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Elon Musk has spent the past few days on his X platform sharing memes about potentially buying MSNBC. It looks as if Joe Rogan would be interested in joining the company, displacing Rachel Maddow.
After Comcast shared it would place its cable assets into a separate company, calling it SpinCo, many believed it showed that outlets like CNBC and MSNBC were for sale. Musk has continually asked “How much does it cost?” when approached with questions on his intention to purchase the channel.
In on post to X, Musk said “The most entertaining outcome, especially if ironic, is most likely,” when the topic was broached.
That led Joe Rogan to chime in, saying he’d be interested in a position with the channel if Musk was the owner.
“If you buy MSNBC I would like Rachael (sic) Maddow’s job,” Rogan wrote. “I will wear the same outfit and glasses, and I will tell the same lies.”
Elon Musk replied with one word to the podcast star: “Deal.”
The questions on if Musk will buy MSNBC are mostly tongue-in-cheek. He has previously called the channel the “utter scum of the Earth” and said it “peddles propaganda” before recently suggesting the network is “going down.”
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Mix Maine Media has entered into a Time Brokerage Agreement to operate Port Broadcasting’s two AM stations and three translators in Bangor, ME, with an option to purchase.
AC “94.1/95.1 The Wave” has adopted a “107.9 The Mix” simulcast from WFMX Augusta. Meanwhile, Oldies 1230 WGUY has switched to simulcasting Classic Country on “True Country 93.5” from WCTB Fairfield.
The Time Brokerage Agreement has been established for five years and offers an option to purchase the stations outright for $225,000.
Mix Maine Media owns Sports “1160 The Score” WSKW in Skowhegan. Port Broadcasting operates “Seacoast Oldies 104.3” at 1220 WWSF Sanford, Maine.
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.
Although Warner Bros. Discovery will not have U.S. broadcast rights for live National Basketball Association games starting next season, the company is continuing its partnership with the league that dates back approximately three decades. The two entities came to a settlement last week after Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against the league pertaining to a breach of contract. Aspects of the settlement include the ability to use league content on Bleacher Report and House of Highlights, overseas distribution rights and a reimagined NBA Digital partnership for the next five years.
In a subsequent move, the Emmy award-winning studio show, Inside the NBA, will be presented on ESPN networks and air in concert with key live events. Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Shaquille O’Neal will purportedly continue their work from the Atlanta-based studios, and the show will maintain its production under the TNT Sports umbrella. The company is also in the midst of creating an Inside sports show that would discuss topics beyond the NBA. O’Neal’s contract with Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly expires on July 1, 2025, meaning that he would need to agree to a new deal ahead of next season.
Kenny “The Jet” Smith, who has been a member of the program since 1998, was recently at Toyota Center as the Houston Rockets celebrated the 30-year anniversary of their back-to-back championships. Smith, who was a point guard on both of these teams, played six seasons with the Rockets and averaged 12.6 points per game on 5.3 assists. In an interview with Space City Home Network sideline reporter Vanessa Richardson, Smith was asked about the future of Inside the NBA amid the agreement between TNT Sports and ESPN.
“Well, it’s sticking around. It’s always going to be around,” Smith said. “You know, there’s some things that need to be tied up, but we’re excited about what the future holds for all of us, and it’s going to be a lot of fun talking basketball for years to come.”
ESPN will air Inside the NBA surrounding pregame, halftime and postgame coverage during its coverage of the NBA Finals airing on ABC starting next season. Furthermore, the company will present the show during the conference finals, NBA Playoffs and on all ESPN on ABC NBA games after January 1. The show will take the air during Opening Week, Christmas Day and in the final week of the NBA season. During a recent appearance on the SI Media podcast, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus spoke about the approach the network will take in presenting the program starting next season.
“Of course we’re not going to change the show,” Magnus said. “Why would we take something that’s so successful and so iconic, bring it over and then be like, ‘Hey, we know better, we’re going to change it’?”
Last season, ESPN and TNT Sports included talent from their signature NBA studio programs on segments within shows at the other network. For example, NBA Countdown analyst Stephen A. Smith participated in an edition of “Who He Play For?” on Inside the NBA. Both shows broadcast live from the Toshiba Plaza outside of T-Mobile Arena as teams competed to hoist the NBA Cup as champions of the league’s first In-Season Tournament.
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Cumulus Media has announced a new podcast series from Mark Levin is in the works, with Liberty and Learning pairing him with Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn.
The 10-part series will examine the founding principles of the United States and how they apply to modern life. Additionally, the pair will discuss current events and frame them in the context of the United States Constitution.
“Larry Arnn and I have been friends and kindred spirits for 40 years,” Levin said. “Our brand-new podcast partnership, Liberty and Learning, is the culmination of decades of discussion, book-writing, scholarship, and good old-fashioned fun and entertainment.
“And now, we have joined together, on the Westwood One and Hillsdale College podcast networks, in what will be one of the most unique, compelling, informative and, yes, enjoyable programs on any broadcast platform — with our focus to reach and engage as many wonderful patriots as possible!”
“Politics are moving faster in a favorable direction than we have seen over the many decades that I have known Mark Levin as a friend,” added Arnn. “Hope is soaring, and rightly. The most important reason for hope is that President Trump is going to attack the independent power of the bureaucratic state and redouble his effort to drain the swamp. Everything depends upon this fight.
“If we cannot restore the authority of the people through representative and constitutional government, we shall continue to sink into an unaccountable and semi-despotic government that is impotent against the enemies of freedom and formidable only to the citizen. Can this new kind of regime be overcome? What will be the shape of the battle? How is President Trump intending to go about it now? I look forward to examining these questions with Mark Levin.”
Liberty and Learning is the name of a 2004 book authored by Arnn. Life, Liberty and Levin is the name of Mark Levin’s weekend show on Fox News.
The first episode of the podcast featuring Levin and Arnn has already been released. Subsequent episodes will be featured on The Mark Levin Show and Hillsdale College podcast feeds. Hillsdale College is a Christian liberal arts university located in Hillsdale, Michigan. Arnn has been the President of the University since 2001. He has also served as a trustee of The Heritage Foundation and the 1776 Commission.
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As the National Basketball Association schedule continues, the league is in its second year holding an In-Season Tournament amid the regular-season action. The Walt Disney Company, currently in the final season of its existing NBA media rights deal, will be the television home of key games as a part of knockout round coverage in the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup. ESPN recently announced the broadcast teams that will commentate the seminal action from Las Vegas, Nev., including the alignment for the pivotal Championship Game.
Taking place on Wednesday, Dec. 11, ESPN will broadcast a quarterfinal game of the tournament to begin at either 7 or 7:30 p.m. EST. The lead NBA on ESPN duo of Mike Breen and Doris Burke will call the game without a second analyst on the crew, and they will be joined by sideline reporter Cassidy Hubbarth. Breen and Burke had previously worked alongside JJ Redick during the NBA Playoffs last season; however, he departed during the offseason upon landing the job as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Breen and Burke will return for a semifinal matchup emanating from Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 14 airing on ABC and ESPN+. While the network has ostensibly not decided on a second analyst to join the NBA Finals broadcast crew, former small forward Richard Jefferson is slated to call this matchup with the team. Jefferson was previously part of a broadcast team featuring the aforementioned Redick and play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco, a configuration that was affected upon the egress of Rivers.
Jefferson will return to the airwaves on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 8:30 p.m. EST to call the Championship Game with Breen and Burke. Lisa Salters will join the broadcast team as the sideline reporter for both the semifinal and Championship matchups airing on ABC and ESPN+.
The Los Angeles Lakers, led by superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, secured the first NBA Cup win in league history last year with a defeat of the Indiana Pacers in the matchup that averaged 4.58 million viewers on ABC and ESPN2. At the time, the contest was the most-watched non-Christmas NBA game during the regular season on any network in about six years, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.
ESPN will continue its coverage of group play during the Emirates NBA Cup with a doubleheader taking place on Friday, Nov. 29. James Harden and the LA Clippers will face Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. The second game of the night, which starts at 10 p.m. EST, features Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder facing LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
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.
Just in time for the holidays, Emmy Award–winning broadcaster Chris Myers has a new book out, ‘That Deserves a Wow’ which reflects on his illustrious career as one of the most trusted and renowned journalists in sports. From being on the field when the earthquake struck the 1989 World Series to being on the air throughout the aftermath of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing to his contentious interview with OJ Simpson, Myers digs deep into his time with both ESPN and FOX Sports as well as his life away from sports.
The book takes readers behind the scenes of conversations Myers has had with notorious athletes such as Muhammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Tom Brady, John Wooden, Bill Belichick, Charles Barkley, Barry Bonds, Serena Williams, Jack Nicklaus, Pete Sampras, and even his friend Bill Murray who wrote the forward.
I caught up with Myers before the Thanksgiving holiday and talked about the book, his career, and how his life has somewhat mirrored two very famous movies.
Dave Greene: What is the background on the book? Why did you decide to write it now or did someone approach you about doing it?
Chris Myers: I was approached a while ago. People would say, ‘hey, we’ve seen you cover a World Series, a Super Bowl, or call a game, or remember you from ESPN. But what about, were you there at the Earthquake World Series, or weren’t you there at that Olympic bombing at the Summer Games in Atlanta? Was that you on the broadcast with Dale Earnhardt, Daytona 500 when he crashes?’ And so, I kind of kept, during the pandemic when things were so slow, I just put some notes together.
But I really wasn’t ready to write a book. I didn’t have the time. I was still staying busy. And then someone approached me from HarperCollins and said they had heard about all of these stories, could I fit them into a book and make it a fun and interesting read. So, it includes some of the high points and the low points, and the tragedy, and the triumph, and all that. So, we shaped it together, and it’s reflecting over 20-plus years of FOX Sports, and a 10-year run at ESPN in their growth years, what I call ‘the golden years’, and then some local sports. So, it kind of covers a lot of that.
I didn’t want it to be a typical sportscaster book. It’s not really me. It’s about my eyes through these events and these people. I wanted people to get a sense of it from the inside out.
DG: I read where you told someone the book is kind of like Forrest Gump meets Almost Famous, tell me more about that?
CM: Yes, and in that sense, you put it in a sports model. So, the Almost Famous, the Cameron Crowe movie, he’s a young journalist for Rolling Stone and covering a rock and roll band. I was a teenager, my first interview was Muhammad Ali at 16, and then I got into radio. I was that young guy growing up in the business.
And then there’s the Forrest Gump. I did meet some presidents, but I was enthroned into these different situations that I thought were going to be fun sporting events, like a World Series, and then you have to cover an earthquake, and you’re not just there. You have to tell people about it and still do your job, and it becomes bigger or more important than sports.
There were a few other less famous moments. Hank Gathers, who was going to be a number one NBA pick for Loyola Marymount and the run and gun, he collapsed on the court, has the heart attack, and I’m reporting that from the hospital once they notify the family that he had passed away. And then there’s some happy moments. Ian Johnson at Boise State, a Fiesta Bowl, the major upset at the time of Oklahoma. I interviewed him, and he’s proposing live to his girlfriend, a cheerleader, and they’re happily married.
And then Tim Burke, an all-star pitcher, leaves the game in the middle of the all-star game to meet his wife in the jungle to adopt their first child and to be there for that story and tell it. So, there’s a lot of that, and some really interesting people that maybe aren’t as famous in terms of the world of sports, but that certainly are worth talking about.
DG: Was there a big break moment for you early in your career?
CM: …I’m not knocking those who had famous fathers in the business, but my dad wasn’t in broadcasting. He wasn’t a radio or TV announcer, and so you have to work your way in. And you always need a break somewhere to get on the radio at a young age. It was one thing to get an opportunity from radio then to get into television locally.
You know, those were important steps. I think probably maybe the big break that helped my reporting get on a national scale was at ESPN as the West Coast Reporter. Their first one, they were establishing bureaus, Jimmy Roberts in New York and myself out West, and to get that job, I did a story when I was in New Orleans, a local story, a couple of them.
One was about the LSU baseball team going to the College World Series, and the other one was about the Saints and their assistant coaches. They never played the game. They were a really good staff, but none of them had ever played in the NFL but were effective. They finally turned the Saints, who had never won, never been in the playoffs, never had a winning season, and they changed that.
So that story got me the big break to ESPN and I really enjoyed my time there, and then the opportunity at FOX Sports became more than the NFL and grew into an opportunity to join them. So lucky from that standpoint of a break to be with two of the great sports networks in growth periods, where you’re allowed to be creative and take some chances, and you get the opportunity and the support, you know, you need to find your way.
DG: Was there a particular story or two when you started writing the book where for whatever reason you were like, ‘wow, I can’t believe that happened’, or maybe learned more about it?
CM: I was touched by a lot of these things, and when I recalled them, I was like, ‘wow’, you know we use the word ‘wow’ a lot, as we just did in sports, and there’s a lot of wow moments, and there’s also sometimes shocking news or disappointing. Writing this was fun. It was like going back through the journey, and I’ve been asked to speak at some broadcast schools and sports journalism because of some of the things I think people can learn and identify with their own situation and find their path and hopefully inspire them as I was inspired in the business.
DG: Bill Murry wrote the forward for the book, how did the two of you become friends?
CM: I met him first at the ESPYs. I’ve known him more than 30 years, it was an early ESPY awards, and he had Dan Patrick and I come down to join him in a segment on the show. He was going to do some bit for those awards when they were just shaping that, and he said, ‘you guys write your own material, so I’m going to write with you and come up with [something to] play off of what you do, and we kind of hit it off. He’s a great sports fan. He comes from a big family like I do.
Obviously, he’s got a sense of humor, and I often considered being a comic or thought about it, but wasn’t cut out for that, but really love comedians and interviewers, and so we kind of connected. Then we went to a baseball game, and then I hung out with his brothers who were all very talented and creative and in different ways, of course, Caddyshack, and then we got to golf a little together. I golfed at his charity event.
He would come on the Up Close interview show, or if I was doing a radio show when I asked him, and so he’s been a longtime friend, and there’s some sensitive, touching moments from him as a friend in the book for me and my family, that aside from the funny Bill Murray and the talented actor and comedian that he is, and he’s the kind of guy, really, and this is a compliment to him that I think you’d want to hang out with, you know, even if he wasn’t famous, because he’s got not only a great personality, but incredible knowledge.
DG: As long as you have been doing this, do you still get butterflies before games? Do you still get as excited about it as you did before?
CM: Yeah, I do, and that’s why I’m still doing it. The fan part of me, and also the part of me that loves the people involved. You know, how do they handle failure? How do they overcome adversity? What made them so good for so long? Somebody like a Jerry Rice or even Tom Brady more recently. But yeah, I still get the rush when the light comes on or the mic opens up, because I love the unpredictability.
You can prepare, and you should for everything, but then when it happens, you’re not sure which way the game’s going to go or the interview’s going to go. And I think that’s kind of the excitement of it all. But the fan thing never leaves you. So no, that’s still there That doesn’t leave me.
You know, even a bad day covering sports is a good day, because you’re still doing something that’s fun. And there’s some travel issues, and there’s some people that are difficult in situations that are frustrating like any job, but it doesn’t feel like a job when you’re getting to do it as much and with the people that I’ve been able to do it with.
DG: Let’s end with this one – what would you like for people to get out of reading the book?
CM: Well, I want them to feel good. I want them to be inspired. These are all actual events. If you’re a sports fan, you’re going to love it. Even if you’re not a sports fan, I think you will appreciate some of the people, how they think, how they grew up, how I grew up. It covers my stories that involved me and my family that affected how I reacted to some challenging interviews, some unexpected situations, some very happy moments in sports. These are moments that you’ll remember where you were or your father or grandfather might tell you about it, what they read about it.
I didn’t want the book to be homework, it’s under 300 pages. There are some pictures. These are people you know, and you’ve heard of, or watched on SportsCenter or on FOX Sports and in big events and great athletes. When you start reading it, I think it’ll move you. It’s always something that when I read books, and I read them all about broadcasters coming up and news people and entertainment people, I want to be moved by it, but I want to know it’s the truth.
And this book has some of that. And yeah, curiosity is a good thing to have if you know what to do with it.
2024 has been a roller coaster ride. We’ve produced record website traffic, expanded our coverage into new areas, and invested resources in changing our URL, the look of the site, and our writing team. Newsletters were expanded to reach different segments of the audience, conferences hosted to unite and elevate the sports and news media industries (tickets for the 2025 BSM Summit go on-sale this Thursday night, look for details tomorrow), and we’ve worked tirelessly to grow marketing partnerships with B2B focused businesses. It’s been a fun but challenging year to say the least.
Just as many in mainstream media circles have experienced, we’ve endured our share of challenges too. Traffic and advertising revenues are up, but so too are expenses. As a businessman, I have to examine how to move the business forward while keeping it healthy. Stephanie Eads, Dave Greene and I have talked to 40+ companies over the past two months about working together in 2025. Large TV and radio groups don’t do much advertising here, charging readers has never felt right, and I don’t want to add investors. That means we have to be smart, nimble, and strategic with how we operate.
I’ve sought feedback from our readers, interviewed candidates, and have discussed ideas, challenges, and opportunities with my crew. Time has been spent reviewing which content produces interest, which doesn’t, which writers generate the most impact, and where we can get stronger. I’ve also examined our newsletter performance, managed our social media posts, and analyzed the support we receive from X, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I’ll come back to that later when I discuss Bluesky.
I’ve learned that we produce more content than our audience can keep up with. We’ve become a trusted outlet for radio industry coverage, but have work to do strengthening our television/streaming/digital/business coverage. The logo on this website says Barrett MEDIA yet our writing staff heavily reflects radio. I have no plans to stop covering radio/audio. It’s a space we love, and do well in, but adding perspectives from those other mediums is on my radar for 2025. The media as a whole is much larger, and I want to share news, tell stories, highlight people, and explore issues that effect all areas of the industry not just one medium. To do that, adjustments have to be made.
Concurrently, expenses have to be considered, and reliance on full-time crew has to come first. It’s hard to attack issues in a timely manner when you’re reliant on part-time contributions. Keeping up with the pace of a news cycle requires a full-time focus. We feature 23 original stories per day in our 4 newsletters, and write another 5-7 for our website. That’s a ton of content, which sounds big, but the reality is that most people don’t read 30 daily stories. Connecting with our audience doesn’t demand that amount of production, and I’d rather do less, more meaningful content than fill a page with weaker material.
I asked in a recent survey ‘Which Type of Stories Would You Like To See More of From Barrett Media?’ In-depth reporting and industry research are the two runaway vote leaders so far. We’ve also received input from folks who want more video and podcast content from us. I value those things too, but to do them well, we need a smaller crew with FT focus. Just as important, we need staff who aren’t restricted by employers, are connected to the industry, and want to help elevate our brand.
We are a valued source for media news, education, connection, and celebration. I want our readers to learn, and be challenged, inspired, and entertained by our content. It takes a passionate, creative, curious, experienced, and invested team that enjoys telling stories and can do so without limitations to do this well. September 2025 marks our 10th anniversary, and we’ve made tremendous progress since 2015. To assure next year is better than the last, I’m announcing a few moves to help us grow.
New Sports Media Editors
I am excited to welcome Jon Lafayette to our team as our new Sports Editor. A native New Yorker now based in Chicago, Jon joins us after more than a decade with Broadcasting+Cable where he recently served as Business Editor. Prior to joining B+C, Jon covered the TV and advertising industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. He has a strong background in covering media including revenue-generating activities, on-air and behind the scenes talent, brand strategies, and executive decisions. His tour of duty with Barrett Media starts Monday December 2nd. Please give him a warm welcome by saying hello at Jon@BarrettMedia.com.
I’m also thrilled to promote Derek Futterman to Associate Sports Editor. Since joining us in May 2021, Derek has done a magnificent job hustling for stories, and highlighting professionals through his in-depth features. His ‘Day Spent With‘ series was a hit in 2024. Derek has attended events to give Barrett Media an on-site presence, creating original content and important connections along the way. He’s a quick learner, hard worker, and most importantly, passionate about covering sports media. The only negative, which Jon shares, he’s a Mets fan haha. As a Yankee fan myself, I’ll have to work on converting them. Congratulate Derek on his new opportunity by emailing him at Derek@BarrettMedia.com.
Writing Changes
With most of our content being created by Jon, Derek, Garrett, Jeff, and myself, I’m saddened to have to say farewell to Mark Kreidler, Peter Schwartz, Jeff Caves, Keith Berman, and Amy Snider. Dave Williams and Jacquie Cadorette left us last month. All have done great work here, are excellent writers, and I can’t recommend them enough for future opportunities. Demetri Ravanos, and Krystina Alarcon Carroll are staying on but writing less per week too. All other writers remain status quo. The downside of exploring new directions and relationships is that it means existing ones change. I’m appreciative of all who have helped us, and I wish them well in the future.
Additionally, our Chief Media Office Dave Greene is moving into a new part-time role with the company. Dave has been awesome to work with, a positive influence on our crew, believes in the brand, and his attention to detail and love for the business has been needed. Dave is continuing his weekly column, and Eavesdropping and Sales Meeting features. He’ll also work with Stephanie Eads and I on sales opportunities. I’m excited to continue our relationship into 2025.
As 2025 approaches, I’ll be starting a process to interview candidates to serve as our Music Radio Editor. I started interviewing for an Assistant Editor six weeks ago but had to change our plan. Jeff Lynn has been a great addition to our team. His love for the music radio business and decades of experience made him the right man at the right time to help us get started. Jeff has desires beyond radio/writing that he wants to pursue, and a few personal matters he needs to tackle. He’ll be with us for the next two months as we look for his replacement. It’s been a pleasure having him on our team.
I am firmly committed to covering music radio and growing our reach and influence across all music formats. We’re only 4 months into our plan, and have a lot in store for 2025. The recent addition of our Ratings section powered by Harker Bos Group is just the latest example of making improvements to serve music radio professionals. Those interested in our Editor opening, can send resumes and writing samples to Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
Newsletter and Content Changes
Starting Monday December 2nd, all newsletter subscribers will receive two emails per day from Barrett Media. The Morning Edition will go out at 8am ET and contain 6-9 stories from all sections comprised of original columns, features, benchmarks, and special projects. Evening Edition will be distributed daily at 5pm ET and feature 6-10 of the day’s top news stories from all sections. We will no longer include stories from other media outlets, only Barrett Media produced content.
In addition, we are tightening up our newsletter features to elevate the experience. Improving content quality, decreasing how often we invade inboxes with newsletters, and better serving our advertising partners are the reasons for our strategic shift. We’ve sent readers 23 original stories per day since July along with 4 articles from outside sources. Quite frankly, it’s too much. Our audience values breaking news, features, columns, and special projects most, and have limited time. We’re making improvements to better serve them moving forward with the best content we can produce from the world of sports media, news media, and music radio.
Readers will begin to see more creative benchmarks, in-depth features, and original series and columns on the site in 2025. On-Air reactions such as Tom Tolbert or Lamont & Tonelli signing off or Len Berman or Robin Bertolucci speaking for the first time after parting ways with iHeart, will continue to be covered. Generic on-air stories (ex: News Host says Fox News/MSNBC sucks, Sports host impressed by broadcaster on TV, etc.) will be reduced.
To be clear, we are not shying away from covering media drama. But there is a difference between Brandon Tierney addressing Stugotz on WFAN and Joe Rogan saying Elon Musk did a great job buying X. 500 hosts may agree or disagree with Rogan’s opinion. That doesn’t make it newsworthy.
Additionally, content that only serves a company and its PR team will also be decreased. We try to help spread the word about anniversaries, charity drives, fundraising, and promotional events, but few people read those stories. We’ll explore ways to combine them into weekly pieces or find other ways to relay the message. In-depth reporting, breaking news, recognizing accomplishments, and highlighting brands, people, technology, and educational benefits are what we’re focusing on. As we make improvements, I hope you’ll share your feedback to let us know how we’re doing.
I’m all for new ways to interact, and promote content, but I’m not convinced the Bluesky migration of 2024 is a game changer even if some media types want it to be. It’s not bigger than the 2023 invasion of Threads. X, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn aren’t losing sleep over a platform that boasts 20+ million users. If folks want to try out the new platform, go for it, but I’ll stay where the audience is. If it takes off and requires changing down the road, we’ll adjust.
Folks are frustrated with Elon Musk for using his influence and amplifying political voices they don’t agree with on X. I’ve considered taking Barrett Media off of X too but not for those reasons. X devalues publishers because the platform doesn’t want people leaving to read content elsewhere. As a result, the reach of written content shrinks, raising the question ‘do we need to be here?’ If we did leave, I won’t announce it. The media world will be just fine with or without Barrett Media on X.
I use X each morning to read, watch, and stay engaged. That won’t change whether I like Elon Musk’s business strategy or disagree with his opinions. I believe in free speech, not having platform overlords decide who can/can’t have a voice. Algorithms for these platforms get many things wrong. Facebook just blocked promotion of Krystina’s story on Daniel Cohen on Friday and our story on the KFI changes two weeks ago. Despite multiple attempts to get the machines to fix the errors, nothing changed.
When I see things on X that I don’t like, I mute them, block them, or ignore them. It’s no different than what I do in my car when I turn on a radio station and hear something I don’t like, I change the channel. No matter where you turn, there’ll always be different points of view, Bluesky included. The question you have to answer for yourself is ‘how important is being where the action is vs. entertaining yourself’?
The idea of breaking up The Michael Kay Show doesn’t feel right to me. Michael Kay is 63 not 83. He still performs at a high level. A solo 2-hour show in middays feels disrespectful to a host who has earned better. Peter Rosenberg is also a great fit on the show. Not retaining him given his age and talent makes no sense. I know negotiations and costs are involved here, and all good things do come to an end. I just hope ESPN and Good Karma Brands aren’t leaving the dinner table while a good meal still sits in front of them.
Amazon’s Thursday Night Football team produced great television last week. Following Jameis Winston on to a snowy field after his postgame chat to make snow angels created a cool visual. It showed the talent in a fun, entertaining way. Nice work by Charissa, Tony, Ryan, Andrew and Richard. And by the way, Jameis Winston interviews on television are a big win for everybody.
We don’t promote accepting Guest Columns but last week four appeared on the site from Dan Mason, Adam Shapiro, John Mamola, and an iHeart employee. I love using our platform to help others share their expertise to help industry professionals. If you have something of value to share, pitch me at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
I enjoy speaking to aspiring media professionals. The University of Florida brings me in annually to talk to their students, and it’s a trip I enjoy making. Their studios, equipment, and training programs are second to none, but more importantly, the students themselves are hungry to learn. I focus so much on my preparation and work that I don’t think about how my feedback connects. When a message like this appears on LinkedIn though, it reminds me that what I’m doing matters. It makes the days on the road worthwhile.
Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post has been all over the Around The Horn news. The show per Glasspiegel’s report will end next summer after 23 years on-air at ESPN. I don’t watch ATH like I used to, which is due to my work schedule. However, I’ve always liked Tony Reali on television. I hope ESPN has a plan for him moving forward. His energy, passion, likeability, and connection with people is a value to any show he’s involved in. His only negative, he hasn’t been featured yet on Barrett Media. Let’s make it happen Tony 🙂
Glass Break at NY Post: ESPN has made the final decision on Around the Horn's future after a legendary run https://t.co/BneUtQR2pX
Love him or hate him, Bill O’Reilly‘s appearance on Cuomo last week on NewsNation was excellent. If he’s right about NBC wanting no part of MSNBC and being willing to practically give it away, and ABC seeking to cut ties with The View, it’ll change how news television looks the next few years. That’s assuming another company doesn’t acquire the channel or pursue The View if it becomes available. Speculation is what it is for now, but with NBC announcing MSNBC and CNBC are being spun off, this will be an important follow in the coming months.
Dan Bonginosays he hasn’t been part of transition meetings with the Trump Administration. That doesn’t mean though that he won’t be in the future. If the administration wants him involved, it can’t hurt to ask him. After multiple sources confirmed The Daily Wire partnership is ending at the end of 2024, losing Bongino would create an even bigger problem for Westwood One. The network has done a fabulous job for decades offering top talent and shows so I’m sure they’d figure it out. Uncertainty though puts programmers and affiliate stations in a tricky spot. Here’s hoping the 2025 lineup is strong and Bongino remains a part of it.
Condolences to Rudy Martzke‘s friends and family. The longtime USA Today sports media columnist passed away last week at the age of 82. I read Rudy’s work often during my radio career and enjoyed his perspectives and inside information. He followed us on X and offered positive feedback many times about our coverage, which I greatly appreciated. His contributions to the industry will be remembered by all who read him.
Congrats to Allen Stiles on the new solo show in middays in Sacramento at Sactown Sports 1140. Former partner Chris Watkins moved into the station’s digital department giving the former Bay Area personality a chance to assume more responsibility. So far, so good.
iHeartMedia Boston hired Rich Shertenlieb earlier this year to make WZLX better. He did that. The station grew from 14th to Top 5 with Men 25-54. His reward? A pink slip. It’s a reminder that corporations care more about the number you make, not if you’re 5th, 10th or 50th.
Congrats to Chuck Sapienza on a great run in Baltimore at 105.7 The Fan. Sapienza and 105.7 The Fan are mutually parting ways after 7 years. Whoever takes the reins next inherits a brand with a strong track record of winning. Programming candidates can apply for the opening here.
Jason Kelce is a better man than me. His decision to sign an autograph for a guy who spent the entire time insulting him outside of the Jimmy Kimmel Show showed class and restraint. Had he cracked the guy in the mouth or tossed his phone down like he did the last time he was harassed, few would’ve taken issue with it. Some people in life simply suck. Jason Kelce isn’t one of them.
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I bought a new phone this week. This in itself is unremarkable; almost everyone has a smartphone, and trading your old one in for the newest model is mundane to the extreme, although trying to make sense of the trade-in deals and the benefits and drawbacks of the various carriers resembles trying to pick a Medicare option.
Ask around and you’ll get the same “they all suck” reactions whether it’s about cell service (my house appears to be a dead spot for all three national carriers) or Medicare Advantage (your doctors are not in network no matter who you choose, and Medicare-plus-Medigap-plus-prescription plan costs more than you can afford). I’m just glad to get the phone thing done. Medicare, assuming it still exists by then, is next year’s agonizing decision.
There have been pretenders to the throne – at one point, “smart speakers” were going to be ubiquitous and dominant, but do you really use those things much anymore? The smartphone though remains the device that most people use to replace radio, television, and print. Judging by how hot phones get when you charge them with MagSafe, they could probably replace your toaster oven. It’s easy to forget that they’re phones and you can actually dial a number and talk to someone, or leave a voicemail they’ll never open. They’re amazing devices as well as annoying as hell.
By now, most people working in media are aware that the cell phone is the conduit by which what they create – news, entertainment, video, whatever – gets to the consumer. Some have adapted better than others; for every news organization that has encountered difficulty maintaining an audience (and revenue) online, or radio company that hasn’t quite figured out how to promote and sell streaming audio or create podcasts people will want to hear, there are media companies that have made it work, or at least have survived so far. Someone’s making money doing this.
One question I have, though, is how long this will be the case? I have one of those deals where I can upgrade my phone every year, and as I bought an iPhone 16 Pro I wondered whether I’ll someday be buying an iPhone 28 or whether there will be some other device through which I’ll get my information and entertainment.
If there is, and it’s inevitable that it’s coming, it’s likely to be something we aren’t even thinking about. If it’s up to someone like Elon Musk, it’ll be a chip in your brain. Companies are still trying to make “smart glasses” and AR and VR headsets a thing, despite strong evidence that most people do not want them.
What’s next might show up relatively soon, or may not come for decades, but it’s coming. It’s an open question whether the people in charge of the media at the time will effectively adapt to that new technology or as they did at every turn since the internet changed everything, flounder and try to shoehorn whatever they’re already doing into technology and a market that want something different.
I’d bet on the latter. How many traditional news outlets are effectively using TikTok, for example? How well did traditional media fare when Facebook and Google took their content and advertising revenue? Where are the true innovators, and are they ready for whatever technology comes next? And will they listen to the consumer and give the people what they want, rather than forcing their existing content into new packaging?
I don’t know if I’ll still be around by then, but I’m not likely to be one of those decision makers anyway. My goal is to spend less time staring at the phone screen, less time doomscrolling, less time with social media, even with a shiny new phone. We can all stand spending more time touching grass.
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 Thanksgiving holiday break levels the playing field. Food is the great equalizer. The sounds of parades and football on the TV make us feel comfortable for a day. If I have time for a self-indulging movie moment, it will be hearing John Candy in Planes, Trains & Automobiles say, “I didn’t introduce myself. Del Griffith. American Light and Fixture, Sales Director, shower curtain ring division.”
Internally, I make a list of things for which I’m thankful. This year, I expanded the list to What Radio Should Be Thankful For in 2024. Of course, it wouldn’t be a radio column without an attempt at alliteration (For and 24).
Taylor Swift:
Radio is a reactionary medium. It thrives when culture creates trends or movements to endorse or oppose. One of the best gifts came from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. It started in 2023 and continues through next month.
Radio stations stepped up to create promotions and marketing targeted at the most passionate audience in pop music culture. On-air promotions got creative. Stations used scarce marketing dollars to promote their brand and the tour. Mainstream AC, Country, Hot AC, Top 40, and News/Talk stations could all participate in this promotion.
The competition between stations was good for the audience and, ultimately, good for radio. Few celebrities could’ve created this type of moment.
2. The Traffic Department:
To the outsider, traffic is perceived as automobile traffic reporters. The radio insiders know this department as the people who traffic the commercials and promos. I use the word department with emphasis because clusters have downsized and regionalized this position in the last 15 years.
However, it remains one of the most underrated positions in a radio station. There was a time when a stop set had competitive client separation parameters. This meant a commercial break couldn’t have more than one car dealership in the stop set.
As the advertising options became more fragmented in the digital age, those rules were relaxed. Now, we take your business and air it as long as the payment clears. Technology aids the process of scheduling the spots. However, radio needs human oversight to go beyond the boring and predictable algorithm scheduling of Digital Service Providers (DSPs). Great Traffic Managers and Sales Managers put their eyes on the logs. Thank these people before the year ends.
3. Chief Engineers:
When I got into this beautiful business, the FCC was deregulating and changing the license rules for operators and engineers. My first engineer had the required First Class license to work on a radio station transmitter. The license nickname was First Phone.
Throughout the years and various markets, I asked the Chief Engineer in the first meeting, “Do you have your First Phone?” The veterans smiled at me. The younger engineers pulled out their smartphones and said, “No, this is my fifth phone.”
We’re nothing without a signal to transmit content. We’re nothing without a stream to transmit content. We’re nothing without an IT department to traffic communication and content.
Thank you, engineers. You’ll always be a First Phone to me.
4. AI. It looks like the man’s name, Al, but it’s the initials for Artificial Intelligence:
This one will be met with skepticism. However, if AI can save time and allow us to focus on creating better content for the audience and better sales propositions to get in front of clients, then it’s a positive innovation.
Does it make us nervous? You bet. But most of life’s unknown scenarios create anxious reactions. Medicine, sports, relationships, employment, schools, and, of course, technology. However, more problems are realized when we ignore the unfamiliar. Thanks, AI, for pushing us out onto the field and forcing us to play another quarter.
This is a late entry. A story appeared last week in my feed about this college station’s 25th Annual ALT2Hunger concert benefitting St. Peter-St. Joseph Children’s Home in San Antonio. The Adult Album Alternative station is the campus radio station of San Antonio College and has been on the air since 1966.
When you think about the turnover of a student-run radio station, it’s impressive that a promotion to raise money for charity continues 25 years later.
Every college training and inspiring students to learn the art and craft of broadcasting and content creation deserves a Thanksgiving high-five from every commercial station in the community served by those stations.
6. Intel, for laying off more than 15,000 people this summer:
This one is filled with some cynicism. The recent wave of radio company personnel layoffs has the industry feeling discouraged, critical, angry and sad. All of those feelings are heard and justified. However, we’re not the only industry reacting to recent trends and realigning to future expectations.
Companies like Intel, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, TikTok, and Tesla had sizable layoffs in 2024. This doesn’t explain or forgive how Radio got into this position, and it doesn’t make the severance and job searching any easier to accept. But it does add some perspective as to how the technology and entertainment categories are being affected.
7. The Living:
Living is the best antonym I could find for ghosts. I’m thankful to those who replied to the job-searching candidate in 2024 and didn’t ghost those people. The emails, DMs, and voicemails will occupy more space in the new year. Let’s all dedicate ourselves to replying to those who need recognition and acceptance. It might be one of us someday.
8. Sales:
It takes a certain personality type to be positive and rebound when faced with defeat and rejection daily. However, today’s sales reps must be trained and competitive in broadcast, podcast, streaming, apps, and event advertising models for clients. Your world is noisy. But the good ones like it that way. Thanks for showing up to those networking events with the vision of closing a deal.
9. Non-Commercial Fundraisers:
If you’ve worked with an organization that keeps the power on and the staff employed because of on-air fundraisers, you have a different respect for the outcome. It’s crazy. I’m continually amazed at how these media brands motivate people to give to a FREE medium.
If I don’t pay Netflix this month, I won’t get to spend 30 minutes scrolling the app for something to watch before I give up and watch nothing.
However, I could listen to a non-comm station for five years without giving one dollar. Yet, some of these stations and networks have enjoyed a fruitful period of donations in recent years. Clearly, these stations and brands have something the audience wants to hear. The commercial stations can learn from the passion created by the non-commercial formats.
10. Radio:
Finally, I’m thankful for the noun, adjective and sometimes transitive verb, radio. No one says, “Hey, turn on the audio.” The audience isn’t repelled by the name. Why should we be?
As we retool and prepare for the 2025 battles, let’s be proud of the word used for nearly 105 years. Radio. It’s always been about what comes out of the speakers and devices.
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 last couple of months have not been good for many people in the radio business. We’ve seen layoffs, most notably at iHeart, but also at Cumulus and other companies. What is most painful is that many of those whose services were no longer required were long term veterans in their markets, some with 20, 30, or more years of work at their stations and clusters. No one was heartened by Bob Pittman’s comments on the recent iHeart earnings call with his reference to “redundancies”.
Meanwhile, Nielsen’s change in crediting policy from five minutes in the quarter hour to three minutes in PPM markets is a “go”. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, and I’ve already written two columns supporting the change. After the initial year over year bump, it will be “ho-hum” and most likely, we’ll see radio usage slowly slide again as has been happening for many years.
As a researcher with a fair amount of time inside of ratings companies, it smells more like Nielsen has some big contracts up for renewal and needs a positive story or is looking for new ways to increase revenue. More than a few presenters at the September Barrett News Summit mentioned the decline in ratings-based agency business and the need to replace those dollars with direct business. That also means less revenue based on ratings and more revenue based on a solid direct multimedia proposal.
Let’s put those two news items together: Radio usage continues to decline, revenue is flat to down, and good people are being told to find another way to earn a living. My sense of the trade press is something akin to the 1976 movie “Network” and one of the great movie lines: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” uttered by Howard Beale. Are you sensing more trade press with that attitude? Are you following the advice that a number of writers are offering and making sure that you have a Plan B if the corporate grim reaper comes looking for you?
Rather than offering even more “doom and gloom”, here’s a question: What are radio people doing to bring listeners back to the medium? A fellow Barrett columnist, Robby Bridges, seems to be everywhere in his part of New Jersey per his Facebook posts and I don’t think it’s “AI Robby”. Is it working? He can’t be the only one busting his tail and (hopefully) getting results.
A while back, I wrote about the experiment at KDKA in Pittsburgh with handing the overnight shift over to local college students. There’s not a lot of audience available at those hours just as there wasn’t during radio’s heyday, but it’s a fantastic idea. We need to put these initiatives into the trade press in addition to the wonderful stories about how much money local stations have raised for various charities. The latter shows the continued power of the medium as well as offering good talking points when the NAB government relations people are meeting with members of Congress or state associations are lobbying state-level legislators. But fundraisers are usually one-offs because as public broadcasting knows, you can go to the well only so many times before listeners are turned off.
This is a research column so let’s turn this into a research study. Who out there in radio is doing something new and different and can point to some success? I deliberately used “who” rather than “what stations” because radio is about people; the rest is a distribution system. Send me an email and maybe we can all be a bit more optimistic about the future of the medium. There’s an email address at the end of this column and I promise to read any and all submissions and write about what I’m hearing. Small town or major market makes no difference…good ideas are good ideas.
My first “real” radio job (college radio didn’t count) was at WFYC AM/FM in Alma, Michigan and even as a weekend part-timer who started out at the princely sum of two dollars an hour in 1974 and didn’t know much, I could try a few things and could learn. Not every idea I had made sense or worked, but I kept generating them.
I’ve spent some time recently with Steve Newberry. You may know him as the CEO of Quu or from his recent tenure with the NAB. He also owns Commonwealth Broadcasting here in this part of Kentucky. We had lunch a couple of months ago and he gave me a tour of Barren County, KY, his home base. We drove into downtown Glasgow, the county seat, and he spoke with such pride about his stations there being “on the square” and being part of the community. Format, music rotations, and spot loads were secondary to serving Barren County and the surrounding area. Commitment like that gives you faith in the continuing strength of the business.
Perhaps Bob Pittman is planning to put Ryan Seacrest, Bobby Bones, and Charlamagne Tha God on hundreds of stations and use AI the rest of the day with more push for the iHeart Radio app. Those people are talented and work very hard, but they’re not local and as we’ve seen in the last election, people in different parts of the country have divergent worldviews. Tell me what you’re up to in your market that is making a difference.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving regardless of your current employment status and let’s meet again next week.
