The twenty deadly sins of sports radio are legendary. Maybe you know them by heart. Maybe you have seen the condensed version that is only a list of seven. Maybe you have no idea what is on that list, you just know that it exists.
Whatever your relationship to the presentation Bruce Gilbert put together in 2005 is, it has played a role in your career. Even if you haven’t seen it, someone you learned from has.
After all, as 104.3 The Fan programmer Raj Sharan told me, Bruce Gilbert is kind of like the Bill Walsh of his coaching tree. Not every talented and successful person in sports radio learned from Gilbert, but a whole lot of them did. Even the ones that were never directly under his wing have been influenced by him.
“Raj is one of the brightest young programmers in our industry. He has incredible instincts, great knowledge and a positive passion. I truly admire him. It’s very humbling to know that Raj feels as though he picked something up from me through the years,” Gilbert told me. “It reminds me that it’s vital to our business that we all pass along important things we’ve learned to keep this format vibrant for generations to come. I had so many wonderful bosses and worked with so many unbelievably talented hosts and producers that taught me so much. For that, I am grateful and extremely lucky. Sharing some of those things seems like the absolute right thing to do. Nothing gives me more joy at this point in my sports radio journey than to see a young talent or manager find their success and reach heights they never thought they could reach.”
Even if it is forever entrenched in sports radio lore, the twenty deadly sins cannot live behind glass as a sacred text never to be altered. That document and the rules in it are eighteen years old now. It may not require a full rewrite, but it is certainly time to revisit and take stock of what still works and what could benefit from a new perspective.
“Honestly, I am a bit embarrassed by how cocky and somewhat arrogant my writing was when those deadly sins were published in 2005,” he said. “The world has changed a lot in those eighteen years. PPM has become the methodology in major markets. Digital distribution has blossomed across numerous platforms. Social Media is a prominent part of what we do. Podcasting has become a critical part of our environment. Talk hosts, podcasters, listeners, and the athletes we cover are doing more to make our world a better place. Fans have more choices and less tolerance for mediocre, angry, negative hosts.”
Gilbert is revisiting that 2005 list with fresh eyes and a red pen on Wednesday morning in Los Angeles at the BSM Summit. It is a sequel nearly two decades in the making. He knows you want The Empire Strikes Back, but hopes the audience remembers that most sequels are more akin to The Force Awakens – not great, but as long as it is fun and moves the subject forward, it has done the job.
“There, I lowered the bar and reset expectations,” he jokes.
Not many people could get Bruce Gilbert, who oversees all sports programming for Cumulus and Westwood One, to do this. Honestly, if the man never did anything else in sports radio, he has left a hell of a legacy and the twenty deadly sins are at or near the top of his long list of accomplishments.
Jason Barrett isn’t just anybody though. JB worked for Bruce at ESPN Radio and counts him as a mentor. He was in the room for the original twenty deadly sins of sports radio presentation as a young producer. He may tell you that if it weren’t for Bruce Gilbert taking the time to listen to a demo of a professional wrestling radio show more than 20 years ago, we may not all be getting together this week.
“JB has had a remarkable career,” Gilbert says. “His experience in all aspects of sports radio have led him to this place where he has become an energetic, dedicated, intelligent evangelist for this format. His passion is unmatched, and I truly admire how much he cares about making this format, sports media – and everyone that has a place in this ecosystem – successful.”
It isn’t just that the right guy asked, it is that the right event exists. When Bruce Gilbert presented his original list, it was to his employees and colleagues at ESPN Radio. At the BSM Summit, his audience will include talent, programmers and executives from Audacy, Bonneville, Cumulus, Good Karma Brands, iHeartMedia, and many other radio companies as well as FOX, FOX Sports Radio, MRN, and more.
“This event is a celebration of all the love and commitment Jason has bestowed upon many of us in this business,” he says. “It’s a tangible example of how none of us should ever stop learning and how ALL of us should take our responsibility to grow the industry and nurture the newcomers to our business.”
With so much power in our industry consolidated in one room, Gilbert is bound to field questions. He also knows he has the chance to shape the industry and the content we generate going forward.
He told me that he wants people to remember that a lot of thought went into his list. The original version from 2005 was not a series of knee-jerk reactions to problems that existed only in his mind. Each bad habit he counted as a deadly sin earned that designation by watching the effect it had on the audience.
“The spirit and the intention is to remind people that are serious about doing this that they have to take the craft very seriously, but NOT take themselves too seriously. To show that if you are committed to the non-stop preparation and the artful execution of meaningful content, you can cut through the ever-growing morass of sports content that permeates society. Lastly, while what we do is subjective, there are some things that we know through research and experience that damage your chances for success. The hope is that by highlighting some of these important things we can help the professionals in our business go from good to great.”
When you gather people like Colin Cowherd, Mina Kimes, Jay Glazer, Al Michaels, Shawn Michaels, and Jim Rome for a conference, your program has some serious star power. Plenty of us in the room are those people’s biggest fans. Given his impact and the impact of a list he made 18 years ago, no one’s presentation may be more highly anticipated at this year’s BSM Summit than Bruce Gilbert’s.
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.
