Episode 266 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Tara Slone, a digital, television, and podcast host for the San Jose Sharks and a contributor to NBC Sports Bay Area. She is followed by Stephen Brunt, one of Canada’s most well-known sports voices and the author of multiple bestselling books. including his two latest, “Playing the Long Game,” written with Christine Sinclair, and “All Roads Home: A Life On and Off the Ice,” written with Bryan Trottier. In this podcast, Slone discusses her new job with the NHL’s Sharks and how that came to be; living and working in a new country; her long and distinguished run as a host at Sportsnet (Canada) including her work as co-host on the long-running Rogers Hometown Hockey, which aired on Sportsnet; the shock of being let go by Rogers; dealing with vitriol on social media after her thoughts on Don Cherry and getting hate mail; her previous life as the lead singer of the Juno-nominated band Joydrop; where she thinks sports media is heading in Canada; the issues surrounding hockey culture in Canada and her unique view given her background; the importance of having a platform; what she hopes to do heading forward, and more. Brunt discusses his recent books; how one collaborates with an athlete on a book; how the book with Sinclair came to be; the demand for sports books in Canada; where Brunt thinks sports media is heading in the next five years; the emergence of sports gambling in Canada; the power of sports radio and why we think it’s end days in Canada and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 265 of the Sports Media Podcast features The Boston Globe sports media writer Chad Finn and Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal. In this podcast we discuss the sports media stories we expect to be notable in 2023; the upcoming rights for the college football playoffs, the NBA, and LIV Golf; the prospect of Tom Brady in the Fox booth; what we expect viewership-wise for Brittney Griner’s first WNBA game this year; 2023 sports media talents to watch including Malika Andrews, Chiney Ogwumike, and Marie Donoghue; a deep look at Fox’s World Cup coverage and we hope for 2026; Pat McAfee’s 2022; what we expect from sports gambling in 2023, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 264 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests and the first sisters on the podcast. Malika Andrews is the host of ESPN’s weekday NBA studio show, NBA Today and an NBA reporter for the company. Her sister, Kendra Andrews, covers the Golden State Warriors for ESPN. In this podcast, Kendra and Malika discuss how they gravitated toward NBA media jobs; the qualities they admire about each other; how Malika’s reporting in the NBA bubble in 2020 impacted her professionally and personally; navigating a certain level of being recognized by the sports viewing public; Malika’s struggles as a teen and attending a therapeutic boarding school; Malika asking Paige Bueckers for basketball analysis to help her with her job; how Kendra sees the challenges and benefits of the Warriors beat; Malika on Hilary Guy, NBA Today’s coordinating producer; the best interviews in the NBA right now; advice for young people of color, particularly women, who want to go into this business; dreams of doing longform pieces and covering the Olympics and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 263 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation on the soccer journalist Grant Wahl with three of his longtime friends and colleagues— Jon Wertheim, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, a senior correspondent for 60 Minutes and a senior analyst for The Tennis Channel; Mark Mravic, a longtime editor for Sports Illustrated who was the editor for GrantWahl.com and best-selling author Jeff Pearlman, the author of  “The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson” and a longtime former Sports Illustrated writer. In this podcast, we talk about Grant’s impact on people professionally and personally; the outpouring of love for him on social media and elsewhere; our earliest memories of him; how he approached his work; his relationship with his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder; his work as an independent journalist and growing his own business; his support and work for U.S. women’s soccer; his enduring legacy and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 262 of the Sports Media Podcast features T.J. Quinn, an investigative reporter for ESPN who has reported on the Brittney Griner case for ESPN since her imprisonment. In this podcast, Quinn discussed how he learned of the prisoner swap for Griner; his game plan for reporting the story; dealing with government sources; reporting on Griner getting a chance to do a light basketball workout; Griner’s life in Russia as best as Quinn could report; how Griner is doing psychologically and what is next for her; on Roger Carstens, the U.S. special presidential envoy for hostage affairs; the social media vitriol and Russian disinformation floating through Twitter and Quinn’s accounts; media outlets requesting Griner; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 261 of the Sports Media Podcast features a media roundtable with Kavitha A. Davidson, a sportswriter and a correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and Ben Strauss, who covers sports and media for The Washington Post

In this podcast, Davidson and Strauss discuss the U.S. and Russia prisoner exchange involving WNBA star Brittney Griner and how that coverage will likely play out on sports outlets; Fox’s World Cup coverage; Arson Judge and the race to be first among transaction reporters; the coverage of Deshaun Watson from NFL partners; Ben's piece on the power and peril of being Adam Schefter, the ultimate NFL insider; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 260 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Renee Paquette, who was recently hired by AEW (All Elite Wrestling) as a host, interviewer and producer. She also hosts her own podcast — The Sessions with Renée Paquette — and does video content for the Cincinnati Bengals. She is followed by Grant Wahl, the longtime soccer journalist who is covering the World Cup in Qatar. In this podcast, Paquette discusses how she ended up at AEW after her long run with WWE; what her responsibilities are at AEW; how she anticipates she’ll be used in the next few months and how that role will evolve; working as a producer at AEW; her fandom for the Bengals; the differences in how segments are done in AEW versus WWE; how she feels about any potential storyline with her husband, Jon Moxley; the importance of providing the audience with a visual response during interviews; the genius of Paul Heyman and Sami Zayn; what she hopes to accomplish with her podcast and how she chooses guests; maintaining friendships with WWE people including Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch, and much more. Wahl discusses how his access has been during the World Cup; being stopped by Qatari officials for wearing a Pride shirt; how he sees the rest of the tournament progressing; the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe, and more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 259 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Tom Rinaldi, the Fox Sports reporter, host and producer who has had a crazy travel schedule in November. In this podcast, Rinaldi discusses the 10-day stretch that saw him travel from Doha to New Jersey to Dallas to Columbus to Kansas City and then back to Qatar; covering the Cowboys-Giants Thanksgiving Day game; Michigan-Ohio State; Rams-Chiefs and U.S-Iran in a two-week stretch; how to prepare for so many different assignments; the access he has received from the U.S. men’s national team; profiling Tyler Adams and Harry Kane; Fox’s mandate on sticking to the pitch when it comes to covering this World Cup; what he will be doing for the final weeks of the World Cup; the prospect of being assigned a WWE event and more. . You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 258 of the Sports Media Podcast features a roundtable sports media discussion with Boston Globe sports media writer Chad Finn and Sports Business Journal managing editor/digital Austin Karp. In this podcast, Deitsch, Finn, and Karp discuss Fox’s World Cup coverage; the viewership totals for the World Cup so far; the NFL’s massive Thanksgiving Day ratings and what it means for future Thanksgiving  games; next year’s Black Friday game; the Michigan-Ohio State viewership; Bob Iger replacing Bob Chapek at Disney and what happens if ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro left ESPN; this year’s Manningcast; what could replace Twitter for sports media; our thoughts on Kirk Herbstreit as an NFL analyst; Amazon’s viewership so far, why we love “Andor” and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.

Episode 257 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with ESPN’s Lydelle King, the coordinating producer of NFL Live, and ESPN’s Mark Eiseman, the producer of NFL Live. In this podcast, King and Eiseman discuss their roles producing a daily NFL show; how a show such as this gets put together each day; why on-air chemistry is almost always forged away from the camera; how viewership plays into their jobs; the importance of social media when it comes to their show; contingency plans if staffers such as Laura Rutledge or Dan Orlovsky were to leave; navigating people who appear remotely; who they consider their competition; the challenge of content during the spring and summer; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.