Barrett Blogs
Going Through Changes
In life, people are creatures of habit. We prefer routine and being comfortable. Everything from when we wake up, shower and grab a cup of coffee, to making our commute into work and listening to a radio show to provide us a mental distraction from the chaos that lies ahead.
While the individual is always in control of their sleep, shower and coffee schedule, the same can’t be promised when it comes to listening to a radio show or working in the radio industry. That’s because the media business is faced with change on a regular basis. It’s not much different than professional sports. Remember, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice all wore different jerseys at some point in their careers.
I raise that example because it’s one of the unavoidable situations that comes up when you work in this business. Anybody who works in programming knows that we’re in the business of generating ratings with the audience. Expectations are set, strategies are created, talent are secured and it’s all done to hopefully generate excitement with an audience and regular tune-ins each day. If all goes according to plan, the ratings will grow and advertising dollars will follow.
But what happens when the ratings don’t grow? Or when they rise for 2-3 shows on your radio station but not for one of your other shows? That’s where the most feared word in media comes into play – “change“!
It’s easy to say “give a show time” and that’s always been my mentality when crafting shows. I believe that most programs need 18-24 months to become consistent with an audience. In some cases I can tell much quicker that the show isn’t going to work but when I hire a show I go in with the mindset that it’ll take some time to win over the crowd.
However, just because you give something time, doesn’t mean it will reach the level that you need your brand to ascend to. If the show isn’t able to perform to the level that you’ve determined is going to be needed to justify continuing it, then at some point whether it’s easy or difficult, you’re going to have to deal with making changes.
I’ve told some of my producers over the years that if I lose them at some point in their careers, I want to lose them to bigger career opportunities. It feels great to know you’ve worked with someone and helped them grow and as a result, another company wants to invest more in them and give them bigger responsibility. The worst part is having to cut ties with someone because they haven’t performed or delivered the necessary results.
You’d be amazed at some of the situations that come up and require parting ways from people. From people stealing lunches out of the refrigerator to people showing up late and sleeping on the job to people lying and undercutting their peers to countless other stupid things that cause a person to lose respect and opportunity from an employer. While sports radio may be fun and a labor of love for many who work in it, people still are human and poor decision making happens to all of us at some point.
When it comes to on-air talent, the leash is usually longer. A lot of executives will put up with a lot of headaches if a talent is delivering ratings and revenue. Even things that are unacceptable in many other professions often get swept under the rug for someone who can be a difference maker in this industry.
Speaking for myself, before I cut bait with a host or show, chances are given and conversations are had. I’ll go through numerous things from changing the content direction of a show to changing the clock to conducting listener focus groups to asking for feedback from the host(s) about why they believe they’re not delivering ratings and what we can do better to be more successful. Once those avenues are explored, then it’s my job to promote the program and support the people doing it and it’s their job to execute and help us generate stronger audience numbers.
While all involved may have the best of intentions, sometimes even after those discussions and adjustments, shows still don’t connect. When they don’t, nobody beats themselves up over it harder than I do. I’m sure many fellow programmers can relate. The last thing you want to do is tell somebody they have not performed to the level that’s required and as a result a change is necessary. But when you sign on to run a radio station, this is part of the job description. You can’t be a leader and have success if you’re afraid to deal with adversity and change.
When these situations occur, blame goes all the way around. The PD instantly becomes the bad guy and everyone inside and outside the building has their opinions on what’s going on. It becomes the companies fault, the ratings systems fault and everyone else’s fault and listeners will often react negatively due to the fact that a change is happening.
You can’t as a host or programmer blame the audience and ask “why didn’t you listen more“? You can’t blame the advertisers and ask “why didn’t you spend more“? You can’t blame Nielsen and ask “why didn’t you provide more meters to people who like what we do“? You can only do one of two things, pick yourself up off the ground and find the next opportunity and make your last employer regret letting you go or sit in sorrow and blame the world for what happened.
I went thru this myself back in 2008. I programmed a radio station 590 The Fan in St. Louis which had a great thing going on when I arrived in 2006. The Cardinals reaching the WS that year certainly didn’t hurt business either. Over the next few months, budget cuts, employee dissatisfaction and lack of corporate support would lead the radio station down the drain and I’d become the fall guy for it because after all I was the face of the franchise.
It was hard to accept that back then because I believed in my abilities and my desire to win but in the grand scheme of things, we were beaten before we ever hit the airwaves. I didn’t see that when I accepted the job but I did after I stepped back, removed my emotion from the situation and figured out how I’d learn from it going forward.
When I received my next opportunity as programmer of 101 ESPN in St. Louis, I made sure I knew I’d have better corporate support and a General Manager who believed in me and the confidence that was instilled in me allowed me to focus on what I do best and fortunately thanks to hiring a lot of smart and talented people and supporting them, the station became a smashing success. The product became #1 for sports radio listening in the market and reached a level of being the 2nd highest rated sports station in the country during one particular month in 2010.
Today I sit in San Francisco where I program 95.7 The Game. In this market, my brand is the underdog taking on a heritage sports radio brand that has the Giants, 49ers and Warriors games on their air and they’ve rode the success of play-by-play to the top spot in the market for well over 20 years. When we built this station, we didn’t launch with the expectation that we’d beat our competitor in the ratings in the first couple of years. We launched with the mindset of hiring dynamic talent and building a strong and viable brand that in time could work it’s way up towards the top.
Setting realistic expectations is important because you don’t overtake strong brands in 1-2 years just because you’ve arrived and presented talent and a vision that you believe is superior than the competitor. If it was that easy and that formula worked that fast, I’d have already retired. You have to have a strong strategy, know where opportunities lie in the market, create a plan that will consistently show growth and establish what makes you unique to the market. When you go from 25th to as high as 6th in the span of 3 years, that’s a sign that you’re on the right track.
Since I’ve been here, we’ve shown that we will not be afraid to introduce new talent, take risks and change course if things aren’t working. One thing I always enjoy is hearing our current listeners criticize or compliment the work previously done by Brandon Tierney, Eric Davis, Sean O’Connell, Ric Bucher, Aubrey Huff and The Rise Guys. A few years ago these were foreign names to Bay Area sports radio fans and had we not taken a chance to put them on the air and introduce them, people would not have had opinions of them. Clearly they all had tremendous talent and whether the feedback on them was good or bad, it showed that new voices with strong talent, can connect in a market like San Francisco.
While one could play devil’s advocate and criticize us for not being consistent, the fact of the matter is that when you’re in the driver’s seat in a market, it’s your job to keep a winning product consistent and lock up the things that are most important to your success until you’re forced to adapt. In our case, we’ve got to keep growing to eventually cause bigger disruptions and change long-term listening habits. If that requires adjusting as we go, then that’s what we’ll do. During the past 9 months our radio station has had its highest ratings run and had we not made changes I’m not sure if that would be the case. That can certainly be debated but in a business that is judged by results, the numbers don’t lie.
Change is never easy for people but it’s a part of life (especially the media business) and I often find that I work best when I’ve got my back up against the wall. I think that you learn a lot about people in this business when the pressure is on and decision making is critical. It’s in most people’s nature to try and find a way to return to a place of comfort rather than enter foreign territory but sometimes you’ve got to be willing to gamble and put your ass on the line in order to create bigger opportunities for your brand.
When I look across the sports radio landscape, I see tons of stations who have not been afraid to take risks and as a result, have been rewarded for it. From The Score in Chicago to 710 ESPN in Seattle to 680 The Fan in Atlanta to Arizona Sports 98.7 FM in Phoenix. All made changes and continue to perform strongly. The same can be said for 101 ESPN in St. Louis, The Fan in Dallas, WEEI in Boston and The Fanatic in Philadelphia. All of these stations have continued to thrive despite dealing with change and there are plenty of others who could easily be on this list.
Look at sports television and you’ll see the same. Over the past 5-10 years Monday Night Football switched from a 3-man booth to 2-man booth, First Take went from rotating hosts to using Stephen A. & Skip, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin left ESPN while Chris Carter, Keyshawn Johnson and Ray Lewis signed on and Football Night in America lost Tiki Barber, Jerome Bettis and John Madden but added Hines Ward, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison and Chris Collinsworth.
Some may see making changes as showing a lack of consistency and that’s fair, but some also believe it’s necessary to stay ahead of the curve. From where I sit, I’d much rather take risk and fail trying to be great than stay complacent and wait to be picked off. It certainly seemed to work out ok for Favre, Manning, Rice and Montana!
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at [email protected].
Barrett Blogs
Barrett Media Names Dave Greene Chief Media Officer, Adds Perry Simon, And Reveals 2024 Plans
“I’ve spent most of the past 8 years reinvesting in content, staff, events, etc. and with Dave Greene on board, I’m confident we’ll take bigger steps in the right direction.”
Apologies in advance for the length of this column. Today is both exciting and important for yours truly. I’ve spent months analyzing every part of our business, interviewing candidates, and I’m anxious to share with our partners and readers what’s on the horizon for BSM and BNM as we get ready to enter 2024 and look ahead to 2025.
When I wrote my eight year anniversary column in September, I alluded to 2023 being a tough year. Business wise we’ve been strong but managing staff, content, and workload has been harder. Just yesterday I had to deal with a writer bolting without notice. It’s a pain in the ass. Creating and installing a content plan is easy, but if the algorithms change and your team isn’t passionate about the work or in the right roles, growth stalls. You either make changes or accept not being able to reach your goals. For me, the latter is not an option. I’m far too driven, invested and excited by what I do to accept the status quo. I expect us to grow, work hard, make a difference, and enjoy it. If it means having to rattle a few cages to get to where we need to be, then that’s what I’ll do.
The hardest part of 2023 has been knowing we had to move through the present to get to the future. I’ve had to be more protective of my time this year, saving it for clients, partners, staff, Summit planning, content analysis, creating advertising packages, and meeting with potential partners, attending business functions, recruiting staff, and taking a greater role in day-to-day content management. I’ve missed out on calls with friends who wanted to chat about the business, and reduced my writing and podcast involvement because it was necessary. BSM and BNM are both healthy, and as others vacated the space or slowed down, we’ve ramped up and continue to invest in strengthening our coverage.
Before I get into the specifics of what lies ahead, I want to recognize Garrett Searight, Alex Reynolds, Andy Drake, and Stephanie Eads for helping to keep the brand on track during the past few months. I also want to thank all of our writers for continuing to create great content. After the BNM Summit concluded in Nashville, there was so much to do and not enough time. Though it forced many of us to take on more than we wanted to, we got through it, and grew our traffic and impact. That’s a credit to our team, and the trust we’ve built with our audience.
Having set the table now, let me share what’s on the horizon, what’s ending, and where we’re hoping to go in 2024.
Chief Media Officer: I’ve gone through a long, extensive process to identify the right leader to help us grow Barrett Media. The conversations started in May and ran through November, and I had a chance to meet a lot of smart, talented people, and learn a lot about the way our brands are viewed by professional candidates. To everyone I had a chance to interact with along the way, thank you for the interest. It was a pleasure connecting with all of you.
But in the end, there was only one job to offer, and I’m excited to announce that we found exactly what we were looking for. It is my great pleasure to introduce Dave Greene as Barrett Media’s new Chief Media Officer.
The experience Dave brings with him to this position is extensive. He’s been an integral part of building the Podcast Heat Network alongside talented pro wrestling podcaster Conrad Thompson. The company has created, distributed, and monetized podcasts featuring star talents such as Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, Eric Bischoff, Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett and others. Before joining the Podcast Heat Network with Conrad, Dave spent two decades in the radio business, working as a VP/GM, GSM, PD, Owner, and and On-Air talent. He has worked for Audacy, Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media, and Flinn Broadcasting. Among the sports and news brands he’s had the pleasure of helping include KMOX and 590 The Fan in St. Louis, 610 Sports in Kansas City, The Ump and WVNN in Huntsville, and KHMO in Quincy. He’s also served as co-owner and publisher of St. Louis Sports magazine, and was one of our first weekly columnists when we started adding writers in 2017.
When I made the decision to add someone to help me manage the content and grow the company, I knew I’d be looking for a unicorn. I initially sought an Executive Editor but as this process moved along, I realized I needed a leader who provided more than just writing and broadcasting skills. They needed to be adept at content and sales, have a passion and ability to write, connected across the industry, experienced in event creation, and equally as important, they had to know our brands and see growth potential in our business the way that I do.
I took my time with this hire because it was too important to make a rushed or bad choice. Since launching BSM in 2015 and BNM in 2020, I’ve seen other comparable media outlets earn seven to eight figure valuations. We’re not at that level and may never be but I believe we’re on the right track to larger success. Though I have zero interest in selling BSM and BNM, and plan on running this company for 15 more years, it only makes sense to make our brands the best they can be, and elevate our value with each passing year. I’ve spent most of the past eight years reinvesting in content, staff, events, etc. and with Dave on board, I’m confident we’ll take bigger steps in the right direction.
Dave’s immediate focus will be to learn the staff, manage the day-to-day workflow, find and write news stories, add a weekly column, contribute on special projects, and execute our editorial calendar. Additionally he’ll work with Stephanie to improve our sales operation, and collaborate with me on new ways to grow events, traffic, newsletters, and audience data. After previously competing against each other in St. Louis, I’m looking forward to being on the side and working together to maximize the full potential of Barrett Media.
Internal Promotions: In addition to strengthening our team with Dave’s addition, I am equally excited to announce three internal promotions. First, I’m thrilled to elevate Alex Reynolds to the role of Digital Director of Barrett Media. Alex has served as our social media coordinator since August 2022, playing a key role in executing our social media strategy. Moving forward, he will continue overseeing our social media plan, while getting further involved in affiliate marketing, website/content partnerships, newsletter creation, podcast/video production, data analysis, and audience growth strategies for our social channels and newsletters. He will also write a brand new original series, ‘Social Studies‘, which debuts in January on BSM.
The second internal promotion I’m pleased to share involves Derek Futterman. Derek is being officially promoted to the role of Sports Media Reporter. Since joining BSM in May 2021, Derek has learned a ton as a Contributing Editor and News Writer. He started by occasionally writing stories, got further involved with daily news, and in the past few months, has taken on the challenge of writing features on executives and broadcasters. He’s covered industry events, the BSM Summit, established relationships, and continues to grow. I’m eager to help him take another step by having him produce three features per week, contribute to special projects, involving him as our backstage interviewer at the BSM Summit, and having him contribute to daily news, while additionally managing BSM’s Jobs section.
The final internal promotion involves Garrett Searight. Garrett joined us in August 2022 as an Editor, and worked his tail off but learned quickly, this is different from working inside of a radio station. Over the past few months he’s raised his game, and I’m pleased to promote him to Managing Editor of BNM starting January 1st. Garrett will report to myself and our Chief Media Officer while writing daily news, and two weekly features for BNM. He’ll also become the point person for our BNM columnists and features writers. We’ve seen BNM make major strides over the past year despite not having a dedicated leader. I can only imagine how much better the brand will be with Garrett fully focused on it. One thing that isn’t changing, he’ll continue to write his weekly sports media column for BSM, and manage BNM’s Jobs section.
Website Redesigns: You’ve likely noticed that BSM and BNM look different today. We have modified both websites to make it easier to find content. Our main pages are often filled with news stories, making it hard to find things. These new layouts allow us to feature six stories in the main sections, and nine in each of the key lower sections, sports/news radio, sports/news TV, and sports digital/media business. The site will also display better on mobile, and we’ve added a sports betting bar on BSM, conference calendars to the lower right of articles on both sites, and we’ve retained the media stock ticker on BNM. All are available for sponsorship. We’re also turning on the comments to allow readers to chime in on our stories.
BSM Writers: To help us elevate BSM in 2024, we’re adding a few new writers, adjusting roles of a few of our contributors, and saying goodbye to a few of our teammates.
Starting with the additions, I’m excited to welcome Moses Massena as a weekly columnist. Moses is a sports television veteran, who spent 14 years at MLB Network, working as a researcher, segment producer, and producer, winning 7 Sports Emmys for his contributions to “MLB Tonight”. He has also worked a producer at MSG Network, and served as a researcher for FOX & ESPN. His professional television career began with SNY from 2007-2009.
Next, I’m pleased to welcome Jeff Kotuby to BSM as a daily sports television writer. Jeff has written content for many broadcasting and pop culture sites, including The Streamable, eBaum’s World, Twin Galaxies, and more. He has already begun diving in on BSM, and I’m looking forward to our readers becoming more familiar with his contributions in the future.
Moving to the internal adjustments, starting in January, Jordan Bondurant will take on a more defined role writing news stories each night on sports digital matters. Garrett Searight will add local and national sports radio content until Dave has a handle on the daily content, and Peter Schwartz and Demetri Ravanos will continue writing weekly features and helping with original projects. Peter will also add a new monthly feature, ‘Where Are They Now?’, which will run the last week of each month starting in January.
Though most of the news is good, we do have to unfortunately share some bad. Brian Noe and Ricky Keeler will be leaving us at the end of December. Both have been with BSM for a long time and have done a great job for us. In Brian’s case, he was one of the first writers to join BSM in August 2017. We wish both of them well, and appreciate all of the contributions they’ve made to our coverage along the way.
I am still looking to add another weekly sports media columnist to BSM. The ideal candidate will have industry experience, a track record of success, and a passion to write about the business. If you or someone you know fits the bill, send a resume and writing sample to [email protected].
BNM Writers: BSM has earned a strong reputation in sports media circles, and we’re determined to make sure BNM is highly regarded as well. To help us continue making progress, we’re excited to announce a few additions. First, please join me in welcoming Perry Michael Simon to BNM as a weekly columnist. Perry’s column will be published every Thursday on the site starting on December 7th.
Perry served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com after previously working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. His contributions to All Access were excellent, and his knowledge of the industry, and his willingness to challenge it helped many broadcasters learn, adjust, defend, and grow to appreciate his point of view. After a well deserved break following the shutdown of All Access, Perry is refreshed, refocused, and ready to offer his smart, snarky, and strong opinions on the media business. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for our readers.
In addition, BNM is pleased to announce the arrival of Krystina Alarcon Carroll. Krystina joins us in a hybrid role, writing two weekly features and adding a weekly column. She freelances currently for WPIX in New York and previously worked on live, streamed, and syndicated TV programs at NY1, Fox News Digital, Law & Crime Network, and Newsmax. We’re excited to add her to our team, and you can read her first story today on BNM.
As our readers recently learned, we’ve unfortunately had to say goodbye to Jim Avila. Jim did an excellent job for BNM but a great television opportunity came his way, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward. Ryan Hedrick has also exited. I’m accepting resumes and writing samples from industry pros who have a passion to write daily news TV stories and weekly features. If interested, click here. We have more evaluations to make in the next month to make sure we’re built for success entering 2024. One thing for certain, we are going to keep building BNM and make sure news/talk media professionals have a daily destination to visit and enjoy reading about their format and business.
Two New Newsletters: Another exciting addition coming in 2024 will be the introduction of two new daily newsletters, the BSM Press Pass, and the BNM Wrap Up. We will distribute both starting on January 2nd. The BSM Press Pass will be delivered daily at 5pm ET. The BNM Wrap Up will go out at 6pm ET. We’ll have a different look and approach for both, which I think media folks will enjoy and find useful at the end of the work day.
With the arrival of the Press Pass and Wrap Up, we will continue sending out the BSM 8@8 at 8am ET. The BNM Rundown though will move to an earlier time, going out each morning at 9am ET. The same look, structure and valuable content will be available in both. If you haven’t signed up for BSM’s newsletters, go here. If you wish to receive BNM’s newsletters, go here.
Editorial Calendar: When BSM was born, I wrote and created a lot of features and original stories. From 5 Podcasts in 5 Days to the Sports Radio Draft, the Greatest SportsCenter Anchor Tournament, and a full-day spent with Mad Dog Sports Radio, creative pieces performed well for us. But as day-to-day news grew and our staff expanded, we got away from some of that. We’ve still done things like Meet The Podcasters and Countdown to Coverage, and they too have been well received, so in 2024, we’re going to put more focus on original projects on both BSM and BNM. We have an editorial calendar ready for 2024, and will begin reviewing plans on Tuesday during a zoom call with some of our staff. We’ve got some great things planned for BSM and BNM, so keep an eye out for it.
Member Directory: Since April 2020, we’ve featured the BSM Member Directory to help industry professionals and aspiring broadcasters display their work to PDs, agents, executives, etc.. All members receive jobs listings by email a few times per month, get featured in the BSM 8@8 newsletter, are promoted in content when they have career news to share, and our annual subscribers get a 20% discount on BSM Summit tickets. Memberships are $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year. For 2024, we’re going to explore new ways to deliver more value and grow our member base. Dave, Alex and I will be brainstorming ideas this month in hopes of introducing new benefits to existing and future members during Q1.
Jobs Listings: We’re often asked to post Jobs for companies due to our ability to reach the right people. Knowing how hard it is to find good help, and having used LinkedIn, Indeed and other sites myself, I know it’s not cheap. Other trades charge a few hundred dollars per month to promote openings, and starting today, we’re going to do the same except we’re keeping costs low. For $99 per month companies can now promote open positions through our websites. If you click on the Jobs tab on BSM or BNM, you’ll see the latest listings. If you use the dropdown menu and select ‘Place An Ad on BSM/BNM‘ it allows you to submit an ad and get it posted on the site within 24-hours. I’m hoping it’s helpful.
Ratings Reports: I know the ratings matter to PDs, hosts, and executives. Yet many get upset with the ups and downs of measurement. Maybe it’s not perfect, but this is your report card, and whenever we highlight the industry, it benefits broadcasters, advertisers and listeners. We’re going to write quarterly ratings reports next year for both sports and news/talk radio. We will not do monthlies. All I ask is that we receive the PPM Data reports for each quarter so we can be fair and accurate to all. We write these reports to showcase the strength of two valuable formats, and to recognize all who contributed to each brand’s success. Nielsen is still the king when it comes to measurement, and our stations don’t benefit if they don’t promote their wins to the rest of the business world. My thanks to Harker Bos Group for supporting these stories. I look forward to digging into the data to highlight those who are making an impact in 2024.
JB Column and Podcast: I acknowledged earlier that writing columns and hosting podcasts became harder in 2023. That said, I realize I have a voice that matters. Starting in January, I will begin writing a weekly column on BSM. I will also be bringing back The Jason Barrett Podcast for 26 episodes next year. Half of those episodes will focus on sports media. The other half will explore the news/talk space. We will also video the shows and make them available through the Barrett Media YouTube page. If I was going to do the podcast, I wanted to add a new layer to it. I think this will help us do that and I look forward to hosting it in April 2024. It’s possible that we’ll add other podcasts and video shows in the future, but for now, we’re going to take it one show at a time.
Return of Guest Columns: BSM and BNM have featured guest columns before from Craig Carton, Erick Erickson, Dan Zampillo, Mo Egger, and Bo Thompson just to name a few. I’d like see more media people use our platforms to highlight issues or causes that are important to them. Whether you’re an owner, executive, PD, salesperson, media buyer, host, agent, imager, producer, podcaster or social media director, if you have knowledge to share, and interest in writing a one-time guest piece for BSM or BNM, email [email protected].
BNM Top 20/BSM Top 20: Our two biggest traffic drivers of the year, the BSM Top 20 and the BNM Top 20 will continue to serve the sports and news/talk radio industries. A huge thanks to Steve Stone Voiceovers for signing on as the exclusive sponsor of the BSM Top 20, and JJ Surma Voiceovers for coming on board as the exclusive partner of the BNM Top 20. The BNM Top 20 of 2023 drops December 11-15 and December 18. Voting for industry executives expires later today. The BSM Top 20 of 2023 will be released February 5-9 and February 12. Voting for that series will start in late December, early January. We’re also looking at a few additional projects to recognize the best in the industry. More to come on that in 2024.
BSM/BNM Summits: The BSM Summit returns to NYC on March 13-14, 2024. We’ll be live at the Ailey Theater both days, and have announced 16 top speakers so far and have more still to come. You can purchase tickets to the show here. For those in the news/talk world, we’re going to host our second BNM Summit in September 2024. We’ve chosen the host city and venue and hope to announce our plans after wrapping up this year’s BNM Top 20. Running our next show two months before the election is going to be excited. Stay tuned!
—–
For eight years, we’ve grown traffic, influence, events, consulting clients, and our writing team by following a simple philosophy, focus on serving the right audience, not the largest. When you commit to quality over quantity and refuse to chase clicks at the expense of relationships, you land in a much better spot. We are where we are today because of our consulting clients, advertising partners, and earned trust and respect with our readers and industry professionals.
That said, while we have proven our value to top talent, executives, agents, and media buyers, some marketing folks have been harder to reach. Stephanie Eads and I have attended many zoom calls and in-person meetings to share our story, and we’ve created packages large and small to accommodate all budgets. I’m hoping that as we enter 2024, those who have been slow to respond or who have stuck to doing the same things repeatedly, take a chance to discover why BSM or BNM should be part of their media mix.
In closing, I am ecstatic about adding Dave Greene to help us grow BSM and BNM. We have a lot of work ahead of us but I’m confident progress will be made. I appreciate everyone who visits our websites, receives our newsletters, attends our Summits, follows and shares our content on social media, and let’s others know about of our existence. Most importantly, I’m grateful to our consulting clients and advertising partners who give us the support we need to be able to continue doing this. We can’t raise the bar without you, and I’m fortunate to be in this position serving an industry I love, respect, believe in, and root for.
Here’s to Barrett Media’s future. 2024 is going to be awesome, and I’m glad to have you along for the ride!
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at [email protected].
Barrett Blogs
Nick Wright, Danny Parkins, Andrew Fillipponi and Omar Raja Join The 2024 BSM Summit Lineup
All four of these men are extremely talented and accomplished, and I’m grateful to each of them for making time to be with us.
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at [email protected].
Barrett Blogs
6 Speakers Added To The 2024 BSM Summit Lineup
“Two of these individuals have built successful careers as on-air talent. Four remain involved in management and programming roles.”
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at [email protected].
