This is far from the most serious media story on the planet today. There is a war going on, and the American political system feels in complete chaos.

So in the grand scheme of things, a hyperbolic hot take from a popular sports talk show host feels so insignificant that it borders on being completely silly.

But this story is entertaining, and there are lessons here for all media.

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is famous in sports circles as a radio and TV host. He became popular for co-hosting a show in New York City with Mike Francesa called “Mike and the Mad Dog.” It ran from 1989 to 2008 and was, arguably, the biggest and most influential sports radio show in the country. The Mad Dog nickname came from Russo’s propensity for getting loud and out of control while passionately making his points.

Russo and Francesa parted ways and Russo became even more popular with his own show and channel on SiriusXM. In addition, he hosts a baseball show on the MLB Network called “High Heat” and makes a well-received weekly appearance across from the equally bombastic Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s “First Take.”

Anyway, this week on his SiriusXM show, Russo was talking about the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks. At the time, the Diamondbacks trailed the best-of-seven series three games to two. That’s when Russo stepped in it.

Here’s what he said on his show:

“To make a long story short, I’ve been wrong on Arizona from Day One. … I’m stunned they beat Milwaukee; I thought they’d get swept by the Dodgers; I never thought they’d even go back to Philly for a Game 6. I’ll try it one more time. I would not be stunned if they won tonight (Game 6), I would be floored. And I’ll say this right now, and Bob Raissman, write it down: If they win the next two games and win this series in seven games — if they win, I will retire on the spot.”

Of course, you know what happened. The Diamondbacks won the next two games and the series, four games to three.

And you know what didn’t happen. Russo did not retire.

That should not have come as a surprise. No one should have reasonably thought Russo was being serious when he said what he said. It kind of felt like when you say to someone, “I’ll bet you a million dollars …” You don’t actually mean you’re going to bet someone a million dollars.

As Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina wrote, “If you actually thought that an enormously popular and legendary Hall of Fame sports-talk radio host (one who makes millions of dollars, no less) would retire from his job after promising to retire if a team won a game and couldn’t understand that this was a radio bit, then you are just a dumb human being. Plain and simple. There’s really no other way for me to say it.”

It was a radio bit. But it was a really bad radio bit. Worse than that, it was a lazy radio bit. It was way over the top and far beneath Russo. He’s better than this. I’ll repeat the sin: It was lazy. He could’ve come up with so many more inventive and thoughtful wagers that would have made his point and made for more compelling radio than some outrageous dare he knew he was never going to pay off.

In fact, even in real time, Russo knew how preposterous he sounded that he added that line about Bob Raissman writing it down. Raissman is a longtime sports media writer at the New York Daily News and it was almost as if Russo was saying, “I’m serious about this” even though he actually wasn’t. He tried to give credibility to a claim that had no credibility — an example that even Russo knew it was a dumb comment when he made it.

Longtime radio host Howard Stern perfectly explained it, saying on his SiriusXM show, “Mad Dog lost his mind. I’m a radio guy, and so is Mad Dog, and I know when you’re on the air sometimes, you want to please people and make things fun and interesting, but he (expletive) went over the line because he was trying to make things fun and interesting.”

On Wednesday’s “First Take,” Smith scolded Russo, saying, “You went too far! You went too far, Doggy! You went too far. Retire? Really? Really?”

Russo’s baseless promise felt like something out of professional wrestling, like a guy promising to leave town if he loses his next match.

Stern had Russo on his show and said, “You gotta do something so outrageous that they forget about the fact that you said you were gonna retire over a baseball game. What were you thinking though, saying you’re gonna retire if the Diamondbacks win? That’s crazy!”

Eventually, Stern and Russo agreed to a punishment: Russo will wear a Diamondbacks branded bikini and walk down a Manhattan city block holding a sign that says, “I’m a liar and a dope.”

Look, no one is saying Russo must retire. And this isn’t to suggest that Russo’s credibility is now shot because he isn’t retiring. (Although this New York radio host was fired up.)

But there is a lesson here. So much can go sideways when it comes to quick, hot-take opinions in the media — whether it’s about serious things such as politics or less-than-dire topics such as baseball. It’s not that Russo was exposed for being wrong about the Diamondbacks or even backing out of his promise to retire. It was about being so desperate to make a point that he said something outlandish.

At the end of the day, Russo’s name is trending on X and appearing in media and sports columns all over the place. SiriusXM is probably thrilled with all the publicity. Russo, too. He will end up doing his little bikini stunt, maybe raise some money for charity and get as much mileage out of it as possible. He even sat out the first 12 minutes of his show Wednesday, as if maybe he really did retire, only to make a grand entrance.

But this silly story actually is a cautionary tale: When you’re in the media and you say something, people are listening. When you write something, people are reading. So think before you speak or write. Not because you might be proven wrong. But because you might be exposed as being unable to come up with something smarter and more effective than the first dumb thing that pops into your head.

Breaking news

Sadly, there has been another mass shooting, this one Wednesday night at multiple locations in Lewiston, Maine. As of Wednesday night, NBC News was reporting that at least 22 were dead and dozens more, perhaps as many as 60, were injured. My Poynter colleague Al Tompkins wrote about how local TV stations were keeping residents informed Wednesday night, including context about Maine’s gun laws and mass shooting data for 2023. We will have more in Friday’s edition of The Poynter Report.

Debate this

The moderators for the next Republican presidential debate. (Courtesy: NBC News)

NBC News has announced the moderators for the next Republican presidential debate, which will be held Nov. 8 in Miami.

As expected, the moderators will be “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt and “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. They will be joined by Hugh Hewitt, host of a radio show on Salem Radio Network, which also is a partner in hosting the debate.

Holt and Welker are, arguably, NBC News’ two biggest on-air personalities and both have debate experience. Holt moderated the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016, which is still the most-watched debate in history.

Welker moderated the final presidential debate between Trump and Joe Biden in 2020, and was widely praised for the job she did.

Hewitt, who worked in the Ronald Reagan administration, is expected to bring a more conservative voice to the debate. He, too, has debate experience. He served on the moderating panel for four GOP primary debates broadcast by CNN in 2015 and 2016.

Congresswoman to reporter: Shut up!

Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson, meeting with the media on Tuesday night. North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx is on the far right. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

We have a new speaker of the House. After weeks of chaos starting with the ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson was voted as speaker on Wednesday.

The Washington Post wrote, “Johnson is an ally of former president Donald Trump and opposed certifying the 2020 election. He is anti-abortion, voted against Ukraine aid and supports LGBTQ restrictions.”

As The Guardian’s Martin Pengelly noted, “A constitutional lawyer before entering Congress, Johnson also orchestrated an amicus brief, signed by 125 other Republicans, in a case in which Texas sought to have the US supreme court throw out election results in states won by Biden. The court declined to hear the case.”

On Tuesday night, the day before he was voted speaker, Johnson looked as if he had enough support from fellow Republicans. When he and a bunch of his Republican lawmakers met with the media, he was asked a question by Rachel Scott of ABC News.

Scott said, “Mr Johnson, you helped lead the efforts to overturn the 2020 election result. Do you …”

But Scott was interrupted by boos from the Republicans standing around Johnson. Virginia Foxx, the 80-year-old representative from North Carolina, even yelled “shut up” at Scott. She then said it again.

Johnson was on the verge of being one of the most powerful people in American politics and second in line from the presidency. Surely whether or not he believed our last presidential election was fair was a worthy topic.

A few moments later, Scott tried to ask if Johnson supported additional aid to Ukraine. Foxx again jumped in and said, “You asked your question. Go away.” And Johnson said, “We’re not doing policy tonight.”

To which one could ask, “If not tonight … when?”

Meanwhile, after Johnson was elected speaker, Virginia Republican Congressman Bob Good appeared on CNN. When anchor Dana Bash asked him about Johnson’s election denialism from 2020, Good started his answer by saying, “I think that’s a ridiculous question.”

I point this out to show that reporters were doing their jobs, asking legitimate questions of our representatives and were told to “shut up” by one and that their question was “ridiculous” by another. That’s shameful.

What’s the story?

Back in 2020, Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the country, promised annual demographic reports. From 2020 to 2022, the latest Gannett released newsroom-level demographic information was Sept. 1.

But, as my Poynter colleague Angela Fu reports, “As October draws to a close with no report in sight, some journalists are wondering whether Gannett has stopped its annual disclosures.”

Florida Times-Union metro reporter David Bauerlein, who serves as co-chair of his newsroom’s union, told Fu, “We thought it (the annual reports) was a great step at Gannett because we are a diverse community, and it showed the community that Gannett also agreed that having a diverse newsroom is part of being able to cover the community well. So we were disappointed to see that it hasn’t happened, especially when they had committed to doing it.”

For more details, check out Fu’s story.

Media tidbits

• The Wall Street Journal’s Alexander Saeedy and Cara Lombardo with “One Year On, Twitter Continues to Burn a Hole Through Bank Balance Sheets.”
• Brian Stelter writes for The Hollywood Reporter: “‘Everyone Wants Us to Pick a Side’: Reporters Grapple With Covering Israel-Hamas War.”
• Nieman Lab’s Sarah Scire with “Meet the first-ever mixtaper at The New York Times.”
• The latest news from Vox: “Vox Editor-in-Chief Swati Sharma Takes on Expanded Role as Publisher.”

Hot type

• NBC News’ Jon Schuppe with “A mother reported her son missing in March. Police kept the truth from her for months.”
• For ProPublica, and co-published with USA Today Network-Wisconsin, Maryam Jameel and Melissa Sanchez with “Dairy Workers on Wisconsin’s Small Farms Are Dying. Many of Those Deaths Are Never Investigated.”

More resources for journalists

• Subscribe to PolitiFact’s weekly newsletter. Get facts delivered straight to your inbox.
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