In any line of work, nothing lasts forever. In radio, job security can be even more unpredictable than in any other industry. So, when Marc Hochman recently celebrated his 10th anniversary of doing afternoon drive at WQAM in South Florida, it was really a time to celebrate. Anniversaries like this aren’t all that commonplace in sports radio.
“It’s mind-boggling to be quite honest,” said Hochman who hosts the Hochman and Crowder show with Alejandro Solana and Jimmy Garcia weekdays from 2pm to 6pm.
“To come in and do afternoon drive ten years ago…I didn’t think I would be on the air at ‘QAM ten years later because it just seemed so far away. All of a sudden, you’re at ten years and you can’t believe it’s gone that quickly. It’s really become my radio home. It’s an honor and I literally could not be happier. It’s been such a great ten years.”
It was also an occasion that was celebrated by the show and the station’s loyal listeners as so many of them took the time to send in tweets, DM’s and texts to Hochman congratulating him on a decade-long run hosting the afternoon drive program.
For Hochman, that was probably the most special and overwhelming part of the occasion.
“That’s the thing I take the most pride in,” said Hochman. “Listeners who at some point during the course of ten years or throughout all the ten years have been part of the fun and it’s been part of their life in a positive (way). That’s the cool part.”
When you have a job that you love and you’ve had for a while, it’s not a surprise that one would enjoy the time they spend with those they work with. When you host a radio show and you have a partner, it’s not always a buddy-buddy thing off the air but you have to have chemistry on the air and have respect for your co-host. But in the case of Hochman and Crowder, it’s been a marriage made in heaven.
And it’s the reason that Hochman points to when thinking about how he has lasted ten years on the air in afternoon drive.
“Channing is a super-savvy broadcaster and he turned out to be one of my biggest supporters and a great friend and the best radio partner that anyone could ask for,” said Hochman. “He has been, for me, everything. Everything that works on the show is because he’s there to help make it work. He’s so good at what he does. I relish my time with Crowder. I hope he’s my partner for the rest of my radio career.”
Hochman is originally from Chicago and arrived in South Florida in 1987 as a freshman at the University of Miami. His love of the Chicago sports teams lasted about ten years and that’s when his rooting interest switched.
“I got married in 1997,” said Hochman. “That’s when I started paying more attention to the South Florida sports teams and then when we started doing the (Dan Le Batard) radio show in 2004. We had to talk about the South Florida teams so I would watch them, and I really became a fan of them. I’m no longer a fan of the Chicago teams.”
Hochman joined WQAM in 2013 and spent 8 ½ years working with Dan Le Batard. It was during that time that Hochman developed a different understanding of what a successful and different sports radio show could sound like. Instead of trying to be the “expert” when sports fans would call in about something, Le Batard introduced Hochman to a different approach.
Two buddies talking about sports…and anything else.
“He changed the way that I look at sports talk radio,” said Hochman. “He kind of used that “friends talking” attitude on sports radio and it was pretty foreign to me and anyone who listened to sports radio up until that. Yeah, he influenced me a lot. You hear a lot of his show in our show over the last ten years.”
And that’s what “Hochman and Crowder” is all about.
No phone calls.
Just guys talk about sports and anything else that seems interesting to talk about.
“When the South Florida teams are relevant, we’re talking about them,” said Hochman. “But we probably spend more time talking about cheesesteaks and whether ketchup belongs on a cheesesteak and whether adults should eat cotton candy. We probably spend more time talking about that stuff than any sports to be quite honest.”
For the last ten years, Hochman has had a blast doing afternoon drive on WQAM. There have been opportunities to go elsewhere, but why mess with a good thing?
Hochman has found a home in South Florida, and he sees no reason to change anything about his life, especially when it comes to his job.
“I am so content…It’s hard for me to put it into words,” said Hochman. “I tell my wife all the time I cannot be any happier. I love doing afternoon drive with Crowder, with Solana and doing it on ‘QAM. I don’t think about doing anything else. I don’t look at anything else. I don’t pursue anything else.”
It’s been quite a decade for Marc Hochman doing afternoon drive at WQAM. It’s an anniversary that is special to him and his listeners and it’s been a relationship that is still going strong with no end in sight.
And in the radio industry, that’s really something to celebrate.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
