On the first day Matt Moscona was named program director of 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge, he instructed an engineer to purchase a new audio production computer for the main studio. By the end of the day, the mechanism was acquired and installed for producers to use and optimize their workflows. In essence, Moscona sought to remove a burden by eliminating problems that had magnified in impact and complicated manners as a whole. At the same time, he was demonstrating his commitment to the staff and mission of the station.
Adding the PD role after several years as an on-air host was a reality that was unexpected for Moscona. When he was approached with the idea from Guaranty Media executives following the restructuring of the parent company, he thought about how he had been working at the station since it first took the air in early 2010. Moreover, he recognized his institutional knowledge of the entity and how much he cared about the overall product. As a result, he decided to take the chance and serve as the outlet’s top programming boss.
“It was strange because [for] as much success as we’ve had, ESPN was kind of a rudderless ship; we were a captain less army,” Moscona shared. “Every show sort of operated as its own autonomous collective without any real feedback or direction because we didn’t have somebody in that role as odd as it may sound.”
As the program director of the station, Moscona has bestowed clear written responsibilities for the show producers every day and holds them accountable. Moreover, he is ensuring that the hosts remain on time with the clock so all of the advertising is aired on schedule as well. In addition, Moscona participates in daily meetings with other executives and managers to make sure everything runs smoothly. The strenuous schedule is all focused on achieving excellence outside of his own program and safeguarding longevity for the station.
“I can do it, and it’s been a great thrill honestly to be able to implement some of the changes and see the successes we’ve had, but it has definitely forced me to allocate my time appropriately to make sure I’m not wasting time,” Moscona said. “….I’m not listening to the radio in the car very much anymore. I’m on calls in the car because I feel like I can steal 15-20 minutes because I have to.”
Being the station’s voice in afternoon drive, Moscona has made a name for himself by building connections with the audience. Guaranty Media’s initial launch of the radio station provided Moscona with a blank canvas. Tasked with growing the brand in a new format, and combined with it being situated in his hometown, rendered a chance to build something appealing. At the start of his time in sports talk radio though, Moscona didn’t have a specific vision about how he wanted to grow.
“I was progressing,” Moscona explained. “I thought I’d market hop, but the deeper my roots grew here at home covering teams that I love and getting to talk about teams that I’m passionate about every day – and to work for a great company that values people and gave me the opportunity to advance my career and financially and in every day – the right opportunity to leave has never come.”
Moscona was the first hire at 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge and is in his 14th year of hosting the afternoon program, After Further Review. The program is syndicated on a variety of radio stations in Louisiana and simulcast on different visual outlets as well, including weekdays on YouTube. He works in tandem each day with executive producer and video manager Paul O’Neill and audio producer Matt Musso. The trio strive to find a way to consolidate elements in order to appeal to both ends of the audience and communicate the latest information pertaining to the local teams.
“For a three-hour show, that’s six hours of prep, but the reality is you never stop prepping,” Moscona said. “Every day is a consideration of, ‘What can I talk about tomorrow?,’ or coming up on the show. I like to be at my desk at 9 for a 3 p.m. show. That has certainly gotten challenging accepting the program director role because I find myself in a lot of meetings and other considerations.”
Guaranty Media is on the cusp of celebrating its 100th anniversary, a remarkable feat that few companies in any industry successfully attain. There are currently no plans to sell the locally-based outlet; rather, executives are thinking in terms of developing and effectuating viable long-term plans to maintain its growth and remain ahead of the curve. Flynn Foster, who serves as the president and chief executive officer of the company, has fostered an environment that Moscona conveys keeps him excited to go into work.
“[Foster] always says, ‘Guaranty is my grandfather’s vision, my dad’s execution and my job not to screw it up,’ and I love that and he wants to be around for another 100 years.”
Moscona will be attending and speaking at the 2024 Barrett Sports Media Summit. The event takes place March 13 and March 14 in New York City. It will be the first time he’s attended the event, giving him a chance to establish meaningful connections and garner ideas to bring back to his station. While Baton Rouge is his home marketplace, Moscona has evinced somewhat of a blind spot in that he is unable to collaborate with people from around the country.
“I know our GM attended last year in LA and previously in NYC, but this is going to be my first time going,” Moscona said. “Obviously the opportunity to network is huge and I’m very much looking forward to that, but just selfishly [it] is, ‘What are the things I’m going to be able to pull from a lot of the speakers and presenters about how I can make our cluster more efficient and better serve our audience?’”
Moscona remains excited about the future of the audio format, but he holds a concern about the sustainability of terrestrial radio. Many radio companies are growing their digital reach, and some are forgoing select AM and FM signals to consolidate operations. Moscona has his station ideally positioned in this shift, employing eight video editors on call throughout the day to optimize content for different dissemination platforms.
“I hope terrestrial radio exists forever, but if it doesn’t, I know we’re well-positioned to continue having success,” Moscona said, “because my thought is as a host and as a manager [is] that I really don’t care how when or where people consume us; I just want people to consume our content.”
Moscona sees his mission as being able to create a culture where people are excited to walk through the door each day. Coupled with that is the responsibility of supplying listeners with pertinent and engaging content and information. As 104.5 ESPN’s first employee, he has a great appreciation for how far the brand has come. But settling for the status quo is not in Moscona’s DNA. He believes the bar can be and will be raised higher, and has a simple outlook on how he’s measuring his effectiveness as the brand’s programming captain.
“If you’re excited to work and not going through the motions, then all of these other things — the ratings; the revenue; the metrics — all of that will follow,” Moscona said. “When people tell me that they love working at Guaranty; that they feel the culture around the station is the best it’s ever been, that’s how I measure success in the program director role.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
