The Josh Innes Show - I'm Back In The News...Sort Of

Episode Date: February 24, 2026

I responded to a dumb video posted by a local sports radio station. Apparently, the crew at Barrett Media found this to be interesting enough to write a story. Barrett Media is also expanding it's Top 20 lists to include Classic Rock shows and hosts. This will no doubt piss me off when it's released. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All right, other stuff. I actually made the trades, if you want to call them the trades. Actually, let me start here. So this Barrett Sports Media, Barrett Media, which used to do just a top 20 list of sports radio shows and all that shit. Now they've branched out into rating or ranking shows from different genres of radio. Like yesterday, it was the alt-rock morning shows. Now it's the active modern rock radio shows. I guess technically we would fall into classic rock.

Let's see who's the top active modern rock radio shows. Let's see. Number one is Preston and Steve of Philadelphia. And they are. Dude, they're a fucking juggernaut. Like, and I have nothing against them. They seem like nice guys. They never did anything to me.

They don't seem like real assholes. I have no issue with those guys. And I respect people that can spend 20 years in one giant city pulling 25 shares and crushing everybody and just basically bending everybody over and saying, Hey, take another one from me. So no issue with those guys. Rock on. Like, I like them.

I've never met them. One of my old bosses in St. Louis's buddies with Preston says he's a good guy. They don't bother me with that. And they're huge. Number two on this list, free beer and hot wings. That's a show that's on in a couple of small markets. Okay, whatever. Church of Laslo and Kansas City.

And I don't know who actually votes on this shit. It's all a farce, but all these people will see these and they'll go post it on their website. They are, you know, these, you know, like, oh my God, it's so great to be honored by our industry. It's nothing but shit that's read by industry people anyway. Think Church of Laslo, this guy said something interesting the other day about how, you know, he's got political thoughts on shit and people tell him not to have them, but he does anyway. And he's like, well, as long as I can get 7% of the listening audience to listen, that's all I give a shit about anyway. saying like, hey, I got a seven share or whatever. And I found that interesting.

And I think you can do that once you've been established in a market for a long time. You don't want to beat people over the head with it. Like, that's the thing I think these PDs are wrong about. And I don't think, like, you don't want to open up the show every day and turn it into El Rushbow or into Glenn Beck or into Rachel Maddow. But I think if people have an idea of who you are, I think that helps humanize you and make you who you are. Like I've been getting in trouble more lately because on the radio part of things Searchlight Pictures

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Kate McKinnon, and David Diggs. Stream in the blink of an eye now only on Hulu on Disney Plus. Sign up at Disneyplus.com. I don't think I'm super political on there at all, but they're all very, like, wary of any sort of political commentary. Like the other day, I said something along the lines of, you know, I think there was a group of people in a certain political party who probably rooted against America in the gold medal game. And I believe that. I'm sure there were some people who just hate America so much, even though they live here, that they were probably rooting for Canada.

in the same way that I rooted for Team Europe to beat the U.S. team in basketball or whatever, you know. I'm sure those existed. It's like, well, you don't know that. I'm like, I don't, but it's an opinion and whatever. And then today I was, I forgot what I said today that got me sort of in trouble. Oh, something super benign. We were talking about Robert Caradine dying. And of course, Robert Caradine was in Revenge of the Nerds.

He was Lewis Skullnick in Revenge of the Nerd, like four or five Revenge of the Nerds movies. and we're talking about that. And I said that I was talking about how movies, like you used to be able to do a movie that's kind of like, you know, you look back on that and it probably doesn't play well to a 16-year-old now. But back in the day, Revenge of the Nerds was funny and no one viewed things from a political lens. We just laughed at the shit, right? Same thing with a lot of movies of the 80s, 90s, and up to the mid-2000s. Basically up to Trump. And that was my point.

I didn't say Trump. I didn't say right-wing, left-wing. What I said was what's happened. is basically since 2016, the world has changed and people don't make funny movies anymore. And I stand by that. Like, I try to find, there are occasional scenes in movies that I find funny. I just think we've become a humorless people. I just think people are angry.

I think right-wing people are angry, left-wing people are angry. I think people are afraid to make comedies that are just stupid, raunchy comedies. You don't get the something about Marys and you don't get the kingpins and you don't get the porkies and you don't get American pie, those don't exist anymore. We can't do that. We have to have, well, here's ladies super bad. And it's going to be about very serious issues of being a lesbian. And like, it's just boring shit that isn't mass appeal or interesting.

And we're so focused on doing this narrow shit that shit isn't funny. And I stand by that. And I got kind of talked to today about that because they were like, well, we don't really know what you meant. And are you saying that liberals aren't funny? I'm like, first of all, if I did, who gives a fuck? But second of all, I think most people got my point, which was since Trump, whether you want to view that as a positive or a negative, since Trump, the world is fucking melted down in comedy, movie comedy has suffered for it. That's all. But, you know, I get kind of lectured about that stuff.

But I do believe, going back to the point of this Laslo in Kansas City, I do think there is an element of kind of reality to that. That you can say, you know, it doesn't hurt that people kind of know who you are. And that could lead to actual debate. And it could be good, but instead it's, you know, hey, let's, you know, open up our microphones and talk about some dopey show prep story. Dave and Chuck, they have like a 20 share here in Detroit, and I don't think their show is very good. And like, fuck it. I'm never, I will never beat them. I have a zero percent shot of beating them, which is unfortunate.

But, and I wish my view would change on that. I cannot beat them. We cannot beat them. And it's not because they're good. It's just they've got everything going for them. and they're on this big legendary rock station. They've been around for 20 years. I can hope to take some of their audience,

but beating them is next to none. And I hate having that viewpoint. God, you have no idea how much this just eats it my fucking soul. To sit here and be like, I can't beat these fucking guys. But I probably can't. Maybe I'll put probably in there just to give myself a little hope. But like, it fucking sucks, man, because I think I'm better than these guys.

Chaz and AJ in Hartford. I have no idea what that is. Ooh, Big Rig. Big rig's a great disc jockey, man. fucking stud. Some guy named Nick Carter in Los Angeles. Some chick named Full Metal Jackie. That's a fun rock chick name.

Pierre Robert Rovers Morning Glory. Half-assed morning show in Minneapolis. The Men's Room in Seattle. That's on KISW. Doug and Jen in Providence. Heidi and Frank in Los Angeles. Billy Madison and San Antonio. The 95 Rock W-I-I-L Morning.

show in Chicago. Whatever the fuck that is. Pablo in Minneapolis. Meltdown. That guy, you talk about a fucking hard on. This guy's a disc jockey in Detroit. Total fucking hard on. Like, dude, you're a disc jockey. Chill the fuck out. Crash in AJ in Tampa. 98 Rock is a really good rock station in Tampa. And your morning show with Willie B. in Denver. Who were some of the others? Ooh, tomorrow is classic rock radio shows and program directors. So warning, tomorrow will be a day that I'm annoyed that I'm not recognized for any of my abilities whatsoever. It'll be like, nope, go fuck yourself. Spots number 25 through 21 through 25 went to Mel Tucker and Kid Chris and the Woody Show and Ashley O and Alice's attic with Alice Cooper.

Neat. Oh boy, though. Tomorrow is classic rock. So I might get salty tomorrow. Another thing, though, speaking to this Barrett media, is they wrote a story about me because I say all sorts of shit about radio all day, and I guess they never notice it. But yesterday, I took a shot at this guy on the sports radio here in Detroit, and I guess that got their attention. So the headline reads, Josh Ennis blast 97 won the ticket host Mike Valenti for commentary of Olympics, meaning nothing. Let me see if I'll play the audio of him.

This is what got my goad yesterday. What got me annoyed. It's got my goad the right term. What annoyed me yesterday. Let's hear this. Let me see here. See if I can open this up here. If you're unhinged about the Olympics, you're a fool.

You're an effing fool because they don't mean anything. Nothing means nothing. It doesn't mean anything and you didn't care. But now you want to cape up and act like you're what? Captain America? Did you carry a shield to work? Grow up, losers. Okay.

So here's my problem with this. You're a sports radio guy. And I don't feel as passionate about sports as I used to. I get that. You're a sports radio, dude. If you're going to tell me that the Olympics don't matter, okay, fine. But what does matter? Baseball matter?

And by the way, I turn this guy on every day and he's telling me how something doesn't matter every day. The pistons don't matter, whatever. If none of this matters, then how do you justify collecting a giant paycheck, which, based on your ratings, I assume you make a giant paycheck because you have no competition. If these things don't matter, then you're basically a grifter. You're just taking money from people because sports obviously don't matter. And again, I'm not saying like sports are not the end all be all, but you're telling me that nothing matters, basically. Sports don't matter. The Olympics don't matter.

Sports don't matter. But you're on a sports radio station and it's afforded you a very nice lifestyle. I'm sure you make tons of cash. You've got tons of endorsements. Your life doesn't suck. Yet, you just shit on everybody for enjoying sports. And that was my point in my retweet. I'm sorry.

I love how everyone is just pissed about everything all the time. Bro, you are pissed about it. You're not pissed about everything all the time. Guys, it's sports. I can say settling the gold medal into three-on-three is kind of silly. I'm not yelling about it. You're going to walk into work with the Hok Hogan walk-up music. I'm a real American.

Fight for the rights of every man. Maybe they tear off their little Jeffrey Bean dresser. Oh, yes. Okay, so here's one for you. Wow. You guys are really something else. Thank you for farting on America's steak dinner. That's fine.

You know settling that by three-on-three. It doesn't feel valid. I disagree. You go into it. at three other, like, God, how just, what? Anytime you think I'm miserable, just remember, Dan Lebitard show exists and this guy exists. By the way, you get to enjoy your steak dinner.

Just don't ask me to say it's the best steak dinner of all time. There you go. It felt cheap, he says. So, of course, they posted this on this website, and they're like, Josh Enna says, you know, this about this guy. And I do. I feel like your entire fucking viewpoint on everything is just like, and the exact message.

the thing nothing means anything sports means nothing but it's made you a shit ton of cash if it's anything you enjoy mike and his chuckle puppet co-host will shit on it and i stand by that these guys are just fucking miserable and it enrages me more than you can imagine because i've i've lived the the life and i've fucked up and anybody that ever wants to come back at me and say oh because you're a failure look i've fucked up a lot of shit a lot of it's my own fucking fault but it has never had anything to do with my ability as a radio guy or anything. It is my ability to get out of my own fucking way. But for the most part, my failures in life are my own.

And I've created them. And it's not by lack of talent or whatever. But I can look at that dude. And I go, so if they want to come back and me with that, go ahead. But I can look at that and go, bro, like, I know what to do in sports radio. I've done it. I've lived it. I've been successful.

and I see the ratings these guys get and I get to see how bad some of these radio stations are and it just eats at me. Because I'm going to be completely honest with you. Like we are, when I say we're up against it at the radio station I'm at, like the deck is stacked. I don't believe I'll go, Adrian. We can't win. Like I don't believe we can. Like I don't believe we can take a show. We have a two share.

We're not going to take a 25 share morning show down. Now we can take some from it to be nice. But like you got to be realistic, right? You can't go into shit like thinking, oh boy, we got a shot. And it's hard. It's hard every day to show up and think that. It sucks. And I try every day and I try to come up with ideas and you can't quit.

You just got to keep going. But then I see that. Like I hear the shit that these guys do on these shitty sports radio stations in town. And it just drives me fucking insane. Fucking lunatics, man. I mean, just desp- It's gross. And then I'm sitting here like, I know that I can do this.

Like I listen to those guys. They have some losers on that radio station. Just dopes. They're just not good. They're not interesting. They're not funny. That guy's talented. I truly believe he is.

He's got great success. And there are times I listen and I'm like, he's funny. He's just angry all the time and it's kind of funny. Fine. But like the rest of the guys on there are just dopes. And they're not interesting and they're not funny and they're not compelling. And they all have 15 to 20 shares. And they dominate in it.

fucking disgusts me. It makes me just want to put my head in the fucking oven. But anyway, all right, more to come.