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.”
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.” 
When reviewing our industry’s awards such as the Crystals or Marconis there are two categories missing. They are: “Best New” and “Best Innovation.” Imagine if winners were announced for these prizes:
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.”
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.
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.
Have we passed the disappointment of 2023?
the month reaching 3.27 billion total multiplatform minutes, compared to CNN.com’s 1.85 billion, and NYTimes.com’s 1.59 billion. FOX News Media attracted 1.66 billion total multiplatform views, compared to NYTimes.com’s 1.49 billion, and CNN.com’s 1.17 billion. When it comes to total digital unique visitors – similar to radio’s cume – CNN.com still holds the lead with 112.7 million. But FOX News Digital (109.7 million) has gradually been gaining ground on CNN. 
says, “Back in Spring of 2009, during the chaos and sleepless nights involved in launching this national media company, the media gods sent me an angel in the form of Michelle Salvatore. Michelle faced down every challenge, worked tirelessly and with good cheer, and set a gold standard of excellence for not only Compass Media Networks, but our industry. We love and will miss Michelle dearly. Our goal is to build upon the greatness she created as we move ahead into the next chapter of our evolution.” Salvatore comments, “Working at Compass Media Networks literally changed my life for the better. I was able to travel the globe, producing games throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe, and had the chance to work with incredibly talented, passionate, and kind people. I am forever grateful to my dear friends at Compass Media Networks.”
challenges. The mix of diverse and insightful voices on this year’s boards will continue the important work of prioritizing recognition, connection and education of women across all facets of media.” The officer roles include: Katina Arnold, chair, VP, corporate communications, ESPN; Monica Bloom, incoming/vice chair, chief marketing officer, MHz Choice | Topic Streaming; Annie Howell, immediate past chair, chief communications officer, Hallmark Media; Catherine Badalamente, treasurer, president & CEO, Graham Media Group; and Marie Tedesco, treasurer-elect, CFO, Beasley Broadcast Group. New to the board of directors are: Isabel Lara, chief communications officer, NPR; Jaclyn Levin, president, Shriver Media and founder, Liminal Space Media; Christine Moran, head of creator partnerships, Electrify Video Partners; and Debra O’Connell, president, news group and networks, Disney Entertainment. 
Moshos. Moshos died on January 11 and today (2/14) would have been his 67th birthday. General manager Joel Oxley says, “George helped me so much when I first started at WTOP 30 some odd years ago. I knew little about production and he let me know it. His gruff demeanor and direct style took a minute to get used to. But it didn’t take long for me to realize this guy with the glint in his eyes was a person who cared. Really cared. About his job and doing it right and more importantly about people. He touched so, so many people and made things better for them. Seems only right to name where he spent so much of his time ‘The George Moshos Production Studio.’”
. Saga Communications president and CEO Chris Forgy comments, “We regretted missing the opportunity to acquire these stations a number of years ago when the Neuhoff family acquired them. These stations are a great fit for Saga. We see a lot of opportunity with these stations and this market and are pleased that the family has decided to entrust Saga with continuing these station’s long-standing heritage of serving the Greater Lafayette region. Saga intends to continue building its business in radio by identifying and acquiring middle market stations in dynamic communities.” KALIL & CO., INC was the exclusive broker.
to connect with their favorite hosts and shows on social media. Half of weekly podcasts consumers follow their favorite podcast hosts on one of the social platforms; 2) Younger 18-34 podcast consumers are more likely to follow their favorite hosts on social media. Compared to 35-49 and 50+ podcast consumers, 18-45 podcast consumers are more engaged socially with podcast hosts. 68% of podcast consumers 18-34 follow their favorite hosts on social media. 55% of 35-49s follow favorite hosts on social. 40% of those 50+ follow favorite podcast hosts on social; and 3) YouTube towers as a podcast discovery platform: 19% of weekly podcast consumers use YouTube to find podcasts. When asked which social platform they’ve used to find podcasts, 19% of podcast consumers are turning to YouTube, more than all other social media platforms combined. 
the automobile industry has intelligently responded. The issue however is much larger. As UNESCO’s chief of section for media development and society, Mirta Lourenco puts it, ‘The free flow and easily accessible information provided by terrestrial radio supports the spirit of the First Amendment via the concept of media pluralism and more. This expands to a valid concern about privacy rights – which is equally important to freedom and democracy. With GPS and internet platforms simultaneously in our cars, we are turning the enormous power to invade the privacy of individuals over to a mere handful of Big Tech giants. They know what and who we listen to, including where, when and how we travel.’” Harrison adds, “Finally, I am compelled as a lifelong radio broadcaster and publisher of a major trade journal to protect the viability of radio stations as a going concern and the well-being of their owners, employees, and listeners.”