The “Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” recently fulfilled their promise to visit affiliate WFSX-FM, Ft Myers “92.5 FOX News” after Hurricane Ida destroyed the area.
The duo broadcasted live from the Sun Broadcasting-owned station on Monday and Tuesday (4/25-26) and held a meet-and-greet with clients and hundreds of listeners.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, Hurricane Ida in 2021 resulted in the highest number of insured losses in Florida, totaling $36 billion.
This Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Lafourche Parish near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, with maximum winds of 150 mph and minimum air pressure.
Many companies in the radio broadcasting industry, including Cox Media and IHeartMedia, actively supported communities affected by Hurricane Ida’s devastating impact.
The “Clay Travis and Buick Sexton Show” is distributed by Premiere Networks, a company owned by iHeartMedia.
During his show on WMALRadio, host Vince Coglianese joked about the possibility of someone from the White House listening in. He has previously criticized White House press briefings, comparing them to storytime at a daycare. Coglianese pointed to President Joe Biden’s participation in a Take Your Child to Work event, where he answered questions from approximately forty children of reporters covering the administration.
Coglianese also commented on press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s reliance on her notebook to answer questions from the press corps, suggesting that she expects solutions to come to her immediately. Jean-Pierre had kids ask her questions during the event, which Coglianese found amusing. He joked that they had created an entire segment for him based on the idea that Jean-Pierre was doing a daycare-style briefing.
“Today, I was laughing out loud because they had an entire press briefing that was literally ‘Karinge’ having kids ask her questions,” Coglianese quipped. “I said this is built for me; who did this? Who at the White House is listening to this show? They built an entire segment for me predicated on the idea that she’s doing a children’s briefing.”
During the kids’ briefing, a child asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about President Biden’s stance on addressing gun violence. Jean-Pierre responded by saying that the President’s top priority is to ensure the safety of everyone, including children.
Coglianese made a joke while playing the audio of the briefing, saying that if he hadn’t mentioned the presence of children during the Q&A session, the audience wouldn’t have been able to distinguish it from a regular news conference.
“A child asked a question that a member of the press should have asked a long time ago,” he said. “What’s the likeliness that the imperial Biden administration forces people back into their political uniforms? Will they make us wear masks again?”
In response, Jean-Pierre expressed her optimism that wearing masks to contain the spread of COVID-19 would not have to be reinstated, citing the progress made in the past two years.
“Everything is theatrics with this administration; the last thing they need to do is address your problems,” he added.
It was the conclusion of a long night at the ballpark for Chip Caray as he rode home on the highway alongside his father. The Braves had won their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on a walk-off home run, and Chip heard the voice of his father, Skip, both in the booth and later on the radio. While the moment may seem trivial at first glance, it turns out that was the moment when Chip distinctly recalls feeling exhorted to pursue sports media as a career. He remembers saying to his father that he wanted to call baseball games, an assertion to which he received no reply, as his father chose to keep his eyes fixed on the road after a long day’s work.
“We drove home in silence,” Caray recalls. “We sat down at his house at 1:00 in the morning, [and] he poured himself a cocktail [while] I had a bite to eat. He said, ‘Were you serious about what you said in the car?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Okay, we start tomorrow.’”
Despite the profession being firmly ingrained into his genealogy, Caray was never completely certain he would follow the lead of his father. After all, Skip had divorced his wife when Chip was young, and aside from occasional summer visitations, the two did not have the opportunity to bond. Chip knew of his father by watching him call games on TBS when the Braves played on the West Coast. Similarly, Chip never had a bonafide opportunity to connect with his grandfather, the legendary WGN broadcaster, Harry Caray.
Chip Caray’s life has come full circle. He recently returned to his hometown as the new television voice of the St. Louis Cardinals. The path to get there, however, practically took him from coast to coast, and it was filled with memorable moments, fortuitous breaks and unparalleled excitement. His inability to hit a curveball motivated him to find another path to make it to the majors, and now he has become a fixture on the soundtrack of summer.
“Like most of us who sit in our chairs, we all dreamed of being the guys between the white lines, but our physical abilities did not match our dreams,” Caray said, “I figured, ‘If I can’t play baseball, this is kind of a cool way to stay involved in the game.’”
Moving home to St. Louis and being the television play-by-play announcer for the Cardinals was always an aspiration, but not something he thought of as being entirely probable. His grandfather had been fired from that very same role in 1969, a decision the team’s ownership entity Amheuser-Busch claimed was based on a recommendation it received from its marketing division. Chip Caray, whose legal name is Harry Caray III, had been offered the job 32 years ago, but circumstances changed and Caray turned down the chance.
Chip Caray was one of the few University of Georgia graduates who secured a job right out of college. It was on WMBB Channel 13 in Panama City Beach reporting on not only sports, but also news and weather.
Caray was a beat reporter on news occurring on the beach, meaning that he was often in scorching heat with a 60-pound camera, a 25-pound tripod and a 30-pound tape deck in a coat and tie. The days were long and it was out of his comfort zone. He eventually became used to it and ultimately grew more versatile as a broadcaster. On weekends, he anchored sports for the station and felt like he had a head start thanks to the tutelage of his father, interest in the craft and experience gathered through internships.
After nearly six months in Panama City Beach, Caray’s demo tape got into the hands of management at WFMY Channel 2 in Greensboro, NC. The station hired him in early 1988. The area had a litany of ACC sports teams and hosted the ACC men’s basketball tournament each year, along with the Wyndham Golf Championship on the PGA Tour and NASCAR races in nearby Martinsville.
The timing worked out for Caray because of the introduction of the Charlotte Hornets as an expansion franchise that fall, giving him the ability to attend and cover NBA games along with local high school basketball and football contests.
“That was really an entree to me in going from college to a small station where you just did a few things that were kind of cool, to a very competitive news and content-driven, fast-paced business where you’re one step away [from] being around the big leagues,” Caray said. “That just opened my eyes to basketball and pro sports in particular as someone who is on the air and not just working behind the camera.”
The National Basketball Association continued its expansion era the next year, welcoming the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic into the league. Pat Williams, who had worked in various areas of sports management, helped Jim Hewitt and his investment group win a spot in the league, and was named as the franchise’s first manager. Williams had previously worked with Caray’s father and knew the work of his grandfather, and made the decision to invite Chip to travel to Orlando, Fla. and discuss the job. Before he was hired by Williams to be the team’s first television broadcaster, Caray embarked on calling an eight-game round-robin basketball tournament alongside NBC Sports analyst Bucky Waters.
“It was basically a live audition to see if I could do it,” Caray said. “Bucky Waters said, ‘Well that was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed working with you. How many years have you done basketball because I haven’t run into yet?’ I winked and nodded and gave him kind of a sheepish grin and said, ‘Well, actually Mr. Waters, these are the first eight games I’ve ever done.’ His jaw dropped, and I started laughing.”
Caray was initially awful at calling Magic games amid an 18-win season. Much like Caray, the team quickly improved, thanks in part to the development of Shaquille O’Neal, Horace Grant and Penny Hardaway, and qualified for the playoffs for four consecutive seasons. Nonetheless, Caray had promptly landed a heralded position as a broadcaster and enjoyed surprising his father with the news.
1992-93 Upper Deck 129. Faces in the Crowd: That's almost undoubtedly Chip Caray, working play-by-play for the Orlando Magic at the time. pic.twitter.com/wrdJNgEzDk
Caray enjoyed his time calling basketball games, but worked to find a way to make it to Major League Baseball. Following a year of calling Class AA Orlando baseball, Caray was added to the Atlanta Braves radio broadcast team, giving him a chance to work with his father for the first time. In May 1991, Chip, Skip and Harry called a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves from the press box at Wrigley Field, marking the first time three generations of a family all broadcast the same game.
While Harry was calling the game over WGN both on television and on the radio, Skip and Chip were broadcast on TBS and WSB Radio respectively, and the circumstance caught the allure of baseball fans and reporters alike. The family all met at Harry Caray’s home to have dinner the night before the game, and went to one of his restaurants in Chicago following the game to reminisce on what they had just achieved. The Braves ended up defeating the Cubs by a final score of 5-3, but it was evident the outcome of the matchup did not matter as much as it normally would to Chip, even though he states that he did not appreciate the moment as much as he should have.
“For my dad, I think it was great because his son followed in his footsteps [in] trying to make his own way,” Caray said. “It was very difficult having the same name and all. Seeing the pride that Harry had for the first time [and] being honored for being a patriarch more than a Hall of Fame broadcaster was really kind of cool. It went by in a blur.”
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He continued his rise in the industry when he was named the play-by-play announcer for the Seattle Mariners in 1993, and he performed the role for select games since he still lived in Orlando. Each year, there were several occurrences when Caray would fly from Orlando to Seattle, call a Mariners game and then return on a red-eye flight that night. He immensely enjoyed his time working with Dave Niehaus, the famed voice of the Mariners. Additionally, the move allowed Chip to establish a voice for himself on the other side of the country and watch the play of stars including Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Jay Buhner.
“From a professional standpoint, it was one of the best things I ever did,” Caray said. “It allowed me to get out from under the shadow of my dad – and I mean that in the most loving of ways – because our business is a personality-driven one. I had to go figure out who I was and who I wasn’t on my own.”
Niehaus taught Caray the importance of preparation, but in the broader sense of the term. Although it is necessary to know about the athletes, their backgrounds and statistics, it is essential a broadcast team cultivates a working chemistry. While games usually attract viewers, sometimes it is the broadcasters who end up being the main attraction, especially for teams that are not expected to win.
Harry Caray was an ostensible part of that lure for Chicago Cubs fans, bringing his incomparable style and passion for the team to the North Side of Chicago. Chip Caray had just concluded his time broadcasting the Orlando Magic and was also working as a studio host and broadcaster for MLB on FOX games when he received the offer of a lifetime. It was not only a chance to call games for the Chicago Cubs, but to do it partnered with his grandfather, a man who Chip says “just wasn’t prepared or equipped to be a hands-on parent or grandparent.”
Much of the excitement about accepting the offer to join the Cubs was not only to hear his grandfather’s stories about watching Jackie Robinson and Stan Musial play; it was more about learning about the elder Caray’s life. He was curious to discover how his grandfather got involved in sports media, how he met his wife, what his father was like as a child, and the mistakes he made to improve as a broadcaster.
Harry Caray collapsed while enjoying a meal on Valentine’s Day at a restaurant with his wife. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and passed away four days later from complications due to a heart attack and accompanying brain damage. The outcome was devastating for Caray’s family, the Cubs organization and the sports world at large – and it redefined what Chip’s days with the Cubs would look like just days before the start of Spring Training in 1998.
“The reality of it hit me when I was going up the stairs to the press box,” Caray said. “I walked down the hallway past the place where the guy that plays the organ sat; and then the visiting GM booth, the visiting TV booth, the visiting radio booth;,and boom, there’s the TV booth.
“I turn left, open the door, the windows are open at Wrigley. There’s his booth, his seat, his microphone, his partner, his crew, his producer, his director, his team and his talent, and I’ve got to sit in that chair and try to find a way to make this my own thing on the fly. Obviously, it was an extremely emotional day not just for me, but for my entire family.”
The team ended up winning 90 games that season, highlighted by the outstanding play of outfielder Sammy Sosa, who hit 66 home runs, falling short in a legendary battle with the Cardinals’ Mark McGwire for the single season home run record. The adjustment period took time, and Caray is grateful for his partner Steve Stone and producer Arne Harris for showing him the ropes and helping him become acclimated to the sports climate of Chicago.
“You can’t understand the provincial nature of Chicago unless you’ve experienced it,” Caray said. “The White Sox fans hate you because you’re a Cubs fan and the Cubs fans don’t really pay a whole lot of attention to the White Sox fans because you work for the Cubs. Harry had worked in both places and in some corners, they thought he was a traitor for going to the Cubs. For me, it was really, really challenging to go from the understudy to all of a sudden, the guy who has to try to fill these unfillable shoes.”
After a six-year stint with the Cubs, Caray reunited with his father on TBS where he called baseball games at the national level and locally for the Atlanta Braves. In working with his father, Caray found that they had an instinctive chemistry, never once talking over one another in the broadcast booth. Whether it was traveling on the road or calling games at home, the time to bond with his father over their love of baseball was invaluable to Caray. In 2007, Skip began to experience health complications, and he ended up passing away in his sleep the next year in the midst of his 33rd season calling games.
“As a son in the latter years of his life quite obviously, there was nothing more rewarding for me than to go down to the lobby and pick up his suitcase or to bring him a cup of coffee or, after a game, have a drink with him as an adult,” Caray said. “The last month before he passed away, I’d take him to his doctor’s office visits and pick up his dry cleaning. All things that people that don’t do what we do probably take for granted.”
Indeed, Caray is fully aware that working in sports media takes sacrificing myriad irreplaceable moments with family and friends. It is part of the reason why he felt compelled to make the move home to St. Louis after broadcasting Braves games on Bally Sports South from 2010 until 2022.
He wishes the circumstances through which the job became available were different though, as longtime team broadcaster Dan McLaughlin had been placed on leave after his third arrest for driving while intoxicated and ultimately stepped away from the job.
Caray and McLaughlin are close friends and had discussed working together on St. Louis Cardinals broadcasters at one point in their careers. While it is entirely plausible that the pairing could one day happen, Caray knows that announcers are merely placeholders tasked with discerning and elaborately translating the action on the field into comprehensive statements.
Caray is in the midst of familiarizing himself with the St. Louis Cardinals and becoming a voice the fans know and trust, a task arguably made more difficult because of just how synonymous he was with the Braves. After all, he was the voice who called the career of Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones, the team’s multiple division titles and journey to a World Series championship in 2021. Leaving all of that personal history was a particularly difficult decision. Atlanta had become home for Caray. In fact, he told people he intended to finish his career with the team.
Cardinals Nation, thank you for welcoming him to baseball heaven.
The Cardinals job was in his hometown though, and it is a position his grandfather held over the span of 24 years. It was always intriguing for Chip, but he never thought it would be attainable. That made the job nearly impossible to pass up when it was offered to him.
“This is one of the prime, if not the best job in baseball,” Caray said. “I understand the culture; obviously my grandfather was there. If it wasn’t going to be Atlanta, what better place to go at my age and with my experience level and my family ties?”
Bally Sports Midwest is Caray’s new home, and he hopes St. Louis his final destination. He is not the only one keeping the Caray legacy alive in broadcasting though. He has identical twin sons Chris and Stefan. They are 22-years-old and calling games in Class AA with big league aspirations. There’s plenty of interest in baseball from his son Tristan and daughter Summerlyn too. The sport has truly become a family affair for the Carays and Chip cannot wait for the fourth generation to break into the show.
“This is a game that my grandfather fell in love with. Now I love it, my sons love it,” Caray said. “I have the love and support of my family…They let me chase my dream too, and in exchange, I’ve been able to provide a lifestyle beyond even our wildest dreams and for that, I’m proud.”
It’s the media news that shocked the world this week. No, not Don Lemon finally being shown the door at CNN, but rather Tucker Carlson, the highest-rated primetime cable news host in the business, parting ways with cable news giant Fox News.
Immediately, speculation began as to what would be Carlson’s next move. Would he go to another traditional, linear TV news outlet? How about a digital property? Might he just venture out on his own?
While it’s easy and fun to speculate, when we all take a step back and realize the plethora of opportunities that exist, and the limited barriers to entry in 2023 vs. 1993 or even 2003, it makes you realize how quickly media is changing all around us, and the lessons that are here for radio.
Carlson’s Next Move
For Carlson, he will have his pick of the litter. For the record, I don’t see him jumping back to do a similar-style show on a Fox competitor. He’s worked at all three major cable news outlets in his career and to go to a lesser competitor and try to build up a primetime lineup feels like a predictable move from a creative, outside-the-box, unpredictable person.
Other predictions have included joining up with a powerhouse digital outlet like The Blaze or The Daily Wire. But those seem like long shots as well.
Carlson’s history does include co-founding one of the most successful conservative news outlets on the internet in The Daily Caller. He sold his stake in that outlet in 2020. So he does have the experience, along with the means and following, to start another operation he can call his own, and build a media empire of sorts, which could be even bigger than what The Daily Caller has become.
This would not have to be an outlet with a traditional nightly show, but it could be more in line with what Carlson was helping Fox build with Fox Nation. Long-form interviews, along with documentaries similar to the Tucker Carlson Originals that he was creating, could be in play. They’re expensive, and even more expensive to do right, but could be worth exploring.
But while we all watch to see what Carlson does next, to bring this back to radio programming, the uncertainty and options Carlson has, should be a stark reminder to all of us that we are not simply in the “radio” industry, but rather the content-creation business that is a non-stop 24/7 cycle of content that we can produce via, yes, mostly, the radio, but also podcasts and on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
There is competition all around us, every single day. As hosts are navigating their daily shows, listeners could bail at any time to not just listen to another radio station, but consume any other form of content on their phone with a couple of swipes and clicks. And it never ends, while the options grow daily.
The fragmented media landscape is only going to continue in the years ahead. So what will your competitive advantage be? Local news talk that the listener can’t get from their favorite national host? Can you be as active on your social platform as some of your listeners’ favorite national hosts? How do you keep top of mind for tune-in every day?
None of this is easy, but it should make all of us better broadcasters and personalities. As conservatives, most of us (should) believe competition is inherently a good thing. It keeps us on our toes, makes us sharper, and allows the marketplace the option to pick the winners and losers.
Yes, there are struggles that broadcast radio has compared to some digital content, however, there is good news not getting enough attention as well, like this: According to Nielsen’s Q3 2022 Total Audience report, radio’s 18 to 49-year-old average audience is now 3% greater than television. Go back less than five years, and in 2018, AM/FM radio’s 18-49 average audience was 63% the size of live and time-shifted TV.
Radio is holding its own with audience attrition in a much better fashion than TV. It’s another sign that radio can still, very much, be a winner, despite what some of the misguided narratives may suggest. And it’s up to all of us to continue to compete every single day, against not only our in-market radio rivals but, yes, even Tucker Carlson’s next move. The competition no longer knows geographical boundaries. Game on.
When you think about it, clients are like NFL general managers during the draft. They are evaluating all of us to see if they trust us enough to select us to make their businesses more successful.
While NFL teams may value production on the field, measurables, and scheme fit, our prospects are looking at different qualities and attributes in us that will make their business a winner. Let’s explore the Top 5 qualities of a 1st round-pick sports radio salesperson.
#1 You must know sports
To be a first-rounder, your prospect wants to see that you understand the sports industry. Why else would they buy a sports radio station? We need to speak their business language, know what they want to accomplish, and provide a unique solution on our station and for their business.
On the relationship side of the equation, sellers with inside information on their favorite team or player can be seen as an asset. Some buyers will use that information as clout with their circle of influence and will do business with you because you are an insider. So, know what’s happening with your teams, get unique insights from your on-air staff, and pick the right clients!
#2 Think outside the box
Our clients want access to our crazy P-1s who yell at their tv, cry when their favorite player retires and is a season ticket holder. Remind your prospects of who you provide access to and offer some excitement into their dull buyers’ life.
We can win when we sell title sponsorship of a college football parody song of the week, bring the big show to their business during rivalry week, and have hosts do Instagram posts about their business. You will stand out from the spot sellers who want an order and produce a generic commercial.
#3 Talk it out and LISTEN
Buyers come in all shapes, sizes and communication styles. Sometimes we have to decide to talk more or less, speak faster or with more empirical data, ask more personal questions or keep it strictly business. While juggling how we communicate, we need to show value to the client, not boast about our features. And, whatever style you choose, get the client to tell you what they want from you or at least tell them what you will provide and get their agreement.
Selling sports radio advertising is all about selling trust. Trust in YOU. Clients choose who they have confidence in and do what they say. Know what you are saying before you open your mouth, and remember that your goal is to be the go-to person for marketing advice and inside sports information. Be persistent, not pushy.
#4 Don’t quit
Media sales is a competitive and challenging industry. Some prospects will give you assignments to test your trust. Others will want a six-month mating period before they want to engage in a monthly business relationship with you. Look for clients who need the solution you are offering. The research will empower you to chase the right people and not let rejection stop you.
#5 Be flexible
Market changes to more digital solutions and social media influencer sponsorships mean you must stay on top of all your solutions. Be responsive to calls and emails, pay attention to the words you text, and plan how to keep on top of your client’s minds.
Be the rep who has the right answer at the right time. That means staying in touch with buyers through the purchasing cycle and working on prospects who are worth the effort.
You can be a first-round pick if you have the knowledge, know how to talk and listen, are creative, never quit, and stretch your abilities. Get the phone. Prospects are calling.
On Friday, FOX Sports 940 in Miami officially becomes the flagship station of the Dolphins. The partnership is going to kick off in a really unfortunate way though.
Dolphins fans tuning in to FOX Sports 940 will not be hearing Miami make its first selections in the NFL Draft thanks to the Miami Marlins.
A planned NFL Draft Happy Hour is set to air on FOX Sports 940 starting at 4 p.m. on Friday. Seth Levit and O.J. McDuffie will host. The show will be live from the Backyard bar in Fort Lauderdale.
Unfortunately, Major League Baseball will take over before the second round of the draft even begins. Pre-game coverage for the Miami Marlins airs at 6:30 p.m. on the iHeartRadio station. The second round of the draft starts at 7.
“So it’s kind of like having a birthday party for somebody, but ending the party before the person celebrating the birthday arrives or before cake is served,” Barry Jackson wrote in The Miami Herald.
The Miami Dolphins announced their move to FOX Sports 940 in January following seven seasons on WQAM. Dolphins fans do not need to fret about the move on Friday night though. They can rest easy knowing that even if the team had stayed with the Audacy-owned station, NFL Draft coverage would have been preempted for the Florida Panthers’ playoff game against the Boston Bruins.
For almost four decades, Mel Kiper Jr. has been a staple in NFL Draft coverage.
The senior NFL Draft analyst is taking part in his 39th draft for ESPN this year.
Coverage of the draft and the draft process has evolved so much over the years, and ESPN vice president of production Seth Markman believes Kiper is a big reason why. He says that Kiper has spawned a whole generation of journalists because of his work.
“There is no NFL Draft on TV without Mel Kiper. He’s an institution,” Markman told Front Office Sports. “I think he should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for what he’s accomplished and what he’s brought to this TV event. Everybody that’s come after him … they’re all just offspring of Mel.”
Kiper will be featured throughout the weekend on ESPN as the draft unfolds in Kansas City. He isn’t the only draft analyst with that duty though. Matt Miller will be a part of later-round coverage on ESPN on Saturday.
Mel Kiper isn’t the only major influence ESPN has had on the NFL Draft. Earlier this week, Markman said that the event is an important part of the network’s identity. He said the Draft is “in the DNA of ESPN”.
Seattle Sports 710 AM and KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM will continue to be the flagship stations of the Seattle Seahawks. The team and Bonneville Seattle announced Thursday ahead of the first round of the NFL Draft that the two sides had reached an agreement on a multi-year contract extension.
All Seahawks games will continue to air on Seattle Sports and KIRO and will be streamed live in-market on both station apps as well as on the Seahawks mobile app.
“We are thrilled to continue our incredible, long-standing relationship with Seattle Sports 710 and KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM as our official flagship radio broadcast partners,” Seahawks and First & Goal Inc. president Chuck Arnold said. “Since our inception in 1976, the 12s have enjoyed the most exciting moments in Seahawks history on the radio with Bonneville Seattle. Together, we are proud to continue to grow and expand our offerings to bring the best, most exclusive Seahawks programming to our fans in the region for years to come.”
Bonneville Seattle senior vice president and market manager Cathy Cangiano said the company is honored to continue a partnership that has spanned five decades.
“Working together for so many years makes collaboration and innovation a natural part of what we do together,” she said. “That spirit is present in the broadcast booth, in our respective front offices and especially in our community, where we seek to entertain and serve the 12s. Once again, we look forward to broadcasting the excitement of Seahawks football.”
In addition to game broadcasts, the partnership includes special programming, joint community service projects and exclusive web content.
The NFL Draft is taking place in Kansas City, and as was evidenced ahead of the first round on Thursday, football fans showed up in full force.
Fans and the league have made the draft a weekend-long festival and celebration of the game. But in Rich Eisen’s eyes, nothing will top when the draft was in Nashville in 2019.
“Nashville should get this event every three years,” Eisen said Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show. “That’s my favorite draft setup and city, other than me being a native New Yorker and doing it in Radio City Music Hall all those years. That was great.”
Over 600,000 people attended the draft that year – a new record. Last year’s draft in Las Vegas drew half that amount according to the NFL. Mike Greenberg said on ESPN Thursday night that 140,000 were in Kansas City for round 1.
“It should be like on a rotation like the Super Bowl,” the NFL Network draft anchor added. “That was nuts.”
Pat had a viral moment of his own at the Nashville Draft when he appeared on stage to announce the Indianapolis Colts’ third-round pick.
Eisen pointed out that it was an opportunity seized for McAfee.
“That was a big part of your ascension to your current role in our world in the sports media business,” he said. “That was epic.”
John Catsimatidis, the owner of WABC radio, expressed his worry in a New York Post op-ed about some automobile manufacturers, including Ford, removing AM radio from their cars. He believes that this action is un-American and, more significantly, endangers Americans’ safety in emergency situations.
During disasters, Catsimatidis stresses that AM radio is the most dependable means of communication. AM alerts are used by every major city, and a Pew Research Center survey discovered that almost 50% of US adults rely on the radio for news. Furthermore, about 47 million Americans continue to listen to AM radio frequency, which accounts for approximately 20% of the radio-listening populace.
“I have been leading the charge to save AM radio. Just last week at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas, I met with members of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Catsimatidis wrote.
Although AM listeners are generally older, they have increased their daily listening time to just over two hours in the past five years. AM signals have a wider reach, especially during nighttime, making them a crucial source of news in rural areas. Additionally, AM stations offer programming tailored to specific cultural and religious communities, promoting diverse perspectives, and contributing to the exchange of ideas.
“I’ve also been speaking with some of our leading politicians in Washington, and I am urging the public to do the same and speak to their representatives about preserving the AM option in all new vehicles,” he added.
Catsimatidis believes that if automakers can produce self-driving cars, then they can certainly manufacture radios that can pick up signals. He is currently spearheading the effort to preserve AM radio and has consulted with the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding this matter. He encourages individuals to contact their representatives concerning this issue, and even former Vice President Mike Pence has made a public-service announcement advocating for the preservation of AM radio on 77 WABC.
Catsimatidis points out the important role that AM radio has played throughout history. It provided entertainment in the 1920s and helped bring the nation together during the Great Depression through Franklin Roosevelt’s fireside chats. We also have AM radio to thank for introducing us to musical legends like Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and the Beatles, as well as the soothing sounds of Sunday summer baseball on the radio.
The elimination of AM radio from cars would be a huge disservice to Americans, putting profits before people and jeopardizing public safety. As Catsimatidis states, “Americans deserve better. Americans deserve AM radio.”
