Bruce Gilbert’s influence on sports radio is immeasurable. The Topic Tree, the 20 Deadly Sins of Sports Radio, we’ve all benefitted from his ideas. To hear Bruce tell it though, he isn’t even the best radio mind in his family.
“I’m tremendously proud of my brother, obviously,” he tells me over the phone. His brother is Mike Thomas, who recently left his post as Program Director of The Sports Hub in Boston to take over as GM of ESPN 1000 in Chicago. “He’s a way better programmer than I’ll ever be.”
Radio is in Bruce’s blood. His parents owned a small town station in Illinois. His sister, Becky, has been on the air at stations across Central Illinois for more than two decades.
“Our Thanksgiving dinners have often been spent talking promotions and sales packages, much to our mother’s chagrin,” he told BSM’s Brian Noe last year.
When Bruce and I spoke earlier in the month, he was just getting back from the Super Bowl in Miami. As the Senior Vice President of Sports for Cumulus and Westwood One, it makes sense that he’d be on the ground for the network’s biggest broadcast of the year. Too bad he didn’t get a lot of chances to shake hands or talk business with colleagues and affiliates. Bruce wasn’t sure what he came down with. All he knew was that he felt like shit for most of the week.
“I was in bed most of the day Thursday and Friday in my hotel room,” he told me. “I was curled up in the fetal position under the covers just praying that I’d feel better the next day so I could get to meetings and get some things taken care of. Just brutal, man.”
I told Bruce that the illness didn’t hit me until I got back from Miami. The week that we spoke started with a doctor diagnosing me with the flu.
Rather than compare temperatures and what came out of which end of our bodies, I turned the conversation to the upcoming Barrett Sports Media Summit. Bruce and Jason Barrett have been friends for decades, and given how much Jason learned working under Bruce at ESPN Radio, it is not a surprise that Bruce thinks Jason’s wisdom and experience can benefit anyone that chooses to venture to New York City later this month.
In fact, Bruce is quick to point out that he is going to the event not just to teach, but to learn as much as he can about the industry and where it’s headed. He’ll be on stage for a session on Thursday, February 27, but what he is most looking forward to is sitting in the audience and taking notes.
“One of the things I’ve tried to get better at my whole career is closing my mouth and opening my ears,” he says. “That’s what I enjoy about these things is really listening, still taking notes, and still approaching it like it’s my first year in the business.”
Last year, at the Barrett Sports Media Summit in Los Angeles, Bruce had the chance to share the stage with his brother Mike. They are two of the most respected programmers in the industry, and the fact that they are related is no secret. Still though, the event in LA was the first time they were asked to address a professional gathering together.
“Both of us just got such a kick out of it. I don’t think it hit us until we were there that this was pretty cool. We had never done something like this before. We had both been in radio our entire professional lives and we’ve never had a chance to sit side-by-side and share our thoughts collectively and individually.”
What is Bruce looking forward to this year? He told me that conversations with Jason Barrett and peeks at the agenda are yet to reveal something he isn’t interested in learning about or someone he isn’t interested in hearing from. A little prodding however and Bruce admits that he is very excited to see Pat McAfee receive the Tony Bruno Award.
McAfee launched his nationally syndicated radio show on Westwood One in September. It also includes a video simulcast on DAZN. Just last month the radio show took over the mid day slot on CBS Sports Radio.
“The guy is an unbelievable work horse. He is a dynamic personality. He is everything we talk about when we try to talk about great talent,” Bruce says of McAfee. “He’s engaging, he’s interesting, he’s high energy, he’s smart, he’s witty, he’s funny, but the best thing about Pat is he just connects at that common man level.”
Bruce admits that it seems fast for a guy to launch his first ever nationally syndicated radio show in September and already be receiving the kind of recognition that comes along with the Tony Bruno Award. The way Bruce sees it though, Pat McAfee has done everything right leading up to this moment.
“He makes it look easy, but the guy is working his ass off everyday. That’s how it happens. People will say it’s an overnight success, but the guy has just been working it and working it and working it. It’s so great to see him get the recognition and the accolades he deserves.”
The last time Bruce and I saw each other in person, it was at the NAB Radio Show in Dallas in September. We made time to grab coffee and catch up, and while that was a great event for the industry and there were plenty of sports radio folks around, Bruce says he is excited to attend an event that is format-specific.
“Because it is the same format, we have the same short hand, we have the same acronyms, and we have the same language that we all speak. It’s the same awareness about what we face each day.”
It all goes back to his idea of opening his ears and closing his mouth. We talked about the panel featuring Paul Finebaum, Bomani Jones, Peter Rosenberg, and Brandon Tierney, which will include a discussion of why some talents decide to move on from radio. Bruce promises “I am going to go in and just listen. I’m really interested to hear why some people say radio is the thing they just can’t do. Maybe we can learn from that as an industry.”
The BSM Summit will be attended by people that program stations owned by iHeart, Entercom, Hubbard, Cumulus, and basically any other company you can name. There will be hosts from stations affiliated with ESPN, Fox Sports Radio, and CBS Sports Radio. To Bruce’s way of thinking, the two or three days he spends in New York won’t be for Westwood One or Cumulus. He will be there for the format.
“I think it has everything to do with focus and commitment to the format. I think that is what Jason has built his business on,” Bruce says. “It’s sort of the foundation of BSM that while many of us compete vigorously with each other in various markets and in different locations, it is in the best interest of all of us that have anything to do with sports radio to work together to try to elevate the format as a whole.”
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at 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 or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
