When Mike North received the call that he was going to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Barrett Media recognizing his contributions to the sports talk radio format, it provided him with a chance to reflect on his storied and distinctive career. From his days as a military police officer to operating hot dog stands in the Chicagoland area, he realizes that his climb through the broadcast ranks to become the first Chicago radio personality to ink a seven-figure contract was atypical and somewhat improbable. Through a series of calculated risks and an unwavering avidity for sports and discussing topics therein, North has cultivated an indelible legacy forever embedded in the annals of The Windy City.
As North prepares to accept the honor live from the BSM Summit on Friday afternoon, he contends that the award will, in reality, be split with his wife BeBe, who he first met at a grocery store in the Chicago area. North acknowledges that BeBe helped him gain a sense of direction after working for the Chicago Park District, serving in the U.S. Army and trying his hand at college but ultimately falling short of completing a degree. On top of that, he is grateful for all of his industry contemporaries and colleagues through the years, and he is viewing the recognition as somewhat of a clean slate.
“My wife taught me, ‘Don’t ever keep score. See where you’re at, see what everybody else is doing, and be happy for everybody,’ so that’s what I talk about,” North said. “I’m a different guy now, technically, structurally, knowledge wise, I’m a better talk show host now than I was back in the 90s and 2000s.”
North explained that upon discovering the news, his uncle Leo reached out and informed him that he was born for this. Amid his years in weekday dayparts at 670 The Score, he had the opportunity to connect with Chicago sports fans and other listeners contributing to the proliferation of this format as more stations opened across the country.
“We’re going to win because enough people think we’re going to lose, and that’s unacceptable,” said North. “Everybody at that station, regardless of how they felt about each other from show to show, pulled together, and we were and we are the greatest sports group of talk show hosts ever put together.”
Understanding the Customer Leads to Success
Although North did not possess formal broadcast training, he had built significant street credibility in the service business as a restaurant owner. North moved into the venture after completing time in the military that began through being drafted during the Vietnam War and ultimately working as a military policeman at the Fort Riley Campus. Conversations he would have with his customers touched on the local teams, and he also had a chance to serve various radio personalities since he was located near the WXRT studios.
“I think that anybody that’s going into sports radio that doesn’t understand it’s all about the customer and it’s all about retail should have a week where they work at a hot dog stand, a tire shop, something in the service industry dealing with customers,” noted North.
In addition to the enterprise, North was purchasing time on brokered radio for $200 per week and offset the cost through soliciting advertising and sponsorships. North created a show on WSBC centered around handicapping as it pertains to the National Football League, prognosticating that gambling would be a forthcoming development in the media business. Furthermore, he got his show listed in the Chicago Sun-Times, a placement that facilitated the sales process as well. As he continued to garner success in this realm, he detected a potential to be hired for a sports position in media.
At the recommendation of some employees of WXRT, station owner Danny Lee visited his restaurant for lunch during a workday. By mere coincidence, North happened to discern that Lee was in the process of starting a jazz station, leaving him somewhat nonplussed that no one would consider moving into the sports talk radio format. He then recommended Lee to change course while selling him a hot dog and fries. When he was finished and left, North chased Lee in the pouring rain and implored him once more to consider his premise.
Over the weekend, Lee purchased newspapers and observed how there were more advertisements in the sports section rather than entertainment. When he arrived at his office the next day, he informed the staff that he was going to be starting a sports talk station instead. In response, his employees thought that he was crazy, a sentiment that Lee admitted may be correct, but he went through with the idea nonetheless.
“I had the vision, but he had the guts, and he put $700,000 into that station while we had the existing building and the salesforce already,” explained North. “He made some hires and he made these music guys set an all-time record by having not just a 12-hour station [but] sports and taking over the city.”
The ‘Monsters in the Middays’ Are Born
Program director Ron Gleason initially assigned North to weekends, something in which he did not have much interest since he was making a living with the hot dog stand. When Bruce Wolf decided not to take a midday show job at the last minute, the station gave North a trial run with former Chicago Bears offensive lineman Dan Jiggetts. From the onset, he could immediately discern that they had tangible chemistry and conveyed honesty to the listening audience with contrasting hosting styles that successfully meshed.
North and Jiggetts established the show as Monsters in the Middays, and it rendered itself as one of the most popular radio programs in the marketplace. The duo never scripted a show or met with producers about topics ahead of time. On the contrary, North was at bars writing things down on cocktail napkins for the next day and has not missed a radio program in over three decades. Combined with his passion and natural talent for the medium, he and his colleagues had respect for Gleason and postulated that he made the right hires.
“During the day, it was an all-day listen – guys weren’t even getting out of their car because it was something different. It was something unique, it wasn’t the same,” North said. “It was rebellious, but it was the truth and it was against ownership, which you didn’t hear from the mainstream media even back in ‘92.”
North was not working in a corporate setting during the first four years, and he found it simple to receive approval for different remote endeavors and other broadcasts. There was a challenge when Lee left the station, but he and North remained close friends and spoke a few weeks before his passing. North remembered being told that there were concerns about him “sinking the ship” at the station and that people with agents who worked at the station wanted more money because of his presence. When the show ended after eight years, North started working with Doug Buffone on The Wise Guys and vouched for himself to earn a seven-figure contract.
North flew down to Washington, D.C. to meet with radio executive Dan Mason and recognized that he had some leverage in this situation with CBS Radio being unable to have Howard Stern or Jonathon Brandmeier on its talent roster. With the company losing two institutions in Chicago and New York, he emphasized to Mason that he would work for the same amount of money for the next two years and then desired to make $1.5 million annually. After leaning back in his chair and thinking about it, Mason voiced that it was doable and North flew home.
“It took me four hours just like it only took me 20 minutes to make that sell job, and it was a good move by him,” North said. “It was a great move by him, and it kept the station pretty solid for a long time, and it’s still a great station.”
Saying Goodbye to The Score
North had a highly publicized exit from 670 The Score in 2008, and it became more exacerbated when David Hernandez, the partner with whom he founded Spectrum Entertainment Group, was determined to be laundering money for his fraudulent medical staffing firm. North was cleared of any wrongdoing but took a hit from the situation and proceeded to host national shows on FOX Sports Radio and co-founded the Barroom Network. Overcoming obstacles has been a common theme throughout his career, and despite difficulties, he does not take anything for granted.
“When I was doing it, I wasn’t happy completely,” North said. “I was a sad sack and at times soulless because it was all about ratings and being a success and proving people wrong and having a chip on my shoulder when people told me I didn’t deserve what I had.”
North acknowledges that he wants to work in sports talk radio for as long as he considers himself mentally sound and has been paired with Carmen DeFalco for The Odds Couple, a weekly program where they discuss betting tips and give their opinions on the latest in sports. The duo has been working together for the last six years, and North contends that he is absolutely the right person for the job and a star in the business.
“It took me nine months to negotiate the deal because I wasn’t going to do it for little but I wasn’t going to do it for a lot,” North said. “We finally got it done and I’ve been there for six years, and without that show, Carmen DeFalco tells me, ‘You would have gotten this award anyway.’ I said, ‘Well, it didn’t hurt to be [here]’ with what that station used to call me when I was at the other station – I think I was the antichrist – but I know all those guys, I love them all at ESPN 1000, and I always respected them, and I’ve been having the time of my life.”
The State of the Sports Radio Industry
When North looks at the current state of sports talk radio, he is certain he would not have lasted as long if social media existed. In fact, he ascertains that he arrived at the right time with his colleagues and that they were able to create a strong and compelling end product. While he does not have any affiliation with 670 The Score outside of helping to start the station, he looks from afar and is proud to have been part of constructing and circulating the format locally and beyond.
“I feel good about it,” North said, “and sports radio needs a spokesman because when you have other media outlets questioning sports radio and you see those media outlets suffering more than sports radio, you just have to strike and say, ‘Who are you guys to question us?,’ because it’s one of the great mediums.”
North will be accepting the prestigious honor from the Museum of Contemporary Art amid an audience featuring experienced industry professionals from radio, television and digital outlets. Receiving messages of congratulations and affirmations that he deserves the honor has made him feel better about the situation, but he knows there are some people who are upset with the choice. In the end though, he seeks to convey his earnest appreciation and sincere gratitude while remaining bullish on the medium.
“Not everybody’s ever happy with the MVP voting – you know that as well as I do,” North said. “There’s always the naysayers, but you can’t worry about that. Making it to the pinnacle, I’m the first educated guy in radio where Dan McNeil said I picked it up in one year because I listened to radio from the time I was a child in Chicago. I learned how to speed read, and I was educated by radio and TV, not by school. I watched everything, and I listened to as much as I could, and I learned by that, and listening to my elders, which a lot of people don’t do anymore.”
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 a former associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. Find him on X @derekfutterman.
