Last year, Apple Podcasts introduced changes to how it counted audience levels for shows hosted on the platform. Some podcasters aren’t thrilled with the changes.
According to a report from Semafor’s Max Tani, This American Life host Ira Glass claims his podcast has experienced a drop of 20% due to the changes.
“I’m in favor of accuracy,” Glass said. “I’m not in favor of losing money.”
At On Air Fest, Ira Glass says This American Life’s audience shrunk 20% because of this change. He said it hurt to go from saying the show had 4.5 million listeners a week to 3.5 million. “I’m in favor of accuracy,” he said of the change. “I’m not in favor of losing money.” https://t.co/jLb6KyfVEP
In September of last year, Apple began ending automatic downloads for users who had not listened to more than five episodes of a given show in a two-week span. The company gave no warning to podcasters of the change, which angered many in the industry.
This American Life — produced in collaboration with WBEZ, the NPR affiliate in Chicago — previously featured 4.5 million listeners per week, Glass claimed. He shared that the podcast now sees an audience of 3.5 million due to the changes. According to the latest rankings from Podtrac, the show ranks as the 13th most-listened to podcast in the nation.
Michelle Troconis, a former host and producer for ESPN South America was convicted of helping her late boyfriend Fotis Dulos kill his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos in 2019, nearly five years after the Connecticut mother of five went missing. She was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering the prosecution.
According to the New York Times, Troconis, 49, faces a maximum of 50 years in prison. The jury found Troconis conspired with Fotis Dulos to murder his estranged wife, lied to provide an alibi for him and helped him dispose of the bloody evidence.
A statement released by the family of Jennifer Dulos said, “There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother. This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis and presentation to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes. That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this case – most important, that Jennifer Farber Dulos still has not been found. We have lost a mother, daughter, sister, cousin and cherished friend. Jennifer’s loved ones cannot bury her next to her father.”
Troconis, who once had her own TV production company in Argentina, also hosted a snow-sports show for ESPN South America.
I’ve been thinking about this column all week because it’s a topic I’m passionate about and curious to hear the responses to. For starters, let me pose a few questions to you. Does quality journalism still matter? Is it worth paying for? Do advertisers see enough return on their investments with print outlets through associations with influential writers, publications and branded content? Are consumers hungry to read the full details of a story or are they satisfied with the cliff notes version and absorbing messages that fit inside of 140-280 characters?
The world we’re in is saturated with content. Attention spans are rapidly shrinking. Social media is both to blame and bless for that. The positive is that we’re exposed to more content than ever before. This means more opportunity to reach people and grow businesses. The challenge of course is standing out.
People listen, read and watch less of one thing now, opting for variety during the time they have available. The issue with that is that it often leads to being less informed. I know many like to declare print being dead. I’m sorry I’m not one of them. Adults still enjoy reading. I see nearly three million people do it on this website alone and we’re small potatoes compared to mainstream brands. Clearly people like to learn.
I raise this topic because last week, Peter King announced his retirement although he left open the door for side projects. After forty plus years of writing the gold standard of NFL columns, King revealed he wanted to slow down and invest his time in other areas of life. Among his considerations for the future after taking a breather are teaching.
In a podcast interview with Richard Deitsch, King said “We may love this column but I doubt that it made enough money for NBC to pay what they were paying me. I don’t think words are very profitable anymore. It’s a sad thing but it’s what’s happened to our business.”
Later in the conversation, King discussed the difficulty he might face if speaking to students about whether or not to pursue working in the media industry. He acknowledged that the business is bad right now. However, he pointed out that if you can write and read, and be an intelligent thinking contributing member of society, there are a lot of jobs you can do beyond being a writer for a paper covering the NFL. You can teach English, work in PR or for a team or league website. But journalism is different now, and though it’s not impossible to do, having flexibility is important.
I agreed with most of King’s remarks and thought about the two different ways people might respond to them.
If you’re in agreement with Peter, you’ll point to the reduction in industry jobs, the changes in salaries, the lack of trust in media outlets, the economic uncertainty facing traditional operators, the shrinking ability to uncover truth, and the data that frequently supports video being hot, and print not so much.
Those who disagree will list the New York Times and The Athletic as examples of print brands that still matter. They’ll also mention the surge in newsletters, the arrival of new online outlets, and the daily communication between millions of people each day on social media, much of it revolving around conversations created or supported by text.
Where I sit is somewhere in between.
First, the notion that it’s harder now than before is one I’ll challenge. When I entered the business, I had to mail letters, send cassette tapes, and wait months for a response. There was no internet or opportunity to create a podcast, Substack, website or video to build an audience. I had to be selected by someone to have a chance to work. There were thousands like me who wanted a way in and were at the mercy of decision makers preferring my resume over someone else’s. I did exactly what King said on the podcast when he mentioned having to do other jobs to support yourself while pursing a dream.
Where I agree with King is when he mentioned words not being as profitable anymore. Are print reporters and columnists going to make what they once did? Probably not. There will always be exceptions just as there are in television and radio, but if you think you’re going to do one specific job and making a financial killing on it, prepare to be disappointed. Today, you better be able to wear different hats and create a lot of content in multiple places. Earning a lot for doing a little is a way of the past.
The one area where I’ll differ is when it comes to advertising. I believe there’s untapped value for brands in print. Recall with the written word remains strong. There’s also less advertising clutter in written stories than audio and video programming blocks. Advertisers may not seek out traditional print advertising anymore but branded content, newsletter associations, and social media placements remain valued.
What I admire greatly about King is that he evolved over the years. His written work on SI was must-read but that didn’t stop him from leaping into the online space and launching MMQB. The arrival of that microsite was done at the right point in time, and when SI began to change, King didn’t hang on, choosing to make the bold move and jump to NBC. Upon his arrival, he started contributing on television, podcasts, and expanding his profile on social media.
What you should take away from Peter is that you’ve got to constantly examine the business, and understand when it’s time to pivot, even if it means leaving your comfort zone. You also have to recognize that things are going to change and your job description will likely be one of them. If you stay married to what you once did, you’ll be in a tough spot. If you roll with the punches and embrace what’s new, you’ll survive and thrive.
You also have to understand that you’re going to be tied further to what you produce. Does your presence and performance grow advertising revenue? Are you speaking on behalf of brands and helping them move product? Do you grow subscriptions or readership to levels that make it easy for a company to invest significantly in you? Talent is subjective. Results aren’t. Those who create quality while boosting the bottom line will remain in demand.
Remember this in a few years when artificial intelligence becomes a bigger part of content creation and discovery. Those who adapt to it and work with it will be just fine. Those who reject it will be searching for new career paths. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. There’s better stability in other industries. But there’s nothing like creating content around the world of sports and media. It just requires adaptability and being comfortable with being uncomfortable.
BSM Summit Update:
In ten days we unite the sports media business in New York City for the 2024 BSM Summit. All of the sessions are now complete. I’m excited to add Natalie Marsh, General Manager of Lotus Communications in Las Vegas, Cody Welling, Station Manager of 97.1 The Fan in Columbus, and Stephanie Prince, Vice President and Market Manager of Good Karma Brands West Palm Beach to our schedule. The full agenda for both days is posted on BSMSummit.com.
In addition, I’m thrilled to share that we’ll have a few special appearances at the ESPN Radio After Party on Wednesday March 13th. Joining us on-site will be Evan Cohen, Chris Canty and Michelle Smallmon of UnSportsmanLike, Freddie Coleman and Harry Douglas of Freddie & Harry, and Chris Carlin from Carlin vs. Joe.
Thumbs Up:
Chris Mortensen: Rarely does the sports media industry collectively agree on anything but you won’t find much disagreement on Chris Mortensen. He was a special talent and human being. I was fortunate to see it firsthand as a producer at ESPN Radio. I then enjoyed many interactions with Mort as a program director lining up calls on the radio stations I ran. It didn’t matter what job you did or where you worked, Chris treated you well. His work was hall of fame worthy but it was the manner in which he interacted with people that truly made him a legend. Rest in peace, Mort. I’m sure the next wave of conversations with John Clayton are going to be amazing.
Mike Felger: It would’ve been easy to pile on and publicly root for a competitor to fail and fold. Instead, Felger took the high road, acknowledging that he’s rooting for WEEI to come out of bankruptcy in good shape. That’s what smart business people. Mike is comfortable in his own skin. He has the highest rated show in Boston and having a competitor to compete against as well as a potential landing spot when contracts come up is never a bad thing. Besides, why would anyone want to see friends and respected professionals lose an opportunity to work or listeners given less choice for sports talk entertainment? Nice job, Mike.
iHeartmedia: The company’s fourth quarter results were down year-to-year but they were above prior projections. iHeart also gained 16.6% growth in podcasting revenues during Q4, and just got stronger by luring Stephen A. Smith’s podcast away from Audacy. A pretty good week for Bob Pittman and his lieutenants.
Sportico: Jason Clinkscales is an easy guy to root for. He’s written quality content for Awful Announcing, is a sharp guy who enjoys the industry, and after a year full of personal tragedies, he deserved a break. That came last week when Sportico hired him as a reporter and editor on their breaking news team. Well done Sportico. Looking forward to reading the first piece.
National Association of Broadcasters: Creating buzz for conferences isn’t easy but the NAB’s recent announcement of having Daniel Anstandig of Futuri Media present a first-of-its-kind presentation at its April show alongside Ameca, an autonomously AI-powered humanoid robot has certainly increased conversation and intrigue. I’ll be in attendance for the event and am curious like many. I’m just hoping Joe Rogan isn’t right when he suggested this week that robots will jump out of an aircraft carrier with machine guns and do damage.
Thumbs Down:
Kroenke Sports and Entertainment: This isn’t a shot at the company. It’s more about losing a talented media executive. Matt Hutchings, the company’s former COO and EVP was a key part of developing Altitude Sports. Under his watch, the Nuggets and Avalanche won titles, and the company cemented its position in the local sports radio space.
The dispute with Comcast over airing Nuggets and Avs games is well documented, and Hutchings will get some of the blame for the teams not being broadcast on local TV but I tend to believe decisions of that magnitude land at ownership’s doorstep. Regardless, KSE is weaker today than yesterday due to losing Hutchings.
New York Jets: I get it. 98.7 ESPN New York moving away from the FM dial provides a concern for the franchise, and in other cities, football does perform well on classic rock stations. I just see the fit with Q104.3 as an odd one. If Aaron Rodgers returns and the Jets finally take off the way their fans hoped they would last year, it’s going to feel strange hearing their games locally on a channel that has little content time dedicated to the team beyond game days.
KRDO in Colorado Springs has named afternoon news anchor Dan Cochell as its new Program Director.
Cochell has been hosting afternoons on the news/talk station since 2021. He previously worked on the station’s morning show from 2005-2012. Additionally, Dan Cochell served as the Vice President and Operations Manager of Real Radio 1580 in the Colorado Springs market in the early 2010s.
In a post to social media, Cochell announced his new role, and his excitement for the new challenge.
“Looking forward to my new role as Program Director with KRDO News Radio,” Cochell wrote. “Listen for my voice work on KRDO 13 TV as well.”
He rejoined the Colorado Springs news/talk station in 2021 to host afternoons after spending just over two years as a news anchor at 850 KOA in Denver.
I have a confession to make to start out this week’s column. When I first saw the previews for ‘The Dynasty’ on Apple TV+ about the New England Patriots, I threw up a little in my mouth. No way was I going to dedicate any of my precious time to watching a series about Belichick’s cheaters.
I was born and raised in St. Louis. You might be familiar – middle of the country, have that arch thing and yep, two-time losers of NFL franchises. So, if you think YOU hate the Patriots, imagine being me.
In February of 2002, I was doing on-air work with KFNS in St. Louis, co-hosting morning drive and doing football shows on the weekends. I had also been doing play-by-play for a local basketball team and traveled with them, so when it came time to decide who would get to travel to the Super Bowl and who had to stay back, I drew the short straw and stayed.
Financially, this was actually a great deal for me. Pretty much all the other hosts got to go to New Orleans and our sales team had sold a ton of remotes for the days leading up to the game. I recall doing a remote that Saturday morning from a closed business, being rented by someone just to sell merchandise. You know the typical remote setup of a table and two folding chairs? This had no second chair and no table. I believe we were getting power from the business next door.
Then came game day. The Rams were favored by 14 points. I did the pregame show from a packed bar and had several of our other hosts on live from New Orleans. The atmosphere was incredible. If you knew St. Louis pro football history up until this point, you would understand why everyone was in complete disbelief that in a few hours, the Rams – a team from St. Louis – was going to win its second Super Bowl in three years.
Then, the game happened. Instead of the Rams being labeled as a “dynasty,” it was the Patriots and Tom Brady who were being celebrated.
And I still had to do a postgame show. Live from an emptying bar with no atmosphere in it whatsoever. My cohorts scheduled to join me down in Louisiana were of little help. One of them had lost his voice during the game and the other was too despondent to say much.
Then spygate, deflategate, a couple of dynasties, and as I said, I hate the New England Patriots with a passion.
However, when ‘The Dynasty’ came out and I saw the comments being made about it on X and heard several sports radio stations mentioning it, and realized how much I love good storytelling, especially when it has to do with sports and hearing the behind-the-scenes stuff that was going on. So, I decided I would watch it, but I would “hate watch” it. You know, fully prepared to dump all over it and not enjoy it, but see it so I know what others are talking about.
I wrote not that long ago about the NASCAR show on Netflix. It truly inspired me to at least have an interest in what is happening in racing as I am now aware of more of the drivers, and their stories, than ever before.
Similarly, with ‘The Dynasty’ you get a better feel for what was going on with the Patriots from the beginning. Bill Belichick was who he was and pretty much didn’t change. That guy you saw at the press conferences who avoided as many questions as he answered, that’s just him. He is a football coach, he cares about football. His focus is on winning the next game and he doesn’t really care what your agenda is.
He might put on a suit for your cameras, but he isn’t talking about topics he doesn’t want to discuss. He isn’t going to “play the game” and say things just to give out a sound bite. If he is willing to talk on a subject, he gives you his honest answers in short sentences. He saw coaching his team as his job and didn’t really feel the need to talk any more than he had to about most things. I believe when analyzing games becomes Belichick’s job, he will be really good at hard-core, nuts and bolts football talk.
On the other hand, I am wathcing Tom Brady and realizing he could really be special as a football analyst. He reminds me more of Kurt Warner than I thought, in that he is so good at talking about and explaining football. He isn’t doing it from a place of ‘Hey, look at me, I won all of these rings, I am the expert on this stuff.’ He is talking to the audience and saying what he feels in a very natural way. But, there is a lot of passion behind what he is saying and that is a good thing. You can tell he absolutely loves the game.
The more I watch Brady I also think about how much he must really want to do analyst work and be great at it. Why else would he do it? He can do anything he wants to do, go anywhere he wants to go, be with pretty much anyone he wants to be with. And, you automatically know that somewhere between 40-50% of the people are going to be nasty to you just for doing it.
In the end, the real reason I am writing this column is to encourage content creators to keep doing these sorts of shows. Keep them coming. The NASCAR one was great. I am getting in to the F1 racing show, which started several years ago. The shows about the Lakers, especially the HBO show, Winning Time, were fantastic. Apple’s Lionel Messi one was another that was really well done. ‘Full Swing’ and ‘Quarterback’ from Netflix were excellent. Netflix announced recently there will be one on the downfall of the Montreal Expos that I can’t wait for. Inject these in my veins. Give me all of them!
I love this era we are in when it comes to content. So much so, I will even watch when it’s about a team that I absolutely hate.
I love podcasts. I love the industry because it is all based around listener choice. What is it you want to dive into? There’s a podcast for that.
Sports media is of course of great interest to me and the national guys who do sports media podcasts really do an excellent job. I will miss the Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, which Sports Business Journal and the New York Post had been doing. I look forward to seeing what, if anything, might happen in the podcast space now that Andrew Marchand has moved to The Athletic and John Ourand is with Puck. The SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast is also a great listen each week and this week Gregg Giannotti of WFAN was his guest. Really a good listen.
Austin Karp from Sports Business Journal is who has taken over the Sports Business Journal and New York Post podcast, which is now known as The Sports Media Podcast. He was the guest on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast recently, which is another I never miss.
Having the two of them on one show allowed them to cover a lot of ground. Of note, I thought the part of the conversation where both said they believe the NFL will soon add at least one more streaming-exclusive playoff game was quite interesting.
Last Wednesday, BSM’s Derek Futterman profiled 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh’s Colin Dunlap who is set to receive the Champions Award at the upcoming BSM Summit in New York. Derek shared the story that earned Dunlap the award, which involed him assisting a caller who had called in on the topic of West Virginia head basketball coach Bob Huggins and his struggles with alcohol. The caller shared his story and ultimately said that if he didn’t get some with his own alcohol problems, his wife was going to leave him. Dunlap offered to help him find a treatment plan and went out of his way to assist the listener.
When you read the article, you learn more about Colin Dunlap and find out this wasn’t an isolated incident, it is more of just who he is. Read more about a host going out of his way to use his platform in the best way possible by clicking here.
Available on over 300 stations Hundreds of Thousands wake up and tune into to Gordon Deal and his co-hosts for their daily dose of news. Even when the microphones are off, something in the world is happening.
“Next is always now. The news never goes off, you know?” Gordon Deal told Barrett News Media over a Zoom call. He continued to say, “There’s always some alert coming across in your phone. How am I going to process this? Is this something I’ll be talking about tomorrow morning? To what level does it rise? How is the radio show going to be prepared to handle this particular piece of news tomorrow?”
Deal added, “The news button never goes off. It’s not like it’s not like when the final buzzer sounds, you know, in a basketball game or the final goal goes in or something like that. It just never ends.”
However, Deal’s path to news wasn’t direct but instead developed from his sports passion. “ I was a student at Rutgers and I thought I was, going to have a career as a professional soccer player. When that didn’t work out, I thought, ‘I need to do something better with my time.’ I saw an ad in the Rutgers student newspaper about, looking for help at the radio station, which, the school has and operates.
“So I thought, ‘Wow. Doing sports play-by-play would be a good way to kind of keep my hand in sports.’ So that was how it all began. Just saw an opportunity and jumped on it in college.”
Shortly after graduating, Gordon Deal transitioned his talents from sports to news.
“The transition was hard at first because I needed to know a lot of things that I did not know. I could tell you who the assistant football coach was at Utah State University back then. But I didn’t know who the governor of New Jersey was, even though I lived in the state.”
Deal added he also needed to learn how to write. “When I was doing play-by-play, I really didn’t do a lot of writing unless I was making notes about a particular player or coach or team or scribbling down statistics.
“So I really learned how to write local news, breaking news, and how to deliver it differently. So there was a lot to learn, especially the writing part. But I had a really good mentor in my first job out of school, so it was really helpful.”
That mentor, Bruce Johnson, took Gordon Deal under his wing. “He agreed to take me on as a young news guy with the carrot. He dangled the carrot that I would be able to do play-by-play, since I loved sports at the time. But he said ‘You’ll be on the bottom rung. But through attrition and experience, you’ll get your shot.’”
This experience allowed Deal to learn news. He recalled, “[Johnson] was such a good teacher. He knew how to write and teach you how to write. It’s one thing to know how to write yourself, but to teach somebody else is a real skill. So he had a lot of patience with somebody like me, who didn’t have a ton of news experience. He really rolled the dice and took that chance on me.”
Deal later added this chance “Set all the wheels in motion for my whole career. Being able to have that [writing] skill allow me to do more than sports.”
Today on his show This Morning with Gordon Deal, the longtime radio host delivers hard news but does have some higher moments with his Executive Producer, Mike Gavin in their segment ‘The Mic Drop.’ Deal told us, “[Gavin and I] come in with a couple of stories, that seem to be funny or silly or worthy of talking about and it’s the only time we really share opinion.”
He added, “This is not an opinion-driven show. The news is just the news to us. So it’s a little chance to be a little lighter, since obviously, we do a lot of death and destruction and bad news and serious politics. So any chance to kind of make it a little bit lighter with that segment and then a little human interest story at the tail end of the show. We feel it’s just kind of captures life.”
While most of his show deals in politics, Deal believes most Americans are not focused on politics and don’t live in an echo chamber. “I think the folks that are in the echo chamber tend to make a lot of the news sometimes, but I don’t think most Americans fit in one. I think most Americans don’t bleed politics.”
Of his show, Deal noted, “We take our politics very seriously, and we do a good portion of it on the program. But I don’t go home and think, ‘I can’t wait to discuss politics again tomorrow.’ I have other fish to fry in my life.”
For young people looking to get their start, Deal said, “As somebody said to me one time, ‘There’s no substitute for being on the air.’ So if you want to do news radio, get on the air. It doesn’t matter how small the radio station is, how big the radio station is, or how small or large the network is. Do it. And these days, unlike when I started out, you can podcast and practice on your own.”
Deal went on to say, “You can link it to social media…There seems to be so many ways to gain at least some level of experience these days. It’s really up to you.”
If you read the trades, you probably saw the recent announcement that KDKA radio in Pittsburgh is trying something new with overnights. They’ve turned it over to students from the University of Pittsburgh! What a great idea! I’m placing a bet that my friend, Dave Labrozzi, who recently announced his retirement from the station, had something to do with it.
The new show, Next Take, airs five mornings a week from 1 to 5 AM. I haven’t had a chance to hear it yet, because we retired folks tend to go to sleep early, but I want to give it a listen and hear what these students are coming up with for content.
In the past, talent came up through the ranks, usually by working in a very small market for low pay. The next move up was to a bigger market doing nights or overnights. Eventually, if you were good enough and had the drive and desire, you worked for a major station in a major market doing a daytime shift for real money and fame.
But is that possible today? Talk to anyone in the industry and ask about young people using broadcast radio, even if they can stream it. Do we compete well with Spotify, podcasts, and satellite? Can we still pull in solid audiences?
It seems that every day, the trades have an announcement of another veteran radio person ending up “on the beach”. I was shocked to see that my friend, Val Garris, was “out the door” at Cumulus. He had been there so long that it’s not Cumulus without him. The carnage isn’t restricted to commercial radio. Just the other day, one of the stalwarts of public radio, WAMU in Washington, ended their DCist project and informed 15 people that they would need to find other sources of employment.
If you were considering a career in media, either as a college student or a high school student just starting out, would you want to go into radio after reading about our industry? And if you did, where would you start? College radio is great (full disclosure: I spent ten years in college radio including two stints as a PD and one as a student general manager), but at some point, you’ll leave the bosom of the university and have to go to work. Where do you start?
Long ago when I was the student general manager of the carrier current system at Michigan State (this was prior to the advent of WDBM-FM, which was delayed for years due to having an analog channel 6 in Lansing), I approached the late Steve Meuché the general manager of WKAR radio and TV, MSU’s public broadcasting operation. WKAR-FM was a blowtorch, one of those “superpower” FMs that ran 125,000 watts at the time. Michigan is a pretty flat state, so the signal could just about reach most of the Detroit suburbs as well as Grand Rapids to the west. At the time, the station signed off at 1 AM each morning.
I pitched Steve on letting the students have the hours between 1 AM and sign on on Friday and Saturday nights. We’d program the alternative rock format that was on our student operation most of the time and it would give our kids the chance to be heard over the air (carrier current could only be heard on AM in the dorms and not very well, plus we had a cable FM link which not many people knew about).
Steve was a great guy, gave our demo tape a listen, but I think the rest of his staff was not excited about mixing ‘80s alternative in with the classical music that ran during much of WKAR-FM’s day in the ‘80s. Once again, I was a little ahead of the curve.
So, I’ve been there and done that but without success. Congratulations to the minds that came up with this idea, ran with it, and brought it to fruition. I hope it succeeds, not because the various syndicated overnight shows are not good, but because radio needs a “farm team” to build talent.
Perhaps if this shows some level of success, however KDKA chooses to measure it, other stations will do the same. Considering how much revenue we see from overnights (yes, I’m being snarky here), what do we have to lose?
In a regular season matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers, there had been significant history made by halftime. After two quarters of play, the Chargers found themselves down in the contest 42-0, a record deficit by an NFL team through half of regulation play. The score rendered collective aghast around the league and left fans stunned, and it was up to the Amazon Prime Video broadcast of Thursday Night Football to contextualize and synthesize just what was happening. Sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung was expecting her pre-scheduled interview with Chargers head coach Brandon Staley to be fully upended, awaiting a team representative to deliver the update.
Nonetheless, Hartung made eye contact with Staley and could tell that he was walking over for the interview. She was thoroughly surprised and knew that his team was in the midst of significant tribulation but grateful that he respected her and the aspect of the broadcast for which she is responsible. Hartung surmises that coaches generally do not want to talk to her at halftime because they usually address the team and review plans for the remaining stretch of gameplay. As a result, she aims to be succinct and direct in her questioning to gain real-time insight, a short endeavor with a lasting impact.
“I’m not a reporter who ever wants to ask a ‘gotcha’ question to a subject, no matter who that subject is,” Hartung said. “I want people I interview to tell me exactly what they mean and give me insight into what they’re thinking. That’s how I think of it is, ‘How can I help the millions of people watching learn something in this moment when I’m the only person who can ask that coach that question?’”
Much to Hartung’s astonishment, Staley eloquently responded to her query related to the team’s substandard play. The Chargers ended up losing the game 63-21, and Staley was relieved of his head coaching duties the very next day. Of course, the team was battling a short week between games since they were playing on Thursday Night Football on Amazon. The OTT streaming platform landed the package of games in an 11-year agreement reportedly worth about $1 billion annually. The pact, however, came into effect one year early because of a willingness by previous rightsholder FOX Sports to exit its contract.
Prime Video was tasked with putting together a strong broadcast team of commentators and production personnel to execute the league’s first-ever regular streaming-based platform, enlisting the assistance of award-winning producer Fred Gaudelli. With play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentator Kirk Herbstreit, the company compiled an experienced lead commentary booth.
As the search to continue building the lineup persisted, Hartung was in conversations with the company about the sideline reporting role. After the initial surprise of being contacted for the job when she had not reported on the sidelines for five years, Hartung met with the executives involved and was convinced the opportunity was right for her.
“Amazon was never trying to reinvent the wheel in doing this; they wanted to deliver,” Hartung said. “From the very beginning, their vision was to deliver a broadcast to the quality that NFL fans not only expect but demand, and I think we’re doing that.”
When Hartung was 10 years old, she and her family endured the loss of her father after he was involved in a plane crash at an airshow in Baton Rouge, La. As the family was mourning, the faint volume of CNN encompassed part of the setting to simply provide noise. Suddenly, a brief 30-second anchor voiceover recalled the plane crash and provided relatively superficial details. At the time, Hartung did not understand why the news outlet was not reporting on her father, what he accomplished and the life he lived. The rapid news report caused Hartung to ponder over infusing stories with more details and humane aspects.
Since her mother worked at the Louisiana State University Tiger Athletic Foundation, Hartung frequently had field-level access and behind-the-scenes opportunities surrounding the sports teams. At the same time, Hartung had remained passionate about news media and watched NBC TODAY, going so far as to write a paper in seventh grade saying that she would one day work on the show. Fast forward to last fall and Hartung finds herself as a correspondent for the program, frequently making multiple appearances per week and balancing it with her other related obligations.
Although Hartung was in her second year on Thursday Night Football, it was the first where she had to balance the work with NBC TODAY. Even though she had to sacrifice significant amounts of sleep on certain days, it allowed her to remain true to her roots as a news reporter while also covering sports. For much of her career, Hartung had to reluctantly make a choice between these niches but ultimately fluctuated between the two because of her passions for both.
“I think I’m very lucky to get to cover both, and I’ve been working my whole career to get to cover both and now I’m finally able to, and that for me is a personal win because I don’t want to just be a sports reporter or just be a news reporter,” Hartung explained. “I want to be a great reporter, and I think there are incredible stories to be told on both sides of that coin.”
CBS News Face the Nation reporter Bob Schieffer was sending Hartung’s work with the property to Sean McManus, who at the time was serving as president of CBS News and CBS Sports. She eventually received a call from the CBS College Sports Network to gauge her interest in being a sideline reporter for college games, a proposition she did not pass up.
The company had a newspath affiliate program involving correspondents in different bureaus, and she was looking to be accepted into the rotation. When she assumed that CBS News was not interested in granting her this chance, she auditioned with and eventually joined the ESPN-affiliated Longhorn Network.
The first contract she inked with the entity – a two-year deal with a third-year option – ensured five appearances on ESPN. By the conclusion of her first year, she exceeded that total nine times over and flourished at the company. Hartung was part of the launch of SEC Network in 2014 and treasured building something from the ground up, an opportunity she invested time and effort to effectuate.
As her career has continued, Hartung has recognized how fundamental it is to remain ready for the next opportunity – even if it seems premature at times. Despite not being ready to leave ESPN, the call from CNN to serve as a correspondent was a summons back to news she answered. In the ensuing two years, Hartung affirmed that she consistently showed up on the worst day of people’s lives and navigated through initial uncertainty and discomfort.
“It was very infrequent that I smiled through two years on television at CNN, and so frequently people would ask, ‘Do you miss sports?,’ and my answer was a resounding ‘Yes’ with every time I was asked that question, but I think those two years at CNN for me were just an incredible learning experience,” Hartung stated. “I’m very proud of what I did in the situations I showed up in and the way I could serve the people whose stories I told, but I didn’t feel like I was being the fullest version of myself.”
Hartung continued her work as a correspondent for ABC News beginning in 2019, contributing to programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America and Nightline. Although she was enthusiastic about the role, she recognized that Amazon Prime Video and Thursday Night Football was the right chance to assimilate back into sports media. Reflecting back on the 2022-23 season, it is evident to Hartung how much she has grown in the role.
“I’ll be completely honest and say I was terrified [in] Season 1,” Hartung said. “I hadn’t been on the sidelines in five years and I was nervous. I was nervous with every game, with every time that red light came on knowing how big of an opportunity this was, knowing how badly I wanted to be great and knowing how many eyeballs were watching.”
Since Hartung had not covered the NFL before, she needed to establish relationships and develop sources around the league to compile strong, comprehensive and accurate reports. Simultaneously, she was assimilating into a new role with new colleagues and working to foster friendships and chemistry with her teammates. When they were in Houston for their first preseason game together, she vividly remembers a moment of bonding that served in constructing the current product.
“We all walk back into the hotel lobby after the game and everybody’s kind of looking around like, ‘What do we do next? Where do we go?,’ and there’s a bar in the hotel lobby, and before you know it, we’re all sitting around a table, last call comes, Al’s telling stories and we’re asking the hotel, ‘How much longer can we stay?,’ because we don’t want to go anywhere,” Hartung recalled. “That was Week 1 and guess what? That happens every week – it doesn’t get old.”
Even though Hartung presumes she and her colleagues are suffering withdrawals from not being able to spend quality time with one another, she reflects on the year with gratitude and excitement. Amazon generated a 24% increase in total viewers from the previous season, averaging 11.86 million viewers across its 15-game slate according to data from Nielsen Media Research. All of those contests finished ahead of other programming on broadcast and cable television, including the first-ever NFL Black Friday Football contest. Part of that success can evidently be linked to Hartung, who is collecting and disseminating information to enhance the overall presentation.
“Your credibility is everything in this industry whether you’re covering news or sports,” Hartung said. “Two years in, I think I’m at a place where I’m proud of the relationships that I’ve built and proud of how hard I’ve worked.”
Hartung’s football work week begins on Sunday and is largely focused on the two teams she has coming up on Thursday night. Because of the detail required in her job, she makes sure to watch full games and meticulously takes notes from the sideline reports for the previous week. In the days beforehand, Hartung catches up on sleep and prepares for the week ahead, which is filled with meetings, interviews and collaboration.
“The most fervent fans of those teams don’t want to hear the same stories told a week later, right?,” Hartung said. “You want to keep building whatever storylines exist, so if my two teams are playing at the same time on Sunday, I’ll watch one game in real time and follow the other.”
On Monday morning, Hartung has a Zoom call with the broadcast’s producer and director, along with two producers dedicated to the sideline role and a former NFL athletic trainer. The session is a review of the week prior so they can position themselves for sustained performance and improvement and the first of several meetings ahead of the Thursday night broadcast.
By the time Tuesday approaches, she is on the phone with Michaels and Herbstreit to speak with head coaches, quarterbacks and other star players involved in the game. There are also times where Hartung has to interview players unannounced because of their tight schedules, underscoring the necessity of remaining on standby.
In addition to her Thursday Night Football work, Hartung is compiling and reporting on separate stories for NBC TODAY, achieving a delicate balance of two esteemed entities. On most weekday mornings, she is awake by 2:30 a.m. and tries to accrue respite whenever she can, including on airplanes although she tries to avoid red-eye flights.
“I’m always to the city that we’re in by Wednesday morning, go to practice and then have dinner with the crew on Wednesday night,” Hartung explained. “I have a sideline production meeting on Wednesday night where we go through all of my material that I’ve gathered through my own calls and whatnot, and then our big production meeting Thursday morning and kickoff Thursday night.”
Over the course of the game, Hartung has several stories prepared and is ready to interject with her reports when called upon. The key is finishing by the time the ball is snapped so Michaels can deliver play-by-play of the action. Everything changes, however, when there is a significant injury that can alter a season, let alone the ongoing game, for a football team.
“It is reporting in its most elemental and basic form where you’ve got to get the questions answered that are clearly [at the] top of everyone’s mind and concern,” Hartung said. “….You go in with as much of a plan as you can have and then you throw it all out the window and the game breaks out.”
During the week, Hartung apologizes to every player she speaks with because of the condensed week that they are facing. While part of the job of sideline reporters is to bring casual and die-hard fans newfound information and insights about their team, she understands the difficulties in amassing the totality of that material in a five-day span. Hartung is devoted to carrying out her responsibilities without taking shortcuts to achieve the final story, yearning for others to avoid the feeling she had while mourning the loss of her father.
“When they hear their story told, do they feel like I did that justice?,” Hartung said. “….It’s about how you make people feel. Whether you’re the subject or you’re the viewer, it’s about how you make people feel.”
Hartung was in Las Vegas reporting on Super Bowl LVIII for NBC TODAY, delivering updates and following both the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs throughout the week. Coming off a strong regular season for Thursday Night Football and joining NBC Sports for two playoff games – including the Peacock exclusive NFL Wild Card contest – she had to adapt her reporting style to news. There are several occurrences when Hartung reports on sports for the morning show, adapting her approach while displaying her knowledge and rapport with several teams and leagues.
“The stories you’re telling are different, and it kind of goes back to the way you want to make fans care about the games; the way you want to help raise that level of investment fans have – and when I say fans, I mean the TODAY show audience,” Hartung said. “I really enjoy that I get to help the TODAY show audience invest more in their care of the NFL.”
Part of the Thursday Night Football game crew attended Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas and celebrated when reports emerged that the outlet had landed the rights to exclusively stream an NFL playoff game next season. Prime Video is reportedly paying $150 million for the contest, which will take place during the Wild Card round. It remains unknown whether it will be the only streaming-exclusive presentation.
“I think it’s a credit to the work that we’ve put in through these two seasons,” Hartung said. “Our crew with a playoff game – it’ll be good TV. I love the way I feel like our crew on the whole is different and is unique in the scheme of the NFL broadcasts, and I think that we have a certain level of excitement and enthusiasm for the game each week that a playoff game will only heighten.”
As Hartung continues to excel as a news and sports reporter, she wants to be an asset to her colleagues and overall consumption audience. There have been moments in her career where she has struggled internally with confidence, one of which was her assimilation to covering the NFL.
At the conclusion of the first year of Prime Video’s presentation of Thursday Night Football, Gaudelli bestowed Hartung with the most improved player award. Humbly accepting the honor, she regarded it as a compliment and excitedly anticipated the second year. With innovation abound and a plethora of possibilities ahead, Hartung looks to perpetually improve both on set and along the gridiron.
“I feel fulfilled professionally right now in a way that I am just so grateful for,” Hartung articulated. “It sounds so cheesy when I say it that way, but it’s true. I’m quite literally getting to live out a dream, and I just hope I get to stay on this ride for as long as possible.”
ESPN has lost a legend. Longtime NFL insider Chris Mortensen passed away Sunday morning at the age of 72. Mortensen spent more than three decades working for the worldwide leader in sports. The news of his passing was first made public by ESPN PR.
Affectionally referred to by his colleagues as ‘Mort’, Chris Mortensen contributed to ESPN’s NFL programs, SportsCenter and was the network’s top news breaker for years. He earned the Pro Football Writers of America’s Dick McCann Award in 2016, receiving his honor at the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s enshrinement ceremony in August of that same year. It was also the same year when Mortensen broke the news of Peyton Manning retiring from the NFL.
Unfortunately, 2016 was also the year when it was revealed that Mortensen was diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer.
“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hard-working teammate,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts are with his loved ones.”
In 2023, Mortensen stepped away from his role at ESPN to focus on his health, family and faith. Prior to joining ESPN he wrote for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering the Falcons, Braves and the NFL He was also a columnist for The Sporting News and a consultant with CBS Sports’ ‘NFL Today’.
Chris Mortensen is survived by his wife, Micki, and son, Alex. Upon learning of his passing, members of the sports media industry flocked to social media to remember the ESPN legend.
An absolutely devastating day. Mort was one of the greatest reporters in sports history, and an even better man. Sincerest condolences to his family, and all who knew and loved him. So many did. Mort was the very best. He will be forever missed and remembered. https://t.co/7b7Im0vIFs
RIP my dear dear friend. Longtime tv partner and confidant. One of the very few people on earth I could trust with anything. All my love to Micki and Alex ???? pic.twitter.com/OzccB5rgHX
Heartbroken. Mort was a great man and a good friend who loved Jesus, treasured his family and made us all smile every Sunday. He was an absolute legend, had the best sense of humor and made everyone feel like they mattered. Love you forever, Mort. ???? https://t.co/LVJSNb4koV
An absolute giant of a man and journalist. One of the great thrills coming to ESPN was getting to know and learn from Mort. Condolences to his family and friends and Godspeed to a legend. https://t.co/XAZ2qnt4F5
Mort… I will ALWAYS love and appreciate everything I learned from you, all our battles, all our talks, but the most cherished voice mail I ever got, which I will save forever, came from this man about being of service! I love you brother and can’t wait for you to drop alllll… https://t.co/u0vyBLR0s6
Sad, Sad day. Just heard the news of my guy, @mortreport’s passing. So sad. Great insider. Great professional. Great colleague. Great man. Was always so good to me. You’ll be missed, Buddy! R.I.P.
Absolutely gutted. Incredible journalist but even better person. Helluva FF player too. When I 1st got to ESPN Mort was kind & welcoming to me. Not everyone was. Would have been easier to ignore me but he often pulled me aside to give advice or just listen. He was hilarious too.… https://t.co/rJuAETHFVZ
Heartbroken. Mort was a class act, an encourager and a fierce supporter of the next generation of broadcasters. Praying for his family. https://t.co/zwB36sColk
One of the best I’ve ever had the privilege to meet and work with for so many years. The absolute best at what he did…..and an even better person…Mort will truly be missed. https://t.co/GlYO7MzY0t
Devastated to hear about Mort’s passing. He was a legend and we spent so many hours together just talking football. I miss him dearly pic.twitter.com/gxiCULwKBG
Oh no. Truly one of the sweetest people I have met in life. Mort helped me so much personally and professionally. A true legend and ambassador or the craft but more so, humanity. Condolences to his family. Rest in power Mort. ???????? https://t.co/lNj2kw5ta7
I’m absolutely devastated to hear about the passing of Chris Mortensen. While he was a titan and a pioneer in our profession, he was also the kindest and most generous person to me. He was a mentor to some many of us at ESPN. He will be missed, but his legacy of kindness and…
Everyone will tell you that Mort was the best… because he was. One of the most respected professionals in the business and truly an even better person. Thoughts are with his family & friends. https://t.co/rwYW2lmnyI
Mort after co-hosting Mike&Mike 15 years ago asked if his compensation for the show could go to the staff behind the scenes instead of to him. When told it didn't work that way, he still chose not to accept payment. We're talking multiple hundreds of $. Truly one of a kind #RIP
I don't even have words really just crying my ass off , one of my closest colleagues in this biz… always had my back regardless of the situation , I love you ❤️ like a father may you rest in peace…….. you will be missed by allhttps://t.co/oDiXeybbwd
Every single tribute to Mort is the same. The sincerity, decency, kindness, professionalism and humanity of the man is referenced by every team, player and colleague.
Mort was a giant baseball fan. We talked NFL and MLB often and his knowledge of each was spot on and deep. He was funny, warm and supremely gifted in his field. A trailblazer who earned everything.
From the moment I began working at ESPN in 2007, this man was the kindest, most supportive soul. Every single time I saw him, he took the time to ask about my entire family….to share stories about my brother @CSteele32 with the @Ravens and especially to ask about my dad. Both… pic.twitter.com/a1ycvpmC1h
Chris Mortenson had no reason to know, or care, about me while I was at ESPN. But as I pestered him, more than once, about how he covered an entire league as amazingly well as he did, he was never anything but generous and kind with his time and advice. Blessings to his family.
It is heartbreaking reading this about one of my friends from @espn He was terrific in his speech at Gala when receiving the John Saunders Award .Mort was so so good on the @NFL scene. May Chris RIP ! via @ESPN App https://t.co/QUMA6xge29
I cannot begin to express my deep sense of loss as my beloved friend leaves us for the eternal reward he so deserves. I cannot adequately describe my love and appreciation for Mort. https://t.co/nT13GSWttx
Just gutted to hear this news. Mort was a gem of a person, a generous colleague with his time and advice and, obviously, one of the definitive reporters to ever cover the sport of football. Prayers with his family. https://t.co/JdRNPwcFim
Chris Mortensen was great at what he did, and a wonderful person, colleague, friend — the best of the best. We took this pic in Bristol six years ago. It was more meaningful than usual to see him then because he had fought thru cancer to be there. RIP, sir. @mortreportpic.twitter.com/d9RvHe4Lws
Chris Mortensen was a shining example for everyone who does this job. Kind to all. Thoughtful and principled. He knew he had the best job in the world and never took it for granted. I cherished every conversation with him and feel lucky to have called him a friend. RIP, Mort. https://t.co/RPXp7mVnhv
Mort set the standard in the sports insider industry. He was smart, connected, humble, and supportive. My favorite trait was his sense of humor. In a business filled with people who may take this all too seriously at times, he always provided comedy. He loved his wife and family… https://t.co/TSycLYpBQR
So very sad to hear this. Mort was always exceedingly kind and positive – and brave throughout his fight. He was the definition of class, professionalism, and friendship. Rest in Peace, Mort. https://t.co/WMZgQOZlsx
Tough to put into words how much Chris Mortensen meant to our business—He accomplished so much. And along the way he did a lot for others. I'll never forget the random notes he'd send me while I was covering the lockout, before I knew him very well, to encourage me.
Chris Mortensen was one of my favorite humans. I will cherish our time working together, but more than that, the conversation we had about life and faith. Heaven gained a great one.
Chris Mortenson was a loyal and trusted friend. Mort cared about his Faith, family, friends, and football as much as anyone I’ve ever known. He treated me like family and helped me through some difficult times. His kindness was from his soul. A great example of courage. Another…
One of the kindest, warm, and wonderful people I ever had the privilege of knowing in this business. Supported us from day 1. RIP, Mort https://t.co/0EKtF4aJhG
— Mike Ryan (Ruiz) ???????? (@MichaelRyanRuiz) March 3, 2024
When I first started at ESPN, Mort said “whatever you need, let me know.” He then always made himself available for shows I produced at ESPN Radio. An unbelievably sad day. https://t.co/Ykk9yBCGH2
Chris Mortensen, with whom I once worked at The National, had a career that was a hymn to the best of our business. And was even a better man than he was a reporter. He is gone now, after a long, brave battle against cancer. It was an honor to have known him.
You’re going to hear a lot of great stories – and all of them are true – Chris Mortensen was just as good a person to PA’s as he was to executives. R.I.P.
Just saw the news about Mort and an incredible, profound sadness overcame me. He was a decades long friend and someone for whom I had total admiration as a professional and love and respect as a wonderful person. My deepest condolences to Micki and Alex and so many he impacted. pic.twitter.com/2J4C2itG5N
This one hurts man. Mort was one of the kindest human beings you would ever know. The conversations we had about football, life, faith were amazing. Gonna miss him dearly
This hits hard today. Prayers go out to his family. Chris has been a good friend for close to two decades and contributed to my show for the final time this past Friday. R.I.P. Mort. @680TheFanhttps://t.co/w1mbufaGbe
I'm saddened to hear of the passing of Chris Mortensen. He was one of the nicest and most caring people I worked with during my time at ESPN. He was beloved by everyone he interacted with. He will be sorely missed.
So sad to hear this. There are so many in our business that get to do what they do because Chris Mortensen showed the way. One of the best to ever do it and a tremendous person to top it all. RIP, Mort. https://t.co/wrMzWJK9nV
98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston host Mike Felger said on Facebook Live earlier this week in reference to his station’s crosstown rival, WEEI and their parent company Audacy, he is “rooting for them big time.” The conversation was with former WEEI employee Mark Dondero, who had only recently moved over to The Sports Hub.
The “Off Air Show with Felger” airs on Facebook and on this occasion, Felger used the opportunity to get to know his new teammate a bit better. When the topic of his former employer came up, Felger asked, “So what’s the word over there? Are they going to make it…I hate the bankprutcy [stuff]. I hope they make it. I’m rooting for them big time.”
“You should be able to have two stations in Boston,” Dondero said. “It’s ridiculous with the amount of passion that’s in the area for the teams. I don’t see them going down. I hope they’re fine but I don’t know. They didn’t talk to me all that much with certain things, so I don’t know.”
Felger drew the comparison to Coke and Pepsi. “I am sure Coke wants to beat Pepsi, but if Pepsi went out of business and that meant that fewer people were drinking cola…you want the space to be healthy…you want the product itself, whether it’s your brand or not to be widely consumed and healthy,” Felger said. “And I would be worried that if EEI didn’t make it, it’s like sports talk was declining, not an EEI thing, it’s a sports talk thing. So I…hope they make it. They should be able to.”
Later, Dondero asked, “So you just want them to exist, but you just continue to dominate?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely,” said Felger. “We would want sports talk to be a really healthy space, a really healthy business in general, and then through competition, we win. That’s what I would want…Part of it is selfish. If my contract’s ever up, like it’s been in the past and the other station bids for you, like that’s healthy for people who work at the stations, but that’s obvious,” he added. “But beyond that, I think it’s healthy just that sports talk be vibrant, and important and widely consumed.”
Audacy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early January and last week a US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved a plan for Audacy to reemerge from its bankruptcy proceedings. Under the plan, Audacy will equitize more than $1.5 billion of funded debt, which reduces its debt load by 80%, down from $1.9 billion to $350 million.
In the latest ratings ratings report, Felger & Mazz earned the best number among local sports radio programs in the market. Mike and Tony garnered a 20.1 share for the quarter, up from a 17.2 share in the summer.
In weekday prime hours (6a-7p), 98.5 The Sports Hub gained a 16.3 share, which placed the Beasley Media Group-owned outlet first in the market. WEEI dropped by three shares from the summer to fall book, finishing with a 4.4 share in the prime frame. That placed them seventh place for the quarter.
