Finding a new angle

Zach McCrite, 101 ESPN St. Louis sports talk host, discusses his process for finding new and interesting angles to entertain the listening audience.

Making the listener part of the game

Wes Durham, radio voice of the Atlanta Falcons, reminds sportscasters to be more descriptive and locate the action for the listeners – don’t fall into the trap of using television description on a radio broadcast!

There’s no substitute for live reps

Chicago Bulls voice, Chuck Swirsky, considers the best path to landing an NBA job. Swirsky recommends calling as many live games as possible, with whatever resources you have available.

Expand your skills beyond broadcasting

Dave Koehn, voice of the University of Virginia, advises young broadcasters to be willing to perform tasks not related to sportscasting in order earn on-air time. Diversify your skill set.

Be an extension of your team

Wes Durham shares his best advice for developing coach relationships: be an extension of what the team and coach are striving to represent, without being a homer. Durham is the Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Tech University.

Be passionate and prepared

Thorough preparation, plus a passion and gratitude for the opportunity to broadcast are two of Dave Koehn’s keys to great play-by-play. Koehn is the voice of the University of Virginia.

How sports talk has changed with social media

Social media now allows the sports talk host more control over listener interaction versus the listener phone call method. 101 ESPN St. Louis host Zach McCrite discusses how social media has changed and improved his job as a sports talk radio host.

Paint the picture, be concise

When Tom Boman is hiring a new broadcaster for Learfield Sports, he looks for young sportscasters who can paint a picture of the field in a concise manner.