Barrett Media Announces 3 Additions, Social Media Changes
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Anatomy of an Analyst: Ray Ferraro
Anatomy Of A Broadcaster: Jason Benetti
Anatomy of a Broadcaster: Joe Davis
Anatomy Of An Analyst: Gene Steratore
Anatomy of a Broadcaster: Ian Eagle
Barrett Sports Media’s Top 20 Original Sports Podcasts of 2021
Barrett Sports Media’s Top 21 Specialty Selections of 2021
Barrett Sports Media’s Top 20 Mid Market Sports Radio Stations of 2021
Barrett Sports Media’s Top 20 Major Market Sports Radio Stations of 2021
Barrett Sports Media’s Top 20 Major Market Sports Radio Program Directors of 2021
Meet The Market Managers: Vinny DiMarco, Good Karma Brands New York
Meet The Market Manager: Mark Glynn, iHeartMedia Seattle
Meet The Market Managers: Jay Davis, Cumulus Media Oklahoma City
Meet the Market Managers: Steve Wexler, Good Karma Brands Milwaukee
Meet The Market Managers: Michael Spacciapolli, Audacy Pittsburgh
Jason Barrett Podcast Episode 2: Mark Chernoff, Former PD WFAN
The Jason Barrett Podcast with Special Guest Don Martin
Managing The Crisis – Mike Thomas, Good Karma Brands/ESPN 1000
Managing The Crisis – Jill Albert, Direct Results
Managing The Crisis – Mitch Rosen, 670 The Score and 105.7 The Fan
Managing The Crisis – Brandon Steiner, The Steiner Agency
Managing The Crisis – David Scott, HBO Real Sports
Seller to Seller Episode 5: Dr. Ed Cohen
Seller To Seller Episode 4: Mike Scott, Former iHeartMedia Mid South Region President
Seller to Seller: Sandy Cohen
Seller to Seller Episode Two: Bob Lynch
Seller To Seller Episode One: Alec Drake
Sports Talkers Podcast – Linda Cohn
Sports Talkers Podcast – John Jastremski
The Sports Talkers Podcast – Jorge Sedano
Sports Talkers Podcast – Noah Eagle
Sports Talkers Podcast – Danny Parkins
Joy Taylor Says Aaron Rodgers Is More Likeable After Pardon My Take Appearance
WNSR Debuts ‘Power Hour’ with Sami Kincaid
Toucher and Rich: Dennis Eckersley’s Retirement a “Huge Loss”
The Musers Mock Jim Nantz’s Farewell To Nick Faldo
Keyshawn Johnson: ‘I Don’t Like Sunday Night Baseball Putting Mics on Players’
Fox Officially Unveils NFL Broadcast Teams
Ryan Clark, Mad Dog Get Into Heated Argument on ‘First Take’
Todd Frazier Joining ESPN Little League World Series Booth
Dennis Eckersley To Retire From NESN Red Sox Broadcasts
Jemele Hill: SportsCenter Was ‘The Worst Job I had at ESPN’
Big Cat: Listening to ESPN Wisconsin After Packers Playoff Loss ‘Highlight of My NFL Season’
Michael Silver Joins San Francisco Chronicle
Skip Bayless Tries to Win Debate Rounds ‘Like Muhammad Ali’
LaVar Arrington Adds New Show to Podcast Feed – ‘Under Appreciated with Flash Garments’
Jimmy Johnson to Dan Le Batard: ‘Do You Ever Remember Me ‘Sniveling?’
Rich Zeoli: CNN & MSNBC Want Trump to Run in 2024 ‘More Than Anybody’
Carlos Medina Joining XTRA 106.3’s The Morning XTRA
Jimmy Farrell Named Cox Media Jacksonville VP/Market Manager
Salem Media Group Sees Revenue Growth in Second Quarter
Saga Communications Sees Second Quarter Revenue Rise
Rachel Maddow Details Demands to NBCUniversal During Contract Talks
Mehdi Hasan: Alex Jones Gained Credibility from Republican Party
Donald Trump Raising Funds to Sue CNN
Mike Lindell Accuses Fox News, Newsmax of Deceiving Viewers
Howard Kurtz: Jon Stewart Applying Pressure Led to PACT Passing
Bill O’Reilly: ‘Unholy Alliance’ Between Liberal Media and Government Officials
Axios, Cox Enterprises Reach Agreement on $525M Sale
Elon Musk Offers Twitter CEO Debate On Bots
Beverly Chase Named Vice News’ VP of Current Programming
Jason Whitlock: Alex Jones Verdict Politically Motivated
A weekly analysis of the best and worst in sports media from a multimedia content prince — thousands of columns, TV debates, radio shows, podcasts — who receives angry DMs from media burner accounts
Tom Coughlin, guest essayist — Forget all images of the authoritarian curmudgeon whose style worked in the NFL until it didn’t. Nothing you read in 2021 will be as soul-torturing as Coughlin’s tribute to his wife, Judy, who is dying of an incurable brain disorder. The coach, who won two Super Bowls with the Giants, wrote in the New York Times: “For the past year, I’ve been torn between protecting my wife’s dignity and privacy and sharing some deeply personal and sad news. It’s only after some reflection that I’ve come to the conclusion that what my family and I are experiencing may be helpful for others to read. As so many of you are gearing up for another NFL season, I will be sitting far from the sidelines, at the bedside and holding the hand of my biggest supporter, my beloved wife, the mother of our children and a grandmother to our grandchildren.” The life lesson: Beneath even the thickest of crusts, a shattered heart always weeps.
National Football League — This won’t win me any friends in the industry, but the league is right to ban independent media representatives from locker rooms this season. It would be more prudent of the NFL to make sure mask mandates are enforced in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium — where spectators largely are ignoring the county edict, as I wrote this week — but it’s a given that reporters can’t be in locker rooms when franchises are having enough difficulty convincing the likes of Cam Newton and Cole Beasley to vax up. If you’re a conspiracy theorist who thinks the league is capitalizing on the pandemic to permanently relegate independent media to Zoom calls, hey, it’s no conspiracy. But I can’t blame commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners for protecting their $16 billion baby.
The Mike Richards crushers — Hail to Sony Pictures Television, which canceled its messy choice of Richards as “Jeopardy!’’ host and reopened delicious possibilities. They should include Aaron Rodgers, who told CBS’ Adam Schein that he “definitely would have’’ accepted the gig if his football schedule could be accommodated. My latest brainstorm as face of the show is the vanguard of versatility, Bob Costas. But when I reached out, he said he rejected a guest-hosting invitation last year for COVID-19 reasons and isn’t interested in a long-term role succeeding the late Alex Trebek. “Would have been fun as a one time experience, but I never saw myself as the right person for the job,’’ Costas texted. “Whoever winds up doing it, I think he or she should be in their forties or early fifties. That seems like the best fit. I know Alex was around 80, but he had the eternal equity with the audience and could have continued as long as he was able.’’ Costas is 69 going on 49. He should re-consider, though he’s quite busy with his new HBO show and TBS hosting duties for the National League championship series.
Tim Tebow, ESPN — Unless he tries rugby — please, no — the illusion of a professional sports career is over for America’s God-fearing lightning rod. I expect him to expand his role as a college football analyst, the smart call, as he figures out a future that should include, yes, evangelism. I, for one, never have understood Tebow Hate, respecting that his humanitarian contributions overwhelm any me-me-me defects. In a country where people don’t work because they can take government payouts, he set a never-quit example — on minor-league bus rides through the hinterlands — even in the face of social-media ridicule and talk-show overkill. Tebow is a good man at a time when good men are needed, and not a minute after he was waived by Urban Meyer in Jacksonville, he landed a deal with Clean Juice as national brand ambassador. “Tim Tebow’s natural authenticity, inspiring reputation, commitment to healthy living and unwavering faith is a perfect embodiment of the personal and professional values we hold dear at Clean Juice,” CEO Landon Eckles said. Somehow, thanks to Tebow, clean living still sells. ESPN could use a little clean living itself.
Jackie MacMullan, renaissance journalist — To call her a female pioneer is to undersell her extensive impact. As she retires from ESPN, Jackie Mac should be remembered as the rare media badass, regardless of gender, who performed all functions well. She coaxed reluctant sports figures to bare souls. She delivered blistering commentaries in print and on TV. She broke stories, mostly on the NBA beat. In what generally was a farts-and-giggles “Showdown’’ segment on our “Around the Horn’’ episodes, I always braced for fierce, airtight arguments from MacMullan. She is leaving much too soon, but as usual, her reasoning is sensible: “Sometimes, you just know when you’re ready to dial it back, and this is the right time.’’
Ethan Strauss, Substack — This rabble-rouser is the latest to join me and other media freedom-seekers at the independent writing site, joining recent departures at The Athletic. This is the best take I’ve seen in ages on the sleazy intersection of ESPN, sports and Beverly Hills agencies. Just read and swallow hard: “Even if I don’t take it as seriously as malfeasance in our politics or financial institutions, sports corruption still has an impact on coverage, and I dislike how much of the game behind the game is shielded from readers. For example, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) happens to represent key media personalities at ESPN NBA, which was by design, and accomplished with the subtlety and tact of the Red Wedding. When you combine that nugget with knowledge of CAA’s influence over the New York Knicks (GM Leon Rose is a former CAA superagent, coach Tom Thibodeau is a CAA client), ESPN’s reports of Zion Williamson (CAA client) having an interest in joining the Knicks gets put in a different light. The way it’s presented to the consumer is the mere reporting on a rising star in New Orleans wanting to play in New York. You’re not supposed to know that ESPN wants this to happen because ESPN is CAA and CAA is ESPN, which means that CAA is the Knicks, meaning that the Knicks are ESPN. You’re not supposed to know that this factors heavily into why New Orleans is shit out of luck, gumbo and jazz music be damned. In many ways, the agencies run the NBA. The media that they use to execute their messaging is making the principals seem peripheral. So often, the story of a trade or free agency signing is told absent mention of its true author.’’ Preach, baby, preach, as Strauss qualifies as a sixth “They Get It’’ item.
Chicago sports voices — I had the utter misfortune, during my 17 years in the city, to experience the hillbilly homerism of Hawk Harrelson. Chicago was unique that way, filled with broadcasters compelled to shamelessly root for the home teams, sometimes to the point of inebriated parody (R.I.P. Harry Caray). So I’m pleasantly surprised — shocked, actually — to see some of the industry’s best young voices bringing high professionalism to the No. 3 market, namely Jason Benetti and Adam Amin. Both are coveted by the national networks, making it incumbent upon the White Sox and Bulls to keep them well-compensated and happy. Mercy, did I just write something nice about the Reinsdorf Empire? Gobsmacked, I’m calling this item No. 7.
THEY DON’T GET IT
Stephen A. Smith, ESPN — He is appearing so often in the “Don’t Get It” lane, I might have to retire the award and inscribe his name. Body language and long staredowns told us that Smith never was fond of Max Kellerman as a sparring partner, but Kellerman’s removal from “First Take’’ — without a firm replacement — suggests Smith is a tyrant. Will he ever be happy without his close buddy and partner-in-multiple-million-dollar crime, Skip Bayless? Smith should realize that his viewership success doesn’t require Bayless, who is under contract at Fox into 2025, when he’ll be pushing 73. The secret to the longer-running “Pardon The Interruption’’ is natural chemistry, dating back decades, between co-hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. But Smith prefers to argue with an assortment of debate foes including another loudmouth, Michael Irvin, which will hinder the continuity of familiarity — how’s that for self-invented TV jargon? Whatever Smith wants at ESPN, he gets. This is a dangerous game for his bosses, who suffered through the Shohei Ohtani slur and other Stephen A. disasters and might be in for worse if they don’t rein in his control freakdom. Kellerman is moving to morning network radio and will have a new TV show, but it won’t be front and center. He effectively has been Stephen A’d.
Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, b.s. artists — If they want post-NBA careers in media, they must stop with self-serving revisionist history that dents their credibility. On Green’s new Bleacher Report series, “Chips,’’ the two former teammates/combatants don’t blame themselves for the on-court altercation that led to Durant’s departure. Nope, three years later, both are pointing fingers at general manager Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr for how they handled the viral fireworks. Yep, blame the honchos when you guys were the ones squabbling. Said Green: “I told them, ‘I’ll talk to (Durant), but ya’ll aren’t going to tell what I need to say.’’ Next day, Myers and Kerr asked Green to apologize publicly, and he blew a gasket: “I told them then and there, ‘ya’ll are about to f—k this up. The only (people) that can make this right are me and (Durant). There’s nothing ya’ll can do, and ya’ll are going to f–k this up.’ And in my opinion, they f—-d it up.” To which Durant chimed in: “It wasn’t the argument. It was the way that everybody — Steve Kerr — acted like it didn’t happen. Myers tried to discipline you and think that would put the mask over everything.’’ Welcome to the age of athlete empowerment. They simply can reinvent their mess and expect us to believe it.
Associated Press Sports Editors — I realize this ilk is a dying breed, but sports editors shouldn’t completely abandon ethics. There should have been only one conclusion when APSE hosted a panel discussion titled, “Best Practices For Covering Sports Gambling.’’ That would be: Investigate, don’t participate. But the panelists represented pro-gambling interests, including VSiN’s Brent Musburger and ESPN’s Doug Kezirian, and I have no faith that traditional newspaper sites — who aren’t financially attached to the legal gambling world like broadcast and wagering sites — will launch probes into inevitable scandals. “It was so exciting,’’ wrote VSiN’s Dave Tuley, “to see and hear so many sports editors from around the country interested in devoting staff to sports betting coverage in their states.’’ When in doubt, sports editors usually cover their butts rather than advance journalism.
ESPN — Some people, usually with a Bristol area code, think I hold a professional grudge against ESPN. In truth, after eight years of drawing paychecks on Mickey Mouse paper, I own an advantage unlike any other sports media critic: I have the freedom to expose how the place operates without harboring any interest in working there again. The network has a five-year, $1.5 billion contract to stream and broadcast UFC fights, but to be a legitimate news organization, ESPN must separate from UFC goon Dana White. It failed miserably on its website by posting a business manifesto titled, “Inside the UFC’s Plans to Expand Its Global Stronghold.’’ How about investigating how many UFC fighters suffer brain damage in a life-and-death sport, how many are underpaid and how many were infected by COVID-19? Nah. White would call ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, throw a fit and threaten to take his rights to Fox. So, the manifesto trumps all.
Double-standard practitioners — The legal case of Rick Telander was only scantly covered in Chicago, probably because local sports columnists aren’t relevant anymore, certainly not as they were 10, 20 and 30 years ago. But a question of fairness comes to mind. If a sports figure is arrested for DUI and charged with five related offenses, he generally is put through a ringer with media investigations and frequent updates. Almost a month passed before Telander’s case was dropped by a Cook County Circuit Court judge, who said he viewed a police video, heard testimony from witnesses and ruled there were no “reasonable grounds to believe (the) defendant was intoxicated.’’ The story probably wouldn’t have ended there for an athlete, who might have faced further media probes. A double standard? I’d say so — and the media who cover sports should be subjected to the same intense coverage of their legal issues, regardless of income and station in life. As I said in a previous column, Telander deserved the presumption of innocence. But so do sports people.
Fox Sports — In a country divided by politics and vaccines, one safe and sacred place should be college football. But Fox insists on leaning right and turning loose Clay Travis — yes, he’s back — as a COVID-is-a-myth, Trump-loving activist on its pregame shows. Riding a bus like John Madden back in the day, he’ll only be appearing in the Deep South, thank goodness, in states such as Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Georgia. I assume Fox is trying to attack ESPN’s SEC stranglehold, but now more than ever, America needs a football season as an escape, not another reason to vent. And what’s with the promotional depiction of Travis as some steroids-bulging freakoid with tats? Is anything real anymore? Again, it’s a sixth entry, and again, I can’t help myself.
Jay Mariotti, called “the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes a weekly media column for Barrett Sports Media and regular sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts in production today. He’s an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and radio talk host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects. Compensation for this column is donated to the Chicago Sun-Times Charity Trust.
Matt Fishman and ESPN Cleveland Are Creating Content Everywhere
Chris Plank Wants To Keep All The Jobs He Has
Joy Taylor Says Aaron Rodgers Is More Likeable After Pardon My Take Appearance
WNSR Debuts ‘Power Hour’ with Sami Kincaid
Toucher and Rich: Dennis Eckersley’s Retirement a “Huge Loss”
“How did we get to this place where there are sites and Twitter accounts going through The Herd with a fine-toothed comb to create content out of ‘oh my god, look at this!’?”
I don’t understand what it is about Colin Cowherd that gets under some people’s skin to the point that they feel everything the guy says is worth being mocked. I don’t always agree with a lot of his opinions myself, but rarely do I hear one of his takes and think I need to build content around how stupid the guy is.
Cowherd has certainly had his share of misses. There were some highlights to his constant harping on Baker Mayfield but personally, I thought the bit got boring quickly and that the host was only shooting about 25% on those segments.
Cowherd has said some objectionable things. I thought Danny O’Neil was dead on in pointing out that the FOX Sports Radio host sounded like LIV Golf’s PR department last month. It doesn’t matter if he claims he used the wrong words or if his language was clunky, he deserved all of the criticism he got in 2015 when he said that baseball couldn’t be that hard of a sport to understand because a third of the league is from the Dominican Republic.
Those missteps and eyebrow-raising moments have never been the majority of his content though. How did we get to this place where there are sites and Twitter accounts going through The Herd with a fine-toothed comb to create content out of “oh my god, look at this!”?
A few years ago, Dan Le Batard said something to the effect of the best thing he can say about Colin Cowherd is that he is never boring and if you are not in this business, you do not get what a compliment that is.
That’s the truth, man. It is so hard to talk into the ether for three hours and keep people engaged, but Cowherd finds a way to do it with consistency.
The creativity that requires is what has created a really strange environment where you have sites trying to pass off pointing and laughing at Cowherd as content. This jumped out to me with a piece that Awful Announcing published on Thursday about Cowherd’s take that Aaron Rodgers needs a wife.
Look, I don’t think every single one of Cowherd’s analogies or societal observations is dead on, but to point this one out as absurd is, frankly, absurd!
This isn’t Cowherd saying that John Wall coming out and doing the Dougie is proof that he is a loser. This isn’t him saying that adults in backward hats look like doofuses (although, to be fair to Colin, where is the lie in that one?).
“Behind every successful man is a strong woman” is a take as old as success itself. It may not be a particularly original observation, but it hardly deserves the scrutiny of a 450-word think piece.
On top of that, he is right about Aaron Rodgers. The guy has zero personality and is merely trying on quirks to hold our attention. Saying that the league MVP would benefit from someone in his life holding a mirror up to him and pointing that out is hardly controversial.
Colin Cowherd is brash. He has strong opinions. He will acknowledge when there is a scoreboard or a record to show that he got a game or record pick wrong, but he will rarely say his opinion about a person or situation is wrong. That can piss people off. I get it.
You know that Twitter account Funhouse? The handle is @BackAftaThis?
It was created to spotlight the truly insane moments Mike Francesa delivered on air. There was a time when the standard was ‘The Sports Pop’e giving the proverbial finger to a recently deceased Stan Lee, falling asleep on air, or vehemently denying that a microphone captured his fart.
Now the feed is turning to “Hey Colin Cowherd doesn’t take phone calls!”. Whatever the motivation is for turning on Cowherd like that, it really shows a dip in the ability to entertain. How is it even content to point out that Colin Cowherd doesn’t indulge in the single most boring part of sports radio?
I will be the first to admit that I am not the world’s biggest fan of The Herd. Solo hosts will almost never be my thing. No matter their energy level, a single person talking for a 10-12 minute stretch feels more like a lecture than entertainment to me. I got scolded enough as a kid by parents and teachers.
School is a good analogy here because that is sort of what this feels like. The self-appointed cool kids identified their target long ago and are going to mock him for anything he does. It doesn’t matter if they carry lunch boxes too, Colin looks like a baby because he has a lunch box.
Colin Cowherd doesn’t need me to defend him. He can point to his FOX paycheck, his followers, or the backing for The Volume as evidence that he is doing something right. I am merely doing what these sites think they are doing when Colin is in their crosshairs – pointing out a lame excuse for content that has no real value.
Demetri Ravanos is the Assistant Content Director for Barrett Sports Media. He hosts the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas. Previous stops include WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC. You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos and reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
WFAN recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, but that’s not something that Waldman spends too much time reflecting on.
Yankees radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman was at Citi Field on July 26th getting ready to broadcast a Subway Series game between the Yankees and Mets. A day earlier, Waldman was elected to the Radio Hall of Fame and sometimes that type of attention can, admittedly, make her feel a bit uncomfortable. “At first, I was really embarrassed because I’m not good at this,” said Waldman. “I don’t take compliments well and I don’t take awards well. I just don’t. The first time it got to me…that I actually thought it was pretty cool, there were two little boys at Citi Field… Those two little boys, with photos of Waldman in hand, saw her on the field and asked her a question. “They asked me to sign “Suzyn Waldman Radio Hall of Fame 2022” and I did,” said Waldman. “I just smiled and then more little boys asked me to do that.” Waldman, along with “Broadway” Bill Lee, Carol Miller, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Ellen K, Jeff Smulyan, Lon Helton, Marv Dyson, and Walt “Baby” Love, make up the Class of 2022 for the Radio Hall of Fame and will be inducted at a ceremony on November 1st at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago. Waldman, born in the Boston suburb of Newton, Massachusetts, was the first voice heard on WFAN in New York when the station launched on July 1st, 1987. She started as an update anchor before becoming a beat reporter for the Yankees and Knicks and the co-host of WFAN’s mid-day talk show. In the mid 1990s, Waldman did some television play-by-play for Yankees games on WPIX and in 2002 she became the clubhouse reporter for Yankees telecasts when the YES Network launched. This is Waldman’s 36th season covering the Yankees and her 18th in the radio booth, a run that started in 2005 when she became the first female full-time Major League Baseball broadcaster.
She decided to take a look at the names that are currently in the Hall of Fame, specifically individuals that she will forever be listed next to.
“Some of the W’s are Orson Wells and Walter Winchell…people that changed the industry,” said Waldman. “I get a little embarrassed…I’m not good at this but I’m really happy.” Waldman has also changed the industry. She may have smiled when those two little boys asked her to sign those photos, but Waldman can also take a lot of pride in the fact that she has been a trailblazer in the broadcasting business and an inspiration to a lot of young girls who aspire, not only to be sportscasters but those who want to have a career in broadcasting. Like the young woman who just started working at a New York television station who approached Waldman at the Subway Series and just wanted to meet her. “She stopped me and was shaking,” said Waldman. “The greatest thing is that all of these young women that are out there.” Waldman pointed out that there are seven women that she can think of off the top of her head that are currently doing minor league baseball play-by-play and that there have been young female sports writers that have come up to her to share their stories about how she inspired them. For many years, young boys were inspired to be sportscasters by watching and listening to the likes of Marv Albert, Al Michaels, Vin Scully, Bob Costas, and Joe Buck but now there are female sportscasters, like Waldman, who have broken down barriers and are giving young girls a good reason to follow their dreams. “When I’ve met them, they’ve said to me I was in my car with my Mom and Dad when I was a very little girl and they were listening to Yankee games and there you were,” said Waldman. “These young women never knew this was something that they couldn’t do because I was there and we’re in the third generation of that now. It’s taken longer than I thought.” There have certainly been some challenges along the way in terms of women getting opportunities in sports broadcasting. Waldman thinks back to 1994 when she became the first woman to do a national television baseball broadcast when she did a game for The Baseball Network. With that milestone came a ton of interviews that she had to do with media outlets around the country including Philadelphia. It was during an interview with a former Philadelphia Eagle on a radio talk show when Waldman received a unique backhanded compliment that she will always remember. “I’ve listened to you a lot and I don’t like you,” Waldman recalls the former Eagle said. “I don’t like women in sports…I don’t like to listen to you but I was watching the game with my 8-year-old daughter and she was watching and I looked at her and thought this is something she’s never going to know that she cannot do because there you are.” Throughout her career, Waldman has experienced the highest of highs in broadcasting but has also been on the receiving end of insults and cruel intentions from people who then tend to have a short memory. And many of these people were co-workers. “First people laugh at you, then they make your life miserable and then they go ‘oh yeah that’s the way it is’ like it’s always been like that but it’s not always been like this,” said Waldman. It hasn’t always been easy for women in broadcasting and as Waldman — along with many others — can attest to nothing is perfect today. But it’s mind-boggling to think about what Waldman had to endure when WFAN went on the air in 1987.
She remembers how badly she was treated by some of her colleagues. “I think about those first terrible days at ‘FAN,” said Waldman. “I had been in theatre all my life and it was either you get the part or you don’t. They either like you or they don’t. You don’t have people at your own station backstabbing you and people at your own station changing your tapes to make you look like an idiot.” There was also this feeling that some players were not all that comfortable with Waldman being in the clubhouse and locker room. That was nothing compared to some of the other nonsense that Waldman had to endure. “The stuff with players is very overblown,” said Waldman. “It’s much worse when you know that somebody out there is trying to kill you because you have a Boston accent and you’re trying to talk about the New York Yankees. That’s worse and it’s also worse when the people that you work with don’t talk to you and think that you’re a joke and the people at your own station put you down for years and years and years.” While all of this was happening, Waldman had one very important person in her corner: Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who passed away in 2010. The two had a special relationship and he certainly would have relished the moment when Suzyn was elected to the Hall of Fame. “I think about George Steinbrenner a lot,” said Waldman. “This is something that when I heard that…I remember thinking George would be so proud because he wanted this since ’88. I just wish he were here.” Waldman certainly endeared herself to “The Boss” with her reporting but she also was the driving force behind the reconciliation of Steinbrenner and Yankees Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra. George had fired Yogi as Yankees manager 16 games into the 1985 season and the news was delivered to Berra, not by George, but by Steinbrenner advisor Clyde King. Yogi vowed never to step foot into Yankee Stadium again, but a grudge that lasted almost 14 years ended in 1999 when Waldman facilitated a reunion between the two at the Yogi Berra Museum in New Jersey. “I’m hoping that my thank you to him was the George and Yogi thing because I know he wanted that very badly,” said Waldman. “Whatever I did to prove to him that I was serious about this…this is in ’87 and ’88…In 1988, I remember him saying to me ‘Waldman, one of these days I’m going to make a statement about women in sports. You’re it and I hope you can take it’ (the criticism). He knew what was coming. I didn’t know. But there was always George who said ‘if you can take it, you’re going to make it’.” And made it she did. And she has outlasted every single person on the original WFAN roster. “I’m keenly aware that I was the first person they tried to fire and I’m the only one left which I think is hysterical actually that I outlived everybody,” said Waldman. WFAN recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, but that’s not something that Waldman spends too much time reflecting on. “I don’t think about it at all because once you start looking back, you’re not going forward,” said Waldman. Waldman does think about covering the 1989 World Series between the A’s and Giants and her reporting on the earthquake that was a defining moment in her career. She has always been a great reporter and a storyteller, but that’s not how her WFAN career began. She started as an update anchor and she knew that if she was going to have an impact on how WFAN was going to evolve, it was not going to be reading the news…it was going to be going out in the field and reporting the news. “I was doing updates which I despised and wasn’t very good at,” said Waldman. She went to the program director at the time and talked about how WFAN had newspaper writers covering the local teams for the station and that it would be a better idea for her to go out and cover games and press conferences. “Give me a tape recorder and let me go,” is what Waldman told the program director. “I was the first electronic beat writer. That’s how that started and they said ‘oh, this works’. The writers knew all of a sudden ‘uh oh she can put something on the air at 2 o’clock in the morning and I can’t’.” And the rest is history. Radio Hall of Fame history. But along the way, there was never that moment where she felt that everything was going to be okay. Because it can all disappear in a New York minute. “I’ve never had that moment,” said Waldman. “I see things going backward in a lot of ways for women. I’m very driven and I’m very aware that it can all be taken away in two seconds if some guy says that’s enough.” During her storied career, Waldman has covered five Yankees World Series championships and there’s certainly the hope that they can contend for another title this year. She loves her job and the impact that she continues to make on young girls who now have that dream to be the next Suzyn Waldman. But, is there something in the business that she still hopes to accomplish? “This is a big world,” said Waldman. “There’s always something to do. Right now I like this a lot and there’s still more to do. There are more little girls…somewhere there’s a little girl out there who is talking into a tape recorder or whatever they use now and her father is telling her or someone is telling her you can’t do that you’re a little girl. That hasn’t stopped. Somewhere out there there’s somebody that needs to hear a female voice on Yankees radio.” To steal the spirit of a line from Yankees play-by-play voice John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman’s longtime friend, and broadcast partner…“that’s a Radio Hall of Fame career, Suzyn!”
Peter Schwartz has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades. Along the way he has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. He has also worked as a play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
“As talk radio hosts, we often try to hold the moral high ground and if you’re going to hold that position, I can’t help but feel integrity has to outweigh popularity. “
For nearly 18 months, we’ve known the NFL would eventually have to confront the Deshaun Watson saga in an on-the-field manner, and that day came Monday. After his March trade to the Browns, we also could more than likely deduce another item: Cleveland radio hosts would feel one way, and Pittsburgh hosts would feel another.
If you’re not in tune to the “rivalry” between the two cities, that’s understandable. Both are former industrial cities looking for an identity in a post-industrial Midwest. Each thinks the other is a horrible place to live, with no real reasoning other than “at least we’re not them”. Of course, the folks in Pittsburgh point to six Super Bowl victories as reason for superiority.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when news started to leak that a Watson decision would come down Monday. I was sure, however, that anyone who decided to focus on what the NFL’s decision would mean for Watson and the Browns on the field was in a no-win situation. As a former host on a Cleveland Browns radio affiliate, I always found the situation difficult to talk about. Balancing the very serious allegations with what it means for Watson, the Browns, and the NFL always felt like a tight-rope walk destined for failure.
So I felt for 92.3 The Fan’s Ken Carman and Anthony Lima Monday morning, knowing they were in a delicate spot. They seemed to allude to similar feelings. “You’re putting me in an awkward situation here,” Carman told a caller after that caller chanted “Super Bowl! Super Browns!” moments after the suspension length was announced.
Naturally, 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi happened to turn on the radio just as that call happened. A nearly week-long war of words ensued between the two Audacy-owned stations.
Fillipponi used the opportunity to slam Cleveland callers and used it as justification to say the NFL was clearly in the wrong. Carman and Lima pointed out Fillipponi had tweeted three days earlier about how much love the city of Pittsburgh had for Ben Roethlisberger, a player with past sexual assault allegations in his own right.
Later in the week, the Cleveland duo defended fans from criticism they viewed as unfair from the national media. In response, Dorin Dickerson and Adam Crowley of the Pittsburgh morning show criticized Carman and Lima for taking that stance.
As an impartial observer, there’s one main takeaway I couldn’t shake. Both sides are wrong. Both sides are right. No one left the week looking good.
Let’s pretend the Pittsburgh Steelers had traded for Deshaun Watson on March 19th, and not the Browns. Can you envision a scenario where Cleveland radio hosts would defend the NFL for the “fairness” of the investigation and disciplinary process if he was only suspended for six games? Of course, you can’t, because that would be preposterous. At the same time, would Fillipponi, Dickerson, and other Pittsburgh hosts be criticizing their fans for wanting Watson’s autograph? Of course, you can’t, because that would be preposterous.
When you’re discussing “my team versus your team” or “my coach versus your coach” etc…, it’s ok to throw ration and logic to the side for the sake of entertaining radio. But when you’re dealing with an incredibly serious matter, in this case, an investigation into whether an NFL quarterback is a serial sexual predator, I don’t believe there’s room to throw ration and logic to the wind. The criticism of Carman and Lima from the Pittsburgh station is fair and frankly warranted. They tried their best, in my opinion, to be sensitive to a topic that warranted it, but fell short.
On the flip side, Carman and Lima are correct. Ben Roethlisberger was credibly accused of sexual assault. Twice. And their criticism of Fillipponi and Steelers fans is valid and frankly warranted.
You will often hear me say “it can be both” because so often today people try to make every situation black and white. In reality, there’s an awful lot of gray in our world. But, in this case, it can’t be both. It can’t be Deshaun Watson, and Browns fans by proxy, are horrible, awful, no good, downright rotten people, and Ben Roethlisberger is a beloved figure.
I don’t know what Andrew Fillipponi said about Ben Roethlisberger’s sexual assault allegations in 2010. And if I’m wrong, I’ll be the first to admit it, but I’m guessing he sounded much more like Carman and Lima did this week, rather than the person criticizing hosts in another market for their lack of moral fiber. Judging by the tweet Carman and Lima used to point out Fillipponi’s hypocrisy, I have a hard time believing the Pittsburgh host had strong outrage about the Steelers bringing back the franchise QB.
Real courage comes from saying things your listeners might find unpopular. It’s also where real connections with your listeners are built. At the current time in our hyper-polarized climate, having the ability to say something someone might disagree with is a lost art. But it’s also the key to keeping credibility and building a reputation that you’ll say whatever you truly believe that endears you to your audience.
And in this case, on a day the NFL announced they now employ a player who — in the league’s view — is a serial sexual assaulter, to hear hosts describe a six-game suspension as “reasonable” felt unreasonable. As talk radio hosts, we often try to hold the moral high ground and if you’re going to hold that position, I can’t help but feel integrity has to outweigh popularity.
Garrett Searight is the Editor of Barrett Sports Media and Barrett News Media. He previously was the Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH. He is also a play-by-play announcer for TV and Radio broadcasts in Western Ohio.
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