Category Archives: Broadcasting

Episode #19 & 20 – Jim Ross, WWE Broadcaster – Part 1 & 2

After a brief hiatus, Media Masters is back, and we returned with a slobberknocker of a podcast, as legendary pro wrestling broadcaster Jim Ross joined the program. “JR”, as fans know him, came on the show to talk about how he got his start calling wrestling matches back in the 70s and 80s, and how he made the leap to the big leagues to join the big leagues in 1993, launching a 20-year career behind the microphone for the WWE.

Ross was incredibly gracious with his time and did over 90 minutes with us, and we broke the conversation up into two parts. It’s a must listen to anyone who wants to get in the broadcasting (or wrestling) industry, chock full of old school anecdotes and plenty of wisdom and life lessons as well.

Enjoy Part 1 of the conversation, and look for Part 2 shortly. In the meantime, if you’re a WWE fan and planning to be in the Bay Area, don’t miss his one man show, “Ringside: An Afternoon with Jim Ross,” which happens on Saturday, March 28 at the Rock Bar Theatre in San Jose, CA. Tickets are just $20.

Part 1:

Part 2:

More from Media Masters Media Masters on iTunes | Media Masters on SoundCloud

Episode #18 – Bob Ryan, Boston Globe

Bob Ryan is perhaps the greatest American sportswriter of all-time, with a 44-year career covering some of the greatest moments in Boston sports. In this episode, Ryan discusses his outstanding career, how sports journalism has evolved over his newspaper days, and talks about his new book, “Scribe: My Life in Sports.”

bob-ryan

For a kid who grew up wanting to be the Celtics beat writer for the Boston Globe, Bob Ryan was required reading, especially when I got to college and started journalism school at Boston University. During junior year, when I was asked to write a profile of someone noteworthy, I picked Bob Ryan and called his desk at the Globe. Ryan was very gracious, inviting me to interview him at the Globe offices, and was very generous with his time, talking for well over an hour at the time about his career and how he got started.

Decades later, Ryan’s still just as passionate about sports as he was when he started, and he was equally gracious with his time talking about his career and his new book. For a podcast called Media Masters, Bob Ryan fits the bill perfectly.

Buy Scribe: My Life in Sports on Amazon.com.

More from Media Masters Media Masters on iTunes | Media Masters on SoundCloud

Episode #17 – Caity Kauffman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Running social media for a professional sports team is almost a 24-hour job, even in the offseason. Just because your team isn’t playing games doesn’t mean you’re not trying to stay relevant and keep your fans engaged.

To that end, Caity Kauffman is a rising star in the sports social media space. For the last year, she’s been running social media for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League. Caity came on Media Masters to talk about what an offseason editorial calendar looks like in the offseason, and how the team approaches Facebook and Twitter.

Caity also explained how her team uses paid placement on Facebook to reach a greater audience and drive ticket sales for the Lightning. You’re going to see more teams experiment in this space as the Lightning have seen a solid ROI on the money they’ve spent in the space.

Caity’s insights are very sharp and it’s a great interview for anyone who works in sports social media.

More from Media Masters Media Masters on iTunes | Media Masters on SoundCloud

Episode #13 – Lindsay McCormick, NBC Sunday Night Football Social Host

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I had a chance to connect with Lindsay McCormick in person and talk shop about her sports media career. I’m something of a networking junkie, and Lindsay and I have been connected via Twitter for several years. Anyway, when it turned out that my hotel was around the corner from her, we made time to get together and talk about our careers in the sports industry.

Halfway through our conversation, we’d covered a lot of ground and touched upon a million topics, and I made Lindsay commit to having the conversation again for the podcast.

Lindsay’s had a lot of different gigs in the sports media realm, and her insight is especially valuable to anyone who’s looking to break into the TV sports business. We had fun recording this episode and it will be interesting to see where Lindsay ends up next, as she’s a multi-talented personality who conveys her enthusiasm as much on air as she does in person.

Summary: Lindsay McCormick talks to Media Masters about her career in sports media, and how she ended up living on a bus during the NFL season working for NBC as the Sunday Night Football Social Host. She also discusses her appearance as a contestant on The Price is Right and working on a movie with Bill Bellamy.

More from Media Masters
Media Masters on iTunes | Media Masters on SoundCloud

Episode #10 – Molly McGrath, Fox Sports 1

For the 10th episode of Media Masters, I talked to Molly McGrath, an NFL sideline reporter, anchor and host at Fox Sports 1 who launched her on-camera career as the website reporter at the Boston Celtics. In under one year, Molly’s become a break out star at the new network, and is now featured on the nightly SportsCenter competitor, “America’s Pregame,” which airs five nights a week on Fox Sports 1.

Molly talked about her work ethic and drive that led to her success, what it was like to help launch the network, and how far her career has gone in such little time. She also offers insights for young reporters hoping to follow a similar career path, and shares some stories from her incredible journey.

Listen:

More from Media Masters
Media Masters on iTunes | Media Masters on SoundCloud

Episode #6 – Bonnie Bernstein, Campus Insiders

This episode was a lot of fun to record, and after we wrapped up on the phone, Bonnie told me “it felt like to friends hanging on the couch talking sports.” That was a really awesome complement to get from Bonnie Bernstein, who’s a real pioneer in sports broadcasting and someone I’ve admired from afar for a long time.

Bonnie was one of the first female sideline reporters to gain national prominence with her work on the NFL on CBS, and now she’s helping to launch a start up digital college sports venture in Chicago called Campus Insiders. Campus Insiders takes you inside college sports by connecting fans to the reporters who cover the teams on a daily basis, and it’s really gaining traction as a digital outlet. Bonnie’s been a driving force behind the network, and she talked to us about what it’s like to work on both sides of the camera as the network continues to build an audience.

She also reflected upon her impressive journalism career, and offered up advice for young reporters looking to make their mark and get their break.

Listen:

More from Media Masters
Media Masters on iTunes | Media Masters on SoundCloud