Someone I know recently hosted a sports talk show solo for the first time. He had co-hosted for years but this was his first time working alone. He said he realized the difference with about two minutes left in his opening monologue. He had run out of stuff to say.
They were the longest two minutes of his life.
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A sports talk host recently contacted me feeling somewhat frustrated. He had chosen a segment from his show that he wanted to use on his demo, but it included a prediction that turned out to be wrong. I asked him if the segment was entertaining. He said yes. I said, “go with it.”
A great sports talk host doesn’t have to be right. They just have to be entertaining.
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Two Los Angeles radio stations that I enjoy listening to debuted new team shows a few years ago. The Beast 980 introduced Plaschke and Zelasko, and news talk KFI AM 640 unveiled Gary and Shannon.
Whenever I hear new team shows, I always remind myself not to make snap judgments. You don’t give birth to an adult. It takes at least a year for a new show to hit its stride.Read More
When I was on-air, I took great pride in my interviewing skills. I wanted to be different and better than everyone else. At one point, I decided I could do that by making my interviews sound less like Q&A and more like conversations.
Big mistake.
When I was covering San Diego Chargers and San Diego State Aztecs football in the early 90s, I would escort a female reporter friend of mine into the locker rooms. She would hold my elbow, keep her head down, and ask me to lead her to the players she wanted to talk to. Whether it was for religious or personal beliefs, this was part of her locker room etiquette.
For the most part, the etiquette inside the locker room is the same as on the outside.Read More
There is a sports talk host in San Diego who I love listening to because I know he is connected with the local teams. When he shares opinions, especially about the Padres, I love to read between the lines, knowing there is a good chance that what he is passing off as opinion or observation is actually information he got from an inside source.
Most hosts don’t have such insight because most hosts don’t make the effort to develop inside contacts. It’s hard to do because it takes time that many hosts aren’t willing to invest.
Here are four top tips for building insider relationships with the teams that you cover:
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When play-by-play broadcasters ask me what segments their pregame show should include, I tell them to think less about content and more about sponsorable segments. The more money your show can bring in, the more your sales staff will love you and the more job security you will have.
I hosted pre game shows in two markets — McPherson, KS and San Diego, CA. The formula worked equally well in both places.
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I couldn’t have worked in sports broadcasting today. My skin is too thin.
Even if 99% of the Internet comments about my talk show or my play-by-play were great, I would dwell on the 1% that wasn’t. I would dwell on it to the point that I would consider tweaking what I was doing to appease the 1%.
Big mistake. Don’t be me. Be realistic. Be mentally strong.
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When I was on ESPN Radio, I used to hate when my producer Jason McBride would pop into my headset and say, “We have so-and-so on from the baseball game. They just won 3-1.”
Great. What am I supposed to ask the guy? I didn’t see the game – I was on the air!
Tired of getting caught unprepared, I put together some standard, off-the-shelf questions. Most of them aren’t very insightful, but at least they can get the interview started. From there, you can spontaneously ask more thoughtful questions based upon the answers you receive.
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Motown Records is one of the most successful, influential record-producing companies of all time. They reached their peak in the 60s and 70s.
What was unique about much of Motown’s songwriting was that it grabbed you right off the bat. It started fast.
The song “Get Ready” by the Temptations begins with a bold horns riff.Read More