"The industry has spent decades telling talent to be genuine, build trust, and create authentic relationships with listeners. Yet when those same qualities extend beyond sports and into the realities of the business itself, they can suddenly be viewed as liabilities instead of strengths."
Middlekauff explained his career steps to Adam Schein, detailing his journey through college sports before ultimately moving into the sports talk game.
"It starts with the three R's, reach, revenue and relevance. Reach being number one for a reason, if you have a wide reach, you're likely going to drive revenue, and be pretty relevant."
"I worked in college football and I worked in the NFL, and the reality is you talk about it in those buildings like a fan would talk. 'Is this player better than the other player?' 'This coach sucks.' I mean, you have the same conversations."
"The industry has spent decades telling talent to be genuine, build trust, and create authentic relationships with listeners. Yet when those same qualities extend beyond sports and into the realities of the business itself, they can suddenly be viewed as liabilities instead of strengths."
"I, somehow, have been able to survive and adapt. My career is full of different chapters. Every one of those chapters, I never really knew if I’d make it out of it."