Sports Media With Richard Deitsch

Episode 16 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests: First, a candid conversation with longtime NBA writer and broadcaster Frank Isola, who was let go this week by Tronc after 25 years of working at the New York Daily News. The second guest is Clifton Brown, an enterprise reporter at the IndyStar and the author of Bearing the Cross: My Inspiring Journey from Poverty to the NFL and Sports Television. The final guest is Sports Illustrated senior writer Ben Reiter, the author of a new book, Astroball: The New Way To Win It All.   In this podcast, Isola, the co-host of SiriusXM NBA Radio’s “The Starting Lineup,” and an ESPN TV contributor, discusses how he learned he had lost his longtime job with the Daily News; the impact off the decision on his family; why he feels it happened; what management has said and not said to him; how he feels about the newspaper business in New York City; what it has been like working at a paper with significant financial troubles; his years covering t

Episode 15 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: First, a sports media conversation with James Andrew Miller, the best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN and Saturday Night Live. The second guest is Conrad Thompson, the host of three immensely popular wresting podcasts: Something to Wrestle (with Bruce Pritchard); 83 Weeks (with Eric Bischoff) and What Happened When (with Tony Schiavone)   In this podcast, Miller discusses ESPN’s current relationship with the NFL under new president Jimmy Pitaro versus its relationship under former President John Skipper; the role of the ESPYs in the ESPN universe and why criticism might be unfair; whether journalism at ESPN will be supported by Pitaro or whether ESPN reporters should be concerned; the future of Outside The Lines; whether Pitaro would do a content deal with Barstool Sports or a company such as Barstool; the futures of Keith Olbermann and Chris Berman at ESPN; and much more. Thompson discusses the process of how he does each

Episode 14 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: Sports Business Daily media reporter John Ourand and women’s basketball broadcaster and podcaster LaChina Robinson. In this podcast, Ourand discusses his reporting on the deal ESPN signed for UFC rights and the deal Fox signed for WWE Smackdown; how each deal came together; why ESPN was interested in UFC and where the programming will run; whether UFC has growth potential as a broadcast property; whether ESPN will examine the UFC with a journalism eye or merely as a promotional partner; how and why Fox came to get the WWE; whether Fox will use its FS1 debate shows to promote WWE; the economic calculations of both deals; how the World Cup viewership declines should be analyzed; the 2026 World Cup deal for Fox, and much more; Robinson discusses her myriad of jobs in women’s basketball including working for ESPN, Fox Sports, Raycom’s ACC women’s basketball, the Atlanta Dream, and espnW; the challenges of forging a career broadcastin

Episode 13 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three separate guests: Tania Ganguli, who covers the Lakers for the Los Angeles Times; Sports Illustrated national NBA writer Lee Jenkins, and Dave McMenamin, an NBA reporter for ESPN. The theme of the podcast is the media impact of LeBron James moving from Cleveland to Los Angeles.   In this podcast, Ganguli discusses how James coming to the Lakers impacts her job and why; how she learned of James coming to the Lakers; whether there is added pressure now in her role; her previous contact with James as a beat writer; the added interest in James content among her bosses L.A. Times; how competitive she expect the beat to be now with James there; whether the Lakers will make additional moves later this summer, and much more. Jenkins discusses how he viewed the manner in which James announced this move; the most interesting part of James’s move nationally; whether access will change now that James is in L.A.; attempting to contact James after

Episode 12 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features Molly Sullivan, the popular television sideline reporter on Philadelphia 76ers games who was unexpectedly let go last week by NBC Sports Philadelphia after six years on the job. In this podcast, Sullivan describes in frank terms what happens when you lose your sports media job unexpectedly; what NBC Sports Philadelphia told her about its decision and what they didn’t tell her; how Sixers fans have started a petition on her behalf; covering a team for years that was the worst in the NBA and the challenges of covering a losing team; her on-air relationship with Sixers star Joel Embiid; Sixers coach Brett Brown reaching out to her after he heard she was let go; what she expects from the Sixers heading forward; what she hopes to do next; her thoughts on the Bryan Colangelo story; competing at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in distance swimming, and much more. The second part of the podcast is a roundtable with Sports Business Daily assistant

Episode 11 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is ESPN Adnan Virk, who hosts multiple studio shows in multiple sports and is the host of “Cinephile: The Adnan Virk Movie Podcast.” In this podcast Virk goes deep into how an sports broadcaster in his position deals with a contract negotiation; at what point his agent started negotiating an extension at ESPN; the anxiety of not getting an offer prior to the end of a contract; how to get a sense of what money to ask for; the role of broadcast agents and their importance; how to know what to ask for in terms of salary and beyond; the impact of what others at an organization have on your contract negotiations; the role of relationships with your bosses when it comes to contract negotiations; how he ended up getting tennis opportunities into his new contract; the impact of Mo Salah on the Muslim community; being mistaken for former NHL All Star Chris Chelios, and much more. The second guest is Calvin Watkins, who was recent

Episode 10 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable with Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand and Boston Globe media writer Chad Finn, and a one-on-one conversation with Washington Post Capitals reporter Isabelle Khurshudyan. In this podcast, Ourand and Finn discusses the 2026 World Cup being awarded to the U.S., Canada and Mexico and what that means for English-speaking rights-holder Fox Sports; the impact of Fox Sports getting the 2026 tournament without an open bid; the perception of Fox Sports when it comes to its golf and global soccer coverage; Comcast’s attempts for the assets owned by 21st Century Fox and what that would mean for two dozen regional sports networks  owned by Fox Sports; the 2018 NBA Finals viewership; what the NBA offseason means for interest in the sport among rightsholders; whether LeBron James will head to Boston, and much more. Khurshudyan discusses covering a Stanley Cup champion; why the Caps celebration has gone national; how much being fl

Episode 9 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with Charissa Thompson, the host of Fox NFL Kickoff and NFL Films Presents on FS1. In this podcast, Thompson discusses why she decided to re-sign with Fox Sports; having conversations with ESPN host Mike Greenberg about working on a morning show with him; having her private photos hacked and leaked online, and the incomprehensible invasion of privacy; the aftermath of that invasion; how she is going about trying to get justice and why that is important; how her parents taught her to focus on how you get up from adversity; why Ryen Russillo has been housesitting at her guest; getting adjusted to a certain level of fame; whether Top Gun 2 is a good idea; her approach on social media when it comes to politics; gambling on sports and going to the race track with her grandfather, Seattle getting hockey, and much more.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy L

Episode 8 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with Grant Wahl, a Sports Illustrated senior writer and Fox Sports soccer reporter. In this podcast, Wahl discusses how to cover a World Cup, which Wahl will be doing for the next six weeks in Russia, how much access reporters get at a World Cup; racism at a World Cup setting; how Fox will approach its World Cup studio shows; writing the first SI cover story on LeBron James; buying LeBron and his friends dinner at Applebees; his predictions for the Group Stage including Argentina losing in the opening round; why he likes Spain to win over Belgium, the state of soccer journalism in the United States; ESPN’s impact on global soccer; whether it is important to have American voices calling the World Cup and much more. The second guest is Julie Kliegman, a copy editor for The Ringer who has written about the state of mental health care in the NBA for that publication. In this podcast, Kliegman discusses how she went about reporting

Episode 7 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation on ESPN’s present and future with Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand and a roundtable with Boston Globe media writer Chad Finn, and Robert Littal, the founder and editor of Black Sports Online. In this podcast, Ourand discusses Wall Street Journal reporter Shalini Ramachandran’s examination of ESPN’s current business, the tension between Disney Chairman Robert Iger and former ESPN president John Skipper; whether ESPN’s front-facing talent has been given too much leeway on issues of politics and social justice; how the piece examined Skipper’s regime; the concern ESPN execs have on political talk; where Ourand stands on the money spent for NBA rights; the declines of other networks in number of households; ESPN’s potential interest in hockey; whether debate is in decline and what Ourand thinks of the upcoming ESPN show, High Noon and a long discussion on ESPN re-hiring of Keith Olbermann. Finn and Littal discuss the

Episode 6 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features ESPN play by play announcer Joe Tessitore, who was recently named the lead voice of Monday Night Football. In the podcast, Tessitore discusses in-depth how over the course of a six-week period in March and April, he auditioned 12 potential Monday Night Football analyst candidates at ESPN’s Bristol, Ct. headquarters; how he approached the audition process; the memorable audition of Jason Witten which included Witten playing football with his son on his front lawn; why Witten landed the job; why he thinks Witten will be successful; his thoughts on other applicants including Jared Allen, Brett Favre, Greg Olson, Louis Riddick, Rex Ryan, Joe Thomas, and Kurt Warner; the plans for the crew for the spring and summer; his friendship with Booger McFarland and why he thinks McFarland will be great in the field analyst role; the best kind of calamari, and much more.   The second guest is Richard Sandomir, the the author of "The Pride of the Yankees:

Episode 5 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features Peter King who will be leaving Sports Illustrated on June 1—his 29-year anniversary of being hired by SI—for a new job with NBC Sports in July. In the podcast King discusses why he left SI; how he came to the decision; how SI offered him more money to stay; where he stands on the future of Sports Illustrated and The MMQB; his response to criticism of being an access-oriented, league-friendly NFL reporter; why he writes about political issues in his column; what his role will be at NBC Sports; his thoughts on Jason Witten being hired for Monday Night Football; the future of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick; how legalized sports gambling will impact the NFL; NFL cheerleader gender-discrimination complaints; why the Browns drafted Baker Mayfield, and much more.   The podcast concludes with two roundtables. The first features Boston Globe media writer Chad Finn, and Robert Littal, the founder and editor of Black Sports Online. In this roundtable, F

Episode 4 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features Doris Burke, the acclaimed ESPN broadcaster who called a full season of NBA games as an color analyst for the first time in 2017-18; and Cheryl Reeve, the head coach and General Manager of the Minnesota Lynx. Under Reeve, the Lynx have won four titles in the last seven years. In this podcast, Burke discusses calling the NBA for a full season as a color analyst; her anxiety over her current contract coming to an end on Oct. 31; why she says she and ESPN will work out a deal for the long-term; calling the Sixers-Celtics series; how she currently feels about working as a sideline reporter after doing a season as an analyst; whether she has let her bosses know if she is interested in joining ESPN’s top NBA team should Mark Jackson get an NBA job; the impact of Kara Lawson, Sarah Kustok, and Stefanie Ready on NBA broadcasting; how she viewed Allie LaForce’s question to LeBron James; her feelings on how Gregg Popovich treats sideline reporter; her

Episode 3 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features an extended conversation with Verne Lundquist, the iconic sports broadcaster for CBS and ABC and the voice of some of the most memorable calls in the history of sports broadcasting. After Lundquist, Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand and Newsday sports media writer Neil Best come on to discuss various topics including the television schedules for the NFL TV networks and Mike Francesa’s return to WFAN.   In the podcast, Lundquist discusses calling the Masters again this year including Jordan Spieth’s memorable birdie at No. 16 in the final round; watching SEC Football on CBS from his home, getting nostalgic about missing the SEC, stepping away from the NCAA basketball tournament this year, his current health; filling in for Pat Summerall when Summerall was in rehab; Lundquist’s frustration with always being the No. 2 broadcaster at a network before he was named the lead voice of the SEC on CBS; why the SEC was the greatest assign

Episode 2 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features two segments. First, a conversation with Ken Rosenthal, a senior baseball writer for The Athletic, a reporter for Fox Sports' MLB telecasts and analyst for the MLB Network, and Jayson Stark, a senior baseball writer at the Athletic and studio at MLB Network. The second segment features Sports Illustrated senior Tim Layden on the life and work of William Nack.    In this podcast, Rosenthal and Stark discusses how to morph between digital/print and television; the most interesting people to speak with in major league baseball; how to cultivate sources on the baseball beat; how Stark uses numbers and analytics as part of his work; why each joined The Athletic; how shocked Stark was upon learning he had lost his ESPN job; how Rosenthal dealt with learning that Fox Sports’s website was no longer using original writing content; what baseball writing might look like in 30 years; what teams are the most interesting  to cover right now; why Shohei O

Episode 1 of the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with writer James Andrew Miller, the best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN and Saturday Night Live as well as sports media roundtables with The Athletic Bay Area editor Tim Kawakami, BSO founder and editor Robert Littal, SB Nation writer Charlotte Wilder and Boston Globe sports media writer Chad Finn. In this podcast, Miller discusses the new ESPN morning show, Get Up!” and its struggling ratings; why the show likely has plenty or runway before ESPN execs make a decision on it; whether The Hollywood Reporter story on Get Up! and the reveal of the salaries of the hosts hurt the show before launch; Miller’s interview with John Skipper where the former ESPN president admitted he resigned because he was a cocaine user and was being extorted for that use; whether Miller should have asked Skipper who was extorting him; how the interview came together; whether Skipper is looking or a return to sports media, and much more. Kawakami

Welcome to the teaser episode — call it Episode 0 – of Sports Media with Richard Deitsch. In this 20-minute mini-episode, Sports Business Daily media reporter John Ourand and Boston Globe media writer Chad Finn discuss ESPN’s immediate challenges under new president Jimmy Pitaro; the fractured relationship between ESPN and the NFL; how ESPN will report on the NFL in the future; the plans for Monday Night Football booth; whether the Sports Illustrated Media podcast is a competitor to this podcast; and information on how to subscribe. Weekly episodes of the show will launch the week of April 9. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices