Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Episode 79 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck. He and Troy Aikman will call Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2, 2020. In this podcast, Buck discusses how he views the prospect of working until his 70s as his father, Jack Buck, did; how turning 50 impacted him both professionally and personally; whether broadcasting a Super Bowl that year feels different for hos NFL broadcast group; why he signed a contract extension that times with John Smoltz’s contract; how to come to grips with being a figure on sports social media;  whether he could envision doing games without Aikman and Smoltz; his hockey fandom and passion for the St. Louis Blues; raising twin 1-year-old boys; how his wife, Michelle Beisner-Buck, has given him insight into ESPN; his family’s friendship with Randy Moss, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 78 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features James Andrew Miller, the best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN and Saturday Night Live the host of the “Origins” podcast. His latest project is a deep dive into HBO. In this podcast, Miller discusses the prospect of ABC airing Monday Night Football and whether ESPN could afford not to have MNF on cable; the interest at Disney in airing a Super Bowl; why he believes Stephen A. Smith’s annual salary will ultimately top $10 million; how ESPN decides on salaries such as Smith’s; whether it is fair to question ESPN’s talent layoffs when the company is paying big money for talent elsewhere; ESPN staffers navigating social media thoughts about the 2020 Presidential Election; Jim’s new book project on HBO and how much sports will play a part in the book; his upcoming “Origins” podcast on the 20th anniversary of the film, “Almost Famous” and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 77 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: First up is Robert Klemko, who is an investigative reporter in the Sports department of The Washington Post. Klemko worked at Sports Illustrated for six years prior to the Post. He is followed by Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, who writes “Traina Thoughts” for SI.com and is the host of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast. He has worked at SI for 19 years. In this podcast, Klemko discusses how he landed at The Washington Post and what is new job will entail; where he thinks Sports Illustrated is now and where will it be one year from now; the most important skills needed to cover the NFL in 2019; his reporting on Antonio Brown and Kellen Winslow Jr.; what teams he has found to be good with media access; how and why Lamar Jackson fell in the NFL Draft; what he has learned about investigative journalism when it comes to sports, and much more.  Traina discusses all of the wrestling shows on television and how AEW has gotten off to a remarkable viewership start; Fox’s noon strategy for college football and how it’s working; Sean McDonough’s work; whether Monday Night Football is just another game; the challenges of doing a sports media podcast and booking guests; ESPN-ers talking politics in 2020, and more.   You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 76 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: First up is Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand. He is followed by Tim Burke, who worked at Deadspin for seven years as a video editor, writer and editor. He now runs Burke Communications, a media consulting group.  In this podcast, Ourand discusses World Series viewership and where the health of MLB is regarding those metrics; why Ourand thinks MLB and Fox should be pleased with postseason numbers; why baseball’s local ratings remain so strong; Deadspin writers quitting the site en masse last week; CBS’s decision to get rid of Gary McCord and Peter Kostis; the calculus behind DAZN starting the Canelo Alvarez-Sergey Kovalev fight at 1:18 a.m. Eastern Time after waiting for a UFC card to end; a discussion on whether Inside The NBA should be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, and much more.  Burke offers his view on how Deadspin writers ended up in the untenable position they found themselves in; why private equity firms such as Great Hill are interested in media ownership; why Deadspin was able to resonate in the marketplace; Deadspin’s abilty to offer unique content in a crowded marketplace; whether his personal decision to leave in 2018 was because he saw this as a potential outcome; whether he sees any parallels between G/O Media’s stick to sports edict and ESPN management wanting staffers to avoid ‘pure politics’; why, in his opinion, Deadspin was important historically; whether any form of Deadspin at G/O Media can continue; the services he provides at Burke Communications; working as a media consultant in 2019, and more.    You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more. 

Episode 75 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests: Michael Smith, who worked for ESPN for 15 years in various capacities including as a NFL reporter and SportsCenter host; Isabelle Khurshudyan, who has covered the Washington Capitals for the Washington Post since the fall of 2015 and will soon become a Moscow correspondent for the paper, and Mark Beech, who spent eighteen years at Sports Illustrated before becoming a senior editor at the Players’ Tribune in 2016. His new book is The People's Team: An Illustrated History of the Green Bay Packers.   In this podcast, Smith discusses why he is no longer at ESPN; his experience as the co-host of SC6 with Jemele Hill; how he did not want to go backwards creatively at ESPN after the dissolution of SC6; the challenges of navigating internal politics at ESPN; what it is like when the President of the United States and White House spokesperson are tweeting about your company and co-host; whether his relationship with ESPN was salvageable; his new role as an executive vice president and and chief content officer of (co)laboratory — a new L.A. studio startup; focusing on developing original content about sports and media training for athletes; continuing to work as an on-air person and much more.    Khurshudyan discusses her job responsibilities in Russia; how she plans to prepare for her new assignment; what it’s like to be an American reporter in Moscow; watching Russian news; how her Russian accent plays in Russia; her awareness of being monitored by Russian officials; how the Capitals organization was in terms of access and storytelling; why the Post does not pigeon-hole reporters and more.   Beech discusses how he went about researching the history of the Packers; the value of the Green Bay Press-Gazette archives; the Packers executives who turned out to be great interviews; the role of integration in the Packers story; whether Green Bay could ever get a team today; the importance of the Packers in Wisconsin and much more.    You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 74 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Sam Amick, a national NBA writer for The Athletic, and Ian Darke and Taylor Twellman, the lead soccer broadcast team for ESPN. In this podcast, Amick discusses how much China will consume coverage of the league this season; howparity will impact NBA media coverage; the most interesting teams in the NBA this year; what he expects from the Lakers and Clippers in terms of access; what to expect from LeBron James in terms of interest from viewers; whether viewership will increase, decline or remain flat; the ping pong abilities of Nikola Jokić, and much more. Darke and Twellman discuss their broadcast partnership; how to develop on-air chemistry between partners; why it works between them; Twellman on Darke’s skill as a play by play broadcaster; Darke on Twellman’s preparation; the use of humor in a sports broadcast; whether their broadcast is different calling a U.S. team or MLS game versus a global soccer broadcast; how hard soccer viewers are on broadcasting and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 73 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features best-selling author and media writer James Andrew Miller, the host of the podcast, “Origins with James Andrew Miller. In this podcast, Miller and Deitsch discuss the relationship between ESPN and the NBA as it relates to China and politics; how ESPN has navigated the news out of China; whether employees feel restricted about discussing the political situation about China and Hong Kong through the prism of Daryl Morey’s tweet; what ESPN employees have seemingly been given a green light to discuss and not to discuss; what Disney’s involvement is here; where the story for ESPN goes next and how much discussion will exist this sesason; the Sports Illustrated layoffs; why SI found itself in the position it was in; Jim’s review of Uncut Gems and why he loves Adam Sandler in it; praise for Kevin Garnett’s acting work, and much more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more

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Episode 72 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features four former Sports Illustrated staffers who were let go last week by The Maven, the Seattle-based startup that leased Sports Illustrated's media operations from the Authentic Brands Group.  The first segment features Mary Agnant, a producer and filmmaker who worked for Sports Illustrated Video for three years. Agnant worked on many video initiatives and directed one of the best things SI has ever produced – a documentary (“The Logan Effect”) about Humboldt Broncos' Logan Boulet, one of the 16 people killed in the horrible bus crash involving that hockey team. She is joined by Scooby Axson, who worked at Sports Illustrated and SI.com for seven years there, covering everything from CFB, NFL, NBA, and MLB. Axson spent 16 years in the military, serving tours in Bosnia and Iraq prior to working at SI. The second segment features Tim Rohan, who worked at Sports Illustrated for 3.5 years as an NFL writer and was previously a writer for the New York Times. The serialized podcast re-examining the death of Steve McNair that Rohan hosted and help create – “Fall of a Titan” — was recognized as one of the best sports podcasts of 2018. He is joined by Joan Niesen, a talented staff writer at Sports Illustrated for nearly six years. Niesen covered a multitude of sports and events for SI including the College Football Playoff, Super Bowl, The Masters, Stanley Cup Finals, and World Series. In this podcast, the guests discuss what they did for Sports Illustrated; how they and the SI staff learned of the layoffs; whether they had any indication it was coming; the callous nature of how they and their colleagues were told they were losing their jobs; whether they hoped for a different resolution for SI; what working for SI has been like for the best couple of years; what they think the future holds for Sports Illustrated under The Maven; what they hope to do in their careers heading forward; how you can contact them if interested in hiring them, and much more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more

Episode 71 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two segments. The first guest is Adnan Virk, the host of DAZN’s “ChangeUp” MLB whip-around show, the network’s boxing coverage, as well as a host at MLB Network and NHL Network. The second segment features Ivan Maisel and John Dahl. Maisel has covered college football for ESPN since 2002, writing as a senior writer for ESPN.com and appearing on television and ESPN Radio and on podcasts.  Dahl is an ESPN Vice President of Special Projects and Original Content.  In this podcast Virk discusses his many appearances on this podcast; the over-punishment for him from ESPN; the differences in working at DAZN vs. ESPN; working for an incumbent as opposed to the big dog; his many name-drops per podcast appearances; whether DAZN will get involved in football; the challenges of starting up a new podcast; his many assignments; whether he misses the scale of the ESPN audience; the allure of Ryen Russillo and how ESPN blew it with him, and much more. Maisel and Dahl discuss ESPN’s programming rollout for College Football’s 150th anniversary season; the resources the company put toward this; the documentary-syle program including The American Game, an 11-episode documentary series that focuses on college football’s growth in the American landscape; integration in college football; the company’s upcoming selection of college football’s greatest players and games; and much more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 70 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: Jane McManus is the director of the Center for Sports Communication at Marist College, a sports columnist for the New York Daily News and a former ESPN and espnW columnist. Katie Strang is a national writer for The Athletic based in Michigan. and a former NHL and MLB writer for ESPN.  In this podcast, McManus and Strang discuss covering stories that focus on mental health and sexual assault in sports; how to cover such stories thoughtfully, intelligentially and accurately; how such stories are looked at internally by sports media outlets; the language used by the media when it comes to sexual assault and mental health; how the public reacts to such stories; how to educate yourself on the topic if you work in the sports media; whether broadcast networks such as ESPN should have mental health experts on staff to talk on air; Strang on the emotional toll of covering the Larry Nassar trial; the challenges of reporting and writing on this topic and much more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 69 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is Garret Graff, the author of the best-selling book, “The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11.” He is followed by Kavitha Davidson and Anders Kelto, the co-hosts of “The Lead” which is a new daily podcast from The Athletic and Wondery LLC. It is the first daily podcast for the Athletic. In this podcast, Graf discusses how his Politico Magazine piece for the 15th anniversary of 9/11 about being aboard Air Force One with the president on 9/11 led to his current book; the challenge of writing something that captured what the national experience was like on 9/11; how he and his colleague Jenny Pachucki culled through the many sources of audio data at the 9/11 Memorial StoryCorps, the Flight 93 National Memorial, the Pentagon Historian's Office and other sources; what process he used to compartmentalize his work for the book; how his sources reacted upon reflection of 9/11; the incredible story of the first fighters scrambled into the air to intercept what we now know was United 93; the decision to run the transcript of the hijackers from inside the cockpit; how much happenstance, fate, luck, and random life decisions impacted 9/11; the role of Roger Clemens, the Yankees, Monday Night Football on that day, and much more. In the second conversation, Davidson and Anders Kelto discuss what the concept of The Lead is and why it exists; how they put the podcast together; how they will judge success; how to differentiate the podcast within a crowded market; the ability of the staff to morph to audio; whether the market exists for such a show; why The Athletic is doing it, and much more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 68 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand. In this podcast, Deitsch and Ourand discuss the NFL’s viewership numbers; why viewership was up in Week One and what it means heading forward; how much the NFL is counting on Dallas, New England, Cleveland and some other teams in its big windows; Fox’s noon ET college football strategy; why college football has gotten off to a big ratings start; the impact of sports gambling on viewership; Big Noon Kickoff and Urban Meyer; ESPN’s robust tennis numbers; Michelle Wie joining Golf Channel; The Athletic’s new daily podcast, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 67 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with Monday Night Football analyst  Booger McFarland. In this podcast, McFarland discusses the criticism of the product last season; his confidence level that he would be retained by ESPN for MNF; the challenges of being a field analyst last season; how things will be different this year; how he views ESPN’s interest in high-profile people; how he got involved in the sports media following an NFL career that included two Super Bowl titles; how he views Andrew Luck’s decision to retire; what he has learned about broadcasting; how honest one can be in his position, and much more: You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Episode 66 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Fox Sports play by play broadcaster Gus Johnson and The Athletic college football writers Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel.    In this podcast, Johnson discusses his approach to calling big plays and silence; the challenges of calling college football compared to other sports; his most memorable college football game as a broadcaster; how noon ET kickoffs will change his routine; why he wants badly back in the NBA; his approach to social media; his thoughts on Jay-Z and the NFL; why he considers his world soccer assignment the best of his professional career; the most impactful people in his career; working with Joel Klatt and Bill Raftery; if Fox Sports and CBS Sports are different and much more.  Feldman (who also works at Fox Sports) and Mandel discuss the biggest storylines of the CFB season; whether access has changed since they have been on the beat; how they would add to the television coverage of college football; the podcast market for college football; what college football stories work for The Athletic and much more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.