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Why Nick Wright Believes In Strong Opinion, Not Hot Takes on FS1’s ‘First Things First’

Derek Futterman
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Why Nick Wright Believes In Strong Opinion, Not Hot Takes on FS1’s ‘First Things First’

The day after the Kansas City Chiefs lost Super Bowl LIX to the Philadelphia Eagles, First Things First was full of perpetual surprises and sarcastic celebrations. Nick Wright, who hosts the program since its debut in 2017, did not recall ever having to appear on the show after the Chiefs had lost a meaningful football game. In fact, he and his colleagues had such confidence that his favorite team would complete the quest for history that they purchased mega-sized banners, confetti and balloons to celebrate, along with booking break dancers, and the St. John’s University marching band.

Although the program was an unfortunate reminder that the Chiefs had lost the most consequential game of the year, it was an opportunity for those on the show to demonstrate their distinctive chemistry and creativity in adapting to an unforeseen situation. Whereas this could have been viewed as a significant predicament, the program ended up producing an episode breaking down the action while subsequently leaning into personality by showcasing Wright’s fandom amid a losing outcome.

“The only way, in my opinion, to approach that is to be a good sport about it,” Wright said. “I am not necessarily always a humble winner when my team wins, and so I have to take it as I give it, and so I think for the show, the Chiefs getting clocked the way they did was probably good.”

Wright considers himself to be unapologetic in his opinions and does not concern himself with criticisms or dissenting considerations without evidence. Conveying a passionate delivery with a license to editorialize, he has built a legion of fans who follow his work and regularly consume his content. At the same time though, being associated with a fervent subset of the sports media business that can occasionally be subjected to disparaging commentary is a perspective towards which Wright draws upon what consumers crave.

“Some people view ‘hot take’ as a pejorative – I don’t,” Wright said. “Our industry relies on strong opinion, and I am a strong opinion guy, and I think that being the strong opinion guy so to speak, that flame can go out quite quickly if you are constantly flip-flopping [and] not have a consistent kind of train of thought on your established beliefs and if you’re just pulling out of thin air as opposed to backed up with a little data or information. I do a pretty good job at that.”

Being Part of a Team in Afternoons

Wright has been regarded in the past as the face of FS1 or having the potential to garner the honor. He affirms that such a designation belongs to Colin Cowherd. Furthermore, he does not distinguish himself to be the face of First Things First either, underscoring the collaboration that exists with Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes.

“The best version I’ve ever been and the best version the show’s ever been is with Wildes and Brou,” Wright said. “We compliment each other really well, we all are totally comfortable in… kind of our specific roles on the show, and we really love each other, and I think that comes through on the show.”

Reflecting on his time working with Broussard on First Things First, Wright regards him as one of the best people he has ever known and someone willing to work hard. As it pertains to Wildes, he personifies him as someone who brings humor to every room he enters. Each member of the trio assists in facilitating the success of the program and offers their thoughts to the viewing audience on a variety of topics spanning the world of sports.

“We have a really good mix of some of the absolute dumbest, silliest, outlandish things imaginable with actual real smart analysis. We have walked that line pretty well,” Wright said. “We just have these shorthand things that almost make some of the show feel like an inside joke.”

Aside from typical sports conversation and debates, there are a variety of creative recurring segments that spark interesting dialogue and debate. For example, Wright utilizes tiers to rank different football quarterbacks based on their recent performances in a segment named for Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. Even though some people disagree with his logic on the segment, he does not read his mentions on social media and protects his own sanity.

“My son, who I do my podcast with, used to occasionally say, ‘Oh man, you are getting flamed today,’ and my response every time is, ‘No, I’m not,’” Wright said. “There are a lot of people in media who get paralyzed by online criticism, and because of that, they either soften their takes or water down or change or apologize for whatever it is.”

Last October, FOX Sports brought First Things First to Yankee Stadium for a live broadcast ahead of Game 4 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, something Wright felt was an unbelievable experience. Later this week, the show will be broadcasting live from the Indianapolis 500 as FOX Sports prepares to broadcast the race for the first time under a media rights deal with the IndyCar open-wheel series.

“FOX Sports does live sports better than any place in the world. It’s really a huge compliment to the show that they want us to be a part of the FOX festivities in Indy,” Wright said. “….Even though I have not in my life been to an Indy race, I’m super excited to be at the most prestigious race on the circuit and one of America’s longest-standing sports institutions, and to not only be able to go, but to be a part of race week with FOX is really thrilling.”

Working with Colin Cowherd

Wright reportedly signed a long-term contract extension with FOX Sports last fall to remain on FS1 as he approaches a decade with the network. Although he does not discuss his contract publicly despite acknowledging that other people have chosen to do so, he just completed his ninth year with the company and feels that he is treated very well.

Moreover, he considers himself lucky to have arrived at this point and hopes to be able to mark another nine-year milestone in the future. Yet he tries to focus on effectively fulfilling his role and meeting the demands associated with being on television every weekday.

“I might rewatch a segment if I particularly liked it or thought I screwed something up or whatever, but the thing is you’re doing two hours a day every single day,” Wright said. “The gift and the curse of that is the moment the show’s over, the next show, you’re only 22 hours away from it. It’s coming down the pike.”

A few months after the reported contract extension, The Volume reached a deal with Wright to bring his podcast, What’s Wright?, to its platforms. In making the decision to bring his digital show elsewhere, Wright noticed how his colleague Colin Cowherd had started the successful platform featuring popular shows from several former athletes and industry personalities. On top of that, he knew he wanted to partner with someone on the project, perceiving that he did not possess the necessary bandwidth or business acumen.

“It was maybe less strategy based than one would expect, and it was more, ‘If I’m going to work with anyone, I should at least see what working with Colin’s like,’ and I just love him,” Wright said, “and so that was as much a personal decision as a professional one.”

Wright considers his relationship with Cowherd to be one of the biggest blessings in his life, and he listened to every show he hosted throughout his time attending Syracuse University. While he initially struggled to find his footing at the student-run radio station, taking part in talk programming alongside future stars such as Danny Parkins, Andrew Fillipponi and Adam Lefkoe helped him gain experience and land a job hosting weekends on 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City. Wright eventually hosted afternoon drive and later joined SportsRadio 610 in Houston where he hosted alongside John Lopez.

“If you can do four hours of solo talk radio, then you can do anything in the field because there is nothing more naked and daunting than that,” Wright said. “That’s self-serving of me to say, but I think it is, and I think it was the exact training I needed, especially when First Things First started. It was a three-hour morning TV show, and there was a lot of content to fill, but I was very used to filling that type of airtime.”

Reaching the Summit on FS1

The FS1 lineup has gone through various iterations through the years in the morning and afternoon timeslots, and many of its personalities have backgrounds in the radio business. There are various hosts and analysts who used to appear on radio across other television networks as well, underscoring an issue surrounding talent retention. Wright remarked that the topic could merit its own podcast and estimated that there are not enough people who have programming backgrounds with oversight of local radio outlets.

“In my experience, the best producers or hosts that go to management, they very often top out at program director while the best sales or businessperson ends up being the person, the market manager or general manager,” Wright said, “A lot of your most valuable personnel is not viewed as as valuable as they are.”

When Wright was offered the chance to relocate to New York City and join the new morning iteration of First Things First with Cris Carter and Jenna Wolfe, he accepted the opportunity and credits his colleagues for helping immerse him into television.

Although there are questions surrounding the future of linear programming as the pay television penetration rate diminishes, media conglomerates have taken steps to innovate and retain their audiences. Fox Corporation recently announced that it will launch its FOX One streaming service that will grant viewers access to branded content spanning multiple genres under one platform. Wright trusts those running the company about subjugating future challenges and has more anxiety about his performance in the World Series of Poker tournament.

“I don’t spend much time at all thinking about it because I think there will always be a market and a demand for sports talk, and the people in charge are smart enough to make sure if the delivery mechanism needs to be tweaked or changed or whatever, they’ll change it,” Wright said, “I’ll just keep doing what I do.”

During a recent family gathering, Wright remembered being asked what was next for him, to which he replied that he already felt like he was at the top of the mountain. While he has an enemies list of people in the business his age or younger with whom he feels is competing, he does not know exactly what it entails and considers the accumulation sarcastic yet serious. Nonetheless, Wright values his position on the airwaves and maintains perspective through it all.

“Obviously you can always get bigger and more popular,” Wright explained. “This show has been on since Labor Day 2017. It’s damn near Memorial Day 2025. There can’t have been 10 sports talk shows in history that are longer running, I don’t think, and maybe there are, but it’s not a long list. Success is just being able to continue doing this for as long as I possibly can.”

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.

Hot AC Songs That Radio Stations Will Be Playing A Year From Now

Jim Ryan
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Hot AC Songs That Radio Stations Will Be Playing A Year From Now

As we race towards the unofficial start to Summer 2025 with the arrival of Memorial Day next Monday, I thought I’d pose the question: What songs are Hot AC stations playing now that will still be a part of the mix in a year?

That’s not an easy answer, as there are several factors to consider. Does your station do weekly research? Are there songs you played that did phenomenally for you and your market, but nationally really did not break through?

Just looking at the latest published Mediabase list for HOT AC as far as national hits go, I can rattle off several titles that most likely still will be around a year from now. 

Sabrina Carpenter / “Espresso,” Benson Boone/ “Beautiful Things,” Morgan Wallen & Post Malone / “I Had Some Help,” Taylor Swift / “Cruel Summer,” Myles Smith / “Stargazing,” Lola / “Messy,” are all safe bets to still be spinning in 2026 and all of them are prior to 2025!  

Even more fun to speculate: which of the songs released after November 2024 and so far in 2025 will still be around next summer? 

My guess at this point, that’s what it is a guess. Still, I will pick Alex Warren / “Ordinary,” Benson Boone / “I’m Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else,” Lady Gaga / “Abracadabra,” I’d love to say Shinedown / “Three Six Five” which is a personal favorite, just not sure the format will hang onto a “rock” leaning record for another year. 

I’m sure I’ll receive some emails telling me I’m crazy or that I missed an obvious record, and that’s fine – bring ’em on!

There is another avenue with Hot AC music I want to take a stroll down. Should the format still embrace some ‘80s titles as part of their Gold library? The music from that decade is still extremely popular, not just with Gen X and Millennials.  

I would say the notion of still playing ‘80s really comes down to how your station is positioned. If you brand your station as “The Best Mix from then till Now” or “Rancho Cucamonga’s Best Mix on Q98” or “(insert city) Best Variety is on Mix 97”, then yes ‘80s can and probably should be a part of your presentation. 

The notion of using those same songs when your station is positioned as “Today’s Hits on Mix 102” is an issue since you are not delivering on expectations if “Take On Me” by A-ha comes blasting out of the speakers.

But, in those situations, you could still find a way to play those ‘80s titles in a feature or special. Every decade has certain iconic songs, and the 1980s had quite a few that still resonate today. I would say that the audience does not judge good songs as “Oh, that’s so old.”

If being too old is the argument that programmers choose to use for not playing the ‘80s, then why include the ‘90s?  Again, this is not meant as a one-size-fits-all prescription. 

In today’s environment, with smaller staffs and possibly no weekly research, deciding what should be your “Gold” content can come down to groupthink within your company, what your competition is doing, and a gut feeling. 

My gut tells me that some ‘80s titles are still viable choices today to be a part of your mix! 

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.  

Are People Moving More Or Less Often These Days?

Bob Lawrence
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Are People Moving More Or Less Often These Days?

Over the past few decades, why and where people actually spend their lives has changed significantly, driven by many factors including economics, social implications, and technology.

Frankly, I would have guessed that people don’t plant long-term roots as often as they have in the past. After researching whether people are relocating more frequently today than they did 30 or 40 years ago, the data shows that the answer is no.

In fact, Americans in particular are moving less often than in previous decades, marking a notable shift in those trends. If you’re like me, that is shocking!

In the mid-to-late 20th century, particularly from the 1950s through the 80s, Americans experienced high levels of geographic mobility. It wasn’t uncommon for families to move across states for job opportunities, affordable housing, or better lifestyles.

Why is that? The post-World War II economic boom, expansion of the highway system, and rise of suburban development played a huge role and encouraged people to relocate frequently. During the 1980s, for example, roughly 20% of Americans moved each year.

That said, the numbers have steadily declined. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by the early 2020s, annual mobility rates had fallen to around 8–9% — the lowest since tracking began in the late 1940s. Similar trends exist in other developed countries, where people are also staying put more than in previous years.

As noted above, several factors are behind this decline. Economically, the labor market has changed. Widespread corporate relocations and rapid job-hopping are less prevalent. Jobs today are less dependent on being in a single, physical location, especially with the rise in remote opportunities.

I would have thought this would have increased the desire to move wherever you want. If I could live anywhere I want, I’d be closer to my family, or somewhere a lot warmer! But it seems to have had the opposite effect. Now, people can stay in the same place while accessing better job opportunities online.

Housing costs have also played a part. The price of homes and rent has surged in many cities, creating financial barriers to moving. The ever-popular California and New York real estate costs make those areas much more difficult choices. Younger people, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, are more likely to stay with their parents longer or delay purchasing homes, leading to fewer moves.

Social factors are influential as well. People are increasingly prioritizing community and social stability. With a greater emphasis on mental health, work-life balance, and support systems, people seem more reluctant to pick up and leave without some seriously compelling reasons.

While long-distance and interstate moves have declined, short-distance moves within the same city or county are still relatively common. People still seek better neighborhoods, schools, or more space, especially during life transitions necessitated by marriage or children.

Finally, the COVID pandemic introduced a temporary surge in moving in some regions, particularly from dense urban areas to suburban or rural locations. However, that shift was more about lifestyle adjustment than a return to higher long-term mobility.

In the end, despite the increasing digital connectivity and globalization of the modern era, people are moving less frequently than they did half a century ago.

Economic constraints, housing affordability, and changing values all play a role in the decline. We know that the modern world offers so much more flexibility than it did decades ago, but when it comes to personal and professional relocation, stability seems to be beating out mobility.

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 Watch: NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt

Garrett Searight
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The Watch: NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt

Lester Holt is set to end his run as anchor of NBC Nightly News next week, passing the baton to Tom Llamas in the process.

It’s been a fantastic run for Holt, who has routinely been voted as the “Most Trusted News Anchor” in different polls.

As the NBC Nightly News anchor gets set to depart the role, I thought now would be as good a time as any to check in and see if Holt still has his fastball and is leaving the role on top.

I viewed Monday’s episode of the show, which featured several major news stories that broke either over the weekend or on Monday. The show began with a 90-second headline. If you read my review of ABC World News Tonight with David Muir — which routinely bests the NBC News program — I shared my disdain for the strategy. We live in an instantaneous world, and spending two minutes (of a 21-minute newscast adjusted for content) telling me what I’ll see in those 21 minutes is a waste of time.

And yet, I found the NBC Nightly News version to be a much better use of the time. It didn’t feel as much of a preview of what was to come during the broadcast as much as a “here’s what’s happening now.” It was a faster-paced rundown of the day’s headlines than an extended promotion.

The top story was former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis. The top story was accompanied by moving camera shots of still images of Biden on a video wall in the studio.

It feels like a way to fancy up still images. Which is weird. You don’t have enough video of a former President to use in this situation? Maybe the idea that it was such a serious story called for a different approach, but sometimes the simplest approach is the best, in my view.

Furthermore, Lester Holt didn’t appear at the desk inside the studio until a live hit with Peter Alexander roughly five minutes into the show. That feels backwards to me. It would seem like the logical step would be to begin the show with Holt at the desk, and then move him around the studio as the newscast advances. Again, just a personal preference.

After the hit with Alexander, the broadcast welcomed Dr. Lee Richstone, the Chairman of Urology at Northwell Health Lenox Hill, to share details about the prostate cancer diagnosis.

This, in my opinion, is where Holt has always, and continues, to shine. In less than one minute, Holt set Richstone up to share important information about prostate cancer and what the prognosis would be for someone like the former President.

The two times Holt spoke were insanely efficient. He asked:

  • “Do most cancers of the prostate begin with symptoms?”
  • “In this case, the former President, apparently, had some symptoms and there were some questions about when that began. What is the typical length of period into the disease that you find out you have it?”

Interview questions don’t generally get more succinct than that. Those are two great contextualising questions that advance the story. That’s a job well done.

However, the production didn’t really do Holt many favors after that brief interview. As he was sitting down with Dr. Richstone, a quick transition showed him back standing in front of the desk — where he was just sitting — with no chairs visible, showing that the interview was obviously pre-recorded.

The nightly newscast continued its first segment with coverage of the severe weather wreaking havoc on midwest cities like St. Louis, the call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin aiming to put an end to the war in Ukraine, a bombing at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, as well as the deadly boat crash that struck the Brookly Bridge over the weekend.

Later in the show, Holt welcomed Kate Snow to talk about a new law centered on stopping sexual content created by artificial intelligence signed into law. In the third segment, the show hit quick stories about radio outages at the Newark airport, Subaru raising the prices of its vehicles, and Sesame Street moving to Netflix.

Finally, the show ended with its good news segment, focusing on efforts to restore coral reefs in American-controlled ocean waters.

I had never thought of this until it was pointed out by my colleague Jim Avila. He shared his belief that ABC News anchor David Muir is the smoothest prompter reader in nightly news. And he’s right. Holt isn’t the top dog in that aspect. But he is the best at allowing his personality to shine through, joking about having to follow a soundbite of Cookie Monster while reading the Sesame Street to Netflix story.

That, in my opinion, is why Lester Holt is the most trusted news anchor in the country. Serious when needed, but also able to let his personality show at the right moments, too. That comes with experience but also with building credibility with your audience, which isn’t always easy to do.

After having now watched all three major nightly newscasts for this series, I’d say I’d put NBC Nightly News squarely in the middle. I liked the news magazine style of CBS Evening News better — which they’ve since altered, much to my chagrin — but thought NBC’s newscast was better than the version of ABC World News Tonight that I reviewed.

It feels as if NBC News knows what it has in Lester Holt. If you’re tuning into the network as your news destination, it’s likely because of him, not in spite of him. They allowed Holt to be the star of the show, and didn’t over-rely on other correspondents or analysts, which feels like a smart strategy.

To me, it is clear that Lester Holt is still at the top of his game. But if he’d rather spend his time focusing on Dateline NBC rather than the nightly newscast, who can fault him? It’s a position he’s held for just under a decade, hosting the weekend version of the program before that. Holt has earned the right to decide what his duties look like at this stage of his career. I’ll be sad to see him go, and even more interested to see how the show evolves when Tom Llamas takes over the seat next month.

Here’s a tip of the cap to Lester Holt. The most trusted news anchor in America. It’s clear it’s a well-deserved honor.

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.

Dave Portnoy: ‘I’m Sick of ESPN’ Making Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese a Race Issue

BSM Staff
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Dave Portnoy: ‘I’m Sick of ESPN’ Making Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese a Race Issue

While former ESPN teammates Ryan Clark and Robert Griffin III continue to wage a personal battle via social media, the controversy originated from Caitlin Clark’s flagrant foul on Angel Reese as the Indiana Fever opened up their regular season against the Chicago Sky on Saturday. Meanwhile, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has responded to his name being brought up in Clark’s initial response to a tweet by Griffin, who said Angel Reese “hates” Caitlin Clark—despite Reese never saying as much.

“When RG3 jumps onto the hate train or the angry train, it now follows what we saw from Keith Olbermann. What we saw from Dave Portnoy as they poured onto Angel Reese to make her the villain, and Caitlin Clark heroic or hero story,” said Clark on Monday. “The one thing we know about RG3 is he’s not having conversations at his home about what black women have to endure in this country.”

Subsequently, Portnoy took to his own social media account to respond to Clark invoking his name in his critique of Griffin, calling the name drop “infuriating.”

“Angel Reese has been nothing but an instigator, agitator, and jackass for the last couple of years,” said Portnoy. “She (Caitlin Clark) has never said one thing racist, her fans just love her. But if you have one player who’s constantly poking at you. Constantly prodding, constantly degrading you, constantly doing these things. Yes, you’re going to f***ing hate her.”

Portnoy, who describes himself as a Caitlin Clark fan, stated that he enjoys her style of basketball and has never seen a player—black or white—with the type of game she possesses. Moreover, the Barstool Sports founder did not stop there. He then went on to criticize those who invoke race into the conversation surrounding Reese and Clark.

“I’m sick of the Ryan Clarks. I’m sick of the Stephen A. Smiths. I’m sick of ESPN making it a race issue,” said Portnoy. “You have a superior basketball player who constantly has someone below taking shots at them, won’t shut up and then plays the victim. She said she wanted to be the villain… it’s made her rich, it’s made her popular. If she didn’t have Caitlin, nobody would know who she is.”

Finally, Portnoy pleaded for rivalries to be considered acceptable in sports and not about race at all.

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Music Radio Mourns The Passing Of Robin Marshall

BMM Staff
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Music Radio Mourns The Passing Of Robin Marshall

Music Radio is mourning the passing of Robin Marshall, who passed away Sunday at the age of 68 following a 12-year battle with cancer.

Marshall was a New York City market veteran beginning at WAPP and later working at 101.9 WPIX, CD 101.9 WQCD and Fresh 102.7. She served as the station voice for WPIX and WQCD.

She was also a creator for Cumulus Sound Solutions in Dallas.

Marshall is survived by her husband, Michael and her five children, Dylan, Cassidy, Brandy, Wren and Lacey.

Friends, family, and industry colleagues posted condolences and memories on her Facebook profile.

Kenny Smith Felt ‘Inside the NBA’ Crew Should Have Negotiated Their Deal With Disney

BSM Staff
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Kenny Smith Felt ‘Inside the NBA’ Crew Should Have Negotiated Their Deal With Disney

With the conference finals about to begin in the National Basketball Association, the hourglass for TNT Sports‘ coverage of the league is nearing its end. In other words, the final episodes of the award-winning Inside the NBA will be airing before the league’s new media rights agreements kick in next year, with the program finding its new home on ESPN.

Although the program will still be housed in Atlanta, the move to ESPN has sparked a very public debate amongst the show’s personalities, including Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith. In fact, the former Houston Rockets point guard spoke with The New Yorker about the impending end to Inside the NBA and the transition to ESPN, which initially didn’t feel right to Smith.

“We have the same crew of people doing the show. But the timing: are we a half hour now? Are we forty-five minutes? Fifteen minutes? Those are the things that you can control when you own your I.P. But we don’t,” said Smith. “That was the only part that made me uncomfortable and disheartened, because I felt that the four of us should have went into ABC to negotiate that deal.”

Meanwhile, concurrent with the settlement of a lawsuit filed by Warner Bros. Discovery against the NBA, the media conglomerate reached a deal with The Walt Disney Company to sublicense the program to ESPN and ABC beginning next season.

“I’m not saying that our executives don’t know how to do that, but we are the I.P. now. Ultimately, it’s a classic show, like ‘Seinfeld,’ so it will translate,” noted Smith.

For years, the Inside the NBA program has been a staple for NBA viewers on Thursday nights between 7 p.m. and 2 a.m. on the East Coast. However, with the move to ESPN, there is still no official announcement about when the program will air. Notably, the NBA reached agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal, and Amazon on 11-year broadcasting rights packages. Warner Bros. Discovery, for its part, settled in November of last year, earning the ability to license Inside the NBA to ESPN and ABC starting next season in a separate agreement.

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.

Jake Tapper Tells Megyn Kelly Questions About Book on Joe Biden’s Fitness for Office ‘Tough and Fair’

BNM Staff
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Jake Tapper Tells Megyn Kelly Questions About Book on Joe Biden’s Fitness for Office ‘Tough and Fair’

CNN anchor Jake Tapper has co-authored a book about the mental fitness of President Joe Biden during his presidency. He addressed questions from Megyn Kelly on Tuesday.

During an appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show, the SiriusXM host questioned Jake Tapper on how it’s possible for him to report on a cover-up of Biden’s mental acuity when so many others in the media were pointing out a cognitive decline well before now.

“The criticism has been that you’re complaining about a cover-up about Joe Biden’s mental acuity, that right wing pundits — the right wing, in general — saw, that independent media saw and reported on and that was no mystery, even to left wing and so called mainstream reporters who were not fooled, but chose willful blindness instead of honest reporting and that you were part of it,” said Kelly. “How do you respond?”

“It’s a tough and fair question,” Tapper replied. “After Election Day, I interviewed more than 200 people — 200 mostly Democratic insiders — and almost all these interviews were after the election. They justified to themselves what they had done in terms of misrepresenting how the President was — not just to me and Alex (Thompson) and other reporters, but also just to each other and to the world, and to Democrats, and to the cabinet et cetera — by saying that there was this existential threat of Donald Trump and only Joe Biden could beat Donald Trump, and that justified everything in their minds.

“After that existential threat was over, because the election was over and Donald Trump won, we found — Alex and myself — they were remarkably willing to talk to us, either off the record or on background, and in some cases on the record, about what they saw.”

Later in their conversation, Kelly was critical of Tapper’s response, saying, “One of us didn’t miss the biggest story of the century when it comes to presidential politics, and one of us did.” Her comments came after telling Jake Tapper that she had been covering Biden’s cognitive decline for years before Jake Tapper became interested in the story.

“Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” the book co-authored by Tapper, hit newsstands Tuesday.

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John Skipper: ESPN Direct-to-Consumer ‘is Just Overwhelmingly an Aggregation of Content You Can Already Get’

BSM Staff
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John Skipper: ESPN Direct-to-Consumer ‘is Just Overwhelmingly an Aggregation of Content You Can Already Get’

ESPN recently revealed that its direct-to-consumer service will be singularly branded as ESPN and be available to fans in the early fall for an unlimited plan priced at $29.99 per month. As consumers continue engaging in cord cutting, thus resulting in a diminished pay television penetration rate, the company will be offering this new means to watch games combined with innovations within the ESPN App.

David Samson, the former president of the Miami Marlins, spoke about how everyone in the market is worried when they look back at what happened with CNN+, which shut down about a month after being launched. Yet John Skipper, the former president of ESPN, feels that this situation involving his former company differs in that it is not going to exist as a different entity per se.

“This new app, streaming service, is just overwhelmingly an aggregation of content you can already get either on ESPN+ or on your cable subscription,” Skipper said on the latest edition of The Sporting Class. “There are these so-called bells and whistles that will provide – oh, if you round up, maybe 1% of the value here for consumers.”

Torre mentioned how a difference in this situation is that ESPN+ has always existed within the standalone ESPN App but that it did not provide the same things as fans who subscribe to ESPN through their cable subscription would be receiving. Data cited by John Ourand in a recent edition of The Varsity conveyed that ESPN reaches 62.7 million homes, which is down from its peak of 100 million homes documented in 2011. Skipper explained that ESPN had deals with distributors with requirements as to where the content could be placed.

“Clearly at this point, they have moved to a place and the cable television universe has declined to a place where ESPN has no choice but to say, ‘We still want to be in business with you, DIRECTV, Spectrum, etc., etc., but we’re going to make our content available to our subscribers, to our fans directly if that’s the way they want to get it,’” Skipper articulated. “Now the compromise is, but if they already have a DIRECTV subscription, they get this automatically, so they’re using that, of course, to say to distributors, ‘We’re not looking to disrupt your business at all.’”

Samson talked about how this demonstrates how “there is barely any business though,” indicative of parlance used by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred when he referred to ESPN as a “shrinking platform.” While Skipper accedes that the curve is moving downward, he divulged that the decline is going to occur slower at some point and that some people will opt to remain with the cable subscription. Torre then mentioned how the steepness of the curve is the question that helped ESPN determine when it should launch the direct-to-consumer option, and while it is something Skipper could have done, it did not end up being introduced to the market until this time.

“Why would you do it when you have 90 million, 80 million, 70 million subscribers? It still would be an interesting mathematical parlay to know when the lines cross that more people pay them directly than get their subscription through somebody else,” Skipper said. “I would argue this — it’s not going to be this year, next year or the year after. It will be several years before the lines cross.”

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Jemele Hill: Robert Griffin III Comments ‘Missed the Mark, Unfair’

BSM Staff
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Jemele Hill: Robert Griffin III Comments ‘Missed the Mark, Unfair’

The continued fallout from the social media back-and-forth between ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark and former ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III has touched a nerve with many in sports media over the past couple of days. Last night, both Griffin and Clark exchanged personal barbs stemming from Griffin’s use of the word “hate” in a tweet about how he feels Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese feels about Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.

Meanwhile, Clark shared his own perspective on Griffin’s use of the word “hate” during an episode of The Pivot with Fred Taylor. The former NFL All-Pro argued that, because of Griffin’s marriage to Estonian heptathlete Grete Griffin, who is white, Griffin doesn’t understand the challenges young Black women face, suggesting he hasn’t educated himself on the matter. In response, former ESPN personality Jemele Hill joined The Dan Le Batard Show on Tuesday and claimed that Griffin missed the mark in his critique of Reese.

“He’s entitled to his own opinion, but I thought his analysis missed the mark and it was unfair,” said Hill.

Although Hill did not defend either Griffin or Clark’s responses to one another via social media, she did go into detail on how Clark was trying to explain the difficulties Black women face in their day-to-day lives.

“Artfully, and maybe clumsily. What Ryan was trying to explain is that if you talk to Black women and understand why they ride for Angel Reese, and why she is the hero they both need and deserve. Then maybe you can understand why what you (Griffin) said was so hurtful to a lot of Black women,” explained Hill.

Later that evening, following Clark’s comments regarding Griffin’s marriage to a white woman, Griffin III fired back with a lengthy post on social media.

“There’s a line you don’t cross in life and Ryan Clark sprinted past it,” Griffin tweeted on X. “Instead of debating my point, he personally attacked me and my family. That shows how low of a person he is.”

Furthermore, Griffin went on to explain the reasoning behind his opinion on the Reese and Clark incident, aiming to have more of a conversation about the foul instead of engaging in personal attacks. However, he continued to defend his marriage and criticize Clark for the direction of his commentary.

“Ryan Clark said I don’t understand the struggles of Black women because I’m married to a white woman. That’s wrong and way out of bounds,” Griffin posted. “There should be no space in Sports Media for personal attacks, and wives and children are always off limits. You attacked me and my family in a public forum on a level that shows how low of a person you are.”

As a result, Hill said she understands why Griffin responded the way he did once Clark invoked his marriage into the conversation.

“Naturally RG3 was going to respond when he (Clark) brought in his wife,” said Hill. “He basically said ‘you don’t even know Black women enough to understand why what you said would set them off.”

At this time, ESPN has not made any public comment regarding Clark’s comments toward Griffin.

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