(July 30, 2018) Lauren Rew has spent the past X years as the second chair on a daily sports talk show in Tulsa, OK. She’s proud of what she’s accomplished but has long yearned for more. More has finally come. An STAA member, Rew is joining 1010XL Sports Radio in Jacksonville, FL as a host and assistant program director.
Rew will be part of a daily, three-person midday show. She will also co-host an all-female show one night per week and be part of the Jacksonville Jaguars pre-game show.
“Every six months or so I like to write down my goals and at the top of my list is: to work somewhere where I am valued for what I bring to the table,” says Rew. “When 1010XL approached me about this opportunity, one of the first things my soon-to-be boss [PD Steven Griffin] said was, ‘I reached out to you because…..’ and he listed off things about my work. I could tell he took the time to listen to my segments and acknowledged what made me different from other hosts.”
One way Rew knew 1010XL would be a good fit was by talking to former employees who have gone on to further their careers after their time at the station. “This was actually something my new boss encouraged me to do as he wanted me to hear from others who had worked for 1010. That spoke volumes to me,” she says.
Rew is also excited to be in an NFL market. “Being dialed into the college game has taught me so much, but it will be nice to switch the majority of my focus to the NFL,” she grins.
One challenge Rew constantly battles is sports radio being a male-dominated industry. “It is still very much a boys club,” she says. “Many women who work on opinion based programs are traditionally in the moderator role or are there to read headlines or Tweets. The idea that women in sports media can work in roles other than the traditional sideline reporter or sports reporter is still something we battle, so the opportunities for women to be in host roles are very limited.”
Rew addresses the challenges by staying true to her passion and to herself. “As simple as that sounds, it’s the truth. I don’t go on air everyday thinking I have to ‘prove myself’ today. I go on air having done my homework and being ready to talk about whatever is relevant. I tell people all the time, you can’t fake it in sports talk radio. Three hours on air can be a really long time if you aren’t prepared and if you don’t enjoy what you do. There is nowhere to hide.”
Besides the professional opportunities, Rew is equally excited about the lifestyle that Jacksonville provides for her family. She and her husband Daniel have a son and daughter who are both in elementary school.
“When we vacation as a family, we almost always go somewhere near the water,” Rew says excitedly. “Living in Oklahoma for the last 17 years has been wonderful and we’ve made some amazing friends, but the opportunity I have at 1010 affords us the opportunity for change and it just happens to be 10 minutes to the nearest beach!”