not be good for are the rest of the football programs in the ACC and the viewers like me, who have already come to seek out whatever content Belichick puts out there.

I did also think about this. Imagine if Belichick doesn’t continue any media, immediately goes back to 24/7 living and breathing UNC football and the job. Then, at some point, he will stop coaching again, turn the program over to his son and have the ability to go back to doing sports media. Imagine the financial upside he would have then, now that everyone knows that he is not only capable of doing a lot of different things, but that he is also really good at it.

I am all in on the fascination of Bill Belichick. I think this year off from coaching has made him millions and millions of dollars and ‘upped his game’ in a lot of ways.

I will be pulling for him to continue just giving us even a small taste of some of the content he has been doing this year. I am also hoping he disrupts college football a bit and will be glued to the coverage. But more than anything, I am now counting the days until we can get ‘Media Bill Belichick’ back.

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The Best/Worst Thing I’ve Heard/Watched/Read Recently

If you are into the business of sports media, I recommend you take a listen to an episode of The Bear Roars podcast where the guest is the founder of All City Networks, Brandon Spano. The podcast is hosted by Dan Caruso, who you learn is an investor in All City. The show focuses on innovators in Colorado.

Spano talks about building the business, how much money has been raised and from whom, and what the future looks like as far as a next round of fundraising and how many markets, both domestically and internationally, Spano and the company hopes to eventually be in.

I have followed the brand for a few years and appreciate how much work and effort Spano and his team have put into their digital network in Denver, Phoenix, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas. They are doing game-changing things, and it will be fun to watch as they continue to build.

You can view the full interview by clicking here or get the audio version by clicking here.

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In Case You Missed It

I always enjoy Andy Masur’s ‘Anatomy Of…’ features where he looks at the background of a broadcaster, analyst or insider and gives the story of how they became who they are and what makes them special. Recently, he featured ESPN’s John Buccigross who has become known not just for his skill as an anchor on SportsCenter, but for his incredible passion for hockey.

Masur noted what Buccigross said in an article when ESPN got NHL play-by-play rights back after a long hiatus:

“I was surprised after the announcement how emotional I got,” Buccigross told Boston.com in 2021. “I was driving around and actually started to tear up. It was kind of weird, I don’t know why. I don’t know if it was those 16 or 17 years that we were kind of carrying the torch for the NHL, and to have the hope that it would return to ESPN finally fulfilled.”

Sometimes you forget that those working in the sports media at a high level are regular people, too, and sports fans just like us. This was a good reminder of that.

You can read the full feature by clicking 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.

Talk Show Host-Listener Relationship Shines Brightest During Holiday Season

Pete Mundo
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Talk Show Host-Listener Relationship Shines Brightest During Holiday Season

It’s the time of year when radio stations nationwide will host Radiothons to raise money for great charities and organizations in their community. As we were preparing for our cluster-wide fundraiser at Cumulus Kansas City, a staffer bemoaned the event to me privately, and my reaction was shock.

Now granted, not all stations end up having the success in fundraising that those in the Talk format, either News or Sports, end up having. The numbers are clear that based on a per-listener basis, our talk station will far out-raise our higher-cuming colleagues on the music side. 

Part of that is the mindset of the Talk listener, the income bracket of the Talk listener compared to music, and the often, but not always, deeper connection with a Talk host vs. a music jock. Just to name a few.

But it’s always a show that, while the Time Spent Listening from the P1’s is probably down, and it will be a tune out for a portion of the audience, possesses no downside for a radio station other than a single day of softer ratings, ideally in the Holiday Book anyway.

Rather than getting three or four quarter-hours of listening, your show might only get one in that day. However, that one quarter-hour will draw a deeper connection between the host and the audience, even if most don’t donate, which is typically what happens. 

Like in most organizations, the old Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) likely holds true. 20% of the donors are giving 80% of the money. And of the entire audience, it probably isn’t a huge percentage of the audience that is donating anything at all. But even those who don’t, or can’t donate, won’t punish you in any meaningful way beyond possibly listening less on that one day.

However, the connection that is built over the long term with the audience is invaluable and incalculable. Those who can’t or won’t ever donate will acknowledge the good things you are doing to raise money for those in need in your community. What’s there to punish you for?

It’s like when a football team goes for a 4th and 3 from their opponent’s 40-yard line in the 2nd quarter in a tie game. It’s not the end of the world if they don’t convert. Some fans will scream about going for the field goal to take the lead. But what are the odds of the kicker hitting the 57-yard field goal? And also, the coaching staff gets to see how the defense lined up against them in a 4th-and-short situation. This can pay big dividends as the game goes on, and if it remains close, it could help with a similar offensive play call in the 4th quarter.

It’s not always about what might get you the points in that moment. It’s sometimes about the bigger picture that can win you the game, not necessarily what puts you in the lead in the second quarter.

These radiothons are also great reminders to our programming team and sales team that we have large and passionate fan bases and that despite the industry-wide challenges that exist, we aren’t dead and are far from it.

That’s a great benefit and morale boost for your entire building during a time of layoffs, cutbacks, and seemingly more questions than answers, at times, heading into the New Year. 

Every corner of your building can use these tools, fundraising totals, donor totals and general excitement in a way to effectively move the business forward.

And last but certainly not least, the whole purpose is doing damn good work and raising money for people who desperately need it during the Holiday season.

Too often, our human nature wants to look at the downside and take the negative attitude of where things were, compared to where they are today. But in the end, there are people who these Radiothons help who are dealing with literal life and death. 

We aren’t. And we’re still blessed to do what we do every single day. And we have a tremendous platform to make a huge impact on individuals and families in desperate need. It’s something to feel great about as we head into 2025. 

Embrace it, love it, and run with it. There’s no downside. I promise. 

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.

106.5 ‘The End’s’ Woody & Wilcox Turn Accidental Pairing Into Success

Charese Fruge
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106.5 ‘The End’s’ Woody & Wilcox Turn Accidental Pairing Into Success

Woody & Wilcox just signed another five-year deal with iHeartRadio, where they are syndicated across the country while based in Charlotte, NC, at 106.5 “The End.” They started doing mornings together in 2003 at the CBS-owned Classic Rock 103.7 “The Planet” in San Diego.

“We got paired together for mornings by accident, basically,” says Wilcox. “Woody was already doing mornings with a couple of other people. I was filling in for the traffic woman because she was on vacation for the week, and I didn’t have a full-time job at that point. After that fill-in week, management essentially said, ‘Why don’t you stick around? We don’t think she’s coming back’ and the rest is history.”

“Then we were let go REALLY quickly after that! Lol…but not our fault!  After the Janet Jackson Superbowl wardrobe malfunction in 2004, we were one of those ‘lucky’ few shows around the country that was working at a CBS-owned Rock station in a market where Howard Stern happened to be on a Clear Channel station,” Wilcox continues to explain.

“In the wake of the Janet Jackson fiasco, Clear Channel dumped Stern from all their stations over fears of him breaking obscenity rules and the fines that would come with that. CBS then put Stern on in any of those markets where they had rock stations themselves. San Diego was one of those markets, so we were let go to make way for Stern. We’d been on the air together maybe six months or so at that time.”

“They actually brought us back briefly after Stern left terrestrial, and CBS had taken a bunch of their stations to the all-talk ‘Free FM’ experiment,” Woody interjects. “That didn’t last either, but we really enjoyed that brief stint. It was our first time doing all talk, and we got to work with PD Jim Daniels. Although we didn’t work together long, Jim had a big impact on us at that time. He was a great PD.”

“Then we moved to Anchorage! Like you do in radio,” says Woody. “In 2006, we packed our families for the trek North. At the time, I had twin two-month-old primi daughters, and Wilcox had a 17-month-old daughter. ‘Honey! We’re leaving San Diego for Alaska!’  That’s a fun conversation.”

“Honestly, my wife, Denise, encouraged the move, and I’m so glad she did,” says Wilcox. “We replaced Bob and Tom at 100.5 “The Fox” (KBFX) in Anchorage. We spent four years physically in Anchorage, and then in 2010, we moved within Clear Channel to Charlotte to 106.5 “The End” (WEND), where, again, we replaced Bob and Tom. Almost 15 years later, we’re still on in Anchorage, and in the spring, it’ll be 19 years total on 100.5 The Fox.”

“In 2014, we started syndicating to other markets. KKZX in Spokane was the first. We’ve been on there for ten years. We’ve added twelve more affiliates since then for a current total of fourteen stations. Like everything else about our show, the way we distribute it is weird, too. About half our affiliates are within our deal through iHeart, and the other half are through an outside syndication company thanks to the great Rich O’Brien and the gang at what’s now called G Audio Networks and Radio Resources.”

“The two other members of our show are Chelsea and Cool Beans, both of whom joined us in Charlotte,” says Wilcox. “Both are also highly overqualified. Chelsea’s a Georgia Tech grad, so you know her parents are proud of how this is going. She’s a married mom with two small boys. She’s smart and funny and brings a tremendous vibe and point of view to our show!”

“Cool Beans was some sort of secret agent for the IRS before working with us (true…kinda). She’s one of the quirkiest people we know. She eats like a five-year-old (just chicken tenders), she goes to Build a Bear by herself regularly, she has the ‘Golden Girls’ 24 24-hour a day channel on in the background at her house 24-7, and she’s going/gone to six stops on Justin Timberlake’s tour this year.”

“They’re both WAY more interesting than us, and they both were interns with us initially, starting essentially when we moved to Charlotte in 2010. Cool Beans has since become our producer. In about 2012, Chelsea became a full-time third person on the mic on the show. As a foursome, we’ve been together for about 14 years total.”

“Wilcox has been an assistant high school basketball coach on the side for the last eight years,” explains Woody. “I coached a middle school mountain biking team (yes, that’s a thing!). Chelsea gets up at 4 am on her off days to drive excessive distances for club youth hockey, where drunk parents get into fights in the stands, giving Chelsea tons of show prep, and Cool Beans has another job doing corporate taxes just to pay for her Justin Timberlake/Build a Bear habit.”

“Wilcox is the QB of the show, and he’s well known for his quirks/loves…the mail, state capitals, the wind, sports mascots, getting injured too easily, never seeing movies (name a classic movie, he hasn’t seen it) and thinking too much. I’ve never thought about anything too much.”

“To Woody’s point, I just watched the original ‘Gladiator’ for the first time last weekend…I won’t tell you how it ends. No spoilers,” says Wilcox.

“Listeners are a HUGE part of our show. We learned long ago that they’re funnier than we are. We’ve developed such an odd group of regular contributors who are incredible and memorable. Trying to find that fine line of not being too inside but having that feeling that if you listen, you’re a part of a group/club is one of the tougher but more important things we do. Sometimes we nail it…sometimes we don’t.”

“We do have music on our show now. However, our affiliates just receive our segments so they can put their own music in on their end,” Woody says. “That allows us to be on multiple formats. We’re on ALT, Classic Rock, and Active Rock, and we’re on in four time zones. The show is very adaptable. While we lean a little bit ‘guy,’ it’s not over the top the way some Rock shows are. We have GREAT female listeners!”

“Our show is delivered day of, not the next day, for every affiliate regardless of time zone, so it’s timely,” says Wilcox. “After much trial and error, we’ve discovered this is the best option technically and cost-effectively.”

“Some of our most rewarding moments have come while helping our two favorite charities: Purple Heart Homes (housing solutions for veterans) and The Isabella Santos Foundation (rare pediatric cancers),” says Woody. “Several years ago, we traveled with Purple Heart Homes from Charlotte to Anchorage and then Fairbanks. In each city, we were able to identify and help a veteran and their family by installing wheelchair ramps and other modifications on their homes and starting local chapters of Purple Heart Homes in each city. It was an incredible experience and one of the most meaningful things to come out of our show over the years.”

Follow Woody & Wilcox @WoodyAndWilcox on X and on IG. “We’ve recently had our Facebook page hacked, and literally, as we speak, we are trying to get that back.”

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 Pulse: How We’ve Always Done It, Community Connections, And Radio Industry Happenings

Jeff Lynn
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The Pulse: How We’ve Always Done It, Community Connections, And Radio Industry Happenings

The Pulse wants to shine a light on your station’s promos, marketing, and news. Email me to be included in the Friday column.

The coming new year will bring a flourish of personal and professional resolutions. Most of which will be forgotten by March 1st.

It is a great time for radio stations to take an honest, hard look at what is working and what is being held on to because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”

In my career, I worked at a cluster that had a heritage with several events and promotions that they were very proud of. Rightfully so, but most were dated and needed a fresh coat of paint, or heaven forbid, let them sunset and move on.

When I expressed that some were not only out of date in the way they were executed but that there might be a better way, I was greeted with that look you get when the people across from you believe they are looking at someone with three heads.

“But that’s how we’ve always done it, and that’s the way we do it.”

I was even told by a senior company official, “If they were ever to do a movie about us, it would be produced by 19th Century Fox.”

Said as if that was something to be proud of.

And don’t even get me started on the morning shows that were still doing caller number nine and rehashing a bit made popular by Scott Shannon in the 80s.

Radio is at a critical fork in the road. I don’t need to detail all the platforms competing for a share of the ear.

Now is a good time to examine everything from programming and promotions to jingles and station voice.

If the only case to be made is “but that’s how we’ve always done it,” then make the tough choice and let it fade into an honored spot in your station’s history.

If you’re too close to it to be objective, ask a trusted peer outside the market to give you a candid and frank assessment.

Heading into the spring book, you could have everything tuned up, and the station would sound fresh and exciting.

All it takes is some work, honesty, and the willingness not to say, but that’s how we’ve always done it.”

Community Connections:

iHeartMedia Chicago successfully raised $1 million to benefit patients and families at Lurie Children’s Hospital. As one of the foremost pediatric hospitals in the United States, Lurie Children’s is dedicated to offering state-of-the-art treatments, innovative research, and comprehensive care for children and their families.

Mark “Hawkeye” Louis and Michelle Rodriguez, the morning co-hosts at Cumulus Media’s New Country 96.3 KSCS in Dallas, have successfully collected a record-breaking 215,800 holiday cards for U.S. troops during their sixth annual “100,000 for the Troops” card drive.

The “27th Annual Preston & Steve Camp Out For Hunger,” organized by WMMR Philadelphia (93.3), successfully gathered nearly 1.7 million pounds of food and raised over $995,710 in cash. The event aimed to support individuals and families in need.

Audacy Philadelphia’s BIG 98.1 raised $241,253 for the Child Life, Education, and Creative Arts Therapy Department at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with its 23rd annual “BIG 98.1 Loves Our Kids Radiothon.”

Tom Fricke from KYSL Krystal 93, Dillon, CO, writes, “We’re one of the last independent live & local radio stations in a small unrated resort market. Having a small staff means that executing big promotional ideas will require strategic partnering with our local ski resorts, who have massive staffs and budgets for doing cool things to attract tourists from around the world. Such is the case with “The Race of the Santas” promotion done in conjunction with Breckenridge Ski Resort. Hundreds of Santas racing down Main Street Breckenridge leading up to the Lighting of Breckenridge. Technically, it’s not a “station promotion,” but we take ownership on the air leading up to the event, then I participate in the race and our News Director is the emcee for the event. All about having some fun!

Industry Happenings:

Ashley Cooke, Dasha, Warren Zeiders, Drew Baldridge, and Zach Top have been announced as the CRS 2025 New Faces of Country Music. These rising stars are set to perform at the New Faces of Country Music Show scheduled for February 21 at the Omni Nashville Hotel.

iHeartMedia and the Empire State Building have officially announced a festive holiday event titled the “iHeartRadio Holiday Pop-Up Party featuring Meghan Trainor.” A 10-minute special will be broadcast at 9 PM local time on iHeartRadio’s AC, Hot AC, and CHR stations, as well as on the iHeartChristmas Pop digital station at 9 PM ET.

Shaboozey and Brittney Spencer are set to join the lineup for “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” on December 31, airing on CBS at 8 PM ET. The special will also feature performances from Big & Rich, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Tyler Hubbard, Miranda Lambert, Post Malone, Chris Stapleton, Zach Top, and Lainey Wilson. Previously announced performers included Keith Urban, Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, and Parker McCollum.

Blake Shelton, HARDY, ERNEST, and Dasha have been announced as the latest additions to the lineup for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” hosted by Ryan Seacrest on December 31 at 8 PM ET on ABC. They join Alanis Morissette, Renee Rapp, Kesha, Natasha Bedingfield, Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, Laufey, and T-Pain.

Add Ons:

America Media has announced the availability of a four-hour radio special for stations featuring content from the company’s holiday podcast, “Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols.” This special will be accessible to radio affiliates starting December 9. Stations that wish to air the special can email Maggi Van Dorn at America Media.

Premiere Networks has announced an exciting addition to its programming with the upcoming Christmas special, “After MidNite with Granger Smith.” This four-hour festive event, titled “After MidNite with Granger Smith Presents: A Smith Family Christmas Special,” will be broadcast from December 20 to December 31.

Bit Of The Week:

In future weeks, The Pulse will include the “Bit Of The Week.” If you want to be featured, please send me an mp3 of your best, most recent bit to jeff@barrettmedia.com.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

WKLH Milwaukee’s Dave Luczak Reflects On 40 Years Of KLH Mornings

Jeff Lynn
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WKLH Milwaukee’s Dave Luczak Reflects On 40 Years Of KLH Mornings

Dave Luczak, morning host at Saga Communications’ Classic Rock WKLH, is calling it a wrap after 40 years of Milwaukee mornings.

The Pittsburgh native landed his first radio job in 1976 at WVUD in Dayton, OH. From there, he teamed up with ESPN’s Dan Patrick, a college friend, for mornings at WTUE. A stop in Rochester, NY, created the team Luczak and Girard and the team that moved to Milwaukee at the WMGF.

In January 1986, WMGF became WKLH, one of the nation’s first Classic Hits stations, and the morning run began.

In a business where a 40-year run on one station is pretty much unheard of to what does Luczak attribute his longevity?

“I’ll tell you, it was, what do they say, it’s all about timing, really, I truly believe that it’s the right place, right time; I worked for the right company, the right guy, Ed Christian. Ed was one of the people who hired me back in 84, and at the time, we were owned by Josephson Communications.”

“I was working for the precursor, if you want to call it that, of this company when Ed bought it, so I had a great owner who cares about local, and the company still continues to do that and invests in local radio, and wants you to be a part of the community.”

“The other thing is that I’ve been blessed with being able to work with really talented people. The whole team concept is something that I’ve always clearly been a part of. I have worked with Dan (Patrick), Don Girard, Carol, and Doreen.

Of course, Luczak’s ability to adapt to the changing industry has been critical.

“I’ve had to adapt. Just from a technological standpoint, how things have changed over those decades, and not to mention that we’re now simply a platform among so many other platforms, whereas before, we were one of the few radio, TV, and newspapers. We were one of the few that had an audience.”

“Now everybody has an audience, podcasting is ubiquitous, and there are just so many choices for listeners and viewers everywhere. So, you have to fight hard to stand out and move the needle.”

Luczak and sister station WHQG 102.9 The Hog with Bob and Brian in the Morning Saga has a huge hold on Milwaukee mornings, and I wondered how two such big morning shows, both in a rock format, could coexist under one roof.

“It was really never a problem. The only issue was when Carol’s contract was not renewed in 2015 by corporate. It came to putting another teammate in, we kind of, I don’t want to say stole, but we plucked one of their morning show contributors, Doreen, whose husband is still a big part of their show. Doreen is my morning show co-host, and we’re in our 10th year of working together. I think that was the only thing that might have created a little bit of tension when we kind of stole one of their cast.

For Luczak, it was important to go out while there was “still gas in the tank.”

“I’d rather have gas in the tank than have people listen to me and say, man, when is that guy going to end it? That’s kind of what I subscribe to, and I talk about in my life, and I have for a long time, and I wanted actually to live that.  

“Also, my wife and I have been married since 1980, so 44 years, coming up on 45 next year, with three kids, and they’re all married with their own families.”

“We’ll spend a lot of extra time with our grandkids and kids, and also looking forward to traveling. As you know, in radio, you get a week’s vacation, and you have to be back for the following week.

What else will he do with his newly found free time?

“I don’t know, and that’s the part I’m really looking forward to, is trying to figure that all out because realistically, and no exaggeration, I have been on the radio doing a show since before I was 17, and then I’ve been doing mornings since I was 18, and so that’s a long time to be waking up at 3:15 and thinking about a show. I don’t want to sound too overly philosophical, but I don’t even know who I am as a human being without a radio show to think about.”

WKLH has announced that midday host Dave Coombs will step into the morning role. (BMM 12/9) He will be familiar to the morning audience.

“We did an 8:05 hit every morning for five to ten minutes, and then the last couple of years, when we would do our annual “Cheeseheads in Paradise” trip, where people pay to come along, and we broadcast from, for example, the Dominican Republic we brought Dave along as one of the personalities to help us through the week. So, our listeners are very familiar with him. He’ll become the third member of the team after I leave, and they’ll debut that new version of the show on January 2nd, 2025,

So, how do you put a bow on a 40-year morning show?

“Well, it’s been great. I have to say that since I made the announcement, we’ve done a bunch of things. Yesterday, we had a meet and greet, and we ended up with a lot of our listeners being able to stop out.”

“Friday, we have my final live broadcast. We’re going to be at the Old Pabst Brewery. A lot of guests are coming out. They’re surprising me, so I’m not quite sure who is coming, but I’m looking forward to it. Next week will be my final five shows, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, we’re doing an open house by invite only.”

“Then next Friday, the 20th, will be my final show, and I’m going to have my friends and close family members here and then sign off and call it a career.

You can share your farewell messages for Dave via e-mail or the Open Mic on the WKLH app!                             

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.

Ratings Roundup: Meet the Press Bests Rivals with Donald Trump Interview, NBC Nightly News Sees Ratings Uptick

Garrett Searight
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Ratings Roundup: Meet the Press Bests Rivals with Donald Trump Interview, NBC Nightly News Sees Ratings Uptick

The Lead

Meet the Press featured the first network sit-down with Donald Trump since winning the 2024 election against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. It also marked the first time a network news anchor interviewed Trump since September 2023, as he never appeared for a sit-down conversation during the run-up to Election Day.

The interview — conducted by Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker — was a ratings winner for the NBC News program. The show, which has finished behind both Face the Nation on CBS and This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC in recent months, topped the Sunday political affairs program ratings last week. Nearly 3 million total viewers tuned in to hear the comments from Trump. Additionally, the discussion has earned more than 4.5 million views on YouTube.

For the week, Face the Nation — hosted by Margaret Brennan — saw 2.7 million viewers, while the Stephanopoulos-led show earned 2.4 million total viewers.

In the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic, Meet the Press led with 569,000 compared to 438,000 for the CBS News show and 430,000 for ABC News.

FOX News Sunday, which is helmed by Shannon Bream, earned just over 1 million total viewers and 227,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo.

Nightly Network News Ratings Race Tightens

ABC World News Tonight with David Muir has been the highest-rated nightly network news program for several years. But, at times, the gap between it and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt has contracted. The week of December 2nd was one of those times, as the Holt-led show earned an additional 116,000 total viewers for the week.

Muir’s program led the way with 7.9 million total viewers, while NBC Nightly News saw 6.3 million viewers. Meanwhile, as Norah O’Donnell enters her final weeks hosting the CBS Evening News, that show featured 4.7 million viewers for the week, on average. That represented a nearly 300,000 viewer increase for the program that will soon be hosted by Brennan, John Dickerson, and Maurice DuBois.

Despite the gains in the overall ratings for NBC News, ABC News actually widened the gap slightly in the key Adults 25-54 demographic for the week. The network saw 1.1 million viewers from the demo, while NBC News featured 929,000, down slightly from the previous week.

CBS News saw its key demo audience at 696,000 viewers.

Patriot Awards Top 1 Million

The FOX Nation streaming platform held its annual Patriot Awards on Thursday, December 5th. A re-broadcast of the program was shown on Fox News on Sunday, December 8th in the 10 PM-Midnight ET window.

During the rebroadcast, hosted by network mainstay Sean Hannity after FOX & Friends Weekend host Pete Hegseth departed the network to join the second Trump Administration as the Defense Secretary nominee, more than 1 million viewers tuned into the event.

President-elect Donald Trump was named Patriot of the Year by the conservative cable network. Additionally, longtime Hollywood actor Kirk Cameron was presented with the Culture Warrior Award.

Meanwhile, Fox News personalities like Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy, Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, Harris Faulkner, Bill Hemmer, Abby Hornacek, Lydia Hu, Laura Ingraham, Johnny Joey Jones, Lawrence Jones, Brian Kilmeade, Martha MacCallum, Dana Perino, Judge Jeanine Pirro, and Jesse Watters made appearances at the event.

Viewership totals for the live broadcast on the FOX Nation platform were not made available.

Lotus Seattle Names Andre Riley General Manager

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Lotus Seattle Names Andre Riley General Manager

Lotus Communications has announced the appointment of Andre Riley as the General Manager for its trio of stations in Seattle, which includes Classic Country “101.5 Hank-FM.”

Riley is returning to radio, where he began his career in sales with Bonneville, Fisher Communications, and Entercom. He served as General Sales Manager for Fisher from 2000 to 2003 and Entercom from 2003 to 2008.

A former wide receiver at the University of Washington, Riley later returned to the university, taking on the role of VP/GM to manage corporate partnerships for the athletic department. He also held a similar position at USC Sports Properties from 2016 to 2018. Since 2018, Riley has been active in the Seattle real estate market.

He takes over from Kane Biscaya, who has managed the Seattle cluster alongside 670 KIRN Simi Valley/Los Angeles since April 2023.

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.

Shams Charania: ‘I 1000% Stand By My Reporting’ on Jimmy Butler Situation

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Shams Charania: ‘I 1000% Stand By My Reporting’ on Jimmy Butler Situation

Shams Charania, who is in his first season as senior NBA insider for ESPN, reported over the last several days that the Miami Heat have started to listen to trade offers for guard Jimmy Butler. Within his reporting, Charania indicated that the three teams Butler would be open to joining would be the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. On Wednesday of this week, Charania added that the Phoenix Suns were also part of the list of approved teams, citing Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, as indicating such information in league circles.

Lee ostensibly took exception to Charania including his name within his social media post and opted to express his opinion on X. Within his thread of posts, Lee stated that he had initially given Charania a pass because he was busy and not worth his time to acknowledge. From there, he stated that he is not sure what he will do but assured Charania that “it would indicate severe dislike.”

Lee classified Charania’s reporting as being fabricated and claimed that it would do nothing or the position he represents to do anything that has been divulged as having taken place. To close, he informed Charania to take responsibility and convey that he has ChatGPT write his tweets. These accusations went viral on social media, leading Charania to issue a response to Lee on Thursday morning’s edition of First Take on ESPN.

“I 1000% stand by my reporting,” Charania said. “It’s fully vetted, and as a professional, that’s what I do, that’s what I get paid to do, that’s what I’m going to do. Report truthfully and accurately, that’s what this is, period.”

Charania has broken several stories throughout his first few months with ESPN while also contributing across the scope of its NBA coverage. Upon being asked by First Take featured commentator Stephen A. Smith to explain what he reported, he elucidated that Butler seems to prefer “a win-now destination” and reiterated the four teams to which he is open to being moved. From there, he reiterated that what he is reporting are the facts of the situation and that he stands by his work.

“Yesterday, I added that there was another team also in that list: the Phoenix Suns,” Charania said, “and that was the reporting, and so I 1000% stand by it. It is 1000% facts.”

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.

Z100 New York’s Jingle Ball Announces Celebrity Presenters

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Z100 New York’s Jingle Ball Announces Celebrity Presenters

iHeartMedia has unveiled a lineup of celebrity presenters and attendees for the upcoming Z100’s Jingle Ball 2024, scheduled for tomorrow night (12/13) at Madison Square Garden.

The evening’s celebrity presenters will feature a diverse lineup, showcasing both well-known figures and emerging stars. Drew Barrymore, Martha Stewart, and Jonathan Van Ness are among those slated to appear.

Other personalities, including Antoni Porowski, Anya Packer, and Tan France, will join them. Notable attendees include Ashley Cooke, Bethenny Frankel, Harry Daniels, and numerous other prominent individuals from various entertainment fields.

The upcoming concert will showcase performances from prominent artists, including Katy Perry, Tate McRae, and twenty one pilots. Other notable performers set to take the stage include Teddy Swims, Meghan Trainor, and The Kid LAROI.

Additionally, Madison Beer, Benson Boone, Gracie Abrams, Shaboozey, and NCT Dream are confirmed to participate.

In addition to being a live event, ABC will broadcast the “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2024” Christmas special on December 18 at 8 p.m. (ET) and streaming the next day on Hulu.

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.

Colin Cowherd: I Wanted to Hire Danny Parkins at ‘The Volume’

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Colin Cowherd: I Wanted to Hire Danny Parkins at ‘The Volume’

Danny Parkins is in the midst of his first few months as a co-host of Breakfast Ball in FS1, joining the network after working in afternoon drive on 670 The Score over the last several years. Although he is currently colleagues with Colin Cowherd at the network, who simulcasts his FOX Sports Radio show on the network in the afternoons, there was a time when Cowherd tried to hire Parkins to work at The Volume. Cowherd founded The Volume in 2021 and hired several sports media personalities to create content for the outlet, and he wanted Parkins to be part of the group.

Cowherd obtained Parkins’ phone number and could discern his passion for radio, leading him to call and introduce himself. Once Parkins learned that it was Cowherd on the other end, he simply stopped talking, a period of silence being disseminated. After some time passed, which Parkins shared on social media is longer than he believes Cowherd depicted while telling the story on The Ryen Russillo Podcast, he learned that Cowherd wanted to hire him at The Volume but did not think he would be able to afford him.

“I just said, “I just think you’re great, I think you’re way better than I was at this age. You’re great, and I want to hire you,’” Cowherd recalled. “I could not afford it – the radio station outbid me – and then FS1 came back a year later. Eric Shanks said, ‘Who do you think we should hire as a new guy?,’ and I said, ‘There’s a kid in Chicago – I tried to hire him, I couldn’t afford him. When I went to Chicago, I made a point of listening to his show. I think he’s really talented.’”

Parkins moved to FS1 after spending time hosting radio programming in Kansas City and Chicago for Audacy. The new morning show, Breakfast Ball, is filmed in New York City and features analysts Craig Carton and Mark Schlereth. As a whole, the program is part of the new FS1 show lineup, which includes The Facility in middays and a revamped edition of Speak occupying the afternoons. Additionally, First Things First with Nick Wright, Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes continues to broadcast in its new two-hour alignment.

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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