Scott McCarthy Named Workhouse Media President of Sports
Talent and content management firm Workhouse Media brings Scott McCarthy aboard as president, Workhouse Sports. McCarthy most recently served as vice president, ESPN Audio. Workhouse CEO
Paul Anderson says, “We are beyond fortunate to have Scott as part of the Workhouse family. Scott is a smart, disruptive thinker whose background and entrepreneurial drive make him the perfect person to lead our new sports vertical.” Workhouse EVP John McConnell adds, “I’ve worked alongside and across the table from Scott for 30 years. He is a best-in-class executive and is perfectly positioned in this role.” McCarthy says, “I could not be more excited or honored to be joining the Workhouse Media team and getting the opportunity to work alongside Paul, John, and Keith [Kauffman]. Over the years, Workhouse has clearly established itself as the preeminent management company for talent and content developers to expand their brands and businesses across multiple entertainment platforms, and I look forward to helping Workhouse further develop their presence in the sports category.”
president and Sara Morris is elevated to vice president of government affairs. Pigue joins iHeartMedia following seven years advising U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on technology, telecommunications, consumer protection, finance, banking, budget, tax, health care and judiciary policy issues. Gonzalez most recently served as deputy director of scheduling and assistant to the chief of staff for Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia). iHeartMedia chairman and CEO Bob Pittman states, “Our company is deeply appreciative of iHeartMedia’s Government Affairs team and their hard work on behalf of our company as well as on issues of critical importance to the broadcast radio industry. I congratulate Jessica and Sara on their promotions, and welcome David and Sophia to the iHeart team.”
building “Sports Rap Radio” to air on Audacy’s WXYT-AM, Detroit with a target launch of mid-May. In what will likely be a first in sports talk radio, the lineup of air talent will be all-Black. WXYT-AM currently airs Audacy’s BetQL Network programming. Parker is quoted by the Detroit News saying, “It will be young people getting opportunities and former athletes, from Detroit or with ties to Detroit.” The lineup will be local from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and will segue into FOX Sports Radio’s “The Odd Couple” featuring Parker and Chris Broussard at 7:00 pm. Parker plans to fill the overnight hours with podcasts featuring Black hosts. 
January 2024 PPM Data – Information for the January 2024 survey period (January 4 – January 31) has been released for Austin, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Providence, Norfolk, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Greensboro, Memphis, and Hartford.
January 24, 2024, the Group reported beneficial ownership of approximately 10.01% of the company’s outstanding Class A shares and stated its intent to acquire 20% of Cumulus. The Group has investments in other media companies, including a sizeable holding in a direct competitor of Cumulus Media. According to Investopedia, a poison pill “is a defense strategy used by the directors of a public company to prevent activist investors, competitors, or other would-be acquirers from taking control of the company. Poison pills are executed by buying up large amounts of its stock. They effectively block the accumulation of a company’s outstanding shares. Companies promise to distribute additional free or heavily discounted shares to all existing shareholders, which dilutes the shares so outsiders can’t take over the company by purchasing a controlling amount of shares.” Cumulus board chairman Andrew Hobson says, “Given the facts, the Cumulus board firmly believes it is necessary to adopt a limited-duration rights plan to protect the interests of all Cumulus shareholders. The Rights Plan is intended to enable the company’s shareholders to realize the long-term value of their investment, ensure that all shareholders receive fair and equal treatment in the event of any proposed takeover of the company, and guard against tactics to gain control of the company without paying all shareholders an appropriate premium for that control. Cumulus Media’s leadership maintains open dialogue with its investors, including the Group, and intends to continue that practice.”
competition last evening (2/22) at the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, MA. The American Bar Association, Law Student Division holds a number of annual national moot court competitions. One such event, the National Appellate Advocacy Competition, emphasizes the development of oral advocacy skills through a realistic appellate advocacy experience with moot court competitors participating in a hypothetical appeal to the United States Supreme Court. This year’s legal question focused on the Communications Decency Act – “Section 230” – and the applications of the exception from liability of internet service providers for the acts of third parties to the realistic scenario of a journalist’s photo/turned meme being used in advertising (CBD, ED treatment, gambling) without permission or compensation in violation of applicable state right of publicity statutes. Harrison tells TALKERS, “We are at one of those sensitive times in history where technology is changing at a quicker pace than the legal system and legislators can keep up with – particularly at the consequential juncture of big tech and mass communications. I was impressed and heartened by the articulateness and grasp of the Section 230 issue displayed by the law students arguing before me.” 
and passionate people within Audacy’s newsrooms and across the larger company. And I’m proud of our collective accomplishments: building out digital and podcasting capacity; integrating broadcast and digital teams within newsrooms; strengthening communication and collaboration across a network of brands; navigating the first wave of AI; and creating new revenue opportunities in partnership with sales teams. All of this was done while delivering over and over in high-leverage, breaking news situations and racking up awards that validate Audacy’s local news brands as best in class. The challenges for media and journalism these days — and for local news in particular — are profound, and the stakes are high. But there are new frontiers on the horizon, and we can deploy innovative ways of thinking about how we do what we do. As always, I’m excited to explore those frontiers and draw on my many years of strategic and operational experience to help media brands and other organizations find a way forward.” 
file them with the IRS. After the IRS contacted Patrick and requested that she file the unfiled returns, Patrick lied to the IRS, claiming that her accounting firm had timely filed the returns and that she would provide copies of those returns. Patrick, however, did not provide copies of the accurate returns that had been prepared by her accounting firm. Instead, Patrick doctored the business returns, removing $10 million in gross receipts received by her brokerage firm, and altered the personal returns by removing over $9.5 million in related income that she and her husband had earned from 2012 through 2014. Patrick also falsely backdated her signature on each tax return to make it appear as if the returns had been timely signed and mailed these false documents to the IRS, hoping to evade paying the full amount of taxes she owed. In addition, Patrick did not timely file business and individual returns for 2015, which she had also hired the accounting firm to prepare, nor did she pay the tax due and owing for the individual return. In total, Patrick sought to evade more than $2.5 million in taxes.”
listened in the past week. The list shows the Top 10 Podcasts in the U.S. based on the number of Black weekly podcast listeners for Q4 2023. “The 
settled beforehand. Audacy expects to emerge from the Chapter 11 process after approval from the FCC. Audacy chairman, president and CEO David J. Field says, “Today’s announcement marks a powerful step forward for Audacy, positioning the company for an exciting future. As expected, we have achieved a speedy confirmation of our prepackaged Plan, which will enable Audacy to pursue our strategic goals and opportunities in the dynamic audio business. We aim to drive accelerated growth and financial performance, capitalizing on our scaled, leadership position, our uniquely differentiated premium audio content and the robust capital structure that we will have upon emergence. I also want to express my gratitude to our team, who continue their outstanding work to serve our listeners and customers with excellence and fulfill our commitments without missing a beat.” The company notes that under the Plan, trade and other unsecured creditors will not be impaired.
January 2024 PPM Data – Information for the January 2024 ratings period (January 4 – January 31) has been released for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, San Jose, and Middlesex-Somerset-Union (New Jersey).
podcast advertising. Some of the key takeaways include: 1) Attention quality was highest for the audio ad that had the highest voiceover volume (36%) as opposed to the ad that had the lowest voiceover volume (27%) and the ad that had too many competing elements within the creative (25%); 2) 75% of participants reported a good quality audio ad positively influences their consideration to purchase a product; and 3) The inclusion of multiple competing audio components elements within an audio ad caused the ad to score lower in terms of overall quality than the ads without multiple competing elements. 
news/talk outlet and has been admitted to the hospital at UPMC dealing with what he called “crazy, insane” pain in his throat. Griffin, who battled throat cancer several years ago and has been in remission, says that late last week he couldn’t swallow anything and that the pain was something he never felt in his life. At this time, Griffin has been diagnosed with pneumonia, but doctors are also trying to determine if he has an infection of if the cancer has returned.
Court TV correspondent since 2019, Painter has covered the high-profile trials of Bryan Kohberger, Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard, Alex Murdaugh, Harvey Weinstein, and the death of George Floyd. In 2021 she was awarded the Scripps Give Light award for leadership, dedication, and hard work in legal journalism. She got her start in the industry in 2016, as a legal analyst for Nexstar Media Group, where she went on to become a multimedia journalist. Painter earned a Juris Doctor degree with high honors from the University of Arkansas Little Rock Bowen School of Law.
non-partisan media company, RealClearPolitics. The “RealClearPolitics” show premieres on February 26, airing nightly from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm ET on SiriusXM’s P.O.T.U.S. channel 124. RealClear Media Group chief content officer Andrew Walworth hosts the show along with co-hosts Carl Cannon and Tom Bevan. 
Have we passed the disappointment of 2023?
Jacksonville. Both stations will air the full slate of FOX Sports Radio programs. These format flips spell the end of the “Accion Radio Network” airing Spanish-language news/talk and information. iHeartMedia North Florida area president Paul Rogers says, “We remain fully committed to providing the best quality entertainment and information to the Hispanic residents on the First Coast and will continue to explore ways we can increase our impact there. The opportunity to return the FOX Sports brand to its original home on AM 930 in Jacksonville was simply too good to pass up. Its appeal cuts across and unites every segment of our community.”
reach 17% more voters.” The study references Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s 2022 campaign, noting that it deployed radio to reach voters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In doing so, it allocated 20% of media dollars to radio and generated a 10% lift from radio above the local TV campaign, amounting to 676,000 additional voters at no extra cost. Audacy SVP of strategy, partnerships and analytics Jon Blum says, “When campaigns activate a TV plan, they should activate a corresponding radio plan and incorporate it into the mix with TV. The portion of the population that isn’t reachable via TV could be the swing vote and what throws it over the top for a candidate.” Nielsen’s study noted that if a campaign moved 20% of ad spending to radio, the optimized media plan would connect with 15% more Democratic and Republican voters and 23% more unaffiliated voters. 
Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX Weather and FOX Nation. He takes over for Jeff Collins, who was recently elevated to president of the division for FOX 
Corporation. Additionally, Ryan Roelle is promoted to SVP of national sales where she will focus on endemic and national advertising in addition to leading linear and digital sales across the country. In making the announcement, Collins says, “Over the past four years, Trey’s vast knowledge and deep understanding of the news marketplace helped drive new revenue streams while Ryan has increased the effectiveness and performance of our endemic and national sales teams. Together, they will ensure continued growth across FOX News Media platforms and success for our valued partners.”
should keep quarterback Justin Fields or trade him in the upcoming draft for the #1 pick. Parkins and Spiegel will kick off the discussion from Audacy Chicago’s Blue Cross Blue Shield Performance Stage from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Football experts and a live audience will join Parkins and Spiegel to weigh in on the looming decision. “The Score” ran a contest this week for a chance to attend the “QB1 Town Hall.” These winners will make up the crowd that will have the opportunity take part in the debate. WSCR VP of programming Mitch Rosen says, “This decision will determine the entire season’s trajectory and the fans are passionate about their views on it. We’re looking forward to opening up this conversation to our listeners and Bears faithful.” The show is being made available via the Audacy app & website, the station’s Twitch, and YouTube channels.