Barrett Blogs
Satisfying The Appetite For Sports Information
Two weeks ago I read a column by Jason Whitlock and it got my wheels spinning. The outspoken columnist who recently left ESPN and returned to Fox Sports stated that we were witnessing the decay of journalism in sports media, and numerous media companies were guilty of allowing it to happen.
Much like any written piece, there were areas that could be disputed, but in general, I felt he raised a number of valid points. There’s no question that the public has a big appetite for sports information. Social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook have increased the interest, speed, and accountability for quality reporting, and most of the content produced on sports radio, television, and websites, is built from it.
But for every major network who commits large resources to employing skilled reporters, the local end of the business does face a different reality. The commitment to developing young people has become a much bigger challenge for many media companies.
Today, people are often thrust into roles they’re not ready for or they’re asked to perform multiple jobs inside of an organization because of limited budgets. That makes it harder to gain deeper penetration on a local beat, and become your very best.
Newspaper readership and advertising dollars have declined, and the radio and television industries have experienced similar difficulties. Those issues unfortunately have caused groups to reduce or eliminate these positions and limit the amount invested in them. For someone who is young, hungry, and looking to create a career as a reporter, it can be disheartening.
Over the years I’ve conducted numerous research projects, and I’ve learned that audiences prefer truth over entertainment. There is a need for both presentations but without experienced reporters investing time in developing sources, and working tirelessly to investigate stories so our demand for accurate information is satisfied, the need for sports content becomes less important.
The sports media business benefits greatly from having highly trained reporters in the field who can cut through white noise to provide a detailed account for what’s taking place. The access to information, and ability to provide it fairly, and in a timely fashion, makes our sports experience more fulfilling. It can be argued that a top notch reporter at a high profile sports network is its most valuable asset next to live play-by-play. With social media playing a dominant role in each individual’s daily routine, the demand for a reporter’s content exists 24/7.
There will always be a fraction of the audience who just want to be entertained, and don’t care to know the truth and will accept certain issues being swept under the rug (MLB Steroids scandal). Most though who watch, listen, and read about sports, want to believe that the results being achieved are honest, and we put our trust in reporters to make sure they are. Nobody has more to gain or lose, than the reporter who’s right in the middle of each story.
If there’s another growing concern, it’s that in many cases, professional sports leagues, agents, and teams have made a reporter’s job even more difficult. For example, the Redskins are notorious for trying to cover up information and present details which can only be viewed through rose-colored glasses. The Packers also recently tried to intimidate a reporter who had published an article about a player with a checkered past.
And those aren’t the only two. There are many others who operate the same way. That unfortunately makes it even tougher to trust those who do conduct themselves properly.
Despite those challenges, reporting is a necessity for our business. Digital and social media audiences are soaring, and sports consumers are investing large chunks of their time to learn everything they can about their teams and the individuals who are a part of them.
While a reporter may not have their name on the marquee of the show you tune into, many times it’s their information and content that dominates the majority of the programming.
The real question facing media groups is “how can the increased demand for breaking sports news across multiple platforms be utilized to generate even larger profits, pageviews and ratings“? Measuring the impact is becoming much more difficult for media operators, but there’s certainly no shortage of interest in the information.
I was curious about the benefits and challenges of reporting, and what it takes to succeed in the field, and figured that if I’m going to write a piece on one of the most important roles in our industry, I might as well ask the best.
In addition to each of these gentlemen being great at what they do, they’re also quality people, who love their profession, and have no issues sharing feedback that will help others inside the industry. If reporting is an area of interest to you, I encourage you to follow each of them on social media, and heed their advice.
- Adam Schefter – ESPN NFL Insider
- John Clayton – ESPN.com Senior NFL Writer
- Ric Bucher – Bleacher Report Senior Writer/Video Analyst; SiriusXM Radio Host
- Ken Rosenthal – Fox MLB Reporter/Senior Baseball Writer; MLB Network Insider
Q: What do you enjoy the most and least about reporting?
Rosenthal: Being the first to tell fans something they want to know is what I enjoy most. NOT being the first is the thing I enjoy least!
Schefter: There’s nothing like the adrenaline of a big, breaking news story. I love big stories, and would think all journalists do. It’s the equivalent of a big game. Do athletes feel the adrenaline and anxiety of a playoff matchup or championship game? Absolutely. It’s the same thing in journalism. There’s nothing like a big story. As for the least appealing part of the job, you never want to get beat on one of those big stories.
Bucher: What I enjoy most is discovering what inspired a person to become who they are, or what inspired a certain move or decision. Basically, unearthing the back story to an event or entity that everyone may know on the surface. What I enjoy least are people who don’t respond to my queries. Saying no or refusing to be interviewed isn’t ideal, but at least I know where I stand. Not knowing if the message ever reached them is the most aggravating aspect.
Clayton: The challenge of getting the information and getting the information correctly reported. Social media has made the pace of information increase, which is good. The more information the better. What this is leading to is being able to analyze the information and put it in perspective quickly.
Q: How difficult is it to establish yourself on a local level, and how did you build your brand and earn trust locally when you didn’t have a national outlet behind you?
Schefter: That’s not really how I thought about it then, or now. I just tried to do my job as well as I could ever day, treat people as fairly as I could every day, work as hard as I could every day, and wherever that went, it went. If you do those things — act professionally, report responsibly, treat people fairly — that’s how you earn trust and build your brand. They are simple things, but they are harder to follow through and carry out.
Clayton: It just takes time. You have to be patient. You can’t rush stories when they aren’t ready. You earn trust with the way you handle the tougher stories. Not every story is going to be positive. If you handle the negative stories correct, the team or the players involved learn to respect your professionalism. That is how you gain sources. You have to build trust.
Rosenthal: I had a different job at the local level for many years – I was a general sports columnist for the Baltimore Sun. I did a lot of baseball, though, and my initial contacts when I went to the national level were mostly people who had worked for the Orioles.
Bucher: I don’t think it matters who you’re attached to. It depends on the strength of your relationships. Are you fair? Are you thorough? Do you do your homework? And, finally, do you have knowledge or insight that might be useful to the people from whom you’re seeking knowledge or insight? Working for a big enterprise might get your calls returned, or returned faster, but what they’re willing to tell you, and whether or not they’re simply using you because of your platform — and perhaps not giving you the most accurate assessment of what’s going on — still depends on how much they trust and respect you and your work.
Q: When your sport is at its peak level of activity, what does a day’s work include? How many hours are put in, and how do you balance sleep and family commitments with the job?
Bucher: I never can be sure when my sport is going to peak, because I never know when I might stumble upon something that then requires my complete focus. Or perhaps I have a project to complete and therefore need to shut out everything else; that happens, too. But let’s say we’re talking about the traditional peak activity, which is at the trade deadline, the week before the draft and the start of free agency. Generally, everything gets put on the back burner or has the potential to be put on hold for several days during those periods. The key, though, is doing your work early — knowing what potentially could be brewing weeks or months in advance and staying on top of those situations as the witching hour approaches.
When I was in full-reporter mode, everything came second. I am fortunate that I now get to spend a good part of my energy creating unique content or seeking certain stories to report out, as opposed to being subject to chasing down whatever may be going on in the league at any given moment. When that was the case, I was either making calls or thinking about who I needed to reach, and when the ideal time to contact them would be.
Rosenthal: My job never stops – and that’s year-round. Sleep is an issue, especially during the postseason, and during the off-season when I wake up at 6 a.m. to do the MLB Network morning show. As for family commitments, I’m fortunate my kids are older (two out of college, one in). I could not have done this job when they were younger. I’m also lucky that my wife is extremely patient – and I mean extremely.
Clayton: The job is pretty much a 12-to-15 hour marathon. You start by making a to-do list at around 5 or 6 in the morning. You work until dinner if not later. The longer you work, the better it is. Because of that, it is difficult on family commitments and sleep. I am lucky because I have an understanding wife. That is important.
Schefter: Every day is different in this job. The regular season — September through January — has a certain rhythm to it, predictability. I can tell you what any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday will be like, and the things I have to get done. It’s the other parts of the year that are more unpredictable and challenging, because you never know when news will be coming. It could happen any time, any day, with any team or player.
There are certain times of the year that truly are peak news periods, where the work never really stops. The few weeks after the regular season ends, when teams are firing and hiring coaches while the NFL playoffs are kicking off; that’s really busy. The week leading up to and then the first couple of weeks of free agency also are non-stop, with calls coming in and going out, and news constantly happening. The two weeks leading up to the draft and the week of the draft also are heavy phone call times, with lots of speculation and questions.
Q: How hard is it to decipher between a real piece of information that has legs, and when an individual or organization are trying to utilize you and your platform to further their own agenda?
Clayton: You enter every interview knowing you’re being used. No one would be talking to you if that person wasn’t trying to present a story from their perspective. There is nothing wrong with that. You just have to recognize what angle that person is coming from.
Schefter: I don’t really think about that often. If you do this job long enough, you create long-standing relationships. People you trust and who trust you are not going to do that to you; it’s unethical and wrong. People think this sort of thing goes on all the time, but if there is enough trust built up, it doesn’t happen nearly as often as you think. And it’s also the reporter’s responsibility to decipher what is real and what is not, what sounds plausible and what is not.
Bucher: I’m not the first to say it, but I wholeheartedly believe it: any reporter worth their salt has a hair-trigger bullshit detector and is a bit of a cynic when it comes to sources and news. That said, sometimes you can’t tell right away if something is on the level or not. Sometimes you can go pretty far down the road and discover that the hot item you had really isn’t that hot. What is disturbing in today’s world of reporting is that finding out an item isn’t as solid as it initially appeared to be doesn’t seem to be a deterrent to putting it out there anyway as “news.” Or maybe it’s that the vetting process, the digging further to see if this juicy item truly is both juicy and an item, just isn’t a de facto part of the process anymore.
Rosenthal: It’s not always easy, but part of our job is to figure out when we’re being used.
Q: What was the one story you got burned on that still stings? What did you learn from it?
Clayton: There isn’t one that comes directly to mind. You learn from every story you do.
Rosenthal: There are too many to mention! And I’m not kidding. I remember the failures more than the successes. Just my nature, I guess.
Bucher: There are two stories that I mishandled that probably will always haunt me. The first concerns Kobe Bryant and his desire to be traded to the Bulls in 2007. I was careful to report only what I knew to be undeniably true, which was that he wanted Jerry West or another addition to Lakers management or he intended to force a trade.
On SportsCenter shortly before training camp opened, I reported what I knew and at the end was asked by Neil Everett, if I thought Kobe would show up for camp. I had been told by an unimpeachable source that he did not intend to show up. So I said, “I don’t think he’s showing up“. Now, that was my opinion, not something I considered on the level of reporting because even if I had been told that, there was no way I could certifiably KNOW that. But that’s how I viewed it, not necessarily how viewers heard it. So, of course, he shows up and I get killed for reporting that he wouldn’t. If I had it to do over again, I would’ve told Neil, “I don’t know what he’s going to do.”
The other one involves a colossal game of catfish, in which someone got the phone of an NBA executive and texted me from it about a trade that could be going down between the Raptors and the Heat involving Kyle Lowry and Chris Bosh. My bullshit detector was buzzing, but I spent three days texting back and forth with the alleged executive, asking questions, trying to poke holes in what they were telling me. Finally, my secret texter said the deal was about to pop and I should be good to go with it. I can’t recall ever reporting a story having talked to only one source, but this executive surely would’ve had a direct line to the information and we had spent three days going back and forth. I didn’t want to expose my source by calling someone else in the organization to ask about the deal — or so I told myself — and finally sent the story.
As soon as I did, the thought hit me — our conversation had only been by text. We’d never spoken. What if? It only took minutes before I received a call from one of the GMs involved who I knew well and who promptly told me the deal was bogus. I felt as if someone had shotgunned my guts. The same evil being then texted me again offering me the Jason-Kidd-forcing-out-John-Hammond story to “make it up to me.” That’s one sick individual.
What would I have done different? What I do now — I never report anything strictly off one source. It’s how I long operated but I’m once more committed to it fully.
Schefter: Sometimes you’re awaiting one final confirmation from a source when a story breaks. That’s never enjoyable. But it’s one of the issues of today. You need to be as fast as possible, yet you better make sure your reporting is right first. That’s the most important thing. But that’s the pressure that every reporter deals with on his or her beat. Be fast. But more important, be right.
Q: What advice would you pass along to someone who is pursuing the path of a reporter, or has just started on the local level and is trying to make inroads?
Rosenthal: Work hard, read a lot, be respectful – and be patient.
Schefter: Be consistent. Be reliable. Be steady. Be productive. Be honest. Be fair. Be professional. Be diligent. Be open-minded. Be curious. Be brave. Be bold. Be patient. Be considerate. Be compassionate. And then you can be whatever you want.
Clayton: Start as young as you can. I was credentialed to cover the Steelers when I was 17. The jobs of the future aren’t yet created. You have to create the jobs, but there are plenty of opportunities. You have newspapers, magazines, radio, television, internet and blogs. If you work hard and are accurate, you should be fine.
Bucher: Be honest. Do your homework. Cover a subject or beat as you would want to be covered. If you want your subjects to confide in you, then you have to let them get to know who you are and how you work. Don’t worry about how big the beat is or the size of the stories you’re assigned; you never know when a small story is going to become a big one. In the meantime, you get to practice on reporting out small stories so when a big one does come along you’re more apt to handle it correctly.
Spend as much time talking with the notebook closed and the tape recorder off as you do with them open and on. I still believe most people will accept the truth being told. They may not like it, they may prefer it be kept quiet, but if it does come to light and it is presented fairly they ultimately will come to understand that it needed to be told.
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].
BSM Writers4 days agoDon La Greca is Putting His Faith in the Audience to Find ‘The Michael Kay Show’ on ESPN New York
- Barrett Blogs5 days ago
Barrett Media Names Dave Greene Chief Media Officer, Adds Perry Simon, And Reveals 2024 Plans
- Sports Online4 days ago
Yahoo Sports Undergoes Round of Layoffs Including Hannah Keyser, Sam Cooper, Kevin Iole
