KCMO Talk Radio is expanding its local lineup with a new afternoon program. Miranda Khan returns home to Kansas City to host Miranda’s Right.
What We Know: KCMO Talk Radio will debut Miranda’s Right this afternoon in the 4-7 PM timeslot. Miranda Khan joins the station after a career that includes television stops in West Palm Beach and at Newsmax. Khan is a Kansas City native. The move adds another live and local show to the station’s weekday lineup. Khan’s return also marks a homecoming after years working in national and regional media. It also marks the latest expansion for KCMO. The station continues to emphasize Kansas City-focused programming.
What They Said: “Coming back to Kansas City and joining Pete Mundo and this incredible KCMO lineup is truly an honor. I’m incredibly grateful to Donna Baker and Pete for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. After a career that’s taken me around the country, it feels pretty special to come home to the community that shaped me. I guess Dorothy had it right all along—there really is no place like home.” -Miranda Khan
“KCMO Talk Radio is making a strong commitment to Kansas City by continuing to invest in live, local programming. Miranda is a smart, engaging voice who brings years of media experience and deep Kansas City roots, and she knows how to connect with listeners and drive meaningful conversations. Her addition strengthens our commitment to delivering the news, opinions, and discussions that matter most to Kansas Citians every day. We are excited to welcome Miranda home to KC.” -KCMO Talk Radio Program Director/Morning Host Pete Mundo
What Remains Unclear: KCMO Talk Radio hasn’t shared details about recurring benchmarks, segments, or guests for the new show.
What It Means: The addition of Miranda Khan strengthens KCMO Talk Radio’s commitment to live, local content at a time when many stations rely more heavily on syndicated programming. Furthermore, Khan’s Kansas City roots and national media experience could help the station attract listeners seeking a familiar local voice with broader industry experience.
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Mollie Watson brings 16 years of Cincinnati radio experience to Warm 98. The veteran broadcaster now hosts afternoon drive (3-7 PM) while also serving as an account executive.
What We Know Watson transitions from Q102, where she spent her entire career since 2011. She began as a reporter and promotions coordinator, climbing to on-air host status. The Northern Kentucky University graduate built her reputation as one of Cincinnati’s most recognizable voices. Now, she doubles her role by combining on-air hosting with sales responsibilities at Warm 98.
What They SaidTrey Dolle, Cumulus Cincinnati’s vice president and market manager, praised Watson’s dual value. “Throughout her career, Mollie has built strong relationships with listeners and advertisers alike,” Dolle said, calling her “a tremendous addition to our team both on-air and in sales.” Watson expressed enthusiasm about the transition. “I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the Warm 98 family,” she shared. “It’s been a thrill to be behind the mic.”
What Remains Unclear The market hasn’t seen how this move reshapes Q102’s talent structure. Additionally, Cumulus hasn’t detailed Watson’s specific advertising accounts or territory. Timing of her Q102 replacement also remains undefined. The long-term trajectory of her dual role needs clarification.
What It Means Watson’s dual role signals an intriguing industry paradigm gaining traction. Stations increasingly tap on-air talent as account executives and sales leaders. This approach builds revenue directly while leveraging established listener relationships. Consequently, talented hosts become more valuable—and more expensive—when they drive both content and commercial results.
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Oliver Darcy pulled off something last week that I know firsthand is difficult to do. He put a newsletter’s worth of sources on stage, sold tickets, and turned years of scoops into a live event. Wednesday’s inaugural Status Summit at the Times Center provided a snapshot of an industry that is fractured, targeted, optimistic, frustrated, hopeful, and candid. I was in the room for most of it, and have a lot to unpack.
Before I dive in, let me make something clear. Many of the speakers at this event represented what some label the left or liberal news media. But I don’t care about right and left labels. I believe our role in covering the news media industry is to treat folks from all sides respectfully, ask questions about relevant issues and experiences, and focus on what unites us: the broadcasting business.
I had the pleasure of meeting Brian Stelter at the show, and told him during a brief hallway chat that if someone works in print, radio, TV, digital or advertising, knows the business, and has a story to tell, we want to talk to them. People with strong political views are going to support those who they agree with and rip those who see things differently. I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind, I’m just trying to focus on issues that matter to industry professionals. If someone’s views or personality turns you off that much, don’t read it. We have plenty of other stories for you to consume.
An Impressive Guest List
Meredith Kopit Levien and Nicholas Thompson opened the day talking about subscriptions and AI. Brian Williams and longtime producer Jonathan Wald talked about what’s left of primetime. Kara Swisher and Andrew Ross Sorkin stopped through. Julie Pace and David Remnick discussed covering Trump. Nicolle Wallace took aim at conservative media. Don Lemon and Mehdi Hasan made the case for life after cable. Tyler Denk showed up representing beehiiv, the platform quietly becoming a force for many across the media business. His fifteen minute presentation was outstanding. Wendy McMahon, Kaitlan Collins, and Rebecca Kutler all played roles in important conversations. The guest list read like the group chat every media reporter in New York wishes they were a part of.
Despite being two years removed from CNN, Oliver Darcy has built enough trust that he can get executives and top talent into the same room. That’s what relationships can do. It also shows that the newsletter-to-platform pipeline that beehiiv has been selling isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s how you build power in the industry now.
The AI Battle
Meredith Kopit Levien didn’t hedge. She told the room that any AI company training models on the New York Times’ journalism needs a commercial agreement with the paper. Her exact words were “the Times isn’t letting anyone off the hook.” The Times is suing OpenAI, Microsoft and Perplexity while simultaneously doing licensing deals — Amazon’s already one of them — which tells you the strategy isn’t “no AI,” it’s “pay us first.” Nicholas Thompson of The Atlantic approached the topic from a different angle: Google’s changed the terms of the relationship with publishers, search referrals are down, and the old bargain where you gave it your content for free traffic no longer works.
Both of them are right, and neither has fully solved it. Subscriptions are vital to both outlets, and each says there isn’t a ceiling on subscriber growth. If true, that’s different from what many others in media are experiencing. Where I’d push back is on the difference between “we haven’t hit the ceiling yet” and “there is no ceiling.” Publishers who have built destination brands are surviving AI disruption better than those who rely on search traffic. That’s a lesson our industry, radio included, should be taking notes on. If your business model is “pray to the algorithm gods for help,” you don’t have a business model.
Strong Political Viewpoints
Nicolle Wallace, Don Lemon and Mehdi Hasan spent a large part of the afternoon ripping conservative media, Trump coverage, and in Lemon’s case, his old employer, CNN. Lemon specifically called out Scott Jennings’ hire, arguing CNN pushed him out while keeping a commentator who shares harsher opinions. Wallace predicted Tucker Carlson will run for president in 2028 and explained why she won’t carry Donald Trump’s speeches live. Hasan discussed the freedom of not answering to a corporate parent, and the cost of that freedom, including what he’s paying for defamation insurance.
This summit showcased how one side of the industry views specific situations. One of the stronger, more useful moments was Lemon and Hasan’s points on the business side: both are running lean, majority subscription-funded companies. They believe being let go was the best thing to happen to their careers. Sometimes when accomplished people lose valuable jobs and platforms they can feel lost without them. For anyone going through it, Lemon and Hasan’s perspectives were worth hearing. The safety of a big paycheck, large platform, and shrinking audience isn’t as safe anymore.
News Making Moments
Brian Williams and Jonathan Wald’s conversation on the shift from primetime to streaming was one of the sharper sessions of the day. Williams said 60 Minutes could use a refresh and questioned why the broadcast still takes summers off. Wald, pressed on the ousting of Bill Owens and Scott Pelley’s exit, and didn’t dodge the obvious metaphor about breaking eggs. He’s not convinced that Bari Weiss is bad for the news business. That drew a reaction, since it wasn’t the popular opinion.
Don Lemon shared with Darcy that a deal with Amazon Prime to air his content is forthcoming. Rebecca Kutler explained that MS Now is in stronger shape following the spin off than it was prior to it. She also went in depth on why Hasan Piker hasn’t appeared on the channel, how she handles disagreements over airing Donald Trump press conferences, and why the brand is prioritizing a DTC strategy.
Wendy McMahon, the former CBS News exec also made headlines. She acknowledged that she knew the editorial reset that awaited CBS and 60 Minutes prior to exiting the company. McMahon said that she is trying to be fair and keep an open mind to Bari Weiss’ decisions, but a few so far have surprised her.
Though McMahon’s comments on CBS were likely to produce headlines, her insights on local television newsrooms, the need for new business models, beehiiv’s growing presence, and protecting broadcast licenses were very interesting. Watch the video below to catch up on what you missed.
The Bigger Picture
The summit provided a reflection of how the media industry looks in 2026 through one particular lens. AI is forcing publishers to value their own journalism and fight to protect it. The loudest voices in political media have picked teams and stopped pretending otherwise. Those keeping television alive are the people who left it. Subscriptions and direct relationships with audiences are the only real insurance policy.
However, what the New York Times and The Atlantic can do is far different from what many in local cities experience. Each is built for the modern day media industry. But too many existing groups play defense rather than offense.
Case in point, companies flocked to social media platforms in the early 2000’s, built them up, and then learned a valuable lesson. When those platforms got stronger, legacy groups were shut out, forced to spend to reach their fans. How did many in the media world respond? By prioritizing search, video, and other non-owned locations.
Suddenly, AI is born, search gets crushed, and the response is to pivot to newsletters, subscriptions, podcasts, and apps. But what happens when the companies controlling the inbox, and the platforms where content appears follow the strategic blueprint created by social media companies? Newsletters and subscriptions could be damaged too if the landlords change the rental rules. If Spotify and Apple installed licensing fees to creators and companies to post content, media groups would be scrambling as well. As long as groups rent rather than own, we’re always a step away from dealing with business turmoil.
Oliver Darcy built a room that gathered smart people to examine the present day challenges facing news media talent and decision makers. It was a strong first swing at a live event. I’m looking forward to seeing what awaits in year two.
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When the Republican Party decided to hold its 2026 Midterm Convention in Dallas, it handed AM 660 The Answer morning host Mark Davis a rare opportunity: cover a major national political event without ever leaving home.
Davis, a veteran of numerous presidential conventions, recognized the moment immediately and built his entire week around it. Rather than treating the convention as a distant story to relay secondhand, he transformed it into daily, immersive content for his listeners and social media followers alike. The result was a hybrid approach that blended traditional morning drive radio with real-time, on-the-ground reporting from inside the American Airlines Center.
Davis described his initial reaction to the convention concept months before it happened.
“When they announced this midterm convention idea some months ago, I thought, this is lovely,” Davis said. “It could be nice. It might work. I hope it does. We’ll certainly be in need of a boost for the midterms.” He noted that as the event drew closer, critics in the media began taking jabs at the idea, which he interpreted as a sign of its strength rather than weakness.
Because the convention landed in his own backyard, Davis didn’t need a broadcast trip or a temporary setup. He simply drove over after his show wrapped each morning.
A New Kind of Coverage Cycle
Davis explained that his usual convention experience, tied to headphones and commercial breaks, looked nothing like what unfolded this time.
“It was great,” Davis said. “I’ve done shows where I have broadcast the show from certain locations. This was not that, and I was thrilled.” He added that being freed from a studio setup let him do a show each morning, then head to the arena each evening to experience it firsthand, gather notes, and post extensively on social media.
That rhythm, mornings on air discussing the previous night and evenings absorbing the next day’s material, became the engine driving his coverage all week. Consequently, Davis wasn’t just reporting on the convention; he was living inside its news cycle in real time, and that proximity showed up in the specificity of his commentary.
Because he approached the week without a rigid plan, Davis let the story come to him organically.
“Anytime, as a veteran of a lot of actual presidential conventions, you learn that no plan ever really survives the first day,” Davis said.
He and his producer, Rhonda Moreland, simply fanned out through the building each day to see what developed, an approach he said gave the coverage an authenticity that a scripted broadcast couldn’t match.
Bringing Listeners Inside the Room
Davis said that freewheeling structure let him bring listeners inside the arena with him rather than simply summarizing headlines.
“It was an opportunity for me to bring the listeners inside the American Airlines Center with me and share what it was like to see the drama unfold,” the AM 660 The Answer morning host shared.
He said the experience felt more like being a member of the public than a broadcaster on assignment, and that shift in perspective sharpened his read on the crowd’s mood and the event’s overall tone.
Because the convention carried none of the built-in drama of a presidential nominating event, Davis said it needed to generate its own energy from moments on stage. He pointed to speeches from Vice President JD Vance and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., along with a video appearance from Senator John Fetterman, as proof the event delivered.
“There were actual plotlines to follow, and things that were interesting to cover and interesting to witness,” Davis said. “The most important thing it needed to do was not be boring. And it succeeded in spades.”
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Program Director Ashley Layfield manages two of the most competitive country radio markets in America—and she’ll be the first to tell you she never planned on it. Her origin story isn’t the typical radio bloodline narrative. Instead, it’s a reminder that sometimes the best careers find you.
Most programmers grow up with radio in their DNA. Layfield took a different path. She went to UNF in Jacksonville studying communications, marketing, and PR. Radio wasn’t on her radar. A college internship with a Jacksonville radio group changed everything. “I was doing everything,” she recalls. “Throwing tents up, entering registration forms into spreadsheets. I had never even stepped foot in a studio.”
Then came the moment. A mentor named Tim Clarke tapped her on the shoulder. He saw something in her. He suggested she try morning show production, even though she barely knew what programming meant. “I couldn’t even get up for nine a.m. college classes,” she laughs. “And they wanted me there for the morning show.”
She showed up anyway. That decision led to 17 years building a radio career—from producing behind the scenes, a morning show host to management. She spent 14 years at Cox Media Group before joining iHeartMedia four years ago. Now she oversees two programming domains foriHeart: US103.5 Tampa Bay’s #1 for New Country and 94.9 The Bull – Georgia’s #1 for New Country and All Time Favorites. Both are markets where she manages constant motion—touring artists, major sports franchises, and passionate listeners spread across sprawling suburbs, while also still hosting the midday show on US103.5 from 10am-3pm Mon-Fri.
Two Markets. One Philosophy.
Tampa and Atlanta look different on the surface. But Layfield sees the connection immediately. “Both are two of the biggest beasts in country radio,” she says. “Everyone tours through both. Professional sports, concert lineups, everything travels through these markets.”
The real insight? Her listeners don’t [all] live in the city centers. They’re in the outskirts—the suburbs, the surrounding communities. That means street presence matters differently now. Radio’s footprint has shrunk. Street teams are sparse. So Layfield built something smarter.
In Atlanta, she has Mikey Wakefield, a former BertShow intern turned community connector. “He’s out in our hot zips twice a week,” Layfield explains. “Sometimes it’s concert tickets, grocery gift cards, gas cards. Weekdays, consistently.” On air, personalities like Corey Calhoun and Angie Ward work the community circuit alongside their shows. They’re live. They’re present. (And) they’re building relationships the way radio used to, just more efficiently.
“It’s another unicorn situation,” she notes. “We have live bodies out there on both stations in Atlanta and Tampa. I don’t take that for granted.”
The Programming Blueprint
Layfield’s philosophy combines data with instinct. She runs extensive local listener research. Songs that hit in Tampa might not connect in Atlanta. Artist partnerships vary by market. But her real competitive edge is people.
“Open communication with your team is probably the biggest thing,” she says. Her approach is direct: Are you trying new things? What makes you want to come to work? What ideas do you have? Her office door is always open—whether it’s about a show concept, a contest, or a format tweak. It’s also not just a programming gig anymore – she’s fully emerged in sales meetings, sales calls, and anything to be a true team player for both brands.
She stays plugged into what her markets care about. In Tampa, that means the Rays. In Atlanta, the Braves. She’s not just playing music; she’s weaving her stations into the fabric of local life. That’s the brand strategy. That’s how you stay relevant when streaming offers unlimited access.
“Having that open communication when it comes to what’s going on in your talents’ shows—that’s a big thing,” she emphasizes. “What are they inserting themselves into? How are they getting involved in the community? What can I do to help them?”
The Bigger Picture
Late in our conversation, I asked Layfield what format she’d work in if not country. Her answer was telling. “Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you if I weren’t working in country. I don’t know that I would work in radio.”
That’s not cynicism. That’s conviction. Country radio is unique. The format demands relationship-building. The music community is tight. The fan loyalty runs deep. She’s found her place.
But she’s also watching an industry under pressure. Layoffs. Format flips. Consolidation. Record labels, radio, everyone’s tightening. The trades focus on what’s being cut, not what’s being built. Layfield wanted to say something different.
“Don’t forget about all the rest of us that are still pouring our heart and soul into it,” she says. “Our on-air teams putting so much into their shows –Scotty Davis and Teri Gerrish in Tampa – challenging themselves every day and being present at every event. Working hand-in-hand with the promotions directors – Nikki Clark and Mishelle Rivera – to maximize every opportunity coming our way – those two are forces to be reckoned with and I couldn’t do it without them. There are still amazing things happening in so many markets, and I am proud to say Tampa and Atlanta are two of them.”
That’s the closing message worth carrying forward. Radio’s changing, sure. But in Tampa and Atlanta, in the suburbs where the listeners live, there are still teams showing up every day, doing the work, building something real. That’s where Ashley Layfield’s focus is. And that’s why both of her stations still matter.
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Nostalgia is a powerful drug. It floods the memory with happier times and often can drown out the challenges of the here and now and the work required to grow into the future. Without question, ESPN has leaned into nostalgia. There’s a calling from viewers to mix elements of the past with the present and future. It’s a smart play, and its latest swing for the fences is welcoming back Skip Bayless to First Take.
Like Rich Eisen and the Golic family before him, Bayless is returning to ESPN and his home on First Take every Friday for the upcoming football season. After the program lost both Ryan Clark and Cam Newton to layoffs earlier this year, there were holes to fill in the program’s rotation. Bayless was available, and First Take made the call. Not one they had to make, but one they should have.
Bayless and Smith are the Mike & The Mad Dog of sports television. That’s why it’s sort of fitting that Russo has a presence on a program that mirrors the impact his efforts made in embracing debate on ESPN.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Earlier this year, Bayless made his return to First Take for the first time since departing in 2016. The episode averaged 674,000 viewers, a 24% increase over the program’s weekday average to that point this year (520,800) and 44% higher than the corresponding episode a year earlier.
The episode’s success wasn’t limited to viewership. According to Front Office Sports, Bayless’ return generated more than 33.5 million social impressions, 2.2 million video views and 1.1 million engagements across ESPN’s social platforms.
Again, nostalgia is a powerful drug.
The results spoke volumes. Those who watch ESPN wanted Bayless back across the desk from Smith. Why? Because there’s magic there. Two titans of the sports media industry single-handedly took what sports radio had built over so many years and applied it to a television product. Sure, they borrowed the concept, but they molded it into their own successful model.
But there’s also a challenge in front of Bayless and Smith with this once-a-week reunion: How do they water the garden and keep the content fresh?
Build For Now
If you recall Bayless’ appearance earlier this year, the content overly rehashed old debates that went viral more than a decade ago. It was two “old heads” flapping their gums over war stories from the past instead of engaging in current sports discussion.
That approach cannot happen as Bayless moves into his new rotation with First Take. There’s a difference between Fridays ahead of the college and NFL weekends and a random Friday in early May.
I don’t expect the First Take staff to lean into nostalgia moving forward. It would be foolish to reference Tim Tebow when discussing the top quarterback in college football today. It would be a mistake to rehash G.O.A.T. debates by referencing quarterbacks who play in the NFL today.
Instead, the reunion must challenge both Bayless and Smith to write a second act.
The return in May proved many things. People watched. They shared. They debated. In other words, they did exactly what First Take has always been built to encourage. That has always been First Take’s greatest strength. Viewers tune in because of personalities, chemistry and conversation. Credentials certainly matter, but television chemistry matters even more.
The content is secondary to how the combatants present it. It cannot come with a nod and a wink to the past. Instead, it must focus on how Bayless and Smith can set a new standard for the future.
This isn’t about recreating 2012. That version of First Take already happened. It’s about recognizing what can still work in 2026.
Don’t Waste The Opportunity
ESPN made the right call bringing Skip Bayless back to First Take. The numbers from his first appearance made that clear, and the chemistry remains too valuable to ignore.
The opportunity now is bigger than nostalgia. ESPN has a chance to take the elements that made Bayless and Smith so compelling — the chemistry, the disagreement, the personalities and the ability to make viewers care about a conversation — and build something that feels relevant in 2026.
The second act shouldn’t be a tribute to the first. It should be an evolution of it.
Bayless doesn’t need to be the Skip of 2012. Smith doesn’t need to be the Smith of 2015. First Take doesn’t need to be the First Take we all remember. If ESPN gets that distinction right, Friday mornings can become more than a weekly reunion. They can become the beginning of the next chapter for two personalities who already proved they know how to make sports television matter.
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Remember “Lake Me” — where everyone shares everything from their kid’s first steps to their spaghetti recipe? Well, just north of Lake Me is the Hot Take Flood Zone, and it’s raging. Everyone has an opinion; everyone feels compelled to share it, and facts are frequently left outside.
All of that is fine. Personality is critical, and having an interesting one requires a point of view.
But there’s no denying the floodwaters are rising.
ESPN has become the Worldwide Leader in hot takes and their ratings are soaring.
Absurd viral trends like “Man vs. Chimp” often start as hot takes.
When it comes to RockTernative content shows, are hot takes a good thing?
The right ones can help, the wrong ones can backfire. They’re also optional. Most shows today operate more like the Opinion Swap Meet than the Hot Take Flood Zone. Three quick definitions will help.
Three Key Definitions
Personality: The full human recipe. Experiences, stories, humor, flaws, instincts, and opinions that make talent who they are on the air.
Opinion: Also known as a take, but just one ingredient in the larger personality.
Hot Take: An opinion that’s fully sharpened into an arguable or surprising premise that leads to real content.
Opinion: “Grunge is overrated.”
Hot Take: “Grunge killed Hair Metal, but Hair Metal was the more influential genre.”
Calm down. They’re just examples. But if the first statement slid by because you’ve heard it a thousand times while the second had you reaching for a Dokken CD to slice me open, the hot take worked.
It immediately led somewhere else: a question, a reaction, emotion, arguments, supporting arguments, a CD-knife fight.
The Radio Shift Ahead
This matters because radio’s future will require a shift in balance to more talk, less rock. That’s not a hot take. History supports it: Would KROQ, KISW, WMMR, WRIF and others have become legends without talent? Music created the foundation; personalities made the brands bigger than their playlists. That remains the solution in an era where music is everywhere.
The Formula Trap
That brings me to a concerning pattern. At the exact moment personality and content are becoming more important, some shows are reducing them to a very predictable formula.
RIP. READ. OPINION. NEXT.
Here’s the headline.
Here’s our immediate opinion.
What do you think?
Next headline.
That can work sometimes. But on a loop it becomes lazy, forgettable, predictable and just like the team across the street — a stream of announcements about how the hosts feel about everything.
#1 for opinions doesn’t win.
#1 for interesting opinions has a better shot.
But to get out of the weeds, we need to identify them. The weeds are headlines and basic opinions — they’re necessary, but not enough. A simple opinion keeps you there, but a well-thought-out hot take pulls you out into real content.
Talent storylines
Listener calls and stories
Recurring arguments, maybe fistfights out back
Counterarguments, adjacent conversations
Guests, debates, precious gray area
Something the audience repeats in its own circles
Consider ketchup.
Jenny says, “Ketchup is good on steak.” That’s an opinion. It’s fine, but fleeting and unlikely to carry a segment.
Imagine if Jenny said, “I like ketchup on steak so much it belongs on everything — including my man… if you know what I mean.”
Now we have fireworks. Questions, disgust, curiosity, crimes against foodmanity and humanity, listener challenges. Heinz would probably even jump into the madness on social.
You see the difference. One opinion fills ten seconds. The other creates content that can travel beyond the station, return tomorrow, and leaves listeners wondering what Jenny Rock Head will say next. And that, as the kids say, is when you’re living rent-free in their heads.
That’s more valuable than a marketing campaign. It’s actually its own marketing campaign.
Restraint matters, though. Turning every opinion into a hot take becomes obnoxious shtick. If every break is at 11, nothing sounds loud.
How to Navigate the Flood Zone
A few loose rules before wading into the Hot Take Flood Zone:
Believe what you’re saying. Listeners smell fake.
Make it specific enough for someone to repeat.
Be able to defend it beyond the first objection.
Give the audience a place to enter.
Give the show somewhere to go next.
And be willing to be wrong.
Nobody bats 1.000. Freezing Cold Takes is a great follow because “confidently wrong” and owning it can be hilarious. Being wrong is both relatable and survivable. Being fake isn’t.
For the record, she’s f#%king wrong; ketchup doesn’t belong on everything.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
If you’ve been around ratings for a while, the recent complaints from the NFL regarding Nielsen estimates sound familiar. I have yet to hear anyone in the media business argue publicly that their ratings were too high. Or that Nielsen overshot and the reality is lower. Occasionally, someone at the station level may privately admit that. But complaints about low numbers are as consistent as New York Jets losses.
The NFL is just the latest. I’ve been on both ends of this complaint in my career. The more you know, the more you understand the system gives out odd results from time to time. More decibels rarely result in higher estimates.
But I’m citing the NFL issue for a different reason. Sports Media Watch quoted Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao’s response to the NFL that the company has spent “months working hand in hand” with its clients and industry figures “to make Big Data + Panel even more accurate.”
When I started at Arbitron in 1999, one of the company’s attorneys, Pat O’Donnell, stopped by my office with a memo that she handed out to newbies who would be talking to outsiders. The memo stated that Arbitron was under a Federal Trade Commission consent decree. In the vein of George Carlin’s “7 Words,” there were certain words we could not use in outside conversations. Not insults, but words like “truth” and “accurate.” If memory serves, there were twenty words, give or take.
I didn’t take the memo with me when I left the company in 2015. I was always curious though about the consent decree’s specifics. When you want to look up something like a consent decree online, it should be easy. This was a bear. Nevertheless, your intrepid columnist found it, and not only that, there were two more!
The 1962 Consent Decrees
Let’s ride the time machine to the end of 1962. An entity called CEIR Inc. (Committee for Economic and Industrial Research) owned Arbitron at that time. A few years later, CEIR Inc. was sold to Control Data, which became Ceridian. They spun off Arbitron in 2001 before Nielsen purchased Arbitron in 2013. Keep in mind that in 1962, Arbitron, then known as the American Research Bureau, measured only television.
The document is “In the Matter of C-E-I-R Inc.,” dated December 28, 1962, docket C-289, which is a consent order “in regard to the alleged violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act.” The summary states:
“Consent order requiring a Washington, DC company engaged in the measurement of television audiences and the publication and sale to broadcasters and advertisers of data and reports based thereon, to cease representing falsely that the television station and program ‘ratings’ and audience ‘totals’ compiled by it — which did not disclose the number that failed to cooperate and included hearsay reports and estimates — were accurate measurements arrived at through the use of techniques and procedures free from error other than sampling error.” (61 F.T.C. pages 1468-69)
The consent decree goes on for a few more pages with specifics, ending on page 1473.
Turning to page 1474, the same summary appears, but surprise, Docket C-290 is “In the Matter of A. C. Nielsen Company.” Then we reach Docket C-291 with a similar summary, “In the Matter of The Pulse Inc.” Those of you old enough to remember Pulse radio ratings know that the company shut down in 1978.
Now you understand why Nielsen reports have all that boilerplate that you’ve never read. The requirement is most likely older than you are.
The Harris Committee and a Lasting Rule
The next year, 1963, saw the companies investigated by a House subcommittee, known as the Harris Committee for the chair, Congressman Oren Harris of Arkansas. One upshot of the hearings was that the industry should self-regulate, which begat what we know today as the Media Rating Council (MRC). While the MRC was not created by an act of Congress, Congress clearly told the industry to get their house in order. If it didn’t, Congress would do it for them. Can you imagine a Federal Ratings Commission?
My point is that the consent decrees still exist, and while C-E-I-R and the A.C. Nielsen Company have taken on different forms over the decades, ratings suppliers can’t refer to “accuracy,” “truth,” or similar words when talking about ratings. Sampling error is a legitimate measure, but non-sampling error (everything else involved in surveys) probably accounts for far more variation. And Nielsen’s PR and legal teams need to be aware of the quotes they give their CEO or what he says publicly.
This doesn’t mean that Nielsen is under-representing audiences to NFL games, nor does it mean Nielsen does a poor job of measuring radio audiences (thankfully, online columns don’t come with laugh tracks). But long before any of us got into this crazy business, there were concerns about ratings. I’ll leave you with a quote:
“I frankly worry about broadcasters becoming locked up in jails they build for themselves. Creativity, for example, is now being curtailed by slavish addiction in some quarters to audience measurement or ratings of questionable validity and administered outside any qualitative control of broadcasters.”
Does that sound like something that has crossed your mind? The speaker was LeRoy Collins, NAB President, at a panel at Northwestern University. It’s from 1961.
Let’s meet again next week.
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This summer gave me a crash course in parallel planning. This week I’m producing a golf tournament for work. I’m also getting married. Somehow, both events land on my calendar in the same few days.
So naturally, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes an event actually come together. The answer, for me, always comes back to the same idea: proper preparation prevents poor performance.
Start With Goals, Not Logistics
Before you book a venue or go on sale, get clear on why the event exists. In radio, we run almost everything through a simple filter: does this drive ratings, or does it drive revenue? If the answer is no to both, it’s worth asking why you’re doing it at all. That same filter works for any event. Know your audience first. Then build backwards from what they need. Otherwise, you risk spending real time and budget on something that never had a clear purpose.
Ask If the Juice Is Worth the Squeeze
Staffing is tighter than ever across most industries, radio included. So, every task deserves a gut check. Is this piece of the event actually worth the effort it demands? Sometimes the answer is yes, and you push forward. Other times, you’ll realize a task exists out of habit rather than necessity. Trimming those extras frees up energy for the parts of the event that truly matter, whether that’s guest experience, sponsor visibility, or simply making sure the day runs on time.
Build a System You’ll Actually Use
Once your goals are set, organization becomes everything. I’m a spreadsheet person through and through, and Google Sheets is my go-to. It’s simple, it’s flexible, and it makes collaboration painless. Multiple people can update the same document in real time, which matters when you’re coordinating vendors, staff, sponsors, etc. For work events, I also lean on Growthzone to manage sponsors and attendee registration. It’s not glamorous, but it gets the job done, and consistency matters more than flash when you’re tracking dozens of moving pieces.
Track Every Follow-Up
This tip matters most for first-time events, though it applies to any event with a lot of stakeholders. Keep a running list of every outstanding follow-up. A vendor waiting on a signed contract, a performer who hasn’t confirmed, a sponsor who needs a final invoice. None of it should live in your memory alone. Write it down. Keep notes. Check the list often. Then check things off as they get done. This single habit prevents more last-minute scrambling than almost anything else on this list.
Don’t Try to Be the Hero, Be the Connector
Here’s something that I have always embraced: you don’t have to know how to do everything yourself. You just have to know someone who does. When I worked in NYC radio, this was second nature. Need a stage built overnight? I know a guy. Need a barber at the last minute for a rapper needing a haircut? I know a guy. That mentality isn’t a shortcut. It’s a survival skill. Build a network of trusted experts long before you need them, whether that’s a caterer, a sound tech, or even a barber. When you try to do it all yourself, you become the bottleneck. When you connect the right people to the right problems, the event runs better and you stay sane in the process.
Expect the Unexpected
No matter how organized you are, something will shift. A performer cancels. Weather turns. A vendor runs late. Building in buffer time, both in your schedule and your budget, gives you room to adjust without panicking. This is true for a 50,000-person stadium concert, a 150-person golf tournament, and even a wedding reception timeline. Flexibility isn’t the opposite of organization. It’s actually part of it.
Debrief When It’s Over
Once the event ends, resist the urge to move on immediately. Take time to ask what worked and what didn’t, whether that’s through a quick team conversation or a formal survey. Eventbrite’s team published a helpful list of tips from professional event creators, and one that stuck with me was the reminder to gather feedback while the experience is still fresh for everyone involved. I find this is worth doing even if it’s asking people to quickly e-mail or text thoughts the next day. You can compile it later, and have a proper meeting at a later date, but just getting the fresh thoughts post event is worth it. That input becomes the foundation for your next event.
Plan for the Chaos, Then Enjoy the Moment
Whether you’re coordinating sponsors on a golf course or seating charts for a reception, the fundamentals stay the same. Set clear goals. Build a system that fits how you actually work. Lean on your network instead of carrying it all alone. Track your follow-ups relentlessly. Then, when the day finally arrives, let the preparation carry you so you can actually be present for it. That’s the whole point, after all.
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Skip Bayless is headed back to ESPN. He’ll rejoin Stephen A. Smith on First Take starting this month.
What We Know: Smith broke the news Friday afternoon on his SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio show, with Bayless sitting right beside him. Bayless will join Smith every Friday on SiriusXM, plus the last Friday of each month on First Take. It marks his first regular ESPN role since a decade-long hiatus from the network. Bayless made a one-day First Take reunion with Smith last May.
What They Said: Skip Bayless: “I am personally highly entertained by getting to sit across from you. You are a one and an only, and I do believe what you and I had, and will have, is a one and an only.”
Stephen A. Smith: “On Fridays, yours truly and the one and only Skip Bayless will be joining me on this show. So, let’s get that out the way. That’s every Friday, the beatdown is coming, my condolences to you. But the other part that everybody needs to know, starting next week, the last Friday of every single month, Skip Bayless will join yours truly on First Take. You are back, my brother.”
What Remains Unclear: Any terms to the appearances on SiriusXM and First Take are unknown.
What It Means: Bayless trades a starring role for a supporting one, but the exposure still helps him. ESPN, meanwhile, gains a familiar face after losing Cam Newton and Ryan Clark from First Take this summer. And for Bayless, the ESPN platform doubles as promotion for Gridiron, his relaunched show with Aqib Talib.
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