Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Jemele Hill is like no other sports personality, and it really comes down to one word: authenticity. She says what she feels regardless of whether it costs her money, popularity, jobs, or recognition. Hill is one of the few sports media personalities who has consistently chosen integrity over dollars. She stands up for what she believes and, if you check out her social media platforms, she does not do this meekly.
Hill uses whatever form or format to offer real talk. Agreement does not have to be given, but attention must be paid. We now live in a world where disagreement often becomes synonymous with disenfranchisement. Jemele Hill does not live in that world.
Her opinions are fraught with intelligence, thought, and conviction. Hill rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Good, that means she’s doing something right. Truthfully, it’s refreshing to hear a voice that is comfortable with standing alone – not in need of sycophantic followers, nodding their heads and kowtowing to every syllable uttered.
Hill’s latest program is Above the Fold with Jemele Hill on truTV. I checked out the premiere episode and was not disappointed. The show opened with Hill providing a tongue-in-cheek look at the Dodgers versus Yankees World Series. She sarcastically stated that these two teams with small payrolls, no history of success, and no superstar players should be admired for making it to the World Series.
Hill went off on the mercenary aspects of these rich franchises wondering how they somehow manage to get by with payrolls that exceed $300 million. She ended the vitriolic soliloquy saying, “And yes, this message has been brought to you by a hater.”
This is the essence of Hill. Most people on television are afraid of someone else calling them a hater, Hill playfully used the term on herself. Hill is spellbinding as an orator. She is a student of the written word and effectively translates her crisp writing into verbal prose. Her inflection and tone bring her words to life in an extremely descriptive manner.
Hill again ventured into controversial territory talking about the ruptured Achilles injury to Browns’ quarterback Deshaun Watson. She boldly stated that many of those Cleveland fans who cheered when Watson got hurt are the same people who ignored the multiple sexual assault charges against Watson and were thrilled when the Browns signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
There has been a lot of talk about Watson’s poor play and injuries, but few commentators have had the stones to bring it back to the sexual assault charges, which have seemingly disappeared from the discourse. Hill boldly stated, “Watson is easily the worst acquisition any NFL team has ever made in NFL history.”
She also bemoaned the fact that many of Watson’s fellow players insulted fans for cheering his injury but have never called out their peers who harm women. These are vital words.
Above the Fold’s opening Headlines segment has Hill jumping from issue to issue, but it wasn’t mere fodder. Each one of her subjects and accompanying analysis had depth and gravitas.
After the Headlines segment, Hill Registered a great interview with hoops pioneer and current USC women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb. The pair talked about Trojan expectations and superstar JuJu Watkins. One of the great things about Hill, the interviewer, is that there is no time clock on quality. She lets her guest speak and finish a thought, and actually listens to the answers given.
Hill has no impulsive need to hear her own voice. Her questions are to the point and concise. She is a skilled conversationalist and leads her interview subjects down the road toward informative and provocative responses. Being straight up honest, I knew nothing about Lindsey Gottlieb before this relatively lengthy interview. I left the segment educated, informed, and impressed with her résumé and eloquence.
Later in the program, Hill was joined in a roundtable discussion by LA Times Lakers beat writer Dan Woike and Spectrum News 1 host/anchor Kelvin Washington. Let’s start with the fact that these are two guys I have not seen before on television. We call that refreshing – not the same old talking heads we see on show after show, network after network. New blood is good blood.
I will slightly lament the fact that Hill, Woike, and Washington spent far too much time discussing the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that warrants little attention outside of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and his son Bronny. Interestingly enough, neither Woike nor Washington felt that the Boston Celtics would be able to repeat as NBA Champions, mainly because of the number of talented teams in the league right now.
Hill then moved the discussion to the 2024 World Series saying that it is a dream matchup, especially for television executives. Woike and Washington were not flashy on the program, but you can see that they follow sports on a regular basis and have been on the beat, inside locker rooms, and interviewing players.
They are working media in the truest sense of the phrase. They may not get their own show anytime soon, but they certainly offered an informative back-and-forth with Hill.
I absolutely loved the next topic covered, the fact that FOX game analyst Tom Brady is forbidden to watch an opposing team’s practice, enter a team facility, or critique officials and players now that he is a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Hill asked Woike and Washington if Brady’s media career is now a big “nothing burger.” Her guests chimed in, but not nearly powerfully enough. The truth is that Brady should quit the FOX gig immediately. His objectivity and depth of analysis have now been compromised. I applaud Hill for bringing this topic up on Above the Fold.
In the final few minutes of the show, Hill read and showed graphics of viewer social media questions and offered her retorts. She closed the program with One Last Thing, talking about the rise in popularity of the WNBA. In a twist, Hill actually assigned a homework list for media and fans to truly enjoy and respect the league beyond just last year’s rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
I could easily say that Above the Fold with Jemele Hill is a mélange of some really good television shows. There is a dash of ESPN’s First Take with her unbridled commentary, a hint of HBO’s now defunct award-winning Real Sports with her in-depth, long form interviews, and even a sprinkle of NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers with her Headlines segment.
These comparisons, however, are somewhat of an injustice to the originality and individuality of Hill. Because of her talent and guts, Above the Fold stands alone. The program contains everything that is good about sports television while eschewing the hackneyed and trite aspects of the genre. I’m pleased that Hill has this new vehicle to drive. Her excellence as a reporter, commentator, and advocate merit the forum.
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
