It’s a select group of people that have been at WFAN since the beginning, witnessing the birth of sports talk radio and all that it’s become. Update anchor, John Minko is in that select group, but according to the 66-year old, his WFAN tenure might be nearing an end.
Recently, Minko did a three-part series of The Evan Roberts Podcast, a conversation totaling over three hours. The podcast featured a discussion about Minko’s early years in life, the birth of WFAN and the station’s rise to prominence. During part 3, Minko admitted retirement is nearing for the longtime WFAN voice.
“There is no definitive date, but on July 1st, it will be the 32nd anniversary of the radio station,” Minko told Roberts. “I’ve been here all 32 years. For me, there will be a 32nd anniversary, but I doubt there will be a 33rd. It could be next year odds are, I didn’t say definitively,” he added.
Station board-op and executive producer Dov Kramer, another WFAN lifer noted, “There’s a history at this station of people saying they’ll retire and it not really working out.” To which Minko reiterated he doubts he’ll be around for the station’s 33rd anniversary.
Minko added that he recently spoke with WFAN’s program director, Mark Chernoff about his potential retirement. Among the topics discussed, Minko mentioned the tiring commute into New York City as a reason why he’s leaning toward retirement, but wouldn’t go so far as to say if the commute were shorter he would remain with WFAN for a few more years.
Roberts also asked Minko about the future of the “update” on WFAN. While some radio stations have cut the update completely, WFAN has cut-back on it, no longer providing them at the 20 and 40 minutes of the hour, between 6am and 6pm during the week.
“I think they’re important, but I think they need to be reinvented,” Minko said. While he didn’t offer an idea for what needs to be changed, the future of the update is not why Minko expects to soon retire.
Minko’s WFAN career, spanning over three decades even included a short stint as a show host with Minko’s Morning Zoo in 1988. The former voice of Army football, John Minko is also currently the radio play-by-play announcer for St. John’s men’s basketball.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
