When a Syracuse sports columnist and part-time sports radio host was fired by the radio company’s CEO for being too negative about Syracuse University’s sports program, it became a national story.
The situation is more complicated because the radio cluster is locally owned and operated, and Syracuse University’s (retiring) men’s basketball coach is an investor.
What happened in Syracuse is familiar to anybody who has traversed the complicated maze of relationships in sports radio. Frankly, it’s not that different between any sales and programming department.
During the eight-plus years I oversaw programming for WIP in Philadelphia, it’s fair to say that each professional sports franchise and most of the area’s college or university programs were at one time or another upset (or more) by virtually every host on the station. The more relevant to the city, the more easily they were upset and the more frequently they complained.
No relationship was more tenuous than the one between WIP’s most-listened-to personality, morning-man Angelo Cataldi (who recently retired after a 33-year run), and the Philadelphia Eagles during the tenure of former Eagles President and General Manager Joe Banner (2001 – 2012).
It started, and I’m not exaggerating, late on my first day when I had to get a message to Cataldi about the new turf at Lincoln Financial Field (The Linc) and ask him to take it easy (in essence) on the Eagles. I’ve forgotten the details, but it resulted in a screaming match on my second day between Angelo and me. It was a horrible way for us to start, and it took about two years to get past.
As a programmer, I fiercely protected talent’s ability to speak freely. On the other hand, the relationship with the Eagles,which included play-by-play rights, was among WIP’s most important. Finding a balance that reasonably protected both our prized morning star and our invaluable relationship with the Eagles was one of the most challenging aspects of the job.
The Eagles maintained they were only upset about personal attacks, but they were overly sensitive about criticism from Cataldi and complained relentlessly about him. Seemingly innocuous comments would set them off.
The animus ran both ways. Angelo didn’t miss an opportunity to throw a roundhouse at Banner or Head Coach Andy Reid.
If I didn’t get calls from one of the PR people, word would come back through one of their “proxies” at the station. Former Market Manager Marc Rayfield received the harshest complaints, which would rain down on me, usually within minutes.
Cataldi’s commentary, however, could be blistering. He was more biting than the other hosts, sometimes making cringe-worthy personal attacks.
I became the referee, sometimes getting winged from proximity to a couple of heavyweights trading blows. The Eagles had access to CBS brass. Occasionally, word would come back from then CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason or VP of Programming Chris Oliviero.
To be fair, neither the Eagles nor Banner ever asked (as far as I know) for the dismissal of Cataldi or any other member of the airstaff – although no doubt it would have been a happy day at the NovaCare Center (Eagles offices) if CBS had.
The newly retired Cataldi and I recently chatted about his relationship with the teams. He said, “It wasn’t personal. I made sure not to have relationships with any sports figures so I would be free to offer my objective opinions on everything they did. It’s part of why Cataldi was so successful for so long.
He believes Banner was “fan-unfriendly – a sure way to get on my bad side.” He added, “same with Reid, who pretended to care about the fans but refused to answer any questions honestly.”
So how far is too far for on-air hosts to complain about sports teams? The Eagles did help me to focus on where management should draw the line: personal attacks. The line is the same regardless of whether the station has a business relationship with the team.
After the 2008 season, the Eagles let future Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins sign with the Denver Broncos. Cataldi, reflecting the anger of the fans at letting an all-time favorite go, called Banner and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie “cheap.” That led to the start of subtle changes that Angelo made.
I reasoned with Cataldi, “unless you can read their minds or know what’s in their hearts, you cannot call them ‘cheap.’”
You can say:
• It’s a terrible football decision.
• It’s the wrong way to spend the team’s money.
• It’s not going to get the team closer to winning the Super Bowl
• You and the fans disagree.
• You can call the decision stupid but avoid ascribing motives to the people.
In our recent chat, Cataldi told me, “the one argument you made that really stuck was the ‘personal attack’ message. I really did try not to paint with such a big brush after that. Generally, I held to that new approach after we talked it out.”
Although this column has focused on the Eagles and Angelo Cataldi, I have stories about virtually every host, including when I pissed-off the Eagles.
I was at the Linc during a pre-season game when the team announced they signed Michael Vick. I was so excited that I was thanking the Eagles for our “Fall promotion.’”
WIP ran station promos tagged with “drama guaranteed™.” Without opining whether the signing was good or bad for the team, and certainly without any personal attacks, the one thing I was sure of was it would create controversy, which equal ratings. I was in Rayfield’s office within days because the Eagles weren’t pleased with my jubilation.
As long as Reid and Banner were there, Cataldi couldn’t help himself, which caused headaches and long days programming WIP. Obviously, we never fired him. We also never suspended him.
The relationship with the team improved after Banner and Reid departed. A lot of the damage was baked in before my arrival. Current Eagles Executive Vice President and General Manager Howie Roseman, who was there under Banner, in my opinion, learned from the past and is particularly adept at handling the media.
Chip Kelly replaced Andy Reid and was initially dazzling in his media relations. However, Cataldi praises the coach who brought Philadelphia its only Lombardi trophy. “Doug Pederson proved it (answering questions honestly) could be done. Reid just chose not to,” he said.
Every content creator has to balance editorial judgment against advertiser pushback. If I remember correctly, WIP lost the McDonald’s account because a host said something about their French fries being good – implying everything else wasn’t. The push and pull between content creators and sales reps always happen.
Nowhere are the relationships between two organizations more complicated than sports radio and the teams, which in the best of times bring huge ratings and revenue and at other times preordain stations to miserable existences.
Andy Bloom is president of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT and WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc. and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner, R-Ohio. He can be reached by email at andy@andybloom.com or you can follow him on Twitter @AndyBloomCom.
