The past year has been an eventful one for 104.3 The Score morning host David Haugh. In June 2025, Haugh was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame for his record-setting performance at North Judson High School. Then, in November, Haugh and Score co-host Mike Mulligan earned Morning Show of the Year honors from the Illinois Association of Broadcasters.
This October, Haugh will be recognized again. The Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame will welcome the former beat reporter and columnist this fall. An honor that came unexpectedly after more than two decades away from his home state.
“Being from Indiana is something I haven’t shied away from. It’s something I’ve been proud of. I’m a small-town kid in the big city,” says Haugh about receiving the call informing him of his upcoming induction. “It was very surprising, because I feel like I’m still in the midst of my career. Having this recognition is appreciated. But it did catch me off guard.”
Before entering radio and television, Haugh began his journalism career by spending several summers at the South Bend Tribune as its first-ever collegiate sports department intern. After earning his master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, he joined the Chicago Tribune full time. There, he quickly honed his writing and reporting skills across a variety of sports while developing the distinctive voice that would define his work as a columnist.
The Pivot To Broadcasting
For 17 years, Haugh became one of Chicago’s most respected sports voices at the Tribune. Offering insight on everything from Notre Dame football to Ozzie Guillen and beyond. Yet a move from newspapers to sports radio was never part of his career plan.
“It [radio] was always something I considered a fun addition to the role of a columnist and widen the reach,” says Haugh. “I never really looked at radio as a means to an end in terms of a full time job. The longer I was here in Chicago, I wondered if it could but never really pursued it.”
While many would consider a columnist position in the nation’s third-largest media market enough, Haugh saw value in broadening his reach. He rarely declined invitations to appear on radio or television and studied both mediums from a distance. As sports fans increasingly consumed content across multiple platforms, he recognized that the industry’s future would require journalists to do the same.
That Midwest work ethic eventually led to a full-time role in 2018 alongside longtime 104.3 The Score morning host Mike Mulligan. A former beat reporter himself, Mulligan teamed with Haugh to continue building one of Chicago’s most successful sports radio brands.
“I’ve always considered myself a writer who sits behind a microphone. I’m always going to be that guy,” explains Haugh. “You want to crystalize the story as fast as possible. Cut through the fat. Don’t waste time when you’re on the air, just like you don’t waste space when you’re writing… The reporting background frames everything we do.”
For the past eight years, Mully & Haugh has remained one of Chicago’s premier destinations for sports conversation during morning drive. Being the first voice many Chicago sports fans hear each day is a responsibility Haugh doesn’t take lightly. He says the show’s focus has always been on serving the audience by discussing the topics that matter while ensuring everyone on the team contributes.
While Haugh never envisioned radio as his full-time destination, he has grown comfortable in the role. He admitted he didn’t pursue the move and initially doubted it was the right career decision.
“With me, I came here and wasn’t quite sure if it was the right move at the time. I loved newspapers, but I was trying to read the industry,” says Haugh. “I was given an opportunity I didn’t seek. What I had to do was approach the challenge like I approached every other one. That’s just by being myself.”
A Journalistic Approach Works
The dynamic Mully & Haugh share has become increasingly rare in sports radio. Both hosts built their careers covering beats, cultivating sources, and reporting the news. Many stations around the country no longer feature that type of pairing. Instead relying on influence, engagement, or larger-than-life personalities to attract audiences.
Haugh contends their success proves there is still room for credibility over performance.
“When you are trained in journalism like Mully [Mike Mulligan] and I are, you’re trained that you’re not the story,” said Haugh. “Radio shows are great up until the point where the hosts think the shows are about them. I believe that. I know sports talk radio is all about personality. You can be that. But I also think you can get too much of that.”
Haugh agrees entertainment value remains important in sports talk radio. He added that he has occasionally received feedback to loosen up on the air.
As a student of the industry, Haugh has watched the profession evolve. Traditional opportunities have become more limited while digital media has expanded and earned greater credibility in the eyes of consumers.
Journalism remains at the heart of everything Haugh does through his roles with 104.3 The Score and Chicago Sports Network. Yet with today’s media landscape allowing virtually anyone to publish content, he wonders whether the industry’s growing number of voices has translated into better journalism.
“I’m not sure that the quantity [of platforms for journalists] is reflected by the quality. The quality could improve in terms of the responsibility to the news story. There are ways you could look at an industry that is ailing in terms of credibility at times, but healthy in the ways of opportunity,” explained Haugh.
Regulations are something Haugh hopes will continue to evolve alongside the profession as it prepares the next generation of journalists. He believes today’s standards need clearer definition. He also acknowledges that his instincts toward certain topics, angles, and questions likely differ from those of today’s journalism school graduates.
Hall of Fame Worthy
Still, he believes the profession demands the same commitment to hard work and professionalism that shaped his own career. Those principles have guided Haugh for more than three decades. In his view, they should remain the standard regardless of how dramatically the media business continues to change.
Whether writing columns for the Chicago Tribune, hosting mornings on 104.3 The Score, or appearing on Chicago Sports Network, his approach has remained remarkably consistent. Report thoroughly, respect the audience, and never become bigger than the story itself.
That philosophy may not always generate the loudest headlines or the biggest social media moments, but it has earned something far more valuable: the trust of listeners, readers, colleagues, and peers.
In an era when the lines between journalism, opinion, and entertainment continue to blur, Haugh has never felt the need to chase trends. Instead, he has built a career by staying true to the fundamentals that first drew him into the profession as a small-town kid from Indiana.
When David Haugh enters the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame this October, the honor will celebrate far more than a successful career. It will celebrate a journalist who successfully adapted to an evolving media landscape. While not compromising the values that made him successful in the first place.
For someone who still considers himself “a writer who sits behind a microphone,” there may be no more fitting recognition than that.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.