Episode 235 of the Sports Media Podcast features a media roundtable with Chad Finn of The Boston Globe and Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal. In this podcast,  Finn, Karp and Deitsch discuss first impressions of Amazon’s new Thursday Night Football broadcast; realistic expectations for Amazon’s game and studio broadcast; Amazon’s PR rollout; whether future realignment will increase interest in college football this season; Fox making its Urban Meyer hire official; the media impact of Serena Williams leaving tennis; the women’s college basketball title game moving to ABC; Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and former Golf Channel President Mike McCarley launching a sports media and technology company called TMRW Sports; whether Fox will cover with any weight human rights violations in Qatar re: the World Cup, and more You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 234 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with David Law, Matt Roberts and Catherine Whitaker, the three hosts of The Tennis Podcast. In this podcast, Law, Roberts and Whitaker discuss how their podcast came to existence and the long grind to build an audience; having a global audience and how that impacts content; the impact of being profiled by the New York Times and being called ‘the conscience of the game;’ being represented  by Billie Jean’s company BJK Enterprises; the influence of the podcast on the sport; the impact of Catherine’s interview with Pam Shriver; their expectations of Serena Williams at this year’s U.S. Open; discussing the topics of the moment including Novak Djokovic not playing at the Open, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 233 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Jon Wertheim, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, a senior correspondent for 60 Minutes and a senior analyst for The Tennis Channel, and Scott Price, who worked for 26 years as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and wrote under the byline S.L. Price. Both Wertheim and Price covered Serena Williams for the duration of her career. In this podcast, Wertheim and Price discuss covering Serena Williams and the first time they interacted with her; Price’s cover story in the Sept. 20, 1999 issue of Sports Illustrated which chronicled Serena winning her first major and becoming the first African-American woman to win a major since Althea Gibson in 1958; the dynamic between Serena and the media who covered her; comparisons with her sister Venus; the subject of race and tennis; the evolution of Serena as a subject; being critical of Serena and what that meant; expectations for this year’s U.S. Open; what Serena might do in the future, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 232 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Stewart Mandel, a senior writer covering college football for The Athletic. In this podcast, Mandel and Deitsch discuss the Big Ten’s new media rights deal; whether the inventory is deep enough for an all-day linear airing of Big Ten football games; what networks did the best;  ESPN being out of Big Ten football; what it means for other conferences including the SEC; the future of the Pac-12’s media rights; the Big Ten going to market again before the SEC’s new contract with ESPN expires in 2034, and more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 231 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Brian Gewirtz,  a senior vice president of development at Seven Bucks Productions, which is a production company co-founded by Dwayne Johnson and his producing partner, Dany Garcia. Gewirtz is the author of  the new book, “There’s Just One Problem: True Tales From The Former, One-Time Seventh Most Powerful Person In WWE.”In this podcast Gewirtz discusses his history working for the WWE as a writer from 1999 to 2015; the skills and temperament one needs to write for a professional wrestling company; the similarities between writing for a sitcom and for WWE; how one writes for someone who on face is so different than them; advice for getting a pro wrestling writing job; writing for The Rock and Kurt Angle; Vince McMahon’s departure from WWE over alleged sexual misconduct; how one should view McMahon today; why Gewirtz wanted to write this book and how he approached it; working on the original XFL product; whether what is happening with AEW's MJF is a shoot or work; returning to the WWE when Rock is part of that production; working with Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins; how the WWE might be different in a post-Vince era, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 230 of the Sports Media Podcast features Andscape senior NFL Writer Jason Reid. His new book is the “Rise of the Black Quarterback: What it means for America.” In this podcast, Reid discusses the black quarterbacks of the 1960s and 1970s in the AFL and NFL and what they experienced; the hate mail players such as James Harris had to deal with; the positional segregation regarding Black athletes when it came to the quarterback position; the anonymous scout quotes that exist today; the modern Black quarterbacks including Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray; the importance of Doug Williams and Randall Cunningham historically; the impact of  writing about Colin Kaepernick; whether young Black quarterbacks would up to play for HBCU’s and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 229 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Dr. Dani Gilbert, a Rosenwald Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy and International Security at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College, and an expert on U.S. hostage policy and diplomacy. She is followed by T,J, Quinn, an investigative reporter for ESPN who has reported on the Griner case for ESPN. In this podcast, Dr. Gilbert discusses the leverage value for Russia in this process; what "wrongfully detained" means legally and how it relates to Griner; Russia as a bad actor on the world stage; the process of how this negotiation will work; how she viewed the initial silence from the Griner camp at the start of Griner's incarceration; how Griner’s sexuality and race plays a role in this case; who is specifically working on this case at the State Department; what you should do if you travel to a country like China or Russia; whether Griner will be treated more humanely given the high profile nature of her case, and more. Quinn discusses his reporting on Griner and how he translated Griner’s trial; what happens next as far as formal proceedings; how to acquire State Department sources; how much media coverage of the case will happen; Griner’s current conditions; the social media aspect of the case; covering the case heading forward and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 229 of the Sports Media Podcast features ESPN broadcaster and longtime World Series game-caller Joe Buck. In this podcast, Buck discusses the life and career of the legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, who passed away on Tuesday at age 94; the friendship between Scully and Jack Buck, the father of Joe Buck; Scully’s remarkable ability to call games solo; why Scully always felt relevant even as he aged; Scully’s connection to Los Angeles; the time when Tim McCarver told a national audience Scully was not at a ballpark he was at; Scully’s call of Hank Aaron passing Babe Ruth and Sandy Koufax’s perfect game; why this feels like the end of a broadcasting era, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 228 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests.  First up is Yahoo Sports NFL writer Shalise Manza Young. She is followed by Boston Globe media writer and general columnist Chad Finn. In this podcast, Young discusses her excellent piece on independent arbitrator Sue L. Robinson’s decision on Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson; why the decision seems wholly inconsistent with Robinson’s own findings; the narrow definition of "violent" as defined in the decision; Manza Young’s argument that the decision “underscores to many of us, once again, how some people, even other women, perceive women as disposable, especially if they’re Black or brown or work in the service industry”; Watson being cheered at Browns camp; the NFL’s decision on the discipline imposed to the Dolphins for violations of NFL policies relating to the integrity of the game, and more. Finn and Deitsch discusses the coverage Bill Russell’s passing; the powerful words of Karen Russell, Bill’s daughter; Charles Barkley’s flirtation with LIV Golf; Amazon hiring Dude Perfect for an alternate telecast; whether there is a definitive NFL program or pregame show; how the league-owned networks cover challenging stories and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more. 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

Episode 227 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests. First up is Ian Darke, a football commentator for ESPN in America and for BT Sport in UK. Last week Fox Sports announced that Darke will be part of the network’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year. He is followed by Roberto Andrade Franco, a feature writer for ESPN and the author of one of the best pieces of sports writing in 2022. Franco recently wrote “The All-Star dreams of Uvalde's biggest José Altuve fan,” a piece for ESPN on the life of Tess Marie Mata, one of the 19 students killed in the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Franco is followed by Julie Kliegman, a writer and copy chief for Sports Illustrated. She recently wrote a piece on Sarah Fuller's journey from kicker for Vanderbilt to mental health advocate and is working on a book about how athletes navigate mental health. In this podcast, Darke discusses how Fox was able to use him for this year’s World Cup; when he anticipates learning what games he will call; calling the women’s European Championship tournament; the growth of women’s soccer in England; the potential of the 2026 World Cup as a game-changer in the United States, and more. Franco discusses why he was compelled to write about Mata for ESPN; traveling to Uvalde three times to report the story and how he approached his reporting; how the Mata family treated his queries; the inevitable tension of prying into people’s lives about the worst moment of their life while knowing the importance of such stories to the public; why he opted to make his story about Texas, guns, the U.S., segregation, and the violence that surrounds us; how his background shaped the story, and more. Kliegman discusses why the  intersection of mental health and athletics is of interest to her; what happened to Sarah Fuller since she made history at Vanderbilt;  the challenge of navigating sudden fame for a college student; the climate of athletes discussing mental health; how this generation of athletes is more willing to be open about mental health and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.  ReplyForward 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