Connect with us
blank

Sports Radio News

Mark Chernoff To Retire From WFAN

“Just last year, Barrett Sports Media’s Brandon Contes asked Chernoff if he had a plan to retire. At the time, he was adamant that he was not ready.”

blank

Published

on

blank

One of the most coveted programming jobs in sports radio is about to become available. Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reports that Mark Chernoff is set to call it a career as the program director of WFAN. According to Marchand, Chernoff will exit WFAN this spring and retire.

WFAN will begin searching immediately for a replacement. While radio success will be important, Marchand notes that Entercom will be looking for “a multi-media focused executive” to both oversee the on-air product and target digital growth.

Chernoff’s influence is felt left all over WFAN. Best known as a manager of talent and egos, he came to the station in 1993 after working with Howard Stern at 92.3 K-Rock. He has since worked with WFAN legends such as Don Imus and Mike & the Mad Dog, and oversaw high profile talent searches that resulted in bringing in notable personalities like Boomer Esiason, Craig Carton, Bart Scott, Maggie Gray, and others.

In an internal memo distributed to Entercom New York employees, Market Manager Chris Oliviero highlighted Chernoff’s nearly 30 years of unmatched success, and cited his friendship and mentorship as a key part of his own professional growth. Oliviero shared that Chernoff would be a member of the search committee and remain involved as an advisor for the next sports content lead for both WFAN and CBS Sports Radio. He called the task of replacing him a very difficult one.

Just last year, Barrett Sports Media’s Brandon Contes asked Chernoff if he had a plan to retire prior to BSM honoring him at the 2020 BSM Summit. At the time, Chernoff was adamant that he was not ready.

“I would miss it,” Chernoff said. “I’m not ready to retire and I hope they want to keep me here. I love overseeing FAN, CBS Sports Radio and working with other stations. And if somebody needs help with classic rock, classic hits, I’m always available to put my two cents in.”

Obviously Chernoff’s thought process has changed as he begins to think about turning 70. After weathering the storm of a pandemic and rebuilding the station’s afternoon show, it’s fair to say Chernoff has done all there is to do to leave WFAN in a strong position for the future.

Congratulations to Mark Chernoff on one of the truly legendary careers in programming, regardless of format! WFAN has big shoes to fill.

Sports Radio News

Doug Gottlieb Details Interviewing For College Basketball Head Coaching Vacancy

“I’ve told people that for the radio element to — for the right thing — I’d give it up. The (podcast), I’m not giving it up.”

blank

Published

on

blank

Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb recently interviewed for the vacant head coaching job at Wisconsin-Green Bay and detailed the experience on his podcast.

“I got a chance to talk to (Wisconsin-Green Bay AD) Josh Moon several times during the year after they had made their coaching job available and my approach to how I’ve done these things — and this is not the first time I’ve gone down this path, but this was a different path,” Gottlieb said on his All Ball podcast.

“This is a low-major, mid-major job, and there’s no connection there. I’ve told people that for the radio element to — for the right thing — I’d give it up. The (podcast), I’m not giving it up. I love doing it and I think there’s a very smart world where if I’m coaching I can still do this podcast and still do it with basketball people all over the country and the world, and it’s kind of like a cheat code.”

He continued by saying that seeing Shaka Smart be successful at Marquette has motivated him to continue to search for the right fit as a college basketball coach.

“That’s what I want to do. And last year when I was coaching in Israel, that also continued to invigorate me…this is something that I would really like to do. It has to be the right thing. It has to be the right AD who hits the right message.”

He continued by saying that a sticking point of negotiations was he wasn’t willing to give up his nationally syndicated radio program for the job. He was willing to take less money for his assistants pool, but also to continue doing his radio show.

Gottlieb did not get the position with the Phoenix, noting that he was a finalist but was never offered the job. The position ultimately went to Wyoming assistant coach Sundance Wicks. Wicks had previous head coaching experience and had worked with Green Bay athletic director Josh Moon at Division II Northern State. He admitted he wasn’t necessarily “all-in” on the job due to the current ages of his children and whether the timing was right to uproot his family to move to Northeastern Wisconsin.

The Fox Sports Radio host does have coaching experience. He has worked as a coach for the U.S. men’s basketball team at the Maccabiah Games, sometimes referred to as the Jewish Olympics.

Gottlieb’s father — Bob — was the head men’s basketball coach at Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1975-1980, compiling a 97-91 record.

Continue Reading

Sports Radio News

Waddle & Silvy: Scott Hanson Told Us to Lose His Number

“We didn’t call him back, so he set out what he wanted to do.”

blank

Published

on

blank

Aaron Rodgers took immense pride in the fact that he told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter to “lose his number” while discussing his future earlier this week on The Pat McAfee Show. ESPN 1000’s Waddle & Silvy said they’ve experienced similar treatment from guests on their radio show.

While discussing the Rodgers interview with McAfee, the pair admitted that NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson once told their producer to stop trying to book him for interviews on the program.

“I believe the presentation was ‘Do me a favor: lose my number after this interview’,” Tom Waddle said. “So he tried to do it politely. Scott Hanson did. Get out of here. That concept is foreign to me. How about ‘Hey, next time you text me, my schedule is full. I can’t do it, but thanks for thinking of me’. ‘Lose my number?’ You ain’t the President, for Christ’s sake. I’m saying that to anyone who would say that. ‘Lose my number?’ We’re all in the communication business. I just don’t know — why be rude like that to people? What does that accomplish? You know what it accomplished? We didn’t call him back, so he set out what he wanted to do.”

Co-host Mark Silverman then mentioned that the show once tried to book Hansen and NFL Red Zone host Andrew Siciliano together in the same block, with the idea of doing a trivia game to see who the supreme Red Zone host was. Siciliano agreed, but Hansen declined.

The pair also confirmed that an NFL Network personality had told them to lose their number, but couldn’t remember if it was Rich Eisen or not.

Silverman later joked that maybe Hanson was getting a new phone with a new number, and was politely sharing with the producer that he could lose the current phone number because he would share his new number in short order.

Continue Reading

Sports Radio News

Seth Payne: Aaron Rodgers ‘Makes Gross Inaccuracies’ When Calling Out Media

“This is where Rodgers does this thing where he, in calling out reporters for their inaccuracies, makes gross inaccuracies in his accusations.”

blank

Published

on

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers is always mad at the media for the inaccurate things he says they report, but according to Sports Radio 610 morning man Seth Payne, no one is more inaccurate than the quarterback himself.

Friday morning, Payne and his partner Sean Pendergast played audio of Aaron Rodgers responding to a question about a list of players he provided to the Jets demanding they sign. Rodgers called the idea that he would make demands “so stupid” and chastised ESPN reporter Dianna Russini, who was the first to report it.

“Now to be clear, Dianna Russini didn’t say demands in her tweet. She said wishlist,” Pendergast clarified.

They also played a clip of Russini responding to Rodgers on NFL Live saying that she stands by her reporting and it is her job to reach out to confirm that it is true.

“This is where Rodgers does this thing where he, in calling out reporters for their inaccuracies, makes gross inaccuracies in his accusations,” Seth Payne said.

He added that if Rodgers is being serious, he is doing some serious nitpicking. He claims that he didn’t give the Jets a list, but that he spoke glowingly about former teammates and told the Jets executives that he met with who he enjoyed playing with during his career.

Payne joked that maybe he wrote down the names in a circle pattern so that it was not a list. Pendergast added that he could have had Fat Head stickers on his wall that he pointed to instead of writing anything at all.

In Payne’s mind, this is a case of Russini catching stray frustration. Neither in her initial tweet nor in any subsequent media appearance did she use the phrase “demands”.

“What he’s actually responding to in that instance is Pat McAfee is the one that described it as a list of demands,” Seth Payne said.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

blank

Barrett Media Writers

Copyright © 2023 Barrett Media.