ESPN 980 in Washington DC is making more changes. After making organizational changes in November and replacing General Manager Rick Carmean with Redskins team executives, many expected additional moves to follow. Well, the start of it has begun.
First, Program Director Dan Zampillo announced he was leaving to pursue other interests. Now, the radio station has decided to eliminate the Redskins Reporter position which means Craig Hoffman is also out. Hoffman was brought in by Zampillo last summer to cover the team.
Hoffman confirmed the departure in a blog post saying “I’ve been through this before. I was sent packing in Lawrence, KS after a similarly short time on the job in an eerily similar circumstance to here, where the person who hired me left the company and I was gone shortly thereafter. I survived. I moved on and wound up moving up. If I’m able to move on and stay at the same level I was here, I’ll be perfectly happy.”
The one question that remains now is, will the radio station be proactive in breaking Redskins news and shedding light on uncomfortable team developments? Or by not utilizing a reporter, are they looking to be in more control of the message?
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
