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Despite the football season being in the rearview mirror, national sports talk radio shows continue to keep the conversation all about the gridiron. The top three national sports talk radio shows of the year are all dominated by football banter, primarily because of how popular the sport is in the United States no matter what the calendar says. Hear why this is the case and how the numbers support the idea of all football all the time.

On February 11, 2021, following two days of Impeachment trial coverage, the Tucker Carlson Show on Fox News focused on an alleged attack on Fox News and on Carlson -- by Jeff Bezos, The Washington Post and The New York Times. Nothing else in the news was worthy of comment? I admit Carlson’s comments held my attention and in today’s podcast I share what I think about his accusations against the Times and Post. No matter what the outcome of this trial, historians will look back and study the root causes for this challenge to our democratic foundations, and they’ll zero in on media as the root cause. Is Jeff Bezos this generation’s Edward R. Murrow – this generation’s Walter Cronkite? Listen to my 3-minute commentary and think about it. You can reply on twitter @JackMyersBiz

In a pandemic year, the Super Bowl felt mostly normal with the half time theatrics, a victorious Tom Brady, and star-studded commercials. One of the best received ads was a two-minute Jeep spot figuring Bruce Springsteen. But now, the commercial might not see any air-time again, and has been removed from the Jeep YouTube and Instagram accounts. Listen to why the $22 million+ commercial has vanished in this week's "View from the Grandstand".

The year 2020 was monumental in terms of progression for social justice in the sports world. NBA players sat out of protest for Black Lives Matter, NFL players felt much more comfortable kneeling for the national anthem and history is set to be made at the Big Game thanks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' diverse coaching staff. There is still much more work to be done, but this February, will celebrate all the progress made over the past year and bring up the issues that still need correcting.

In a year unlike anything we’ve seen before, the National Football League is just one game away from pulling off what was thought to be impossible. The biggest game of the year in American sports is set for February 7, not only as a conclusion to the football season, but as a celebration for a job well done by the NFL. And what better way to watch the Super Bowl than to see the 43-year old legend Tom Brady take on his supposed successor, 25-year old Patrick Mahomes. Justin Paura breaks down the NFL's most unique grand finale to date in the debut of "Views from the Grandstand".

In this Legends & Leaders podcast, The CW’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Pedowitz, shares a message that’s critically important for brand marketers and agency professionals who are increasingly looking at media and advertising through the prism of procurement. “We need to understand the value of audiences who care about the programming they're watching and extend that value to the advertisers who support that programming.” Pedowitz, who has led the network for almost a decade, has been at the forefront of innovation and experimentation in programming and OTT tech advances. At a network that is owned by both WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS, and as long-time TV programmer who’s been at the forefront of change, Pedowitz is a master of anticipating the industry’s future. In this inspirational and informative Legends & Leaders podcast with Media Ecologist Jack Myers, Mark speaks about his career, offers advice to his colleagues across the industry, and counsels young professionals seeking a path to advancement.

In 1995, Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream, a 95-minute documentary won the Peabody Award and was nominated for both an Oscar and Emmy Award as Best Documentary. It won the Crystal Heart Award, the top honor, at the Heartland Film Festival. Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream is one of the best and most honored sports documentaries in film history. Yet the original has been buried since its original VHS release and nowhere is this story of Hank’s extraordinary role in racial justice and civil rights available to be seen to honor his passing. There are seven (probably none after today) used VHS copies available at Amazon, but the film was never converted to DVD and is not available on any streaming platform. The mystery is why?

Welcome to my 3-minute Think Tank where I share what I’m thinking about and ask you to think about it too. Of course, I can't get the attacks on Capitol Hill off my mind. Forty-five percent of Republicans say they approve of the recent terrorist attack. This does not bode well for our future and the future of the Biden presidency. Also read important commentaries by former CIA intelligence analyst Kent Harrington and CableFax founding publisher Paul Maxwell. https://www.mediavillage.com/article/the-banana-republicans-and-their-media-enablers-have-they-no-shame/ https://www.mediavillage.com/article/thanks-rupert-lachlan-charles-christopher-steve-rush-zuck-and-jack/

Welcome to the Jack Myers Think Tank. I share what’s on my mind and invite you to think with me. What happens when facts and truth are not believed and when logic and common sense are discarded? How do we navigate through a human minefield of mistrust that stands between hope and fear, between knowledge and fantasy, between real and unreal? Believe it or not, I’m not referring to politics. I’m talking about the unbelievable, yet very real run-away state of the stock market and valuations for new market entries at a time when people have nothing real to give them hope, when the realities they face become too unbelievable. This week, I’m thinking about belief and disbelief and the comic book world we’re living in. Listen in!

I’ve been thinking a lot about respect. Respect - a positive feeling shown towards someone considered important or held in high esteem. When you show disrespect to someone – you’re communicating that you do not consider her or him important or worthy of your esteem and I believe there’s an epidemic of disrespect in our business today. In the morass into which politics and politicians have sunk, respect is a distant and forgotten human quality. Can we allow that same depressing reality to destroy the human to human qualities that are a hallmark of our community?  Listen to my new 3 minute ThinkTank podcast On Respect and let me know what you think.

My mentor, Dr Neil Postman, founder of media ecology and a student of Marshall McLuhan, wrote in 1982 that our reliance on data causes us to stop thinking. We activate thinking through ideas and education. I add to Dr. Postman’s equation workforce diversity. In the next few days and weeks, every time you hear or read the word data, ask yourself ‘what is the idea behind the data?’ How is it adding to your knowledge and the knowledge of your colleagues, clients and stakeholders?  You’ll learn my answers and how you can ask the right questions in my new 3-minute ThinkTank, Data vs. Ideas: Is it a Competition? Also listen to my recent 3-minute ThinkTank, Battle for the Soul of Media.

In this week’s 3-minute ThinkTank podcast I share a very personal story about the battle for the soul of the media industry. The core of media -- the soul of media – always has been and always should be defined by quality content, truthful and trusted journalism, and service in support of the public interest. Real media companies set a high standard and should not be forced to lower these standards to compete with those that have hardly any standards at all. Listen to my three-minute battle for the soul of our business in which I ask you to take a stand and not be silent.

Today’s Jack Myers Think Tank asks if you’re among the 70% of professionals who don’t have the time or resources to prepare for meetings. How can you be the smartest person in the Zoom? Jack reports on a new AI-based vertical search engine featuring more than 100 curated resources and more than 15,000 original and exclusive educational reports, thought leadership and commentaries, all focused on marketing, advertising and media. You’ll learn all about it in this 90-second Jack Myers ThinkTank. Link, listen and learn.

Fellow marketing, advertising and media professionals, lend me your ears for 3-minutes to tell you a story about growth and new tools for advancing team education and diversity available from MediaVillage. Join me for my new Jack Myers Think Tank podcast. Link, listen and learn.

If we've learned anything from Trump's campaign and presidency it's that politics, government, and public discourse have become, first and foremost, show business. The high road — filled with better ideas, serious issues, and relevant priorities — pales by comparison to a powerful and compelling media presence. It's a historical, philosophical, and political mistake to believe that ideas and issues alone will win this election.

In the COVID-19 era, with radically new hiring practices being appropriately influenced by Black Lives Matter and new gender norms, how can you prepare as you look at your own future and the opportunities you're considering? In this MediaVillage Insider Insites podcast, Jack Myers shares five key questions you can ask and answer as you move through this time of massive change.

The competition in video goes beyond the fight for consumer attention; every video provider is looking to land ad dollars with a one-two punch of broad but targeted reach matched with business outcomes via addressability or attribution. A+E Networks has dubbed their delivery of both as “Precision and Performance", or as SVP of ad sales Ethan Heftman calls it: "a fancy way of describing a group of people across ad sales, research, and client insights that specialize in moving the business away from Nielsen age and gender trading into more advanced audience targeting and audience trading.” In a fast-paced podcast conversation with E.B. Moss, Heftman provided more definitions and diligently explained their differences and just how their first-to-market guarantees of select outcomes works. We started with "attribution."  “For us, attribution is the exercise in tying a media exposure on A+E Networks to a specific business outcome. It’s going beyond simply the discussion of what type of media metric we delivered -- the delivery of an impression -- and moving on to what type of action or behavior that impression caused. Is it fueling a behavior at the top, or awareness area, of the funnel, the middle (consideration), ...or at the bottom of the funnel, a sales or specific outcome type of area?” Historically, Heftman notes, “television hasn't been properly credited with outcomes in the consideration segment of the funnel or in the real action area -- driving a web visit, driving a store visit, driving a specific sale.” But A+E is out to show how Precision and Performance  impacts outcomes in each of those three areas, versus just the expected top of funnel. Guaranteed. To a degree. Listen to the complete episode to hear what they're willing to go to the mat for, and learn from Heftman  just how television can stay in the ring.    

What better way to wrap up a year of insights than on Thanksgiving? It might sound like a cliché but we at MediaVillage, and me personally, E.B. Moss, are really thankful for everyone who listens and reads our content. A big focus at MediaVillage is on educating the marketplace in such a fast-evolving industry as media and marketing. There’s a LOT of info out there and things are constantly changing. So apropos Thanksgiving, I hope this podcast has been a good way for you to digest some of that info! Some look-back episodes use clips, but while I started out years ago in local radio splicing audio together with tape, I leave the digital editing to either the folks at Hangar Studios in New York, or with the amazingly patient and talented Eric Klein as my main editor. So a THANK you on this thanksgiving to them and apologies this is just a spontaneous episode without fancy editing, but I wanted to spotlight a few sample episodes, ICYMI.  Starting with one that's also apropos Thanksgiving maybe catch the most, episode 49 with Julie Haddon and Jen Kavanagh, two women powering NFL and Philadelphia Eagles marketing respectively.  I also recommend you check out some of the other powerful players I've had the good fortune to speak with: from Bozoma Saint John to Sir Martin Sorrell! I'm not just name dropping; everyone has really contributed to a great season of InSites. Two of the most popular episodes were with CMOs launching new brands at big companies: Kirk McDonald on kicking off ATT's Xandr division, and Minjae Ormes who braved the rain to pop into a noisy restaurant for a very spontaneous interview about Verizon's new disruptor, Visible. And Joseph Jaffe was on hand for Epi 48 to warn other big companies about how to pivot or face demise.  The list goes on -- from Paul Marobella of Havas NA, to Alicia Tillman of SAP. And great fun to pull in my smart coworkers, like Jeff Minsky and Charlene Weisler when it came to speaking research with the wonks of Omnicom or Starcom. Now here's a bit of news: Insider InSites is taking a little break for the holidays. Didn't want to leave you without a word, or 5000. I might squeeze out one more episode in December, but otherwise look for it to return in January. But, and Minsky would say, "that's not all!"  You can still hear more -- and more of me, E.B. Moss.  If you haven't heard it yet, please do yourself a favor and catch all episodes of MediaVillage's Advancing Diversity podcast, which I co-host with our editor, Ginger Conlon. This features the conversations with the people doing the most to actively impact the amount of diversity and inclusion in our industry. Think: Tony Rogers of Sam's Club to Tiffany R. Warren of Omnicom, Jill Baskin of The Hershey Company and so on! And consider coming to meet them all during CES as they are inducted in the D&I Hall of Honors.  I'm also a contributor on the new podcast from Podcast Movement, Sessions, launching next week -- with good advice from a lot of folks on building a podcast business. Speaking of which, I am finally launching my own PERSONAL podcast. You heard it hear first... or you will if you look for "It's Quite A Living" Podcast, coming late December. You can stay tuned by following on Twitter or IG @QuiteALiving. I'll speak to my friends in high places, with conversations on personal paths and professional success...authors, to movie stars!  And finally, a sincere THANK YOU to everyone who has listened, liked, appreciated these podcasts. It's a joy. I thank you for sharing, and send you best wishes for a holiday season filled with warmth, love and InSites. E.B. Moss  

Fun facts: Julie Haddon, NFL’s senior vice president of Global Brand & Consumer Marketing, pitched Little League well before other girls ever played...and went on to pitch audiences on films like Shrek for DreamWorks, early stage Twitter and financial disruptor, SoFi. And Jen Kavanagh, senior vice president, marketing and media for the Philadelphia Eagles used to “fly” for her teen swim club well before her current Philly special job marketing the NFL club’s mantra, “Fly, Eagles, Fly.” Hear how these two women explain their up and out routes to football – and how they’re advancing the League and the club, respectively. In Episode 49 of Insider InSites these seasoned marketers tell E.B. Moss of MediaVillage how they promote pro players to pro-diversity initiatives, using everything from podcasts to TikTok, films to mobile apps. 

Joe is Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of RPA, where he has worked since the agency launched as Rubin Postaer 30-plus years ago.  They have also been the agency of record for Honda for almost that entire time and helped make the simple Farmers Insurance "We Are Farmers" jingle a bit of an earworm.  In addition to discussing those and some more serious examples of their award-winning ads and heart-wrenching PSAs, Joe shared some of the insights he's gained over three decades at the same shop. This one stays fresh as good content will always hold up! You can catch all of our Insider InSites podcasts on MediaVillage.com.