BSM Summit Day Two: Promise And Danger For Sports Radio

Day Two

The second and final day of the BARRETT SPORTS MEDIA SUMMIT at the GRAMMY MUSEUM in LOS ANGELES FRIDAY (2/22), curated by consultant JASON BARRETT, offered another full day of sessions and presentations on topics like the dangers of social media, digital platforms, breaking sports scoops, and talent evaluation.

Brother Act

CUMULUS MEDIA and WESTWOOD ONE's BRUCE GILBERT and BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB)/BOSTON's MIKE THOMAS are both among the most prominent figures in sports radio and brothers, and the two shared the stage for FRIDAY's opening session, set up in the rapid-fire-topic style of ESPN's "PARDON THE INTERRUPTION."

The brothers tackled a list of topics like the value of sports updates (they agreed that there is value for the sales department, but, long term, GILBERT predicted that they will "go the way of the stagecoach"); TV simulcasts (THOMAS voiced concern that morning shows don't get ratings credit for "listening" on the TV side, but has his midday and afternoon shows on TV and morning team TOUCHER AND RICH on TWITCH); play-by-play (important to launch THE HUB, THOMAS noted; "it still moves the needle," added GILBERT); handling talent controversies (derailed slightly by the distraction of the breaking ROBERT KRAFT news; on topic, GILBERT stressed the importance of listening to the segment in question before reacting); the Men 25-54 demo (THOMAS prefers to focus on 18-49, GILBERT said that doing so is helped when a station has a huge FM signal); esports (belonging on digital, said THOMAS); spot loads; podcasting (THOMAS expects traditional radio to maintain its primacy in the next five years; "Podcasts are the new assholes," GILBERT contended. "Everyone's got one"); play-by-play presentation ("Everything we do should be evolving," GILBERT advised); and talent evaluation beyond ratings ("for now," THOMAS said, "it is all ratings-driven" despite the addition of other duties like writing, podcasting, and video streaming).

Asked to offer advice to PDs, GILBERT stressed the importance of listening and being specific about feedback to talent rather than offering meaningless general praise or criticism. THOMAS added that talent should be given autonomy ("let them do their job... and get out of the way"). On how he advised his talent to handle the KRAFT news (the station is the PATRIOTS' flagship), he said the station is just airing the facts (and aired the law enforcement press conference live). And asked where the next generation of talent will be coming from, THOMAS pointed to podcasts and GILBERT suggested convincing management to allow some dayparts to be used for tryouts.

Jim Cutler's War Against Meaningless Promo Drivel

JIM CUTLER's voice is heard on sports networks and stations everywhere, and the voiceover specialist used that voice to talk about sports radio imaging in a morning presentation.

Among CUTLER's suggestions were not to proclaim yourself number one in promos ("If you have to say you're the king, you're not the king"); to "prime the pump," amping up existing support as in what DONALD TRUMP does to promote himself (paying actors to play supporters and fill up rooms) or using laugh tracks on sitcoms; the value of "underdog marketing" (as in the Vegas Golden Knights calling themselves "misfits"); to be brief and quickly get to the point; and to be topical and avoid "so what."

CUTLER added a list of examples of "sh-t copy" he encounters, advising stations to cut out meaningless wording and replace it with topicality and drama. He advised PDs to hold a staff meeting to identify filler so they can avoid it. And he suggested that PDs search for "sports rant" on YOUTUBE to find young, fresh talent, adding a plea for programmers to hire female sports radio talent.

Untapped Potential

BARRETT took the stage after CUTLER with a session on missed opportunities for revenue, namely merchandising -- most radio stations do not have online stores, despite having large, passionate fan bases -- and education -- offering paid courses in-house to train aspiring broadcasters at a price much lower than college or trade schools.

Slapping a logo on a shirt, BARRETT advised, is not enough; he pointed to the creative offerings by BARSTOOL SPORTS and WWE as examples of organizations using topical, humorous creative for their merch.

Avoiding The Pitfalls Of Social Media

EMILY AUSTEN, the former reporter for FOX SPORTS FLORIDA who got fired for racist and anti-Semitic jokes on a Facebook Live video made while auditioning for a BARSTOOL SPORTS job, opened her talk on social media asking herself, "what was I thinking?" "This will never go away for the rest of my life," AUSTEN said. "That is the power of social media." AUSTEN, whose career was boosted by YOUTUBE (leading to the BOSTON CELTICS plucking her out of AMARILLO television), recounted the aftermath of her gaffe, including not just being fired but subjected to vitriol from social media posters urging her to kill herself. She said, fighting back tears, that she did plan suicide but found strength through prayer as the story spread across the media.

AUSTEN now speaks to sports organizations about the danger of getting into trouble via social media, pointing out that while everyone represents their stations and organizations (the "logo on the front of the jersey"), they ultimately primarily represent themselves ("the name on the back"). She warned that "there's no such thing as being private" on social media, even if an account is taken private, and added that "likes" of questionable material and ostensibly temporary Snapchat videos can also get a user in trouble. She also advised to avoid posting anything that would not past muster with "the three Gs - Google, God, and grandma" -- and suggested using social media searches before hiring talent and staff, plus establishing a clear and fair social media policy with staff.

As for what to do if caught in a social media uproar, AUSTEN counseled to leave and stay off social media for a suitable time (she left for a year), avoid interviews at the outset, own the mistake, issue a sincere apology, and, with a strong support system, and create and execute a plan to change the narrative. (She said she was offered a job with BARSTOOL but declined, and moved on to charitable work as well as sports radio fill-in.)

Selling And Buying Sports Media

What do advertisers think of sports radio? GOW MEDIA CEO DAVID GOW, AD RESULTS MEDIA's STEVE SHANKS, BLOOMADS' LISA NICHOLS-JELL, and DIRECT RESULTS' JILL ALBERT offered their perspective on the medium on a panel moderated by BARRETT.

NICHOLS said that her instinct is that sports radio works, delivering engagement and conversion; SHANKS responded to a BARRETT question by saying ratings don't matter and he has not consulted the ratings for two years (although NICHOLS said ratings do matter for some clients). GOW touted sports radio's strength in personality, lending itself to selling and good conversion numbers.

Clay Travis Honored With Tony Bruno Award

The TONY BRUNO Award was presented by the sports radio legend himself and. FOX SPORTS CEO/Exec. Producer ERIC SHANKS to FOX SPORTS RADIO "OUTKICK THE COVERAGE" host CLAY TRAVIS, who sent his recorded acceptance via video. SHANKS, who BRUNO credits for hiring him for his stint on FOX SPORTS NET's "THE BEST DAMN SPORTS SHOW PERIOD," introduced BRUNO as a "sports trailblazer" who, after 30 years, is "still on fire" and who left a legacy at FOX that carries through to today.

BRUNO gave a speech reminiscing about his long career, from taking broadcasting school courses with WFIL-A/PHILADELPHIA DJ LONG JOHN WADE at 16 and doing news at WFIL to his hiring as one of the debut hosts on ESPN RADIO and his other prominent hosting stints. Segueing to the award presentation, BRUNO cited the pleasure of helping new and young talent over the years before unfurling a long list of people to thank (including his former on-air partners, including JOSH INNES (in attendance), ANDREW SICILIANO, and HARRY MAYES).

After BARRETT presented BRUNO with his own trophy, TRAVIS' acceptance video, shot on his set for FS1's "LOCK IT IN," lauded his FSR bosses DON MARTIN and SCOTT SHAPIRO as well as BRUNO's influence (and promoted "LOCK IT IN").

Learning From Pro Wrestling

ERIC BISCHOFF, the former WCW and WWE executive who hosts "83 WEEKS" for the WESTWOOD ONE PODCAST NETWORK, made a post-lunch appearance to talk about the lessons radio can learn from the fierce competition between wrestling circuits that led to BISCHOFF's WCW beating VINCE MCMAHON's WWE in the "MONDAY Night Wars" for the titular 83 weeks.

BISCHOFF discussed how his WCW built an audience through extensive research ("I go by both" gut and research, BISCHOFF said), how WCW differentiated itself from the competition (knowing that his circuit might not be able to be better than WWE, he chose to target a younger audience, do live broadcasts, and less cartoony, more relatable storylines), the value of controversy in competition ("I don't know if it's possible to be competitive without controversy," he said, but he added that in the WCW-WWE battle, "nobody got hurt... it was just a good old-fashioned fist fight"), and managing expectations.

On podcasting, BISCHOFF said that audiences want "great stories," and said that because of the lack of time constraints, podcasting is "more relaxed" than radio and suited towards storytelling.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT!

While social media has become the place for sports media insiders to break the latest news of trades, injuries, and everything else, sports radio and television reporters are a major part of that scene, and three of the most reliable insiders joined BONNEVILLE Sports KIRO-A (710 ESPN)/SEATTLE's MIKE SALK to talk about getting scoops and breaking the news on all platforms. The panel featured ESPN LOS ANGELES-based NBA reporter RAMONA SHELBURNE, NFL NETWORK's STEVE WYCHE, and FOX SPORTS and THE ATHLETIC college football reporter BRUCE FELDMAN talking about dealing with local radio hosts (SHELBURNE asked hosts to at least do a quick scan of her latest report or tweets so they can ask the right questions), learning how to do radio hits (asked by SALK if she'd been coached on how to do that, SHELBURNE laughed and responded "no"), the value insiders bring to radio shows (WYCHE noted that they help hosts fill part of their three-hour shows with good content), and having an opinion as opposed to direct reporting (WYCHE said the reporters offer "informed opinions"; SHELBURNE, who said she wears two hats as a reporter and sometime host, added that she won't do "hot takes" (except as a bit) but is comfortable offering an opinion).

The reporters also remembered their first big scoops (SHELBURNE reporting the firing of LAKERS coach MIKE BROWN in a tweet that beat SAM AMICK by 30 seconds, WYCHE getting the scoop for THE WASHINGTON POST on MICHAEL JORDAN joining the WASHINGTON WIZARDS, FELDMAN reporting for ESPN on MIKE WILLIAMS deciding not to return to USC and getting uncoordinated requests from various ESPN properties to be on the air), the adrenaline rush from breaking news (WYCHE was the reporter who first noted COLIN KAEPERNICK not standing during the National Anthem and was the first to talk to the then-49ERS quarterback and get the story, but then had to wait for the story to post on NFL.com at 7 am the next morning), and how the job is changing (SHELBURNE cited aggregators taking their on-air comments out of context, while FELDMAN pointed to the additional problem of working with a paywalled site like THE ATHLETIC and not wanting to give out too much in radio interviews that aggregators can use to make paying to read the full story less necessary).

Beyond Traditional Media

Sports media long ago became far more than radio, television, and print, and BSM's DEMETRI RAVANOS was joined by three practitioners of sports on digital platforms to talk about how their content is being deployed online, via podcasts, and in social media.

HUBBARD Sports KSTP-A (SKOR NORTH)/ST. PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS' PHIL MACKEY was on hand to talk about his AM station's recent rebranding and repositioning to emphasize digital platforms and how his new job differs from a traditional PD position ("Program Director" being more of a radio-centric title, and while "radio is still the steak" of the content for now, the station is spreading its content over multiple platforms). MACKEY described SKOR NORTH as in "full discovery mode," teaching TWIN CITIES sports fans what the station and content are.

The NFL's DAVID FELDMAN and THE RINGER's PAT MULDOWNEY talked about measuring performance of each piece of content (MULDOWNEY joking that "everything should go viral" but pointing out that expectations for performance vary from item to item); asked by MULDOWNEY about the effect the flagship BILL SIMMONS PODCAST has on promoting other content, MULDOWNEY noted that as successful as SIMMONS' podcast is, the goal is to bring non-listeners in to grow the audience.

MULDOWNEY reacted with amusement at COLIN COWHERD's dismissive remarks about the business of podcasting at THURSDAY's sessions, noting that COWHERD himself has been making money with podcasts. As for SIMMONS' podcasts, MULDOWNEY touted the value of "live" host-read advertising, and MACKEY related how a major client pulled off his AM station before its rebranding and said that it would return only if the station found a way to reach the audience that does not listen to AM radio.

Speaking For Themselves

The hosts of FS1's "SPEAK FOR YOURSELF," longtime sports pundit JASON WHITLOCK and former NFL player and radio host MARCELLUS WILEY, joined BARRETT for a conversation centered around reactions to social media tweets by and about sports media personalities.

A tweet by JEMELE HILL proclaiming that sports journalists "don't care if your team wins or loses. We root for what gets us home faster" drew disagreement from WHITLOCK, who stressed passion for the job and sports, but more understanding from WILEY, who recognized that sports journalists sometimes experience some measure of fatigue. The pair also discussed BARSTOOL SPORTS' approach as contrasted to their own wider-target approach, diversity in sports radio and the challenge of growing the black and Hispanic audience (WHITLOCK said he tried to be "authentic but not hostile to the 73.5% (white audience)" when hosting radio in KANSAS CITY and added that some other black hosts should not exclude the majority audience; WILEY noted the lack of black hosts to offer inspiration for aspiring hosts to feel like they have opportunities in the business).

The Decision Makers, With Surprise Guest Doug Gottlieb

The Summit closed with a panel of prominent PDs discussing how they evaluate talent and content. BEASLEY Sports WPEN (97.5 THE FANATIC) and Sports WTEL-A (610 SPORTS)/PHILADELPHIA's ERIC JOHNSON, ENTERCOM Sports KDKA-F (93.7 THE FAN) and News-Talk KDKA-A/PITTSBURGH's JIM GRACI, and ENTERCOM Sports KWFN (97.3 THE FAN)/SAN DIEGO's ADAM KLUG, with BRUCE GILBERT stepping in to moderate for absent EMMIS Sports WFNI-A (107.5/1070 THE FAN)/INDIANAPOLIS PD JEFF RICKARD.

JOHNSON and GRACI both voiced trust in their talent to develop the right content on a topical level, with GRACI adding that he is more concerned with how they present it. KLUG, with a new station, said he has been working with the staff on what the topical range should be. On his expectations for his staff, JOHNSON immediately responded, "EAGLES," as it was when he worked years ago at crosstown WIP, an impulse confirmed by research, although the 76ERS have risen in interest as the team has improved (THE FANATIC is the SIXERS flagship) and the drama over whether BRYCE HARPER will sign with the PHILLIES has gotten significant play as well. KLUG said he saw more staff buy-in for talking about the departed CHARGERS after a particular THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL game.

After an audio clip from FOX SPORTS RADIO's DOUG GOTTLIEB was played for the panel's critique, GOTTLIEB emerged from the back of the room to relieve GILBERT and respond to the criticism that he sped through a sponsor tag and was too slow in setting up his topic (he agreed, blaming failure and giving in to a producer's topic pitch). He took the occasion to give the talent perspective on working with programmers, saying that he felt he had to take too many meetings with managers at ESPN but doesn't even remember meetings at all with CBS SPORTS RADIO or FOX SPORTS RADIO.

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