First I just want to let everyone know that I’m going to be posting about radio, and Justine will be posting on TV so that we don’t talk about the same things.
Second, I wanted to mention that, unlike some of my classmates, this topic is kind of hard for me to write about. I’ve never been a big sports radio fan (I like visuals, I learn more), but this summer I got a chance to work at Sirius Sports Central channel 123 when my boss started hosting his own show, and I gained a lot of respect for sports radio. I now listen to “Movin’ the Chains” with Pat Kirwin, Tim Ryan, and others because those guys crack me up. I’m curious to know how many of us actually listen to sports on the radio (I can just hear Jared now). So, if you do listen to sports radio, why? What shows? The chapter mentions sports radio personalities (or just Jim Rome) and the loyalty that some fans have… is there anyone you have devotion towards? Why is sports radio so popular? Is it because, as Ron Barr said, “We can relate to sports because sports is a reflection of life itself. We all compete every day; sports is that release.”
I have to say the end of the chapter poses some interesting questions. The lack of research on sports radio is amazing. A Google search of the terms just brings up stations websites. I couldn’t find much to talk about via the internet (probably because if there are issues concerning sports radio, I just don’t know about them). So, here’s my experiment. I’m going to post a link to a youtube video. The video is of the last play of the ending of the Appalachian State vs. Michigan game from 9/1. The first time it plays, the announcer is Thom Brennaman from the Big Ten Network and the second is the radio call from the Appalachian State radio network announcers David Jackson and Steve Brown (he’s the one who just screams). Try to close your eyes during the second call so that you can pretend it actually is radio. So, which call do you think is the better one? Why do you think the radio call is the one getting more attention? Does this clip illustrate anything about sports coverage on the radio as compared to television?
The clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nLE_bT_Zn7U
The chapter does touch on the masculinity of sports radio as a whole. While it is true that majority of sports radio shows are hosted by men, talking about male sports, shows with and about women are out there. Sirius has "The Fantoo Girls" who I have listened to before. They offer a female point of view on the world of sports thats usually pretty funny and insightful. We've discussed the inequalities of women's sports in the media with our discussion on newspapers. But I want to know if anyone sees female sports radio personalities as just a novelty or could the profession be changing?
As a kind of last point there’s a quote in the chapter that I wanted to bring up, Goldberg writes “Supporting one’s team has taken the place of what it was like supporting one’s country, right or wrong. Sports talk radio is the propaganda machine of the new fan-aticism.” Sports on the radio truly has evolved from just straight coverage of games to now channels on satellite devoted to individual sports to podcasts devoted to anything and everything sports. But why? Does anyone truly have the time to sit and listen to all of these sports shows? I was overwhelmed just looking at the ESPNradio website. Why is it so entertaining to listen to hours of content containing some stats and someone else’s opinion?
-- Lauren
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First, in response to Lauren’s post, I have to agree that I’m very much the same way when it comes to sports. The radio, while I do enjoy it from time to time has never been my main source of coverage. My mom, however, has always encouraged me to listen to the radio, whether it is for sports, news or music since she used to be a media buyer for WPLJ in New York. I really can’t escape the idea of talk radio completely. The first station that came to mind when I was thinking about this topic is WFAN with Mike and The Mad Dog. The lead in…the constant banter between the hosts…are easily recognizable to me. Because the show focuses mainly on football and baseball, I’m usually listening to coverage of the Giants, Jets, or Yankees when we’re on a road trip. I believe this is one reason in particular that sports radio is so popular. The absolute convenience of it draws a crowd. Sure, some people have cell phones with satellite television now…but this is not a majority of people and one thing that is guaranteed is that a car has a radio. So even if you’re just listening to the game until you can find a place to watch it, you’ve got your immediate updates right there.
As for female sports broadcasters, I think there is little hope for them, much in the same way there is little hope for women’s sports in the media. I say this as a female athlete, who would love to watch the ratings soar for our sports, but with the knowledge that if that does ever happen, it will not be any time in the near future. Men are more interested in what another man has to say about the game that they play, rather than a woman who does not necessarily know the game from a player’s standpoint. There are certain females who announce sports now. For instance, Rebecca Lobo has had her share of radio, as well as television broadcasting experience. However, her career has peaked and the younger the audience is, the less they know of her significance.
Lastly, as someone who does not avidly listen to sports radio, I’m hard pressed to understand why people prefer talk radio to actual conversation between peers. This is the same reason, I don’t particularly care for shows on ESPN that simply debate player stats and leave a lot to be desired from an unbiased standpoint. I understand that with sports there does happen to be a lot of debate and favoritism based on teams and athletes. I do not understand though, how these arguments are really anything but rambling about personal preference. If I wanted to hear people argue about sports, I would just sit and watch my dad talk to our neighbors about how the Rangers are so much better than the Flyers. At least at that point, I could interject my opinion if I really felt it was necessary.
Lest we forget the Holy Cross student radio call of the game winning goal against Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament 2 seasons ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnRfpcc3LZA
(I promise, WQAQ Sports will never employ broadcasters like this).
We enjoy the radio call more because they show the emotion that we, as fans, show while we watch and listen to the games. John Sterling is either reviled or revered, depending on your allegiance. Yankee fans love him because he shows the emotion we show during games, other fans hate him because he is an example of the pompous, overblown Yankee fan.
Meanwhile, the TV guys are usually nationally broadcasted, so cannot show the unbridled emotion the radio guys do. I think that's why radio calls are almost always thought of as better than their television counterparts.
As for sports radio, I think the same thing is true. People who call into Joe Beningo's show, Steve Somers' show, and Mike and the Maddog are thought of as part of the family. They think they are friends with these hosts. Radio, for some reason, is more personable than TV. I think the reason is people see TV broadcasters in these fancy suits (sent in by Armani, Canali, and other high priced clothing stores), but on radio, the broadcaster is just a normal person, wearing normal clothes, just talking into a microphone.
I listen to sports radio in a way, because I watch Mike and Mad Dog sometimes on YES. This show offers a different take than a lot of shows you will see on TV. The Mike and Mad Dog show gives a feeling about what is important in New York sports and what the fans want to discuss. A lot of sports radio shows give a more regional feel, so if you like hearing about a certain team then radio is good to listen to.
As far as which App State-Michigan call was better, the radio call definitely got across more of the emotion and magnitude of what just happened. A lot of time in college sports the radio announcers are better because they can show their allegiance to the school. You have to remember though that a national sports announcer is supposed to not show any favoritism. One of the few national announcers that make me dispute that point though is Gus Johnson. He is one of my favorite announcers because he somehow is able to get across the importance of a moment (a lot of times overdoing it) without siding with one team.
Listen to this clip of his brilliance: http://youtube.com/watch?v=sgeqrYxu_YM
When it comes to women sports broadcasters, I see the potential for growth as not that good. Even though it is very unfair for it to be like this, I think a lot of male sports fan don't respect women's sports opinions. This is just like I don't think a lot of men take women's sports seriously. It is unfair for it to be like this, but I think sports are one area where the growth in male-female equalities will be very slow.
How much sports radio has grown and become so popular kind of shows what we have become as a society. We are obsessed with opinions and cannot sit and listen to straight facts anymore. Whether it is about celebrities or sports, people want to hear a different kind of discussion. I think at the same time there is also more of a connection between the fans and hosts than there is on a TV show. The call-in factor plays a huge part in sports talk radio. Fans feel closer to sports radio hosts, especially after they call in and are able to have interaction and argue their points with them.
As an avid sports watcher and a frequent commuter, I find sports radio provides a solace for me. Often times, using some sarcasm, radios tend to play certain song until you can't bare to listen to them anymore. I find with sports radio this is never the case because of how rapidly the sports environment can change. Yes you may be listening to coverage of the same teams day in and day out but the issues surrounding these teams and the situations they are inolved in are continuously changing. Being a huge sports fan I also never get tired of talking or listening to people talk about sports. Whether I'm listening to the recap of the yankees dismantling the red sox for the 8th time in 10 games or getting my latest info on the New York Giants and their stellar defense, sports radio always provides with the information I want to know and covers the issues I want to talk about.
To touch upon the issue of radio announcers vs. tv broadcasters I think Seth raises a great point. When you are listening to sports game broadcasted in your regional area the radio broadcasters tend to have more emotion because you sense they are carrying a bias of announcing a team they enjoy watching. Whether this has been acquired from years of covering them or because they have always been a fan of that team. It is very rare to have a game nationally broadcasted on the radio and as a result there is not as much of a push for non-bias among the announcers. When watching a game on Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, etc. the game is broadcasted throughout the country and you have fans of both teams. As a result the announcers must remain impartial in order to maintain viewer status and keep the ratings high. As a very biased fan, I would prefer listening to the radio and hear favortism towards my team and that is one primary reason I prefer listening to a radio commentary vs. listening to the annoying Joe Buck. I think Seth also raises a great point about a sense of belonging when referencing calling into a show. When listening to a show such as Mike and the Mad Dog you feel like you are listening to your brother talk and not just an anonymous radio voice.
Finally, on the topic of female broadcasters I agree that their is plenty of antagonism surrounding them. I've heard many females in our class even say they would rather listen to a male than a female. Though the Yankees have Susan Waldmen providing a nice complement to the commentating of Sterling, I would still rather listen to the voice of man. I think because there are not enough female sports broadcasters out there that something just feels out of place while I'm listening to her. I'm sure if a female voice was more common that I would feel differently but I still find myself reluctant to take her seriously and that can cause a deterrence when trying to remain focused on what you are listening to. Due to the bias shared by many, I think it will ultimately be very difficult for a female sports broadcaster to create a staple in the world of sports broadcasting.
I think people listen to sports talk shows to gain more information about their favorite team and players and to help them become "experts." Television has brought our teams into our homes, and viewers have developed an allegiance and familiarity with team members and managers. As for listening to game broadcasts on radio, I would guess that those people do not have access to a TV at that time (e.g., driving somewhere, doing yard work) or are unable to get the game on their networks. On the other hand, I remember watching the 2001 NFL playoffs and putting the television on mute and turning on the radio because the television announcers were chit chatting rather than calling the game. I don’t think much has changed in recent years with announcers; the majority of NFL television broadcasters often feel they need to fill the dead air space with random dialogue that has minimal relevance to the game at hand. The majority of time I'm in my car, I'll listen to music. However, I agree with Rick regarding stations overplaying music. Every once in a while I'll turn on WEEI (Boston sports radio) as a break from the repetition of standard FM radio stations.
In regard to the clip that Lauren posted, I think this clip does not fully demonstrate the difference between TV and radio broadcasting. However, there are some things worth noting. The radio broadcast of this short clip had a lot more emotion, which I think is characteristic of radio broadcasting. Radio broadcasters assume the listeners are not watching the game. Therefore, their responsibility is to depict a picture of the game, filling the broadcast with enthusiasm and imagery. Television broadcasters, since their listeners are viewing the game simultaneously, tend to be less descriptive. Overall, as long as there is a demand for sports, which seems undeniable, both television and radio sports broadcasting will remain successful.
Because I am from the Boston area, the only females in sports media that come to my mind are Boston figures, writer Jackie MacMullan and television sports reporter Wendy Nix. There is definitely a crossover in the media. Boston sportswriters like Jackie MacMullan, Bob Ryan, Dan Shaughnessy also appear on TV sports talk shows and are often guests on radio. Mike Barnicle has a talk show that isn’t solely sports, but on Mondays after football and after any significant games, he always starts with sports talk and analysis. Oftentimes he has WBZ-TV sportscaster, Bob Lobel on, too. I agree with Nikki, who stated that the popularity of women radio figures will be as minimal as professional women sports. However, women are becoming more apparent in sideline reporting, so I would not be surprised if I see a successful woman broadcaster before I see a women's sports team rise to the scene.
First off Lauren, funny clip. The guy is flipping out….very entertaining. It reminds me of when the Red Sox beat the Yanks and no one is really announcing everyone is just screaming ‘can you believe it’….crazy mother effers. I will be the first one to admit I don’t know a thing about sports radio nor does it interest me. I’d much rather be singing along to Kenny Chesney then to listening about how LaDanian Tomlinson should be the MVP. Maybe I should give it a chance but I am a much more visual person, and half the time I don’t even know the person they are talking about, let alone what team they play for. But if I saw them on TV I could look at the colors, people running around, you know entertaining stuff like that. Radio doesn’t really hold my attention as well as television does. Sports are entertainment and I think TV entertains me much more than radio could. As for women trying to have radio shows, I don’t think that in our society they will EVER be taken seriously, let alone successful. Even as a woman, as awful as it is to say, I don’t take female sports broadcasters as seriously. Then again maybe it’s because I don’t take myself seriously when it comes to sports but I just think it’s the Medias way of trying to hard to be politically correct.
I'm probably the only one, but I liked the first call better than the radio call. Granted there was more emotion in the radio call, but I really don't like sports casters who scream. Emotion is fine, I understand announcers with regional shows are going to have team allegiances and I expect that- but the yelling is not pleasant to listen to. Besides, it makes the announcers seem to me like crazed fans and not professionals.
To be honest, I don't listen to a lot of sports radio. If there's a particular game on that I want to see/watch and I'm driving somewhere, then I'll flip on the radio. In those instances, I do enjoy listening to games on the radio but not the sports talk shows as much. I'd rather watch TV and see whose talking. Also on TV they usually show clips of the plays and the players they're discussing, which I enjoy seeing, in case I don't know what they're referencing. But there is something sort of romantic/exciting about listening to a game on the radio. As others have mentioned, the announcers are far more descriptive and the crackle/pop of the static on the am stations adds to the emotion of the experience (one day I'll catch up on modern technology and get satellite).
As far as womens' future in sports broadcasting, I'd say they fair a better chance on television than on radio. Maybe it's just because I've seen more women on TV than I've heard on radio, or maybe it's because of the sex element and I think producers are likely to think that men would rather look at a woman than just listen to her.
Someone made a good point about fans preferring to listen to former players announce rather than women who haven't played the (mens) games. While I know all sports talkshow hosts and announcers aren't players- I enjoy listening to the ones who are. For instance, I enjoy when YES brings Joe Girardi on b/c he offers a lot of insight into the game of baseball. A female broadcaster (and non player) with a sports journalism degree isn't likely to offer that same insight into the game- or have the same wealth of player anecdotes. Then again, neither will a male non-player...
I think the outlook for women in sports broadcast is a little brighter than my classmaes who have posted before me. I just think it'll take time for women to break in, just as it took them time to break into newsrooms. But they are making progress. Also, change needs to be made from the top- down. The more women execs and producers who break into the sports world, the more women we'll see covering sports on the radio and on TV.
What makes sports radio amazing is money. I'll explain.
You can identify the real fans at knicks and mets games simply by looking up. The white collar crowd casually filters in during the first 4 innings while the “real fans” that live and die with their team are in the mezzanine and upper deck; and have been there, since batting practice. Going to the game is an experience, and while television has revolutionized the way sports are watched at home, sports radio live, has always been about the experience. The radio hosts are fans first. Not that TV reporters aren’t fans too, but the radio hosts are the fans that have been there since batting practice, or shoot around. Television is where the money is, but not the art. The picture has been painted for you. Radio is where the ears and eyes work involuntarily. The reason that Appalachian State announcer seizured over the air after the blocked field goal is because, in all likelihood, that man has been announcing Appalachian state football for decades and was so in awe of the importance and magnitude of what he saw, that all he could literally do, was yell. While television broadcasters have freelancing assignments that change from week to week; radio guys do what real fans do. They stay with their team. Radio hosts in general get paid significantly less that television hosts, but radio hosts are fans, they are the voice of the fans, and they talk to and hear from the fans every day.
I really am not a big fan of sports radio. For one,I don't really have a chance to listen to sports radio at college because any free time I have goes to sports talk on TV. But I do watch Mike and the Mad Dog on YES almost daily and Mike and Mike on ESPN so I can get a sense of sports radio. Although I prefer to watch sports on TV rather than listen to them on radio, there is no doubt that radio is filed with more emotion and is more "intimate." What i mean is, since you cant see what is going on in radio, the announcer has to give more description and even more emotion, to help make the play seem real. This is true in the App. State call. Sure the radio guy was just sort of yelling, but it was an incredible upset, and he as just doing what most of us were thinking. On TV, the viewer can see for themselves what exactly happened, the replays, the fans going crazy, etc..but because radio announcers have to put all of that into a call, it becomes a lot more emotional. Also, i say radio is more intimate because a lot of TV is syndicated and the broadcasters are just "doing their job." But small radio networks have people who are part of the team, at least it seems, calling the game and this makes for a more personal setting for the listener. So even though i prefer to watch because i am a visual person, i always try to get the radio call of a big play if i can because i enjoy hearing the announcers.
When the book talked about Jim Rome and gave several people's opinions on sports radio i wasn't sure what to think. Even though it is clear more males listen to sports radio than females, i really don't think, atleast from listening to the shows that I do, that a woman should feel uncomfortable listening to sports radio. Women just have to understand that sports have been, and always will be, a more masculine activity and so if they want to be a part of that activity, they have to "blend" in. On the other hand, i do feel as if some radio shows spread the idea of uniformity, as the book calls it. The ideas of that sports host are often put across as the right ideas and therefore the listeners often become uniform in their thinking as well.
As for women in sports radio, i just don see it. I have listened to a few games that a woman has announced and the emotion is just not there. It just doesn't seem "right" when a woman announces. Kind of in the same way it doesn't feel right when you see a male nurse. Anyway, radio, like TV, also has a good relationship with sports and continues to give sports fans a way to escape when they are stuck in traffic or bored at work. We need that escape.
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