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Mike Felger Can’t Ignore The Apocalypse

“If you do a sports show in a town with this type of success, a good signal and strong shows all day long on your network and you don’t have ratings? You f***ing suck.”

Brandon Contes

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If you’re building a Mount Rushmore of current sports radio hosts, Boston’s Mike Felger is on it. But don’t tell him, because that’s the type of generic conversation Felger & Mazz try to avoid on 98.5 The Sports Hub.  

Felger rubs it in that he was right about the Bruins | NBC Sports ...

After nearly two decades with The Boston Herald, Felger was tabbed by program director Mike Thomas to help launch The Sports Hub in 2009, partnering him with Tony Massarotti in afternoon drive. The show quickly made its mark, finding ratings success that is unheard of in sports radio.

Sure, it helps to have an equally unprecedented run of success from Boston’s sports teams, but that will only get you so far. When you’re able to generate numbers that approach a 20 share, the success is about more than just the market.

I spoke to four people in addition to Felger to get an understanding of how he operates as a radio host. Polarizing, opinionated, intelligent, genuine and hardworking were repeated in each of my conversations. His former boss Mike Thomas, current program director Rick Radzik, co-host Tony Massarotti and previous competitor from WEEI Michael Holley each offered insight.

Brandon Contes: Has being a sportswriter and reporter influenced how you create a radio show?

Mike Felger: Absolutely. Especially the kind of print I did which was tabloid journalism. When I worked at The Boston Herald it wasn’t just writing, it was digging up stories, headlines and drama. The way they approached sports writing was definitely conducive to sports radio.

BC: How much of your show is preplanned and organized?

MF: I’m kind of compulsive, but we pretty much program the entire show, all 16 blocks on an email in the morning. Obviously, there are times we need to change on the fly depending on the news, but generally speaking, every segment is on a rundown at the start of the day.

“He’s very smart and focused, he doesn’t miss a thing,” Mazz said. “His senses and awareness are acute and it allows him to pick up on things that not everyone will notice, but it’s invaluable in our business because it facilitates discussion.”

BC: For a journalist, everything goes through multiple filters before it gets to the public, so there’s time to course correct, but in radio, there’s no filter. Once you say it, it’s out there. Was that a difficult adjustment?

MF: Not for me. Sometimes it gets you in trouble, you can go too far and I’ve certainly had those days. You can have a bad take, a bad read on things that doesn’t get edited like you would at a newspaper and you get home at night, think back and say ‘well that wasn’t quite what I meant.’

“Mike’s way better at it than I am,” Mazz added. “He knows exactly how he wants to say something before he says it. Sometimes I don’t, so I’ll have to say it out loud, ‘that didn’t sound right, let me change it’ and that’s my backspace button. But the better way to do it is, say it right the first time and I haven’t perfected that art [Laughs].”

“If you write every day, you don’t necessarily need filters for your opinion,” Holley said. “Your opinion is refined. And if you’re not an idiot, you shouldn’t be concerned about going on the radio and sharing your opinion. Idiots should be afraid. If you go on the radio 20 hours a week, not everything will be perfect, but you can’t worry about being right.”

BC: Do you have a preference, print or radio?

MF: Radio is 10 times easier. It’s not even close. Every day I don’t have to write and report is like I’ve died and gone to heaven. It’s hard, and I really wasn’t good at it. The guys that do it now, developing sources, getting people to tell you something they don’t want to tell you, breaking news – those people are working. What we do on radio is easy compared to that.

BC: What about the need to have such conviction on radio, because again, when you’re writing, you can hide behind the curtain, but in radio the audience can tell if an opinion doesn’t sound genuine.

MF: Say something. Even if it’s wrong, just say something. There’s a lot of nuance with topics, but it’s a better discussion if you’re less nuanced and sports lends itself to that. There’s a scoreboard, you have a winner and a loser, someone makes the right play, someone makes the wrong play, someone makes the right trade or the wrong trade. There’s a reason they have that scoreboard and your commentary should reflect that.

BC: You were part-time with WEEI, then you went to 890 ESPN and it didn’t work. Now you have this opportunity in 2009 with another startup sports station at 98.5. If it didn’t work once, what made you think a new sports station would work the second time?

98.5 WBZ FM — The Sports Hub – H&H Builders Inc.

MF: The second one was far better positioned, but even if it wasn’t, even if it was another crappy AM signal with bad ownership, I probably would’ve taken the show. I have a habit of not turning down work. But this was a no-brainer, it was CBS Radio which was a huge radio company at the time with WFAN and other strong brands. It was an FM signal, they already had the Patriots and the Bruins. 890 didn’t have rights agreements, they had syndicated programming, a small signal and I sucked! It was my first hosting gig and I needed work. But hopefully, I became better in those few years.

“The best thing that happened to Mike was his stint with 890 ESPN,” Radzik said. “He went in there and learned how to do a radio show. He was a solo host, didn’t get a lot of calls, it was a weak signal, but it catapulted him from being a guest, to learning how to manage a show.”

BC: Even knowing how well The Sports Hub was set up, were you surprised how quickly it was able to not only make a dent, but pass an established brand like WEEI?

MF: Yes. I think everyone was. I certainly was. The goal when I took the job was to still have it three years later and get the show renewed. Beyond that, I would’ve said, hopefully within five years we have a real race, but it happened in 12-18 months.

“We captured lightning in a bottle,” Mike Thomas said. “We were the first to FM, the teams were doing really well. This city desperately needed a true second sports competitor, there’s a lot of things that came our way and we know we were very fortunate.”

“We thought our show could work, we wouldn’t have done it otherwise,” Mazz added. “I certainly didn’t expect it to grab hold as quickly and aggressively as it did, but there’s also a big aspect of being in the right place at the right time.”

BC: Does your mentality change at all when you pass EEI and now you’re the hunted, not the hunter?

MF: I think so. When we first started and EEI was so well-established there had to be a measure of counter programming. But I haven’t looked at it that way in a long time. I don’t know if that’s smart or stupid, but for quite awhile now, we do what we do, and it doesn’t matter what happens across the dial.

BC: Is there a risk of complacency? How do you avoid getting stale and letting the competition get bigger in the rearview mirror?

MF: One thing I’ve learned through all of this is, I just don’t think it matters what the other person does. And that’s not specific to EEI, it’s any radio station vs another. What matters is pumping out a good 12-minute segment, going to commercial and then doing another good segment. If the people listening stick through the break and stay for the full 12-minutes, that’s the only thing that matters to me. It’s about what you do to make your show better.

And with complacency, sure – you worry about everything. I certainly don’t think we have it all figured out, we’re going to evolve. So yes, I’m concerned with that. But I’m not concerned with what someone else is doing on the radio.

“Felger is a really hard worker and he’s also tough to copy because he’s authentic,” Holley said. “Some people play a character, but he doesn’t. This is who he is and that’s why he’s so effective. Early on, people thought he was going to get overexposed. But I told them no, because it’s not schtick. Schtick wears out. Predictability wears out. Felger is original and when he goes against the grain, you might not agree, but he can back it up and show his work.”

BC: Is your success more about the show, or more about the market? Because the ratings are unprecedented with shares in the mid-teens. Could Felger and Mazz be successful elsewhere?

Must see: Epic fight beween Michael Felger and Michael Hurley over ...

MF: I do think it’s a show that could be successful in other markets, but the level of success you’re talking about has to do with a lot of factors. It’s the quality of the station, our morning show, our midday show, our management – which even though we’ve changed ownership it’s remained very strong. And it’s the town we’re in. 12 championships since 2000, 19 championship appearances. If you do a sports show in a town with this type of success, a good signal and strong shows all day long on your network and you don’t have ratings? You f***ing suck. Our success is a confluence of factors and not the least of which is Tony, Jim Murray, our producer Jimmy Stewart and everyone on the show.

Holley: “I remember my wife asking how we did, and I would say ‘sweetheart, we finished with a 9 this book and that’s really good.’ I would ask friends in other markets and they would say their best book is a 4 or 5, so I would lead with my 9. But then I’d have to tell them the other guys got a 16! And big picture, 25% of the market is focused on sports which is great, but as a competitor, you say ‘I just wish I could get a win!’ They’re a monster to compete against. I enjoyed competing against 98.5, but it was also humbling.”

BC: Will the Brady-less Patriots impact the station and the Boston sports market?

MF: I’d like to think the fanbase wasn’t just there for Brady and the Super Bowls, that they’re hardcore sports fans through thick and thin. That’s the case with some of the sports in Boston. The Bruins audience is smaller, but those fans stay consistent through the ups and downs. We’re going to find out about the Patriots fan, but I’d like to think we’ve become a football town and they’ll continue to be a massive force.

BC: As a New York fan, I see the Patriots without Brady and who knows what happens to the Red Sox as Major League Baseball attempts suicide. I wouldn’t mind if it’s the beginning of the demise for Boston sports.

MF: [Laughs] The country’s rooting for it. I don’t know if baseball can ever overtake the Patriots again. If the Pats fall off like you hope, I would look for the Celtics and the NBA to step up. It’s a hot product, it caters to young people and I think it has the broad interest that hockey doesn’t. Hockey is more intense and loyal, but the NBA has a lot of casual fans, which is good for business. 

BC: Mike Thomas once called you the most polarizing person in Boston radio, do you agree?

MF: I feel like I’ve gotten wimpier as I’ve gotten older. I can’t rank it, I don’t know if I’m as polarizing as I used to be, but it’s not for me to say. But I think Felger & Mazz has a button pushing quality because my hate mail is still prodigious no matter what I say.

“I would much rather have somebody like Mike Felger where you occasionally need to say ‘we have to dial it back a bit’ than someone you need to push and challenge,” Thomas said. “Mike is self-motivated, he lives for sports radio and is clearly one of the best in the country at it. Maybe in his mind he thinks he’s getting softer, things happen when you turn 50, but I would never categorize Mike Felger as being soft.”

“The biggest thing that’s evolved for him is his reputation as just being a contrarian,” Radzik said. “I think he’s established himself as the number one sports talk show host in the country. You can disagree with him, you may not like his angle, but people have respect for his opinions because the audience has evolved with him.”

BC: Is it that you’ve gotten older or has society in general pushed you to get “wimpy.”

MF: I beat myself up over it, but I’m certainly a little gun shy. Two or three years ago, the Bruins got off to a really bad start. I went on this rant that they were ‘too young, they’re done, they can’t win.’ The team rebounded, made the playoffs and near the end of the season they ran a commercial replaying my rant to rub it in. Jimmy Stewart would say that crawled into my head and neutered me [Laughs]. I’m not really on Twitter or social media, but I feel it’s presence.

BC: What about the fact that social media is there, not just for you, but for everyone, waiting and even rooting for the chance to jump on any slip up.

MF: It’s dangerous. Dangerous times for sure. Maybe that’s another reason to not be polarizing. Maybe you just hit on one. Because there is someone out there trying to get you fired. For anyone writing, broadcasting or speaking in any way, shape or form, you make one mistake and that’s it. It gives you reason to just facilitate because you want to keep your job.

Political correctness: the UK v the US | Financial Times

BC: As society becomes more politically correct, do you think that will deter polarizing personalities from entering the business because of the risk?

MF: Yeah, for sure. That’s really more for news commentators than sports commentators though because you should be able to have a bad sports take and not get fired.

Having a wrong sports take will get you pushback, and people will say you’re stupid, but I’d like to think it’s not going to get you fired the way a bad take on society might.

BC: What about the Roy Halladay comments, did that have an impact?

(When former MLB pitcher Roy Halladay died in a 2017 plane crash, Felger controversially mocked the incident.)

MF: You asked why have I softened a bit? Maybe that day is part of the reason. That was a bad day for me, a big mistake and I would never blame PC culture for that.

I was wrong. I don’t think about it every day, but it’s certainly affected my approach. There’s a line between polarizing and being offensive, it’s a challenge to find that line. You have a day like that where you go over the line and you’ll spend some time making sure you don’t get close again. There’s not many hard parts to this job, but that’s one.

BC: Do you discuss social issues right now with everything going on in the country and complaints about Boston specifically?

MF: We are as sporty a show as you can get, we’re 95% sports. But during this time, it’s crept in a little more. If we did it 5% of the time previously, maybe we do it 10-15% now. And whether I’m pro-left or right, I still get people yelling ‘stick to sports!’ Thank God I don’t have to talk about those topics on a regular basis because people are so bitchy about it. But how can you not hit on some of it right now? You can’t ignore the apocalypse.

BC: As a show that’s 95% sports, how have you done building the full 16-blocks without sports?

MF: It’s been challenging recently, the first month or so was simple because of Brady. Even if the pandemic never hit, most of March and April was going to be 80% Brady’s free agency, Brady going to Tampa, the Patriots next quarterback, the draft and free agency. It turned into 95% of the show, but we had football content until mid-May. Since then, it’s how are leagues going to come back? I’ve found it really interesting, but I acknowledge there’s only so much of that you can do. We definitely need a ballgame.

Bucs' Tom Brady after defying NFLPA advice to end NFL group ...

“Not everyone that comes to the Felger & Mazz show comes for sports,” Radzik said. “They come to be entertained, to laugh and be challenged. There’s an energy level, the show is fast paced, and you have to keep up. But if you have good chemistry you can entertain in different ways.”

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Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

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photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

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Ian Eagle Crushing It for CBS As Replacement for Jim Nantz

Eagle continues to be a shining example of what a network play-by-play announcer should be.

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Photo of Ian Eagle and the CBS Sports logo

I’ll admit, it’s been a little strange not hearing Jim Nantz during this year’s NCAA Tournament. Nantz stepped aside to concentrate on golf and the NFL after a long run covering the Final Four. Change is sometimes hard to accept, we are all creatures of habit, and I’m sure it’s a little weird for Nantz himself this time of year. But change doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. When it comes to Ian Eagle, not that I’m surprised, so far, so good.

Eagle is no stranger to CBS viewers. He’s been with the network since 1998 calling college basketball games and the NFL through the years. That certainly made the transition a little easier for everyone involved. CBS, the viewers and Eagle himself. Familiarity in these cases doesn’t breed content, it breeds a more comfortable broadcast and an easier handle on the change itself.

For Eagle, one of the other benefits for him was working with familiar folks, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson. Eagle estimates that he and Raftery have called 600 basketball games together, because they were longtime partners on the NBA’s Nets broadcasts. Eagle has also previously worked with Hill in college basketball, the same for Wolfson.

“To do this with Bill, Grant, and Tracy, it really is going to feel very seamless. In many ways, it will feel like we’ve been doing it together for many years,” says Eagle on a conference call before the Big Dance.

It sounds seamless too. It’s not underrated to have a good rapport with the folks that you’re working with. Everyone is trying to get used to a new voice and the idiosyncrasies of a new announcer. It’s much less of a chore, when you know and have worked with your co-workers and partners before.  You know what to expect from them, and they know what to expect from you. That’s good.

I think Eagle is killing it in his new role. You could even tell during the Big Ten Tournament that led up to the “Big Dance” that he was not only ready, he was ready to roll. It’s easy to hear how much he loves doing what he’s doing. That’s the case in all of the sports he calls.

Eagle continues to be a shining example of what a network play-by-play announcer should be. He has the ability to combine his talent with some personality, but never at the expense of the action he’s calling. His broadcasts always hit the mark, as he rises to the occasion when the moment calls for it.

What do I mean by personality? He manages to make us laugh, even in some tense moments of a game. He also manages to articulate our thoughts in some situations, like this example from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. 

Sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson had a report during the UConn/Northwestern game about the superstitions of Huskies’ coach Dan Hurley. He wears the same red dragon underwear and suit as he did last year. Wolfson said Hurley’s wife travels with a portable washing machine to make sure his clothes stay clean. Leading Eagle to ask the question on all our minds:

“Who has a portable washing machine?! I didn’t even know that existed!”

Also in that game, Eagle had a couple of other great moments. UConn big man Donovan Clingan had a couple of swats on one play.

“Denied! Clingan! Denied! Two for the price of one!” Quick thinking and entertaining at the same time. Later when a ball got pinned between the basket and the backboard, Eagle said, “Oooh! A Brooklyn wedgie!”

Great stuff. None of his ‘ad-libs’ sound like they are forced. It’s within the flow of the action and just seem to come to him. It’s pretty amazing to be that quick on your feet, when you’re trying to make sure to get the call correct above all else. I’m sure we’re all in for many more treats like that along the way from Eagle.

In general, when fans are watching a tournament game, they probably aren’t thinking about the preparation that goes into a broadcast. Especially for a play-by-play announcer. The first weekend network announcers calling a couple of games in the same day. There’s also only a day in between the first and second rounds to prep for teams that you may or may not have seen during the college season.  The turnaround is quick and demanding.  

“It feels like an information avalanche in many ways,” Eagle said recently on 670 The Score. “The fact that I’ve done it for so long would make you think, ‘oh, he’s got it down, he has the system, he found the secret sauce.’ No, it feels the same way every year.”

Eagle says even veteran announcers like himself have to manage stress levels and work efficiently once they know which games they’ll call. “The two or three days leading up to the tournament, I must admit, are probably the most angst-riddled of the year because it’s a little bit out of your control.” Eagle told 670 The Score.

Yes, the stress level is great on the broadcasters, but how about what Clark Kellogg continues to do at the NCAA Tournament and the Final Four? For the 8th year, he’ll join Kevin Kugler and Jim Jackson on Westwood One’s broadcast of the Final Four and Championship Game on radio. At the same time, Kellogg will be a studio analyst for the television coverage. How does he pull it off? Following the pregame show broadcast on TV, Kellogg will make his way courtside to the radio broadcast position to join Kugler and Jackson. Then, he will rejoin TV for halftime before repeating the process in the second half and postgame. 

Working this tournament isn’t easy for these broadcasters. It’s a big stage for sure, but as you’ve read, there’s big pressure that goes along with it. The audience is usually huge, and announcers are constantly put under the microscope. Fans want to make sure that you know their team, pronunciations and all. Stories. Bios. All of it. Cut these folks a little slack, information gathering with little time to do it, isn’t exactly simple. They do a damn good job.

Eagle himself, is doing a tremendous job. The 3-man booth works so well because of his ability to keep it all together. He can set up either Raftery or Hill with a serious basketball question, or deliver a great ‘straight line’ to bring out their personalities. It’s a gift. Eagle has that knack for knowing when to go ‘rogue’ and go for that entertaining line, that seems to fit in perfectly. Speaking of fitting fine, those rather large shoes he had to fill, they’re becoming the perfect size.

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Andrew Salciunas Aims to Thrive in Morning Drive on 97.5 The Fanatic

“We are two radio guys that kind of know what we’re doing.”

Derek Futterman

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Andrew Salciunas
Courtesy: Beasley Media Group

When 97.5 The Fanatic midday host Anthony Gargano agreed to a deal to contribute to PHLY Sports, a local digital venture within ALLCITY Network, he was promptly suspended by Beasley Media Group and subsequently sued for breach of contract. Although the two sides eventually reached a settlement and officially parted ways, the future of the daypart was still in question. In the interim time period, the station granted Andrew Salciunas the opportunity to lead a four-hour solo program with producer Ray Dunne. Salciunas had served as Gargano’s producer in the midday slot and still has a strong relationship with the sports media personality today despite no longer working together.

The onerous aspect of the situation, however, was in recognizing that Salciunas was being afforded a chance to prove himself as a host in the marketplace. In the past, he had filled in when Gargano took vacations, but it was not for an extended period of time. Although he was familiar with the flow of a midday program, achieving a successful, yet sudden assimilation into a regular timeslot without a partner was an invigorating circumstance.

“I knew that it was going to be a learning experience because it’s one thing to host a show on Saturday or it’s one thing to host a weekly podcast and you have a week’s worth of content at your disposal,” Salciunas said. “It’s another thing to [be] hosting every single day and needing to come up with new ideas and new angles and new twists on things, so it was a challenge knowing that I was going to have to do that for however long the process was going to be.”

Salciunas received help from program director Scott Masteller, a sports radio veteran who has helped elevate brands and nurture budding talent. Several months later, Masteller asked Salciunas how he would feel about working with morning program host John Kincade. Salciunas replied by saying that it was something he would be interested in doing, and he later added that he already wakes up early and could easily work in morning drive. Salciunas was somewhat nonplussed when he discovered that Masteller’s intention was to have him anchor the program rather than Kincade, who has been hosting in the daypart since January 2021.

In the weeks and months ensuing, Salciunas and Kincade were involved in meetings to plan the new program, which officially made its debut on 97.5 The Fanatic last week and is titled Kincade & Salciunas. Both hosts knew about the program for roughly two months, and Salciunas is surprised that it was kept a secret for as long as it was. Outside of their scheduled meetings, Salciunas was able to speak with Kincade between their shows since they occurred after the other as well. From the onset, he wanted to make his thoughts about the program clear to ensure a smooth transition amid a quest to inform and entertain the audience.

“The first thing I told John when they told us that this was the plan moving forward was that, ‘This is going to be our show,’” Salciunas recalled. “Yes, I might be the guy running the ins and outs out of commercial breaks. I’m the guy that brings on the guests; I’m the guy that brings on the callers, but this is our show. We both have ideas, we’re both passionate about Philadelphia sports teams, we’re both high-energy people, we’re both opinionated and we’re also respectful of each other.”

While there is natural disagreement between Salciunas and Kincade on a variety of sports topics, they make sure not to fabricate their discussions and engender debate for the sake of the show. Instead of feigning their contrarian discourse, there is a legitimate willingness to be genuine with their audience while continuing to put radio first. Salciunas, Kincade and show producer Connor Thomas all contribute ideas for the program to appeal to the audience and continue building the show as a whole. Thomas also had familiarity in working with Kincade since he served as an associate producer on his previous morning program.

“I’m not a former journalist; he’s not a former professional athlete,” Salciunas said. “We are two radio guys that kind of know what we’re doing. Even though our opinions might differ on sports-related stuff, we see doing radio in a similar way.”

Upon Kincade officially joining 97.5 The Fanatic, he demonstrated his magnanimity and commitment to his colleagues by offering to take all of them out to lunch individually to learn more about them. It was a gesture that surprised Salciunas and something that stuck with him, ultimately helping familiarize themselves with one another and subsequently creating a viable on-air product.

“He’s one of those guys who likes getting to know people, and I think that’s helped a lot,” Salciunas said. “We already had that sort of knowledge of one another [and] we already had that relationship, and because we’re just both so bought in and both so hungry, that’s made it so much easier that we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make the show work.”

Before arriving at 97.5 The Fanatic, Kincade had worked at sports radio both at the local and national levels while also hosting a podcast with Hall of Fame center and Inside the NBA studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal. Bringing him back to his home marketplace and realizing success in the morning daypart was valuable as the sports media ecosystem underwent stretches of change. Transitioning to the new morning show iteration without colleagues Bob Cooney and Pat Egan presented its challenges, but Salciunas has had no qualms that Kincade was invested to win. As a result, the transition has been relatively simple in terms of building palpable chemistry among the on-air team.

“He believes in anybody that he works with,” Salciunas said of Kincade, “and knowing that somebody has worked that long as long as he has in sports radio that he values the young person’s opinion, not just in sports but in terms of radio, that goes a long way.”

There is constant communication between the morning show team leading up to a program outside of typical pre-show meetings and twice-weekly conversations with their boss. Salciunas arrives at the station well before the start of the program and compiles ideas from the previous day into a document, along with ideas from others that come during their commutes. Additionally, they continuously monitor the news cycle and determine what to address on the air while also interviewing special guests throughout the week.

Effectuating a fully prepared show rundown by 6 a.m. EST has been marginally difficult, along with the fact that it can be difficult to book guests on short notice before sunrise. Because of this, the program frequently outlines its guests early in the week and makes adjustments as necessary while maintaining fealty towards conveying their true, authentic personalities.

“I’m a little bit more energetic on the radio because I understand the entertainment portion of doing what we do and having to properly express myself,” Salciunas said. “I’m probably not going to scream at a bar, but when I converse with callers; when I converse with John [or] producers… that’s who I am as a person. There’s just a microphone in front of me.”

When he first started working at 97.5 The Fanatic as an intern, Salciunas did not have a goal of eventually becoming an on-air talent. He was content with his role as a producer, which was borne out of an internship where he worked with Jon Marks and Steve Vassalotti. Both station members served as mentors that he utilized to gain information and advice, a fortuitous outcome after Salciunas impetuously applied for the opening.

While Salciunas was matriculating at Temple University, he needed at least three internship credits in order to qualify for graduation. Reflecting back on his education days, he does not regard himself as the best student and recognized that he needed to intern with the radio station to set himself apart. Honing his focus in sports media took time since he had varied interests in areas such as reporting, podcasting and play-by-play announcing, but he ultimately gravitated towards the sports radio format during his time in Philadelphia.

Salciunas made a favorable impression on those with 97.5 The Fanatic and ended up being hired as an associate producer where he learned more about the format and its programming. Eric Camille, a former executive producer at the station, is someone Salciunas regards as seminal to his professional development.

“He was the guy that hired me out of my internship, and then once I started working, he really helped me,” Salciunas said. “He kind of took me under his wing and helped me out a lot.”

Once Salciunas was hired as a full-time producer, he began to work with Mike Missanelli on his midday program, providing an invaluable learning experience to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the sports media industry. As a veteran host who has captivated Philadelphia sports fans and media consumers at large, Salciunas noticed that collaborating on Missanelli’s program was a different experience than the other shows he had done. Whereas a morning drive show is oftentimes one of the first points of reaction on a given day, Missanelli knew that he would need to approach his daypart differently and adopted a paradigmatic style implementing second-level topics.

“It’s not just going on the air and reacting to an Eagles loss,” Salciunas explained. “It’s reacting to a storyline within an Eagles loss or reacting to a storyline within an Eagles win that may generate conversation. Trying to figure out topics that generate conversation but are not just the, ‘Oh wow, I’m angry they lost today,’ and give out the phone number. It’s [trying] to find topics that make people think and make yourself think and make the audience think.”

When Missanelli left the station, Salciunas began his stint working with Anthony Gargano where he began occasionally hosting select programs. The rationale behind his decision to go behind the microphone was that when the Eagles won a Super Bowl championship, the station needed someone to host from 2 to 5 a.m. Salciunas decided to volunteer for the program, presuming that it sounded fun. From that shift on, he continued his work as a producer while also refining his craft behind the microphone in a major market. It deviated from a philosophy perpetuated by former program director Matt Nahigian of limiting the amount of time producers were on the air, assuming that consumers listened to hear the hosts.

“Now you have to be a producer,” Salciunas affirmed. “You look at both radio stations in Philadelphia – a lot of the hosts now were former producers, and so you learn so much of the craft and then you figure out your own role. You figure out how you handle yourself as a host, so I think producing first before becoming a talk show host should be the way to go moving forward.”

Beasley Media Group’s 97.5 The Fanatic shares the Philadelphia marketplace with Audacy-owned SportsRadio 94WIP, and both stations have had intense battles in the ratings over the years. Salciunas shared that most people between the two stations have worked with their competitors at some point in their careers, and there is an evident respect that exists between the two entities. With both outlets introducing new morning shows within the last two years though, Salciunas understands there is a chance to gain ground on the WIP Morning Show, which finished ahead in the four Nielsen XTrends quarterly ratings books last year.

“Clearly if somebody’s behind a microphone in Philadelphia, everybody’s talented, and we’re going to do whatever we can to try to bridge that gap a little bit, and we’re seeing some good strides already,” Salciunas said. “I think having a new show is a big part of that trying to grab that initial audience, but then it’s holding on to that initial audience.”

Being able to achieve this outcome, however, requires a commitment to showcasing talent and different personalities. Salciunas referenced how there was a point in John Kincade’s stint hosting mornings in the daypart’s previous iteration where he gained ground on his crosstown competitor Angelo Cataldi with WIP. Kincade, of course, used to work with Cataldi’s show as a contributor and received a chance to take the air while with the outlet.

“I’ve seen the turn of tides of ratings over the years for every show [and] every time slot, so there’s always an opportunity, but that means we always have to be on our game; that means we always have to be doing the best show possible,” Salciunas said. “We can’t go in the next day and say, ‘Wow, that show was really good yesterday. Let’s have some fun today; let’s make this a lighthearted show.’ No, we always have to be thinking about, ‘Alright, what can we do next to put on another great entertaining four-hour radio show?’”

Over the last several years, there have been several leadership changes at 97.5 The Fanatic responsible for overseeing the slate of programming and station operations. Scott Masteller currently leads the outlet, someone in whom Salciunas has confidence that he can continue to elevate the standing of the station. In his earlier years working with 97.5 The Fanatic, Salciunas had an innovative spirit but was discouraged from taking steps to align with the multimedia evolution. For example, when he offered to do a podcast several years ago, someone at the station questioned his judgment and the reasoning behind the idea.

“I was told by someone, ‘What’s the point in doing that? We’re a radio station,’ and I knew back then that that was a mistake to say,” Salciunas explained. “You shouldn’t say, ‘We’re a radio station;’ that was years ago, so seeing that bosses and market managers and hosts and producers all realizing, ‘Alright, we have to adapt,’ that excites me.”

Possessing the background as a producer lends shrewd and calculated judgment on how to include members of the audience into the program. While there are still open phone lines for callers to chime in, the program has introduced a text line and also engages with the audience through the live chat functionality of YouTube. Having Thomas as a producer of the show has helped in this area as well, with Salciunas sharing that he has a strong understanding of how to create and optimize content for various platforms of dissemination.

“We have a great YouTube audience where they basically have their own community all of a sudden,” Salciunas said. “They’re constantly talking about the show, and sometimes we grab what they’re saying on that YouTube feed because that’s another area of today’s new media where you have another avenue to communicate with people.”

As Salciunas grows accustomed to the early start on 97.5 The Fanatic and his new colleagues in morning drive, he is filled with enthusiasm and the prospect of possibility. The radio station has been the only outlet by which he has been employed since the start of his media career, and he hopes to work there for as long as possible. National radio and television intrigue him going forward, but his priority centers on thriving in the new role.

“I want to try to get 97.5 The Fanatic – because it starts in the morning – back up in the map; back in the top five of the ratings books – and that’s going to take some time,” Salciunas said. “We’re a new show – we’re going to have to figure each other out.”

Salciunas expressed that the last year-and-a-half has been “hectic” in the midday daypart, but there has also been excitement surrounding the ephemerality as well. Taking the microphone in a major market with a dedicated sports fanbase such as Philadelphia is a privilege he does not take for granted, and he aspires to continue excelling in the marketplace for years to come.

“I just started, so I’m not thinking about the next step just yet,” Salciunas said. “I want this to last for a long time – for a very long time. If I never have to leave, that would be great.”

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