When KNBR engaged in a round of layoffs at the station last year, veteran host Tom Tolbert did not surmise that he was going to be part of the cuts. Having been on the airwaves for 28 years, he enjoyed his time pairing with a variety of hosts and producers discussing sports topics in the San Francisco-Bay Area and helping the forum maintain its status as a trusted, credible outlet. Tolbert had previously weathered changes in ownership from Susquehanna Radio Corporation to Cumulus Media and was a venerated personality in the weekday prime programming lineup, but his run came to an end last November and prompted him to consider his broadcasting future.
Tolbert was one of several staff members who had been let go by KNBR in the last 16 months, others of which include John Lund, F.P. Santangelo, Lee Hammer and Paul McCaffrey. Leading up to this point, the station had sustained several alterations in the program director position while continuing to try and serve as a local option for sports fans. On top of that, the station has continued to broadcast San Francisco Giants baseball and San Francisco 49ers football as both teams aim to compete for championships, and Tolbert estimates that he would have continued being a part of the entity had it not been for the layoffs.
“I think if you made any appreciable amount of money there, they were looking to trim you. There wasn’t really a talent factor to it,” Tolbert said. “It was just simply, ‘How much do you make?.’ That’s what happens when you get to a corporate situation where the headquarters are in Atlanta and they’re not really out here kind of living this. That’s just the realities of it.”
Rather than abruptly exiting KNBR, management granted Tolbert a farewell show where he had a chance to formally bid farewell to the audience. The show had some elements of reminiscing, but it largely followed the regular afternoon drive cadence and served the listening audience. Tolbert was grateful for his time at KNBR and presumed that those at the outlet knew he would be professional and abstain from sharing any incendiary remarks. By the time it was over, he had a renewed license to explore and approached the media domain with newfound freedom and no intent on returning to terrestrial radio.
“I didn’t want to go back to other people telling me, ‘Hey, this is what we need to hit,’” Tolbert said. “We did the Giants, we did the 49ers, we did the Warriors – we didn’t talk about this subject, we didn’t talk about that subject. I think I have a pretty good feel for what people want to talk about and what they want to hear. Sometimes it’s local sports, sometimes it’s not – sometimes it’s bigger-picture stuff, and I just didn’t have any interest in it going back to that.”
New Beginnings With The Bay Area Sports Collective
Tolbert ultimately decided to join Lund and McCaffrey to launch the Bay Area Sports Collective, a new podcast network with individual shows disseminated on audio platforms and streaming live on YouTube and Twitch. This new venture provides Tolbert and his former KNBR colleagues a new platform to divulge their perspectives and opinions to consumers while also remaining part of the conversation. Despite not having any idea of its potential future evolution, he felt comfortable joining the entity and assisting in its launch.
“I just thought, ‘You know what? I know those guys, and I know they want to continue working and we each have different styles,’ so I think that makes it attractive,” Tolbert said. “We’ll all talk sports. Some may be focused a little bit more on local, some may be focused a little bit more on the comedy aspect of it or funny stories you want to get into, but I know those guys personally, and Jeremiah Crowe’s also involved in it, my former program director at KNBR.”
While Tolbert is staying focused on his individual podcast, Crowe is executing a vision surrounding the platform and making the enterprise worthwhile for everyone involved. Possessing experience in the content space, Tolbert regards Crowe as an intelligent professional who brings proficiency and prudence to the job. In addition, Tolbert wanted to work with him because he simply likes and trusts him.
“Everyone that’s involved in this, I’d sit down to have a beer with – take them out to beers, sit down and watch a game with – and those are the type of people I want to be surrounded with,” Tolbert said. “If you’re an a**hole even though maybe you could help me make a few more bucks or help grow this thing quicker – maybe 20 years ago, cool – but again, [I am] turning 60, so I just want to be around people that I like.”
In hosting his podcast, Tolbert adopts a similar approach gleaned through his years on radio by watching sports and reading stories. With a keen perception of the local sports landscape, he tries to identify topics towards which he garners interest and has formidable viewpoints. Tolbert is collaborating with producers Daniel Ogden and Max Schmeling on the show who work on audio and video content production as the team works to figure out ideas for new bits and episodes. Nonetheless, he is not concerned about having any specific strategy surrounding the presence on social media or overall consumption, nor does he want concern himself with these operations.
“It’s not about, ‘How do I get to a million subscribers?,’ which is ridiculous anyway. I’m not looking at it [with] certain numbers,” Tolbert said. “[I am] not looking at, ‘Let’s get to this benchmark and that benchmark and this benchmark.’ Ultimately, if you want to make a little money, you have to, but I think the product comes first.”
Challenges of Working Solo Versus With a Partner
Tolbert feels that Bay Area Sports Collective sets itself apart with distinctive personalities and consumer accessibility, but he acknowledges that the content is similar to that on terrestrial radio. At the same time, his show secures a variety of guests from the local scene, recently filming an episode with Giants broadcaster Dave Flemming in his backyard. Tolbert is working on leveraging his sports proficiency and market familiarity to craft a program that aligns with his inclinations while possessing the freedom to record whenever and however often he desires without a set co-host.
“I can talk about a subject as long as I want to, I can go on a digression as long as I want to, so that’s the best part of it,” Tolbert said. “I do enjoy having a partner though because I do enjoy bouncing stuff off of them, and I think from a conversational standpoint, there is something about having a partner that makes it for an enjoyable listen. But as for right now, yeah, I just wanted to do something different.”
While Tolbert does not rule out the possibility of having a partner in the future, he is currently approaching the show as a solo host. When Tolbert first joined KNBR in 1996, he was paired with Ralph Barbieri and yearned to assimilate into the program and build tangible chemistry. Tolbert remembers that Barbieri was not an ardent proponent of working with someone, but he believes that the upside to the situation became more apparent over time.
“I think he realized, as I did, that I just want to have fun like him. I have a unique perspective on sports as he does, and we were kind of different, although we always joked we kind of met at the same spot,” Tolbert said. “We took different avenues to get there, but we met at a similar location, so he’s a pro.”
Once Barbieri left the station in 2012, Tolbert started working with Ray Ratto and formed strong synergy and rapport, evincing his shrewd analysis and cognitive skills. Akin to Barbieri as a host, Ratto was also able to comprehensively discuss myriad subjects and was a recent guest on Tolbert’s podcast.
Upon the programming lineup being switched again after some time, Tolbert ostensibly entered a state of flux that resulted in him hosting with Larry Kreuger and Rod Brooks before finishing his tenure with Adam Copeland. As Copeland continued to host afternoon drive, he was named program director and ended up resigning the managerial position six months later.
“I think it was unfair of Cumulus to even ask him to be the program director,” Tolbert said. “He’s just getting his feet wet hosting a show, and it’s in a major market in prime time drive, and now you’re going to ask him to be the program director too? It’s hard for him to turn it down because it’s some extra cash, and he can do it. It’s just doing both of them, I thought, was unfair of them. Ultimately, he didn’t end up continuing on with it, and I think that’s probably for the best for both.”
Tolbert’s KNBR Legacy Moving Into the Digital Age
When Tolbert thinks about his legacy at KNBR, he considers himself to be the guy that came after Gary Radnich and Ralph Barbieri, the two figures with whom he attributes the initial construction and proliferation of the radio station. As the station moves forward, he has no idea what it will become but is rooting for its new hosts. Moreover, he is appreciative of fans communicating their appreciation for him as they move through the dynamic content ether.
“It was cool, it was touching, but I know how life works and how the world spins, and things just keep on moving. I don’t need people to feel sorry for me,” Tolbert said. “I’m on to my thing now, and Cumulus and KNBR are doing their thing, and I wish everybody the best of luck.”
Tolbert remains motivated to continue working in the business through his penchant and avidity for a variety of sports. Despite observing diminished remuneration in the podcasting space, he does not want to suffer from extreme boredom and looks to implement the viewers into shows. In fact, his program usually concludes with questions submitted by fans, functioning in a similar role to callers in sports talk radio.
“I wanted to do it with guys I like to be around, talking about things we’re interested in in our own, unique viewpoint,” Tolbert said. “Whatever comes from it comes from it, but it’s going to come from a place of having a good time and doing what we love to do and doing what I’ve always done.”
Understanding the Evolution of the Media Consumer
Having previously worked for media conglomerates in the radio business, Tolbert is genuinely apathetic towards what message this venture emits. With the widespread cost cutting in the industry that has resulted in some employees across companies losing their jobs in recent years, he realizes that consumption paradigms in the modern media ecosystem have evidently shifted. Yet Tolbert affirms that he could recommend to companies to retain their most talented people, but he knows that such an intangible can correlate with higher salaries.
“Look, sometimes the dinosaurs die,” Tolbert said. “That’s just the way it is. It’s evolution, everything evolves. Sometimes it’s the way it’s going to be. You can get in the way of it all you want, but it’s probably the way it’s going to go. I’m not really sure that any words of wisdom or anything they can do can change the tides on this one.”
As Tolbert moves forward with the Bay Area Sports Collective, he aspires to continue enjoying his work and providing his perspectives on local sports. The premise of his show centers around the teams and leagues in the area, but there are times when he also explores more comedic and lighthearted conversation as well. In the end, he values the ability to work with his business contemporaries and create an offering that could resonate with sports fans while staying true to himself.
“I have no goals with what it will become, what it could become,” Tolbert said. “I just think you put out good content and have a good time doing it and be strategic about it, and ultimately, people are going to find you, and hopefully they’ll enjoy it too.”
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.
Derek Futterman is an associate 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, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
