December 17, 2020 - The Ringer's Bryan Curtis on the Current and Future State of Media

The Late Night Happy Hour with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

Good times? No. Fascinating times? Absolutely.

Bryan Curtis (bryancurtis), editor-at-large and host of The Press Box podcast at The Ringer, joins the show talking about the current and future state of media.

We start by asking a question that may sound simple, but isn't. When people talk about "the media," what are they referring to? What exactly is "the media?" From there, it's a peek at ESPN, which (not surprisingly) remains the epicenter of sports media, and by extension has a massive impact on how the rest of the industry operates. What does the departure of Dan LeBatard say about the direction ESPN is heading? Who are the audiences for institutional staples like sports radio or pregame NFL shows?

What happens after COVID? Fans and media may be allowed back into buildings, but that doesn't mean sports media will go back to operating the way it did before the pandemic. Both in terms of finances, but also how people do their jobs.

What about the intersection of politics and sports? With Donald Trump on his way out, will the tension between these worlds drop back to pre-Trump levels? Will Trump's exit create a news vacuum across the media landscape? What exactly will fill the void if the next administration is conventionally boring?

Finally, they're bringing back Little House on the Prairie. We have a game in the show's honor.