The Podcast About Sports Radio : Chats With Industry Leaders

Show notes & BONUS AUDIO available: aboutsportsradio.com/rickscott

There have been a few names that have been uttered more than a single time in this podcast's short history.  Rick Scott is one of those names.  He's, arguably, the guy in the country who has touched the most different radio stations, networks, program directors and hosts in the entire country.

Rick is the President/CEO of Rick Scott & Associates--a sports radio programming and marketing consultation firm that has helped hundreds of stations and hosts improve their sound and image over the years.  He stops by to talk about how this business came about, the future of the radio medium, what he calls the mistakes program directors are making these days and much more.

INSIDE THIS EPISODE...

- Rick on how he got the bug for radio. [3:49]

- Rick talks about the first station he ever flipped to the sports format. [4:43]

- Rick compares the early days of the sports radio format to now. [6:59]

- Rick talks about how sports radio consulting became a business for him. [8:45]

- Rick on the most common mistakes program directors are making. [11:10]

- Rick on the most common missed opportunity hosts are making. [12:57]

- Rick on the common denominator in all 'great' hosts. [13:38]

- Rick on the 'perfect host.' [14:50]

- Rick on what program directors look for in out-of-market talent. [17:43]

- Rick talks about what makes a guest air-worthy. [19:46]

- Rick talks about the characteristics of those few markets that are most different from the rest. [21:09]

Want a free audiobook: aboutsportsradio.com/audible

Show notes & BONUS AUDIO available: aboutsportsradio.com/nickwright

When you google "Nick Wright," you'll get links to two separate people--a huge bodybuilder... and then the Nick we talked to!   He's the opposite from the bodybuilding Nick Wright in stature, but not in opinion at all.

Nick was an instant success in sports talk in his hometown on Kansas City before taking the leap to a top-10 market at Sports Radio 610 in Houston.  You don't do that without being uniquely qualified as an entertainer.  

He doesn't give a sh*t what you think while at the same time having the self-awareness to know that he's not right all of the time.

INSIDE THIS EPISODE... 

- Nick talks about his sports radio addiction beginning at a young age, by calling into radio shows. [3:58]

- Nick talks about how there was never a moment where there he didn't think he'd be in sports radio. [7:53]

- Nick talks about the first time he thought he was good at his job. [11:15]

- Nick on how hard it was for him to leave a successful job in his hometown. [13:57]

- Nick on what it's like to criticize other media members in his market. [17:53]

- Nick on the biggest differences between doing his team-based show during the week and his solo show on the weekend. [20:32]

- Nick on the maddest he's ever been on air. [23:26]

- Nick on whose great at sports radio. [26:13]

- Nick on his biggest pet peeves of other sports radio hosts. [30:11]

- Nick brings up a story about Adam Carolla that bugs him. [33:40]

Want a free audiobook: aboutsportsradio.com/audible

Show notes & BONUS AUDIO available: aboutsportsradio.com/tonybruno

Tony Bruno is the kind of radio host with whom you can have a couple of beers and enjoy the back-and-forth banter.  He's a voice you've heard on local and national airwaves for over 40 years now.

But there still may be a thing or two left you don't know about regarding the guy who now does a daily radio show, a weekly podcast and a regular hit on the Olbermann show on ESPN.

Tony Bruno has done it all and is doing it all. He helped start ESPN Radio and has lived on both coasts.  And it might have come at the expense of his marriage.

Check out more of the show notes below to get a feel for what you will hear in this edition of The PASR. I hope you enjoy and, as always, leave a comment to get out anything that this podcast had you thinking along the way. 

INSIDE THIS EPISODE... 

Tony talks about his early hook to radio as a coping mechanism after his father's death when he was a child. [3:03]

Tony talks about his first foray into working at a radio station. [4:01]

Tony talks about his style on-air, which he thinks is pretty simple. [7:58] 

Tony talks about his early start on national radio. [10:32]

Tony talks about being the host of the first incarnation of ESPN Radio's morning show. [16:36]

Tony talks about how his career affected his marriage. [23:06]

Tony calls me out on one of his on-air annoyances--something I used to do on-air. [24:50]

Tony on why he and Keith Olbermann click. [26:57]

Want a free audiobook: aboutsportsradio.com/audible

Show notes & BONUS AUDIO available: aboutsportsradio.com/colincowherd

Colin Cowherd doesn't need much of an introduction.  But he deserves one.

Cowherd has been a fixture with ESPN Radio since 2003 and is a model for a lot of aspiring young sports talk broadcasters. His use of analogies to compare sports to life and business are unparalleled and, frankly, something I do myself now (although not nearly as well) because of all of the listening I've done to him over the years.

His rap sheet reads like a greedy kid's Christmas wish list.  ESPN Radio host, author (twice now), successful TV host of multiple shows, sports director at a TV news station, play-by-play announcer--and I'm missing a bunch.

But his love for sports talk trumps all.  He talks about his past and predicts the future of his show and the sports talk industry overall in our conversation.

INSIDE THIS EPISODE

Colin talks about how he got the bug for doing sports talk, via play-by-play and television. [2:55]

Colin remembers the first time he thought he might thought sports radio might be a viable career. [4:21]

Was Colin always confident in his ability or did it develop over time? [6:31]

Colin gives some great advice to aspiring sports talk hosts. [7:55]

"Don't worry about being perfect." [9:17]

Colin goes through his show prep process. [10:23]

The dynamic of topic development between Colin and his staff before air [12:30]

How often does management talk to Colin about his content? [14:17]

Does Colin get paralyzed by market-specific ratings? [15:38]

Where will sports radio be in ten years? [18:10]

The biggest differences between Colin's show when he began at ESPN Radio in 2003 and now. [21:19]

How does Colin conform to the new "bite-size" world of topic delivery and consumption? [22:31]

The sports radio version of nails on a chalkboard to Colin. [24:23]

"There's no money in being right.  A lot of guys are more right than me and they're doing overnights." [25:45]

The thing that Colin does that annoys the people around him the most. [28:58]

Want a free audiobook: aboutsportsradio.com/audible

Show notes & BONUS AUDIO available: aboutsportsradio.com/dandakich

Dan Dakich has gone from coach of Indiana University basketball to sports talk radio host and, now, TV analyst for college basketball games on ESPN.  It's obviously been a different road for him to where he is.

Where Dakich is now is somewhere between doing what he loves... and euphoria.  The choices that he has made in recent years have led him to a very happy life, including the choice he made to get into sports radio with the ability to thrive in it due to his unique, tell-it-how-it-really-is-and-not-the-fake-kind-of-tell-it-how-it-really-is style.

INSIDE THIS EPISODE...

Dan talks about his affinity not just for sports radio, but for radio in general, as a kid. [3:30]

Dan, a former college basketball coach, looks at coaches totally differently now that he's in the media. [4:50]

Does Dan have any aspirations to get back into coaching? [6:36]

When Dan realized that this sports talk radio thing could become an actual career. [9:06]

How Dan describes his own show. [11:01]

What is it about Colin Cowherd? [12:58]

Dan talks about the parallels between coaching styles and talk radio styles. [15:00]

Dan talks about the one time he almost got in trouble on-air. [16:16]

The dynamic between Dan and his producer. [18:11]

Dan talks about his boring life and how it helps him prepare for his radio show. [21:15]

Dan's biggest pet peeve about other sports radio hosts. [23:48]

Dan works holidays! [24:50]

Dan gives the biggest differences between working nationally with a co-host and working locally as a solo act. [25:28]

What sports radio goals does Dan Dakich still have to reach? [27:28]

Want a free audiobook: aboutsportsradio.com/audible

Show notes & BONUS AUDIO available: aboutsportsradio.com/mattjones

Matt Jones is the creator of KentuckySportsRadio.com, the nation's largest independent college sports blog, and has parlayed it into a very successful radio show.

I was Jones' first co-host on his radio show, which originates out of Louisville (just miles from my hometown of New Albany, Ind.), and you will hear a couple of stories of how that radio show started to make some waves and then, long after I left, grew into syndication on around 30 stations in and around the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Jones is arguably the public's foremost authority and conduit to University of Kentucky basketball with an average of over 150,000 unique visitors to his blog each day.

Why did I think he'd be a good option for the podcast?  Jones' avenue for success is one few take as they grow in their careers: remaining mostly "local," while creating a massive following in his niche.  It's an avenue that many other local hosts could take as well.  It can be done. Jones explains in the podcast.

INSIDE THIS EPISODE:

How Matt got his start in radio and what made it so addictive for him. [4:02]

Matt took a different avenue than many others who try to get into sports radio. [6:11]

Matt talks about when he knew he really had something that people wanted. [9:37]

Matt and Zach talk about how the show they did together first got ratings and surprised the whole building. [11:18]

Matt talks about one of the stories that had nothing to do with sports that got the ball rolling on the kind of style Matt had on the air. [11:50]

Matt talks about what sports radio does the worst. [13:57]

Matt explains his show. [18:01]

Matt gives the ingredients to having a mega-popular show on a local level. [19:52]

Matt is currently trying to break through the "local" host stigma and work on a more regional and national scale. Matt opens up about it. [22:50]

Matt talks about how his show has evolved over time. [23:50]

Matt talks about his biggest shortcomings in sports radio. [25:00]

Matt gives his biggest pet peeves about other sports radio hosts. [26:20]

Matt still calls in to other sports radio shows randomly! [27:05]

Matt talks about who he thinks is great in sports radio and what makes them great. [28:43]

Want a free audiobook: aboutsportsradio.com/audible

CBS Sports Radio's Scott Ferrall is my guest on this podcast.  Ferrall, as he is known to basically everyone, has been to a ton of places and succeeded at all of them with a self-confidence that many others would envy.

Ferrall takes you through all of the different turns of his career, which include covering a national championship at 18, to sleeping at the houses of the players he was covering, to working for Howard Stern, to now "playing by the rules" for perhaps the first time at CBS Sports Radio.

Ferrall was once self-admittedly "brash and a showoff," but that early mentality, along with his "Rainman-esque" knowledge of sports made him a name from an early age, and he's at the point in his career where he's feeling about as good as he's ever felt about his career.

Scott also talks about the relationships he has burned and the ones he has kept or mended along the way.

Check out more of the show notes below to get a feel for what you will hear in this edition of The PASR.

I hope you enjoy and, as always, leave a comment to get out anything that this podcast had you thinking along the way.

• Scott takes us through his very interesting career path. [2:35]
• What makes Scott's style successful regardless of the market he works in? [10:34]
• Scott talks about how selfish he was when trying to move up in the business. [16:55]
• "Be careful who you work for and who say bad things about in your life." [18:45]
• "I don't want to be an asshole for the rest of my career." [19:40]
• "I don't think I matter that much." [20:19]
• Scott talks about some of his biggest failures in the sports radio business. [22:59]
• Scott talks about how he had to resurrect his career, and did so successfully. [27:49]
• What would Scott be doing if he never got into sports radio? [28:51]
• Scott talks about how he begged (threatened) his first boss to give him a sports gig. [32:29]

FROM THE GUEST

• Ferrall On The Bench on CBS Sports Radio Show Page
• Ferrall's site: FerrallOnTheBench.com

FROM ZACH

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Thanks for joining me again this week. Have something you’d like to share with me or Al? Leave a note in the comment section below!

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Show Notes: aboutsportsradio.com/evancohen

Evan Cohen is one of a kind.  He takes "radio life" to a whole new level.  There are plenty of guys out there that are program directors or hosts, or both.  But Evan goes one step further.

Evan is the Director of Content Development for Good Karma Brands, which has ESPN Radio stations in four different markets.  That's a job worthy of a full day's attention.  And he gives it that attention on top of hosting a radio show.

Not just one radio show.  Two.

Cohen hosts The Morning Men on SiriusXM's Mad Dog Radio (Channel 85) and then doubles down as the co-host of EvCoRadio on ESPN 106.3 in West Palm Beach in the afternoons.

He's full of energy and his philosophy on radio is knowledgable and, better yet, addicting.  A fascinating guest.  I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did learning from him.

Check out more of the show notes below to get a feel for what you will hear in this edition of The PASR.

I hope you enjoy and, as always, leave a comment to get out anything that this podcast had you thinking along the way.

INSIDE THIS EPISODE...

- Evan talks about how he got into the business. [2:41]

- Evan talks about the moment that he recognized that something was going right for him in sports radio. [4:57]

- Evan goes into what his typical day entails, which is, as you would assume, very busy.  [7:09]

- Evan talks about how exhaustive his business can be. [10:23]

- Evan goes into the comparisons and contrasts between his national morning show and his local afternoon show. [11:26]

- Evan talks about the biggest challenges in starting a new show with a new co-host. [14:03]

- As Director of Content Development overseeing many stations in multiple markets, Evan talks about the common topics he discusses with the program directors that work under him. [17:10]

- So, working on Mad Dog Radio on SiriusXM, what is Mad Dog like? [19:37]

- Evan talks about his biggest strength as a host. [21:37]

- Evan also talks about his biggest weakness in sports radio. [25:37]

- Evan discusses great radio hosts and hosts that have great facets in their game. [26:49]

- Evan gives his best sports talk radio host in America.  It's not who you might think. [29:55]

- Evan gives his biggest pet peeves of other sports hosts in the business. [31:07]

- Evan talks about what's great about twitter as it pertains to sports radio. [32:30]

I know you love audio, so I teamed up with Audible, and if you haven't already you can grab an awesome audiobook from their enormous library of over 100,000 titles for free at aboutsportsradio.com/audible. 

Show Notes: aboutsportsradio.com/jorgesedano2

THIS IS PART TWO | PART ONE IS PASR 008

ESPN Radio host Jorge Sedano is my host on this week's podcast.  From his father expecting more from him, to being blackballed from the heritage sports station in his local market, to being turning into a program director and everywhere in between, Jorge has had a very interesting trek to what is now a daily solo show on ESPN Radio.

Jorge was very gracious with his time and was very open about how he got to where he is now.  So much so that we broke the interview up into two parts.  This is Part Two of the interview.

In Part Two, Jorge is open about just how fortunate he is to get to where he is (although he's modest, it's obvious that Jorge has the talent as well) and now and explains what makes radio hosts great, including some that he works with at ESPN Radio now.

Show Notes: aboutsportsradio.com/jorgesedano

THIS IS PART ONE | PART TWO IS PASR 009

ESPN Radio host Jorge Sedano is my host on this week’s podcast.  From his father expecting more from him, to being blackballed from the heritage sports station in his local market, to being turning into a program director and everywhere in between, Jorge has had a very interesting trek to what is now a daily solo show on ESPN Radio.

Jorge was very gracious with his time and was very open about how he got to where he is now.  So much so that we broke the interview up into two parts.  This is Part One of interview.

In Part One, Jorge talks mostly about his story, which is a very relatable one from the standpoint of how tough it is to work for small stations as you’re getting going, and then trying to work your way up into bigger stations as time goes on.