Mike Maniscalco was a staple of sports radio in Raleigh, NC for nearly a decade. He was one of the voices that launched 99.9 the Fan, which has become a ratings powerhouse. He also worked at Buzz Sports Radio first with Mark Thomas and Chris Morris, and then with Lauren Brownlow and Demetri Ravanos.
So many of us enter the world of sports media with hopes that someday we will be on SportsCenter or Baseball Tonight or one of dozens of other ESPN shows. For some, that dream becomes a reality. For others, their paths diverge, sometimes to other aspects of sports media, sometimes to other fields entirely.
In this piece Mike writes about an opportunity he thought would never come. He had been let go from Buzz Sports Radio and had settled in nicely to a new show at IMG College. It required a long commute, but as Mike writes, he was happy. Then he got a call and was offered a chance to move from behind a mic to in front of the camera.
Moving From Sports Radio to Sports Television
The call came on a Saturday morning in September, it was a call that I had reconciled years ago would never happen.
“Would you be interested in the Carolina Hurricanes television host job?”
I was living in Raleigh, NC and had just started a job with IMG College. It was a great place to work and a job that I could see myself staying at for a while because of the people and the vision for the show I was hosting. I wasn’t looking for a job in television when the call popped up on my cell that morning. I had been a full-time radio host since 2000 and involved with radio in some capacity since 1994 – that was what I did.
As appearances go, I’m not going to be confused with George Clooney, so a transition to television was definitely not on my radar.
This doesn’t mean I didn’t think about or want to be on television. Back in my college days of the mid 1990’s, I had the dream that pretty much all of us in the industry had – I was going to host SportsCenter and have a long TV career. I interned and even worked in TV for a brief stint as the weekend sports producer for the ABC affiliate in Buffalo, NY with Matt Yalloff anchoring the shows. He was outstanding to work with, as I learned more from Matt than I can write here, and Sports Director John Murphy was the kind of boss any of us would hope to work for. I figured that would be my path until there was a full-time opportunity in radio that I couldn’t turn down.
So fast forward to that September Saturday morning, and the door that was closed almost 20 years ago was now back in front of me. Without too much hesitation, I told then Hurricanes director of broadcasting Kyle Hanlin I was interested. He said to be ready, as this would come together fast.
Could I make the jump to TV where people could see me saying these things I had been saying on radio for years?
So in the few days that passed I did my due diligence, talking to those I know in the industry and friends that have changed careers to something totally different. The input and insight varied from source to source.
The one question that took any doubt out of making the move came in a conversation I had with ESPN hoops analyst Chris Spatola. Chris had guest hosted on radio with me in Raleigh as he did TV work. He pointed out the benefits of stepping in front of the camera. But it was one simple question that he asked that really stuck – “Why wouldn’t you take it?”
I didn’t have a good reason to say no.
I was upfront with the people at IMG on the TV offer and they could not have handled the situation any better. That was one of my biggest fears, leaving a place that had world class management and good people to work with, the people that wanted to put together great radio shows. That was making my decision tough. Working there, with people looking for their break in the industry made it easier to see that this was my break and this opportunity might never come again.
Were there fears? Of course, but it was no different than any fear I had for any radio job I had taken in the past. Was I worried about how I would look on camera? Yes, seeing I had a body built for/by radio and my suits are at the bigger end of the rack. I quickly reconciled it to insecurity, no different than “do people like my voice?”.
So when the offer came to take the job, I said yes.
As for making the transition, I did have an advantage when it came to the source material. I had hosted the pre- and post-game coverage and covered the Hurricanes in a reporter capacity for nine seasons on the radio station that carried the games. I knew the organization, the people, the league and had an idea of what the job would entail. The players and coaches knew me. The equipment staff had seen me around for years. I wasn’t going to be a stranger in a new town learning everything all at once.
On air, I would be working with play-by-play voice John Forslund and analyst Tripp Tracy. John would join the post-game show for all the years I hosted it, and I had gotten to know Tripp over the years as well. They are as good of on-air partners one can ask for.
The behind the scenes crew was a huge help. Having great people in TV that don’t get in front of the mic make a huge difference, like producer Jim Mallia, who said I just had to know my stuff and the we’ll handle the rest. It put me right at ease.
Prepping is still the same as a radio show. Relying on and trusting your producers is just as vital. That experience helped with putting together shows with pre-game producer Adam Holzman. Just like mapping out a three hour show, understanding what he is looking for and being able to provide input that makes it less nerve-wracking.
Yes, the video element is different, but it’s no different than turning on a mic and putting out a show.
When I got over the “people can see me doing this” it boiled down to the basic tenants of any broadcast:
- Do your prep work.
- Trust your coworkers.
- Use your voice.
But if there were any doubts about me making the switch it was John Forslund that ended them with a simple piece of advice. He told me to be myself, the guy I’ve been on the radio.
That’s what I did and three seasons later, that’s still what I do, just in front of a camera.
