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Vince Cotroneo Says 2024 Will be His Last as Oakland A’s Radio Play-by-Play Announcer

BSM Staff
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Vince Cotroneo Says 2024 Will be His Last as Oakland A’s Radio Play-by-Play Announcer

Oakland Athletics radio play-by-play announcer Vince Cotroneo has announced this season will be his last with the team. The A’s will be headed to Sacramento for the next two season before relocating to Las Vegas in 2028.

Cotroneo has been with the team since 2006 when he took over for Bill King after his sudden passing. Cotroneo posted the announcement on his X account.

“2024 will be my last broadcasting for the Athletics,” Cotroneo wrote. ” I want to thank Ken Pries, who brought me on board in 2006, and the Oakland Athletics for the opportunity to return to the booth.

“I am very proud of my time with the A’s, not just for calling games, but for bringing light to the less fortunate through my introduction of the “Community Spotlight” segments on A’s radio in 2019. Showing the incredible diversity of the East Bay and the hardworking citizens behind the scenes to make it a better place was important to me.

“Also, using the rich history of the Athletics, providing different capsules of the Oakland franchise was a fascinating journey through time.

“Thanks for the Kotsay ALDS inside-the-park home run, “Hamilton drops the ball,” and “Oakland is the walk-off capital of baseball” moments – all as if they were just yesterday. Thank you to all the fans that welcomed me into your lives as we told the stories of every season.

“I hope I upheld the lofty standards of A’s baseball on the radio.

“And getting the chance to broadcast Major League Baseball with my son Dom will always be a memory that a father will never forget.

Cotroneo finished by saying he is not retiring, just not continuing on with the A’s.

“This is my 41st year in professional baseball, 32nd in the majors,” Cotroneo said. “While I am capable and ready to continue broadcasting baseball beyond 2024, if indeed it is my final season, I can hold my head high and I will continue to uphold the standards all season that have allowed me this amazing ride.”

The Athletics thanked Cotroneo in a statement “for his nearly two decades in the broadcast booth for the Green & Gold. His partnership with Ken Korach, Ray Fosse, Johnny Doskow, and so many others has been a historic era in A’s broadcasting.

“During Vince’s 19 seasons with the A’s, few in the industry have worked harder or shown more dedication to their craft. We thank Vince for creating so many great A’s memories on the airwaves.”

Cotroneo previously worked for the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.

Tucker Carlson Network App Coming to Smart TVs

BNM Staff
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Tucker Carlson Network App Coming to Smart TVs

Tucker Carlson has been off TV since his April 2023 ouster from Fox News. That’s about to change with the launch of an app for his Tucker Carlson Network.

In an email to subscribers, the Tucker Carlson Network revealed “Our team has spent months developing the new TCN TV app, and it’s about to go live. When this app is released, you’ll be able to watch Tucker on your TV at any time.“

The Tucker Carlson Network app will join a growing field of smart TV apps in recent months. Nearly every network news outlet has a free, ad-supported TV streaming app with products like NBC News Now, ABC Live, and the recently rebranded CBS News 24/7.

It is unclear if the new app will require a subscription to the network to watch the various video programs being produced by the former cable news host.

Currently, subscriptions to the platform cost $9 monthly or $72 for the entire year.

WGN Radio Adds The Other Side of Midnight With Frank Morano to Daily Lineup

BNM Staff
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WGN Radio Adds The Other Side of Midnight With Frank Morano to Daily Lineup

WGN Radio is making a change to its daily lineup. It’s adding The Other Side of Midnight with Frank Morano to its overnight programming.

The program will replace Rich Valdes America at Night in the Chicago news/talk station’s lineup.

“The Other Side of Midnight with Frank Morano is engaging, creative, and lively – a trifecta not often found in late night radio shows,” said WGN Vice President and General Manager Mary Sandberg Boyle.

Originating from 77 WABC in New York and syndicated by Red Apple Audio Networks, Morano’s program airs live from 1-5 AM ET. At WGN, it will air from 1-4 AM, leading into WGN Early Morning News.

“WGN is one of the most respected news/talk radio stations in America,” said Red Apple Media President Chad Lopez. “They are a perfect fit for The Other Side of Midnight, and we’re delighted to welcome them to Red Apple Audio Networks.”

In addition to airing on Monday through Thursday, the show will also air from midnight to 4 AM on Sundays.

The addition of WGN to the growing list of affiliates comes on the heels of the show being added at 830 WCCO in Minneapolis and KDWN in Las Vegas. The Other Side of Midnight with Frank Morano is also heard on stations in St. Louis, Detroit, and Baltimore among various others.

The program is slated to debut on the Chicago news/talk station on Monday, July 15th.

Florida State University Signs Long-Term Multimedia Rights Deal with Legends

BSM Staff
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Florida State University Signs Long-Term Multimedia Rights Deal with Legends

Florida State University and Legends announced a new 10-year multimedia rights partnership in a release today. The agreement is an extension of a previous partnership between the two.

“This partnership between Legends and Florida State Athletics creates a dynamic collaboration between like-minded organizations at a time when the importance of alignment has never been greater,” said Michael Alford, Vice President and Director of Athletics at Florida State. “Together we can capitalize on a limitless array of new opportunities for revenue streams while also maximizing our potential in established avenues as well. This will enable us to meet the growing needs of our student-athletes while also maintaining financial stability for the services we provide in areas of fan engagement and experience.”

Legends will work with FSU on multimedia rights, including broadcasting, licensing, and sponsorship opportunities. Legends has formed Florida State Global Partnerships and will build a staff which will be integrated with the FSU Athletics team.

“Florida State University is a forward-thinking institution that understands the importance of aligning revenue streams to position for success in the new collegiate landscape,” said Mike Behan, President of Legends College. “The recent NCAA settlement has further emphasized the need for universities to explore innovative ways to optimize their commercial potential. Legends is proud that FSU has entrusted our team to build on our partnership to capitalize on this opportunity and further solidify its position as a trailblazer in collegiate sports.”

Legends also has collegiate partnerships with the University of Notre Dame, the University of Miami and Georgia Tech.

ESPN, NBC and Amazon’s NBA Media Rights Package is a Big Win for Sports

Dave Greene
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ESPN, NBC and Amazon’s NBA Media Rights Package is a Big Win for Sports

You know the saying, ‘the value of something is what someone is willing to pay for it?’ Most times you hear that, it is someone trying to tell you that what you have is not worth as much as you think it is. This is not the case with the NBA and their new media rights deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon, which are now reportedly in place for 11 years starting with the 2025-26 season at a whopping total of $76 billion dollars.

The $6.9 billion per season reportedly breaks down to Disney paying $2.6 billion, NBC paying $2.5 billion and Amazon paying $1.8 billion annually.

So, this case is the rare time that saying is meant for the opposite reason, where the value of something turns out to be way more than most people would think someone would be willing to pay for it. I think you will see most people lean on the side of thinking Adam Silver has struck gold here by nearly tripling the amount of the league’s current deal.

You will no doubt see things written and hear from various pundits that the NBA is a declining property and that ESPN, NBC and Prime Video overpaid big time for the media rights. You will see the numbers crunched and broken down in many different ways and it will all probably lead to a conclusion that says the league is the clear winner here, the networks the clear losers and well, we are not quite sure what it will mean for Warner Bros. Discovery and TNT.

First off, there is the whole matching part of the current agreement WBD has with the league. Who knows what the outcome of that will be. I would have to think that the actions of WBD signing smaller (much smaller) media rights deals with various sports entities recently is them being primed to be out of the NBA business. History may show it to be a great financial decision later on, but it is part of their identity, and it will take more than the French Open to make up for it.

Regardless, we know what the dollars are going to be and that means we know what the value of it is. Just keep that in mind as you listen, watch and read reaction to this story.

Frankly, I look at this simply as yet another win for sports. If you are paying attention, the networks, streamers and anyone else serving up video at scale, wants to be in the sports business. That is a good thing for the collective ‘us’ in the sports world.

If you are in sports television, you will have plenty to sell for years to come. You may struggle to hit the astronomical budgets you will have, but that beats not having sports to sell at all, doesn’t it? You can’t put the kind of money that is being put into the rights for sports broadcasts and not support it, so the resources will be there.

If you are in sports radio, you win, too, out of this. With all of the money these companies are spending to air live sports, they have to be promoting it all the time and pumping it up. This will guarantee sports is at the forefront of consumer’s minds.

There may be another way radio wins and that is through all the fragmentation of television play-by-play. While sports rights in video form are being sold to many different platforms, that is generally not the case on the audio side. Radio is going to be a lot less confusing than trying to figure out how many different services you need to subscribe to in order to follow your favorite NFL team, for example.

While I cannot for the life of me figure out how they come up with some of these figures for these media rights deals, I can’t help but just continue to think this is a good thing for sports and let the rest of it sort itself out.

Very few know the intimate details of the numbers these companies run to make their decisions on things like this. The game has changed. It isn’t just about advertising sales or just about cable subscribers anymore. The ancillary benefits of subscriptions and streaming and marketing other content and all of that has to be factored in.

No matter how you slice it or dice it, sports comes out the true winner.

Sports is King. And it’s good to be the King.

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The Best Thing I Heard/Watched Recently

If you read my columns, you know that I am rooting hard for Jason Puckett out in Seattle. Click here to catch up on the story of how Puckett walked from KJR after negotiating a contract extension only to find out his partner, Jim Moore, was going to be let go.

Now, they are both free to discuss what happened and to work together and that is exactly what they are doing three days per week at PuckSports.com. Moore made his first appearance on the show earlier this week and let’s just say the guys had missed working together, it was fun seeing how much fun they were having.

To watch or listen to the episode, click here.

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In Case You Missed It

Earlier this week Peter Schwartz did a profile on Shaun Morash of WFAN. These are the stories I really enjoy. A guy who dreamed of one day working at the station he listened to and loved, climbed the ladder and now finds himself with Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber in afternoon drive on that very same station.

“I have to pinch myself sometimes that I get to live the dream that several people in college told me was completely impossible,” Morash told Schwartz.  “The fact that I get to work in afternoon drive on WFAN, after a successful climbing of the ladder ten years nationally, is every New York/Long Island kid’s dream come true and it doesn’t stop here. I gotta keep grinding to make sure I sustain it.”

You can read the full feature by clicking here.

Radio Hosts Shouldn’t Be So Quick to Provide Basic PR Services to Politicians

Perry Michael Simon
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Radio Hosts Shouldn’t Be So Quick to Provide Basic PR Services to Politicians

For the last time (it won’t be the last time), you (talk radio hosts, news anchors, pundits) are not campaign workers. Your job isn’t to make your political guests comfortable.

I don’t know how many times we have to go over this, but in the wake of the stories about how a couple of hosts were fed questions by President Biden’s team in advance of an interview, I guess we have to go over it again,

First, it’s your show. You ask the questions, and you don’t have your guest write them. You do not work for them. Over the years, I’ve had interview subjects send me talking points or suggested questions, and I pitch them directly into the trash. You want to ask questions for which your audience wants answers, not the same answers you’d see everywhere else. You ask tough questions because that’s what a good host or anchor does.

And it doesn’t matter if you like the guest, or want them to win their election. The President shouldn’t get softball questions. Neither should his opponent. Sometimes, I suspect that those who interview Trump are just excited to have him on the show; nobody ever follows up when he doesn’t answer a question or flat-out lies. Biden doesn’t get the same adulation from his inquisitors, but he, too, gets off the hook when he should be challenged. No matter who your guest might be, or how much their publicist wants you to stick to the talking points, you should ask the hard questions and keep repeating them until you get an answer.

But, you say, ‘If I do that, the guest might walk off. The guest and publicist will get angry. You might not be able to book some other guests because you’ll get a reputation.’ If that concerns you, it shouldn’t. Guests who don’t want to answer your questions aren’t worth having. That goes for the President and his opponent as well.

What good is promoting a Trump or Biden interview if the segment doesn’t generate news or controversy? Are listeners going to be talking about that interview the next day or instantly forget it happened? The latter is how most radio interviews go, and that’s not worth all the sucking up to publicists and communications directors it takes to get them.

(A special place in Hell is being reserved for the radio and podcast hosts who charge the guests for interviews. If you’re doing that, you’re doing an infomercial. You might as well be Billy Mays demonstrating a super glue. Speaking of which, Billy Mays passed away 15 years ago; who decided, hey, we have these commercials in the can from 2009, let’s not waste them? Is it not creepy to have a dead guy pitching a product 15 years after his untimely demise? What was I saying?)

Oh, yeah, don’t sell your guest spots. It turns your show into a commercial, and you won’t ask any questions that might offend the paying client. Also, who wants to hear an infomercial? (There are exceptions, but that gets into the whole branded content thing, and we’ll deal with that some other time).)

To be clear, the Biden question situation is far from unique. Public relations and communications people have been fed talking points and questions for decades; I’ll date myself by noting that when I was a news/talk program director, we’d get the week’s Republican and Democratic Party talking points by fax. As I mentioned before, they did not get past the swift justice of my trash can. We did our own research, to borrow a phrase that means something different these days.

It made for better radio. You should strive for nothing less.

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A little housekeeping note: This is my last Thursday column. Next week, this thing will appear every Monday, so you can get every week off to a slightly irritated start. Fun for the whole family! Also, thank you to the folks who wished me a happy birthday last week. I’ll try to get back to all of you. It might take a while, not that I have a lot to do anyway.

Steve Gregory Has Waited More Than a Decade to Involve College Students on KFI AM-640

Garrett Searight
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Steve Gregory Has Waited More Than a Decade to Involve College Students on KFI AM-640

As KFI AM-640 announced a new weekend show to be hosted by critically acclaimed reporter Steve Gregory, the program was a long time coming if you’d ask him.

Studio 640 — which will debut Sunday at 2 PM — will feature Gregory and a panel made up of current college students from around Southern California. The two-hour program will highlight the thoughts, feelings, and analysis of the week’s news from a younger perspective than typically featured on talk radio outlets.

According to Gregory, the show will be a mix of Meet the Press, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The McLaughlin Group, but with university students.

The idea, however, is not a new one from Steve Gregory. In fact, it’s been more than a decade in the making.

“I came up with this about 12 years ago. I wanted to create a show where we can get the next journalist, a future journalist, that future communicator to talk about the news of the day and see it through their lens,” Gregory said. “We didn’t have room for it at the time. And then a few months ago, my program director, Robin Bertolucci, she started talking to me she said, ‘Listen, I need a new show for Sundays. I need something that we can do on Sundays.’ And she said, ‘I remember you pitched me something a while back. Refresh my memory.’ And I did and she goes, ‘Oh, I love that. How fast can you get it on?'”

Los Angeles and Southern California is a hotbed for colleges and universities. Between community colleges, private, and public four-year institutions, the station has dozens of options to pull potential panelists from.

But creating the candidate pool from scratch was no small undertaking.

“We had to really create an infrastructure for the show that never existed. We had to reach out to all these universities and colleges in advance and say, ‘Hey, we’re doing this. Do you think you can spread the word among your students?’ And we didn’t know if we were going to get any bites,” Gregory said before noting that the station has been “overwhelmed” by the response, with nearly two dozen potential panelists already being identified and vetted.

Things started to come together for the show earlier this year. However, that doesn’t exactly fit the academic calendar, with many students leaving campus in early May. But, surprisingly, many have remained interested in participating in the program throughout the summer months as its debut show approaches.

“We finally got it all worked out. We were pleasantly surprised at the response we got from the kids,” said Gregory.

The station is doing its due diligence on potential panelists. The requirements to appear on the show include that the students must be enrolled in an accredited college/university with a primary focus on journalism, broadcast, and/or communications. The student must also be a contributor to a college/university newspaper, radio station, television station, digital news outlet, or podcast. Independent journalists enrolled in school may also be considered.

There are additional requirements, too.

“They have to submit their resume. Then they have to give us professor references. Then they have to produce a 60-second audio or visual pitch to us on why they would be a good fit for a panel,” Gregory detailed. “And then we narrowed it down. We’ve had a live Zoom interview with them, my program director, and my news director sitting in the room.”

So far, 11 students have passed the extensive checks to be locked-in contributors for the show. The students hail from universities like Los Angeles Valley College, Cal Lutheran, Arizona State, and Chapman University, among others.

Not only will a show featuring the opinions of college students be a breath of fresh air for the iHeartMedia-owned station, but KFI AM-640 stands to benefit from an early identification of talent who are interested in future media careers.

“That was my motive 12 years ago. Because we recognized a while back — let’s face it. Radio News as we know it is dying. It’s a dying industry. We don’t have reporters like myself, I’ve been, you know, hitting the streets as a radio reporter for more than 40 years. And they don’t teach what we do in school anymore,” Steve Gregory said. “They don’t teach it. Everyone wants to be a podcaster, they want to be an entertainment reporter, or a sportscaster. And so 12 years ago, I wanted to create a show that not only was fun for the kids and gives experience to them, but to help us form a feeder team or farm team, or at least scout talent.”

And while Studio 640 will be an invaluable opportunity for many Southern California college students, the station benefits, as well.

“It’s a good opportunity for our audience to hear how the younger demographic feels about today’s news, and how they’re approaching it as student journalists. The idea is, for instance, a topic about immigration or abortion or other topics that we’re covering in our talk shows during the week are going to be covered completely different on college campuses. So we wanted to give those college journalists an opportunity to weigh in on how they’re covering those issues, how they see their campus handling it, and what are their students telling them about the same issues,” he shared.

“We really want to make this a really cool opportunity for these students to be here at a big station like KFI, get the experience, and they can walk away with a recording for their reel if they want and we get the benefit of hearing young voices.”

Steve Gregory will serve as the host of Studio 640 in a weekly capacity, with the debut episode slated to air Sunday at 2 PM on KFI AM-640. The show will be two hours each Sunday.

Looking Back on Five Years of BSM Columns and Ahead to More ‘Anatomy’ Features

Andy Masur
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Looking Back on Five Years of BSM Columns and Ahead to More ‘Anatomy’ Features

5 years ago, at the urging of a friend and former colleague Dave Zaslowsky, I reached out to Jason Barrett, pitching the possibility of me writing for his industry website, Barrett Sports Media. I had known of Jason but had never met him. We had a follow up chat about writing a weekly column, covering radio and television play-by-play and studio shows. I have had a blast exploring the issues and news that are important to our industry. Now, some 250 or more columns later, I’m going to scale back and write only one time a month. I’m excited about what is next for me and BSM and I’ll share that information later in this column.

It all started with a feature on my former broadcast partner Darrin Jackson of the White Sox back in 2019. Since then, I’ve tried to focus on many different aspects of interest in the industry. 

I was trying to think of a fun way to look back on some of my columns over the past 5 years. In the spirit of baseball’s All-Star game, here’s my team of 10 (including the DH and because I couldn’t just come up with 9) top articles, in no particular order.

I Raise My Microphone to You, Vin Scully, August 4, 2022

Vin Scully was one of my all-time favorite broadcasters. I wrote a eulogy of sorts after his passing and told the story of me meeting him for the first time in 2004, when I was the fill-in play-by-play guy for the Cubs. I sheepishly asked him for an autograph, which he kindly obliged. He was certainly one of a kind and is missed to this day.

“Vin’s passing leaves a void in our industry that will never again be filled. I say that, not just because he was the greatest baseball play-by-play announcer to ever crack a mic, but because he was a tremendous person. He seemingly had time for everyone. Even a green around the gills play-by-play apprentice, me.” 

The Court of Public Opinion Favors Jason Benetti Over The Chicago White Sox, November 16, 2023

Jason Benetti left his dream job with the White Sox before the 2024 season started. It was somewhat of a divorce that never needed to get to the point that it did. I wrote about how some teams just don’t understand the value of what they have in a broadcaster.

“Some teams just don’t seem to grasp the concept, that the better their team voices are doing, the better the organization looks. Instead of looking at it as, “Well, I guess college football is more important than us”, the frame of mind should be something different. They shouldn’t feel like a jilted lover, they are getting promoted without having to pay for it.”

Behind The Scenes Of A Radio Postgame Show, November 3, 2022

As the host of the popular “Hamp and OB” show on WGN Radio, I wanted to take fans behind the scenes of our pre/postgame show. It features two former Chicago Bears, Dan Hampton and Ed O’Bradovich.

“We don’t, per se, map out a course for what the postgame show will feature. Again, I have my notes and the guys take notes during the game as well. All we do is basically combine our notes, not in the conference room, but on the air. Because these guys aren’t broadcasters, I don’t want them to waste, as you’ve heard many times, their best stuff off the air. I want it ON the air.”

I Want to Help Charles Barkley Discover Sports on the Radio, May 11, 2023

Shockingly, Charles Barkley made headlines with something he said. This one though hit close to home. Barkley said that listening to sports on the radio is “the stupidest thing in the world.” I wrote about what Sir Charles, was missing, with this thought.

“Barkley is completely missing out on a sensory experience unlike any other. Radio pulls on your emotions so much better than television. You are completely dependent on the person behind the microphone to set the scene accurately and with the right sense of drama. Isn’t there something about having to picture the field, or court in your mind, based on how it’s described to you? Barkley doesn’t think so, but he couldn’t be more wrong.” 

ESPN Did An Amazing Job In An Impossible Situation, January 5, 2023

On a Monday night in Cincinnati, fans were watching an AFC battle between the Bills and Bengals on ESPN. Nobody knew that a near tragedy would unfold on the field. When Bills’ DB, Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field and needed to be resuscitated as teammates and the world watched. 

“As I watched the events unfold, I was absolutely impressed with the way ESPN handled itself. The broadcasters at the stadium were shaken and it sounded that way. The sideline reporter Lisa Salters refused to speculate on what happened. That is commendable. The studio panel could not have handled things any better, from rushing to the set, to the off the cuff commentary.”

Thom Brennaman Hopes He Gets The Chance To Change Your Mind, March 31, 2022

I reached out to Thom Brennaman a couple of years after his ‘hot mic’ incident with the Reds. It was a great conversation, showcasing Brennaman’s remorse and growth from that night on the air in Cincinnati. I asked Brennaman about his hopes to return to a booth soon.

“As you and I sit here in the final days of March in 2022, I see, very little of that ability to forgive so far. Now do I think it’ll change? I think and I hope and I pray that it will change,” he said. “Do I see any hint of that right now? From a network television level to a major league baseball broadcast level, local level, whether it be radio television or whatever it might be, I don’t see it so far.”

Dick Vitale Is Getting Back All The Love He Gave, December 16, 2021

Dick Vitale was going through a rough time, after a diagnosis of cancer in October 2021. Recently he was diagnosed again with the hideous disease and will hopefully come out of it well. Back in ’21 though, I wrote about all the love Dicky V was getting from fans and colleagues.

“For a man that has given so much of himself for the fans, it only seems right that they return the favor. Boy are they ever and it’s ‘Awesome with a capital A!’”

Unhappy Anniversary, Everyone! March 12, 2021

On March 12, 2021 I wrote about the challenges we all faced on the one-year anniversary of COVID-19, shutting down sports and how we adapted to doing our jobs.

“The word normal seems weird to say. Zoom calls have replaced actual time in locker rooms and clubhouses. Limited access has become a way of life for broadcasters and journalists, almost getting used to what is happening. Mainly it all comes down to just doing the best you possibly can under the current circumstances.”

Inside A Baseball Broadcast Booth During Covid, October 30, 2020

After the baseball season of 2020 came to an end, I offered a look inside our White Sox broadcast booth and how we handled calling games from one location and off of television.

“It was a regular season unlike any other. A pandemic is raging and things had to change for us to be able to broadcast a baseball season. Was it ideal? No. Was it necessary? Yes. Was it challenging? Yes. Did we manage to make it fun and entertaining? Yes, we most certainly did.”

What Hiring Managers Want To Hear On Your Play-By-Play Demo, February 26, 2021

It’s a question that comes up often. What do PD’s and teams want to hear on your demo? I talked to several decision makers (at the time) on what they look for.

“It’s a difficult task to produce your specific demo for your specific sport. That’s understood. Nobody said this was going to be easy. (Tim) Mead says, it’s not easy for those listening either.”

That’s a look back, now let’s look forward. I will be continuing my association with BSM on a monthly basis now. At the beginning of each month, starting in August, I will bring you more of the “Anatomy of a Broadcaster” series. It also covers analysts, insiders and will be expanding to cover sideline reporters and studio hosts. I’ve enjoyed bringing you their stories and helping you to get to know these fine broadcasters.

This opportunity has been one of the best of my career. I’ve met so many people in the industry through my association with BSM. I’ve enjoyed watching the site and brand of BSM/BNM and now BMM, grow and evolve over time. Jason has an energy about him that makes you want to run through a wall for him. He’s a tireless worker and has built this brand into a formidable source for all that is relevant in this great industry. It’s been such a pleasure for me to be a part of this team filled with tremendously talented professionals.

Radio Hosts Can’t Lose Listeners Trust As Elections Approach

Peter Thiele
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Radio Hosts Can’t Lose Listeners Trust As Elections Approach

It’s election season. This is the time of year when incumbents and hopefuls reach out to talk radio show hosts hoping to get a boost in their campaigns.

I have had the handlers or politicians themselves ask for questions or supply some for the interview. This is a very common ploy by politicians. Now former WURD Radio talk show host, Andrea Lawful-Sanders admitted on CNN of all places that her questions for President Biden were supplied by the President’s people. Her big get was very likely tied to Andrea’s willingness to follow the dictates as a condition of the interview.

Years ago, there was an event featuring a Lt. Governor. I was there to record the event and publish it on the station’s social media. I was informed by the promotions director that she told the elected official’s staffer that the station would provide a copy of the speech for approval before it was uploaded on Facebook and YouTube. After being informed, I told the promotions director absolutely not. It was a public forum. There were other members of the media there. Often, the media forgets that our job is to speak for our audiences.

As a talk radio show host, I have been asked for a list of questions before the candidate comes on the show. My answer was always no. I always told the staff that I like having conversations. I let the discussion take me to the next question. Always, I told the staffer that I usually toss a softball and I toss a 100-mile-per-hour fastball. Even if the candidate was someone that I disagreed with, I never let that hurt the interview.

Remember, you are asking questions for your audience. You are asking the questions that they want to be asked. In Republican and Democratic primaries, I always invited everyone on equally. They didn’t need to accept, but they were invited. On my last hosting job, there was a Senate candidate that I didn’t support. You never heard that on the air. I treated him very fairly. Even after he lost, I shared the occasional text with him.

Now, for total disclosure: I have had officeholders on the show regularly. I would ask the individual about something in the nation’s capital or at the state house that I need to know about. The elected official would give me a couple of things that were important to know. If I thought it was interesting and that the audience would want to know about the legislation, I would bring that up. The elected official had zero idea of my question or whether I believed the idea to be a good or a bad one. I always strived to provide a Listener-Focused Experience.

So, let’s get back to Andrea Lawful-Sanders. Being able to be a President’s first interview after a big event is a huge opportunity. What I like about her is that she was honest. Now, I don’t know if she was honest with her supervisors. Politicians and their people always want to be in control. Getting the President is so huge. Especially being first. I am guessing that Ms. Lawful-Sanders is a Biden supporter. I am sure that she was thinking to herself about getting more access to the President. The temptation is huge.

Are you like Andrea Lawful-Sanders? If I was offered the first interview of George W. Bush following 9/11, would have I kept to my longstanding personal policy? I would like to hope the answer would have been yes.

It is never about the guest. It is always about your station’s target listener. Clarifying that statement, your opinion and observations are always the center of a great talk show. But, you must always keep your audience in mind first. I have heard hosts say, ‘I only discuss the things that interest me.’ That is a complete recipe for failure. If the host loves genetics of the majestic soybean, should they discuss it? The DNA of a talk radio show host is that you can ask them about almost any subject and that host has some rudimentary knowledge and opinion of that subject.

Are you providing a Listener-Focused Experience for your audience? Are you willing to cut corners to look a little more important?

In 1998, there was a candidate for Lt. Governor of Alabama named Steve Windom. Seemingly on election eve, Windom was accused of raping an exotic dancer/prostitute. Windom was accused of breaking the woman’s arm as well. Windom’s campaign did the right thing and booked interviews for the next day. I was able to ask the candidate the greatest question of my career: “Steve, did you rape that hooker?” The silence was deafening. Windom then answered the question. Well, it turned out that the allegations were false. The attorney who manufactured the lie went to jail.

You are there to tell the truth. Sometimes the truth is not a pleasant thing. Your audience trusts you. Never, ever compromise the trust people put in you. Once you lose trust, it is almost impossible to get it back. Andrea Lawful-Sanders gave up her listeners’ trust. Have you done the same thing? Are you too interested in representing the political class? 

HBO to Debut New Pete Rose Documentary on July 24

BSM Staff
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HBO to Debut New Pete Rose Documentary on July 24

HBO has a new HBO Original four-part sports documentary series coming out, Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose. The series chronicles the life and career of baseball’s all-time hits leader and his bid to be reinstated in Major League Baseball. The first two episodes will air on Wednesday July 24 with episodes three and four debuting the next day. All four episodes will be available to stream on Max on the first day.

In addition to Rose himself, the documentary features his son along with former teammates Mike Schmidt, Ken Griffey Sr. and Tommy Helms. Former players Eduardo Perez and Ron Cey appear as well as broadcasters Al Michaels, Lesley Visser, Marty Brennaman and Jon Miller.

HBO describes the documentary as “a retrospective journey, spanning more than 60 years, to tell the story of baseball’s all-time hits leader whose on-field achievements and off-field transgressions have made him one of the most polarizing figures in all of sports.”

The documentary was directed and executive produced by Mark Monroe.

Episode one, ‘The Longshot’ is about Rose’s quest for reinstatement into baseball as he recounts his rise to the top of the sport. Episode two, ‘The Dirty Work,’ chronicles the ‘Charlie Hustle’ persona and the 1970’s Reds along with Rose’s family life. Episode three, ‘One of One,’ goes through the rise up the all-time hits list and the fall with the lifetime banishment. The final episode, ‘One Last Record,’ discusses Rose publicly admitting he bet on baseball and about his public image today.

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