This is not a new topic or question being asked, but as news came down this week that a national sports radio host is taking on an additional job as a Division I head basketball coach, it is time to bring it up again. Are we treating sports talk radio like a job or like a side hustle?
As it relates to Doug Gottlieb, who was hired by UW-Green Bay as their new head men’s basketball coach with the understanding he would continue his FOX Sports Radio show, my personal opinion is that it is a slap in the face to radio. To me, this is Gottlieb saying, ‘I can do this radio show by showing up and turning on the mic, everything will be fine.” Either that, or he is not going to be a basketball coach very long.
Think of this from the other end for a minute. Do you think head coaches of Division I basketball teams think they could add a 2-hour national radio show into their schedule without it affecting their basketball team? I would venture to guess most of them would say, “No way.” Now, if you figure at the very minimum, you will need to prep two hours a day for a two-hour show and you asked these head coaches if they could spare four hours a day to do another job, I believe their response would be something like, “Get the f–k out of here, absolutely not.”
Mind you, this has nothing to do with Gottlieb’s abilities to be a national sports talk radio host or a basketball coach. Doing both at a high level is nearly impossible. And something tells me Gottlieb wants to be a successful basketball coach more than he wants to be a great talk show host.
Good for Gottlieb though. He has openly talked about this being a dream of his and I am glad he is getting that opportunity. For Green Bay, this might already be the most the program has been talked about on a national level in its history, so it is already working for them.
My belief is that FOX Sports Radio will be the loser here. I was just listening to Mully & Haugh in Chicago talk about how they think Gottlieb will have to give 90% of his time to the basketball side. Is that what sports radio is now, a 10% effort job?
This topic used to come up all the time when sports radio was dominated by TV sports anchors and newspaper writers. I once ran a station where almost all of our top talent had a full-time job doing something else. We were the side hustle; I was the side chick and it led to exactly what you would think it would – the only thing most of those hosts cared about was the paycheck. As far as promoting the station, showing up to events or meetings and anything else I needed that wasn’t during their air shift, forget it, they had their ‘other job’ to worry about. I even had a guy who would routinely promote his main television job on our radio station, but when it came to promoting our station on his other outlet, we got nothing.
While I still think there is room for those that have other gigs on sports radio, it needs to be done in a manner that respects both sides. It can’t be, as David Haugh mentioned, a 10% job. Today’s sports radio host needs to be working to engage with their audience 24/7 and has to have a part in promoting the brand that pays them. Most of the hosts have to be a station’s full-time employee and those hosts need to be thinking well beyond just the two- or three-hour show.
Using a television station employee or a newspaper writer can be good content, they are after all usually very involved in covering the local teams, talking to athletes and coaches and they are doing that part on someone else’s dime. However, if the station is limited in how many people it can pay, it needs to look for people who can give it the proper time and effort.
Right now, all parties in the Gottlieb situation are saying the right things. If I were FOX Sports Radio management, I would be out looking for someone who can dedicate a little bit more time to helping my brand and less time looking for a point guard in Oshkosh.
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The Best Thing I Heard Recently
If you missed it last weekend John Sterling, who retired as the voice of the New York Yankees on April 15, hosted a 90-minute call-in show on WFAN. Talk about goose bumps. I am not a New Yorker and certainly not a Yankees fan, but hearing the love the city and the fans have for John Sterling was a tremendous listen.
In explaining what he was doing on the air less than a month after retiring, Sterling said, “So, what am I doing here? The General Manager Chris Oliviero…he thought I should come in because some people didn’t have a chance to say goodbye and I’m all for it. But I’m also for, you know I watch every game. Being retired is fabulous. I see every Yankee game every Met game, I listen to every Yankee game and Met game, and then the Knicks and the Rangers and the rest of the basketball and hockey playoffs. Anyway, I don’t miss a game.”
It was a great listen. You can hear the full show by clicking here.
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In Case You Missed It
Last week, John Molori featured MLB Network’s ‘Quick Pitch’ show and its host, Abby Labar, in his feature. I didn’t know much about either one, so it was good to hear about a rising star in our industry.
Labar has an interesting background and brings a lot of energy to the show. Morolri wrote, “Labar is making the most of her on-camera minutes and, I believe, garnering more on-screen time because of her sterling performance. As a viewer tuning in, it seems to me that Labar is having a grand old time hosting Quick Pitch.”
You can read John’s piece on the show and host by clicking here.
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
