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Jonathan Zaslow Is No Longer A Caveman

“I never would have been that guy who was not only listening to a female in sports radio, but preferring to do a show with a female. I used to be a caveman. I’ve definitely evolved.”

Brian Noe

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Everybody in sports radio has to start somewhere. Often times it’s in a small town like Sioux Falls or Poughkeepsie. There aren’t many hosts that get their start in a top-15 market without having to relocate. Jonathan Zaslow of WQAM in Miami is one of the lucky ones in this regard. He didn’t have to pack his bags for a market in the hundreds. He was able to get his foot in the door at home and talk about the teams he rooted for growing up.

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Zaslow has made the most of his opportunities. He’s had a successful run in sports radio and has worked with big names like Joy Taylor, Amber Wilson, and Boog Scambi. Zaslow has also covered Miami Heat basketball for the past 12 years and would love to get more play-by-play opportunities in the future. We talk about what Zaslow has learned most from Joy and Amber, how Stugotz played an important role in his career, and how he has evolved from a self-described caveman. Enjoy!

Brian Noe: Where are you originally from?

Jonathan Zaslow: South Florida is my hometown. I grew up in North Miami Beach and the only time really that I ever left was when I went to school. I went to the University of Florida, but I’m a Miami guy. Most people who want to do sports radio, they want to be a sports radio talk show host; I wanted to be a sports radio talk show host in Miami. So I really limited the playing field as far as what I wanted to do. I just felt like I wanted to be able to be passionate and root for the teams that I grew up rooting for while talking about them every day and with the same type of people who were just like me listening growing up. I’m from here and I guess you never say never, but I don’t have any plans on leaving.

BN: What was it like for you to initially get started in sports radio when you specifically wanted to be in South Florida?

JZ: I got really, really lucky and my path is not one to try and be replicated. I used my last semester at the University of Florida to do an internship down here at the local NBC affiliate in Miramar. Luckily, this was unbeknownst to me, in September of that year right at the end of my summer internship, a brand new radio station was starting up down here, 790 The Ticket. They were starting up to challenge the incumbent WQAM. They had some money behind them and it was for real. 

The lead sports anchor at the NBC affiliate was Joe Rose who had been the longtime morning host at 560 and was leaving 560 to be the new morning host at the startup 790 The Ticket. At the end of my internship he said to me hey, you’re looking for a job? Call this guy. This guy, whose name he writes down on a piece of paper, Jon Weiner, I call up the next day. I later on found out okay, Jon Weiner is Stugotz. Stugotz from the Dan Le Batard Show was the general manager of this new startup station. That got my foot in the door.

I was doing all the grunt work of course. I was 23 years old. It also gave me the opportunity where it’s a brand new station and they’re just putting people on the air on weekends. Yeah, I’ll do that shift. I’ve never done it before, I’ll do it. I was in a place where I got to do my first sports talk shows, instead of like in Des Moines where I probably should have been doing them, I was doing them in Miami in the No. 13 overall market in the country where I grew up. I already had a wealth of knowledge about all of these teams. I got my foot in the door, really lucky.

BN: Did it take long for you to get a weekday opportunity?

JZ: While I was doing these weekend shifts I was the weekday producer for the Boog Sciambi Show. Boog of course now is the television man for the Cubs, ESPN, all of that. He was the midday host here. He and I became very close and we’re still very close. We had great chemistry together. He was using me on air a lot. That was helping me kind of find my voice a little bit, also get the audience used to who I am. Then eventually Boog left full-time for the Atlanta Braves. That was probably in ‘07. A slot opened up and I ended up taking over weeknights. I was on 7-10 p.m. Probably about three years in, I was now full-time Monday through Friday 7-10 p.m.

BN: How long were you with The Ticket altogether?

JZ: Our parent company is Audacy. They were rivals for many, many years and then eventually they merged and Audacy has both stations. I was moved about two months ago from 790 The Ticket to 560 WQAM. I was the last remaining original employee of 790 The Ticket. I started with 790 in September of ‘04 several days before they actually launched. Until a couple of months ago, I was always able to say I’m the only remaining original employee — still the longest employee, I was there for 17 years — but I was the last one.

We’re two doors down. People ask me what’s it like, you’re now on 560 WQAM. I’m like yeah, I’m just doing my show. It’s in the same building and I’m just two studios down. It’s really no different for me. But all those years where I would be on the air and I would say, ‘I’m 790 ‘til I die. I’m the only original employee still here. I’m not going anywhere.’ And now I’m on 560.

BN: [Laughs] That’s funny, man. How would you describe what it was like to do a show with Joy Taylor and what it was like to do a show with Amber Wilson?

JZ: Really different. The two of them were really, really different. I love them both to this day very much, but really different. With Joy, Joy and I were doing the show together at a really interesting time for both of us. That worked out in both of our favor. What I mean by that is we were both still really young at the time and trying to get a foothold into this career if you will. We were in on the grind. If it didn’t work out, I don’t know what else I’m doing. And if it didn’t work out for her, she doesn’t know what else she’s doing. We were in it to win it. I knew that she was in that foxhole with me and we are working hard together. That was great. I knew that I could count on her and she the same with me. She’s also a very big personality.

The big difference with Amber is she’s so smart. She is like really, really smart. Joy could do some characters and she could be very over-the-top; Amber is herself. She’s super opinionated, but also coming at it from a really, really intelligent place. She made the show a lot smarter. That’s for sure. She was also really good at poking fun of herself. Amber was really playful. Joy was also, but I would say the main difference was Joy and I were at a unique place in both of our careers and Amber was bringing a really super intelligence quotient to the show that it probably did not have before. Not that it didn’t have it from Joy, it didn’t have it from me.

BN: What would you say are some important things that you’ve learned from any of the on-air partners you’ve had?

JZ: I think probably what I learned from working with Amber, I definitely learned how to listen better. That’s for sure. Not everything that comes out of my mouth is the most important thing. I definitely learned how to listen more because she’s really smart and I was able to lean on her with stuff like that. She was going to be able to express maybe what both of us are thinking a lot better than I was going to. She was really good at that kind of stuff, at explaining serious topics with the audience. I definitely learned how to listen a lot better with her.

What I learned by working with Joy, I think I understood how to make sure that it’s good to bring in the personal stuff. When I was doing shows on my own from 7-10, I was doing a hardcore sports show. Nothing personal was coming on. I didn’t know if that was the way to go. I was like all right, well we’re a sports station so let me just stick with sports. With Joy, I really learned how to get all the personal stuff on the air because she was really good at busting my balls and getting on me. I think that’s probably what I learned from her the most.

BN: The lasting influence from Le Batard and his style in Miami, does the town still feel it to this day?

Dan Le Batard

JZ: Yeah, it’s a major imprint because when it was just 560 WQAM, you had that old guard. It was a much older host. We’re talking about Hank Goldberg, Jim Mandich, Jeff DeForrest, guys who are legends down here, but obviously a little bit older than certainly, I was at the time. It was very hardcore sports and it was a Dolphins town. You got to talk Dolphins. Hurricanes, Dolphins.

Then when 790 started up, the whole idea was they’re going to be younger, they’re going to be hipper, and they’re going to do things differently. The station was centered around Le Batard. He was the original afternoon host and he was all about challenging the way that sports radio operates. All of it. And not just sports radio, but challenging sports media and the way that we cover these teams and the way that we think.

I think most of all what had probably the most effect on me was also we don’t have to do this hardcore sports show. We can totally just have fun and that plays in Miami. We’re not New York, we’re not Philly, we’re not Boston. We get busted on for not having hardcore fans here. That’s bullshit. We have incredibly hardcore fans. I’m one of them. There just aren’t enough of them that are like that. The way that you bring in everybody is you’ve got to add a little bit of fun to it and do all the laughing.

I do plenty of shows where most of the show is not sports-related and I’m just having fun. I’m talking about either movies or music or I’m talking about pro wrestling because I love pro wrestling. I would never have done that at the start until I realized okay, this is something that works down here. That I think it’s a permanent imprint that Le Batard had on the sports radio scene here.

BN: What’s the deal in Florida with sports gambling basically being a go, and now it’s not; what impact has that had on fans and also business?

JZ: It’s a go in regards to sports radio and our show. I’ve always been big into sports gambling. I just checked my Hard Rock app yesterday and it works. The Seminole Hard Rock here in Hollywood, that app works. It seems like they’re just kind of hey, we’re doing gambling now, it’s not legal in the state of Florida, but the Seminole Indian tribe, they’ve got their own — it’s complicated down here. That app seems to work, so I don’t know. I think we’re okay, but we’re not? I don’t know.

BN: [Laughs] It’s kind of like the way it was before it became legal. People gambled anyway, so that’s probably where it’s at in Florida, right?

JZ: Yeah, nothing has changed. The only thing that’s going to change is when it all becomes legitimately 100 percent legal. Otherwise, it’s still business as usual. Everybody either has their site or wherever they go. You’ve got the daily fantasy, all of it. And certainly, Audacy is heavily invested with their BetQL Network because it of course is legalized in a bunch of states, but Florida is not one of them yet. Soon.

BN: Being a huge fan of Pearl Jam, has that taught you anything as far as growing and aging with your sports radio audience? 

JZ: You know, it’s funny. I’m a massive Pearl Jam fan and it’s funny because they are not the same band that they were 30 years ago. They have absolutely evolved. Their music does not sound the way that it did before. Certainly, they’ll do things today that their younger version would not have done or would have thought was cheap or maybe even a sellout-type move. In the same vein, I have completely evolved in the way that I do my shows as well.

Pearl Jam Unveil 'Animal' at 1993 MTV Video Music Awards: Watch - Rolling  Stone
Courtesy: Filmmagic, Inc

I’m definitely the guy who would never have wanted to hear a female on sports radio. I never would’ve wanted it. I was definitely a caveman and I have evolved.

I love doing the show with a female. I loved doing the show with Joy Taylor. I loved doing the show with Amber Wilson. My goal is to eventually get back to that. If I do pick up a host again, I do want it to be a female. I think it’s important. I like the inclusivity. I like what a female brings to the show. I get along with females, I always have. I think it’s fun and I never would have been that guy who was not only listening to a female in sports radio, but preferring to do a show with a female. I used to be a caveman. I’ve definitely evolved.

BN: As far as the future goes, what’s something that you would like to accomplish or experience as you go forward?

JZ: I’ve done 12 years with the Miami Heat now on their pre, halftime, and post-game. I love it. That’s a dream come true for me. I grew up a massive Heat fan. They’ve always been the most important team down here to me as a kid. That’s a dream come true. I got the opportunity last year to fill in for the now-retired Mike Inglis. I did some play-by-play and I loved it. I’d like some more opportunities to do that. I think that’s the next thing.

As far as sports radio goes, I love doing local. I’m not going to say never, that I would never move on to something else, but I love doing local. I love Miami. I certainly don’t have any aspirations to do mornings again. I don’t think that stuff matters anymore as far as the time of day because everybody listens on digital, podcasts, you can rewind on the app. That stuff isn’t as important anymore. I love my time slot, but as far as doing extra stuff, I would like to continue doing some play-by-play. I’d also like to do a pro wrestling podcast or radio show. I’m pretty passionate about it, and I’d love to do something in that world.

BN: Is there anything you do to work on your play-by-play chops in case there is an opportunity for you?

JZ: Yeah, the way that I prepared for those games last year, I was recording games and then I would sit in my game room here and I would actually put on headsets just to kind of put myself in that place, and I would call the game. That’s when I kind of realized, I’m like alright. If I keep doing this, I think I might be good at this. It’s funny because a few years ago I was like I’d really like to practice, but if I show up to one of these Heat preseason games and I set up my equipment, Mike’s going to think I’m trying to take his job. I couldn’t do that. [Laughs] I could record games for sure and I could simulate the broadcast. It’s definitely a way to keep practicing.

BN: What’s something about play-by-play where after doing it you were like wow, I didn’t realize that part was going to be tricky?

JZ: That’s a good question. You know what, it seems like such a simple thing, but understanding when they call timeouts and when all the commercials come, that’s not something I ever would’ve thought about. And that stuff comes fast. You have to know all right, is this one of the breaks that we’re supposed to go to commercial here? On my radio show, I’ve got that in my head. I know exactly what I have to do, but here, all right they called timeout, oh the red light came on, that’s going to be a TV timeout. All right, so I’ve got to do this. That kind of stuff is not easy. And that happens fast.

BN: The impact on your body doing mornings for seven years versus middays. How do you explain what your body feels like now?

JZ: It really changed my life. They told me about two years ago that they’re moving me and Amber from mornings to middays. I was shocked of course because another thing I used to be able to hold onto was no one has ever done mornings in 790 The Ticket’s history longer than I did. That record still stands, seven years. I was a little bit shocked. Did we fail here in some regard? That was upsetting at first.

But then I started to think about it and wow, during Heat season, I don’t have to start thinking that if I fall asleep right now, I get a total of four and a half hours. Oh, now if I fall asleep, I get four hours. I don’t have to do that ever again. That weighed on me every night. People can tell you it’s an early wake-up but you’ll get used to it; there’s no getting used to it. You never, ever, ever get used to it. The 4 a.m. wake-up is 4 a.m. every single day. There’s no getting used to it. It’s changed my life.

FOUR IN THE MORNING - Alabama Chanin | Journal



BN: It’s funny because I think it’s something with sports radio hosts where they almost feel guilty, or have to hide the challenges of it because they’re not digging ditches.

JZ: Oh my God, I was explaining this one time. It was when I was doing the show with Amber Wilson and Brett Romberg. One morning I decided to talk about how tired I am after the show by 10 a.m. The listeners are like you got to be effing kidding me, Zaslow. You’re tired? I’m like it’s tiring. I’m talking for four straight hours and there’s no downtime. My brain is constantly spinning. I’m tired at the end of the four hours. People, they can’t grasp it. I am having fun. I’m not saying it’s not fun. But they can’t grasp the idea that you can still get tired doing a job that’s really fun.

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BSM Writers

Day Spent With: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

“What a beautiful gift to have the ability to make something that is about you; your imaginations; your principles and have it reach and imprint someone else.”

Derek Futterman

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Day Spent With – The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

We’ve reached the end of BSM’s ‘Day Spent With‘ series. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these pieces as much as we’ve enjoyed creating them for you. I want to thank all of the brands, companies, and professionals who made time for Derek Futterman during the past two months. None of these projects work without help from a lot of quality people.

Our goal from the start of this series was to shine a light on what a day entails inside each workplace. Whether folks work in radio, digital, television, voiceover/imaging, media buying or management, consistent success can not be achieved if all departments aren’t working in sync. Fortunately, we’ve got a lot of good ones continuing to raise the bar across the sports media industry.

To close things out, we sent Derek to South Beach to spend a full day with The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. My thanks to Dan, and the entire crew for making time for us. I also want to thank Bimal Kapadia for putting the wheels in motion. We don’t travel a lot for projects, but when this idea came up, I thought it’d be a great way to put a bow on an awesome series. I’m sure as you read the piece, you’ll agree that it offers a great peek into life on the pirate ship. I just hope Derek didn’t bring home an eye patch or lose a hand in the process.

Jason Barrett

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A loud bell rings two minutes before the top of the hour, signifying to all those within the facilities that the show is about to begin. This tone, albeit fleeting in its duration, has a resonance that rings true throughout the entirety of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, but it is hardly the catalyst for the natural energy and congeniality exhibited inside the studio walls. There is a calculated verve and mental calmness that permeates the space combined with an inherent awareness of the expectations and commitment to its audience.

Although there are elements of improvisation and joviality within the three-and-a-half hour show, hosts and contributors do not simply enter the studio without a plan. Personnel arrive at the Meadowlark Media studios in Miami in two waves with a cognizance of news across a variety of topics. In an office space with the Port of Miami and Kaseya Center visible in the distance, the cast brainstorms potential talking points and informs those involved in audio and video production of any content they might need. Of course, part of the job is also remaining prepared for a deviation off script depending on the discussion percolating or breaking news off which to react.

Co-hosts Dan Le Batard and Jon “Stugotz” Weiner have been working together for nearly two decades, first at 790 The Ticket in Miami. The local version of the show quickly flourished through its blend of sports and other worldly discussion. There have been several different permutations over the years. Consistent through it all is knowing and accepting their roles, and embracing the sublime to the ridiculous, while enjoying content selection freedom.

“I would say that we’re following our curiosities, so I want the show to have range, but I’m going to say [it is] a sports show in costume; a sports show in disguise,” Le Batard said. “I want it to be about other things and it also has sports, but I don’t want it to be limited as a sports show.”

Le Batard and his team do not hesitate to address divisive issues head on, adopting a direct approach rather than espousing their opinions in a indirect manner. There is both deliberate and indirect self-effacing comedy within the show, which begins with a “Local Hour” broadcast streamed live on YouTube weekday mornings at 9am ET.

Consumers wait for the countdown to commence to showtime, which is set to a pulsating theme song with its wide array of cast members engaging in different activities around the facility. Conversely, Weiner is stuck in Miami traffic trying to arrive at the studio on time and dashes through the door to arrive just on time. Abstaining from the pre-show meeting, however, is usually part of the plan in how he executes his infamous “Stugotz” character that has been cultivated for nearly two decades.

“In terms of what’s going to be thrown at me, I really have no idea, and there are many, many times I don’t know what my response is going to be to some of the topics of the day until it’s actually asked to me by Dan,” Weiner said. “I’d rather just not know where I’m going to go and just go with my gut.”

On this particular version of the program, Weiner is not in the studio and in the midst of taking vacation. Miami Herald sports columnist Greg Cote is live for his weekly appearance on the program in a tradition that has become a favorite among colleagues and listeners. Le Batard opens on a somber note, discussing the sudden collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, disclosing that the program was not going to show the video of the incident.

Cote believed that the video should be shown one time just as it is any calamity, prompting Le Batard to explain his opinion on how the footage will likely be promulgated by the internet. The program then moves on to discuss Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who had his properties raided by authorities as part of a federal investigation pertaining to sexual assault, sex trafficking, firearms and illegal narcotics.

Over the years, industry professionals have frequently associated the word ‘pontificate’ with Le Batard, referring to how he expresses himself and often spans beyond sports. During his time at ESPN, the program had to clear certain creative elements or segment ideas with upper management. Many people began to foresee a split between Le Batard and ESPN approaching, and that resolution was eventually reached. Le Batard thinks critically and objectively about different topics, outlining his opinions about various matters on the air, and he always desired the ability to possess more creative control.

“Our show is just meant as an audio experience in a family-like environment, creating laughter and weirdness and pretending like it doesn’t know a lot of people are watching,” Le Batard said. “That needs to be protected, and we’ve thrown a lot of change at it.”

In the last several years alone, the program has enacted alterations in its process pertaining to the studio, cast members, clock, visual elements and start time. At the same time, Le Batard’s brother, David, was battling brain cancer and later passed away, but he did not want to give his audience the vulnerability associated with the hardship. Le Batard considers the creative process to be sacred and values the intimacy of their communication medium.

“I allow our most passionate fans to have strong opinions that make me reconsider mine,” Le Batard said. “I like a community that has sparks in it even if we get accused of being an echo chamber, but I would say that over the last couple of years, I have found fewer and fewer spaces where the criticism is constructive enough to be heard over all of the poisonous devices [and] rhetoric that is now internet spaces that are covered in acid and fire.”

When radio show producer Chris Cote was included in layoffs at ESPN in November 2020 without Le Batard’s knowledge, Le Batard immediately re-hired him as his assistant and offered to pay his salary. For Cote, the act was unsurprising because of Le Batard’s loyalty to his staff members and something he believed precipitated his exit from ESPN.

“That was an interesting time,” Cote recalled. “I would say I’ve made the joke on the air before that people like to blame me and say I’m the reason we left ESPN. I think what happened with me was the final straw that led to the divorce.”

Cote knew Le Batard from the time he was young since he worked with his father, Greg, at the Miami Herald. During those visits though, he did not realize Le Batard could one day be his boss. He now views it as funny that things ended up unfolding in this manner. Le Batard hosted this edition of the show with Greg Cote, someone he originally wanted as his partner on the air.

“If he and I had chosen to do the show with 20 years of reps, it would have felt like Larry David and the late Richard Lewis,” Le Batard said. “It would have been a chemistry because our friendship is real. It’s not borne of television; it’s not borne of broadcasting.”

“My dad brings that special sauce that Stugotz brings to the show where we’re talking about sports and then he says something, and the next thing we know, we’re spending 10 minutes just making fun of something he said,” Cote added. “My dad is like the gift that never stops giving. He’s just a gold mine for random stuff that has nothing to do with the conversation we’re trying to have, and he’s a content factory.”

The character of ‘Stugotz’ is not as much acting as it is an exaggerated version of who Weiner genuinely is in his life. On the show, he tries to represent how most people consume sports, affirming that Le Batard does it in a different manner. Part of his inspiration came from Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, longtime radio host at WFAN and SiriusXM. Weiner believes that things clicked when he started to mock him rather than try and successfully facsimile his approach.

Part of the allure and mystique around ‘Stugotz’ is in his absences and fans not knowing when he will be on the show. As time has progressed, the character has appeared on other programs such as the God Bless Football and STUpodity podcasts, but he has long been synonymous as Le Batard’s sidekick who is relatable and intriguing. When he is missing from the program, the show rebrands its graphics to read “The Dan Le Batard Show without Stugotz” and plays off the aura of the personality.

“I wish it was my idea, I’m upset that it wasn’t my idea and this is the first I’m finding out about it,” Weiner said. “You’re telling me they do this every time I’m not there? Well two things – it shows, (a), how much attention I’m paying to the show when I’m not there, which is slightly less than I am when I am there, and No. 2 is my reaction to it. Me laughing is what makes our show our show. I’m pissed that I didn’t come up with the idea; I am proud of them for coming up with that idea and executing it. It’s laugh-out-loud funny.”

Le Batard and Stugotz broadcast their show facing a pane of transparent glass, behind which lies an addendum to the studio space. Chris Cote is part of the group within the “Shipping Container,” a room containing different producers and contributors who operate audio equipment, coordinate guest appearances and frequently contribute to the conversation. Both areas are adorned with artwork and sports memorabilia from the city of Miami. Mike Ryan (Ruiz) has been part of this labyrinth for several years, especially when he served as the show’s executive producer. In the present moment, this role is filled by several different personnel who rotate depending on schedule and show needs.

“The best shows are when there’s a lot of creative energy bouncing off one another [and] a lot of workshopping because this is basically a writers’ room where we trade off ideas and we try to figure out, ‘Who’s the best vessel for this joke?,’” Ryan said. “Sometimes we feed it to one of the talents; sometimes someone else says it here.”

Joining Ryan in the Shipping Container during this show were Billy Gil, JuJu Gotti and Anthony Calatayud. The live-streamed “Local Hour” is packed with topics and news the show discussed beforehand. Every hour of the program averages approximately 40 minutes on the podcast side and contains two breaks, each with a two-minute duration. Once the hour ends, Le Batard and the staff usually take a 15-minute intermission before resuming the show.

“We have a show that is kind of imperceptible when Dan isn’t driving a show,” Ryan said. “It’s this amorphous ensemble, and the trick is to not let anybody really know that there is a perceived leader – that it’s all just a free-flowing conversation – and I think that that’s a delicate balance that comes with time and developing chemistry.”

Gil was responsible for executive producing this edition of the show, running the audio board and coordinating with the television producers. When Le Batard mentioned Alan Thicke, Gil sifted through audio archives to track down something related to the topic. Additionally, he was taking notes to denote different titles and descriptions for segments geared to be released in podcast form.

“A lot of times, we’re trying to come up with jokes for Stugotz,” Gil said. “There’ll be days where naturally just bits will form, so then we’re getting sound for the bits; having voices done for the bits; kind of putting that together so there’s opens [and] closes. If a top-five or something comes up naturally, figuring out the top five. There’s a lot of in-show production and things going on that if you’re listening, we’ve gotten away with people being like, ‘Oh wow, that’s a lot of prep,’ and it’s like, ‘It happened on the fly.’”

Le Batard and former ESPN president John Skipper founded Meadowlark Media in 2021, a content studio with a wide array of programming and partnerships spanning sports and entertainment. The move was liberating to many show members and has been built out through The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz and other programs available in both audio and video formats. Le Batard’s show in particular has significantly expanded the staff situated within its Shipping Container with young and dynamic talent.

JuJu Gotti, for example, landed the job as the show’s social media manager through a friendship he forged with Ryan. Gotti gained attention when he revealed to Mike Golic and Trey Wingo that he had a tattoo of Greg Cote and was later featured on the program. Even though he does not live in the area, Gotti travels to the city once every two weeks where he provides his opinions and monitors social media platforms. Later in the day, Gotti participates in several meetings with the Miami-based Meadowlark Media team and continues his other work.

“I look at it like it’s a blessing to wake up every day, so anything beyond that is triple exciting because the people who are in the Shipping Container with me [are] not necessarily bad people at all,” Gotti said. “I enjoy hanging with them and talking to them, so it feels wonderful.”

After working as a video producer for Sports Illustrated, Jessica Smetana joined Meadowlark Media in its early stages and is on the verge of her third year with the company. Growing up as a devoted fan of ESPN and Le Batard’s program, she understands that there are diversified interests and opinions. Smetana does not hesitate to present her perspectives on different matters, such as the demise of Sports Illustrated amid uncertainty towards its future with a change in publishers.

“I don’t want to regret not saying what’s on my mind a month from now when I see a bunch of my friends out of jobs,” Smetana explained, “so I think it just comes from not wanting to hold anything back when some of those topics come up.”

Meadowlark Media and DraftKings agreed to a distribution deal in 2021 where The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, along with programs across the “Le Batard & Friends Network” are disseminated to a variety of different outlets. Ninety minutes of Le Batard’s show airs live on DraftKings Network every day as part of a two-hour programming block, the final 30 minutes of which is a replay of selected material from earlier in the show.

Within the ensuing hours of the show, which includes interviews with journalists Jemele Hill and Tim Kurkjian, Le Batard poses interview questions to his guests surrounding current events and new projects. The show also welcomes Amin Elhassan to the studio, who occasionally fills in as a host while also growing his Oddball podcast.

Le Batard, Cote and Elhassan are in the main studio and speak with those in the “Shipping Container” through the glass. Weiner believes the wide array of voices and perspectives keeps the show young and relevant as he and Le Batard continue to grow older. In watching the show evolve over time, Le Batard evinces that the new cast members coerce the audience to face unpredictability and leads to the show deviating from doing things in the exact same ways as it had previously.

As the newest member of the program, Lucy Rohden splits her time between the Shipping Container and reporting around the country. She was recently in Iowa covering the first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, including watching her alma mater Iowa Hawkeyes and star guard Caitlin Clark.

“I found that traveling and creating content on the road is what I enjoy doing most, and so if that means sacrificing time on the show to get to do that, that’s sort of worth it for me,” Rohden said. “But it’s still something I’m balancing and learning how to do, and it’s something that the show is also balancing and learning how to incorporate because they haven’t really had an on-the-road correspondent before, so it’s still a work in progress, but lots of caffeine.”

Smetana and Rohden are the only two women who are in the Shipping Container. They have developed a friendship while working together. When Rohden first joined the show, Smetana helped her assimilate into the program and a new city. Both realized how important it is to include women on the show, especially with the proliferation of women’s sports.

“It’s always disheartening for me when I’m watching a sports show and I’m looking for someone who looks like me or who I relate to,” Rohden said, “and so I think it’s really great for (1), just rounding out the show, and Jess is unbelievably funny and talented, and I believe I do the same.”

“Obviously women’s sports has exploded in the last five years and it continues to explode, and I think there’s still a huge number of really popular sports shows in the U.S. that don’t have any women on them, which I think is crazy,” Smetana added. “But I still think even though I’m on the show now, we obviously could still do better.”

Part of the allure of the program for Weiner is in the unknown of who will be in the Shipping Container on a given day. The show has several contributors and content creators who follow changing schedules, and many of them partake in other projects both related to and outside of Meadowlark Media. Roy Bellamy, for example, started working with the program as an intern at 790 The Ticket and has been involved through various iterations over the years.

During the show, Bellamy focuses on his work and carefully selects when he will speak. A passion for hockey has led him to create a new podcast, titled The Hockey Show, which he recently debuted with co-host David Dwork. While Bellamy reviews metrics and other performance-related information, being able to interact with the fans and hear their opinion on the show is meaningful and keeps him motivated.

“I would say there are a lot of people that come up to us on the street and tell us just how much their lives have been bettered or change or how they got through issues, such as the pandemic, just based on listening to our show,” Bellamy said, “so the impact is there, and the impact is felt and it’s huge.”

Unlike a preponderance of live radio shows, the program does not usually implement callers and instead reviews messages in chat rooms or on social media during the episode. Those in the studio and Shipping Container can communicate with one another through microphone talkback and/or between segments, allowing them to integrate different show components in real time. In Las Vegas, members of the show stayed afterwards for a meet-and-greet session with the audience, providing them a chance to thank their fans. The experience resonated with producer Anthony Calatayud, who recognizes how the show has withstood internal and external changes to realize widespread societal acceptance.

“I think the personal touch in the community that the show has created with people that don’t know each other from all different parts of the globe – that they’re able to sit down and be like, ‘Oh, you get the show? Perfect, I get the show too,’ and have a camaraderie about that is something that can’t be measured with numbers, with money or with anything like that,” Calatayud said. “I think the impact of that is lasting.”

As the show reaches its conclusion within its postgame hour, it continues its ‘March Sadness’ bracket by reviewing entries within the ‘Greg Cote division.’ Preceding this segment was a review of a basketball take from ESPN host Mike Greenberg and another version of ‘Back in My Day’ with Greg Cote.

Once everyone involved in the show emerges from the studio and subsequent control rooms, there are more meetings to be had throughout the day about new content ideas, initiatives and other business matters. Audio and video editors are simultaneously diligently working around the office to deliver the final product en masse. Jeremy Taché is the primary audio editor for the program and also contributes within the Shipping Container a few days per week.

“I have to stay focused on the show every day and plugged in, whether I’m on the air or not,” Taché outlined. “I also write our titles and descriptions for our podcast episodes, so I’m always kind of trying to think, ‘What are the biggest jokes? What are the ones that landed?’”

The Meadowlark Media facility in Miami has an additional production studio that is used to record various podcasts and other audiovisual content. There are days where the studios are packed with shows moving in and out, whereas other afternoons are relatively quiet in terms of new productions.

Meadowlark Media has offices in New York City as well, and signed deals with companies to continue moving into the content space. The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, for example, is available to stream on Max with the B/R Sports Add-On. All The Smoke Productions also agreed to a strategic content partnership with the company for its flagship podcast hosted by former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

“We all dream-build over here at Meadowlark, and we’re hoping that it can go to really, really impressive places,” Ryan said. “I don’t mean to sound like we haven’t already accomplished some pretty impressive things so far. The company is growing in great ways, and adding All The Smoke, those are two really reputable talents that give us something in our locker that we didn’t really have before – players’ perspective and a real, true name that you can put up in the marquee there next to Dan’s show.”

Weiner believes that his time on the show is finite, asserting that he does not believe he or Le Batard will want to continue in their sixties. Projecting outward, they want to ensure they provide a professional working environment where employees can create and thrive in the job they want. There exists a possibility where they could one day take over the show, which will be moving to a new location in a few years. For now though, everyone involved is trying to enjoy the ride and help precipitate continued growth.

“I’ve always said the key to our show is Dan’s happiness,” Weiner conveyed. “He’s the straw that stirs the drink, and so in an odd way as frustrating as I can be and as frustrated as I make him, he’s a creature of habit, and having me next to him makes him more comfortable, and I think he would probably acknowledge that. Our staff knows how to produce me in a way that they don’t know how to produce anybody because they’ve been doing it for 20 years.”

“What a beautiful gift to have the ability to make something that is about you; your imaginations; your principles and have it reach and imprint someone else,” Le Batard said. “To be able to express yourself freely is something that my parents fled Cuba so that their kids would have the ability to be a writer in one case, and in the case of my late little brother, an artist. Freedom of expression and freedom in general is why I live in this country.”

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‘NHL on TNT’ Gives Hockey Fans the ‘NBA on TNT’ Treatment

Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

John Molori

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NHL on TNT studio

Let’s play a little word association, sports media style. If I say TNT, what is your response? Chances are it will be a three-letter abbreviation of your own, namely, NBA. Over the years, TNT has built a reputation as arguably the premiere network to telecast the National Basketball Association.

The NBA on TNT pregame and halftime shows have become the gold standard with stars like Ernie Johnson, Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it’s not just this quartet of roundball royalty that has fortified TNT’s hoops coverage.

The rep was also built on tremendous play-by-play announcers like Bob Neal and Kevin Harlan, color analysts like Doug Collins and Reggie Miller, and courtside reporters like the late Craig Sager and current sideline star Allie LaForce.

Indeed, TNT and the NBA have become synonymous, but I have some news for you. This network is not just about professional basketball. This past week I went off the grid with TNT looking at their in-game and studio coverage of the NHL.

On March 24, the NHL on TNT provided coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche matchup. Kenny Albert did play-by-play with Eddie Olczyk on color. Albert is not as noted as his legendary broadcasting father Marv Albert, but he has certainly staked his claim as one of the best in the business – able to cross over to multiple sports with equal aplomb.

Hockey is a strong suit for Albert. His rat-tat-tat, drama-building style draws viewers in and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Similarly, Olczyk is one of the top four or five NHL game analysts in the business. His style is understated, providing calm and clear analysis of key plays. They work really well together.

Albert eschews any kind of hackneyed and trite catch phrases for his goal calls. An emphatic, “He shoots and scores!” is plenty enough.

Hockey is a different beast when it comes to play-by-play. Unlike basketball, baseball, football, or even soccer and tennis, there is a minimum of breaks in the action. With hockey, a play-by-play announcer has to know the names of the players like he or she knows her kids’ names.

To me, it is the hardest sport for play-by-play and equally difficult for a color analyst. In basketball, after a team scores, the play-by-play announcer will keep silent and give the color analyst time to talk until the play crosses center court. In baseball and football, there is ample room for commentary.

Hockey does not offer such space, but Olczyk gets the most out of the minimal amount of time. Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

Coming back from a break in the game, Albert and Olczyk provided on air commentary and then tossed to ice level reporter Brian Boucher who has grown into a tremendous asset to the TNT broadcasts. Boucher provided real talk about Colorado’s objectives of staying on top of their division and vying for the top seed in the Western Conference.

The Penguins, squarely in a rebuilding year having dumped talent at the NHL trade deadline, surprisingly jumped out to a 2–0 lead in this game, and the TNT between periods studio crew was all over it. The excellent Liam McHugh hosted alongside Colby Armstrong, Anson Carter, and Keith Yandle.

Armstrong was especially entertaining. With Pittsburgh outshooting the Avs 16-4, Armstrong noted that it’s the best he’s seen Pittsburgh play in a long time. His reasoning was that teams get geared up for playing Colorado even if it’s out of fear. Great stuff.

Both teams tallied two goals in the second period giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame. When Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon set up Jonathan Drouin for a goal to make it 4-3, Albert and Olczyk showed their strengths.

Albert called the pass from MacKinnon and one-timer goal from Drouin, and immediately noted that MacKinnon now had a point in all 34 of Colorado’s home games this season. On the goal replay, Olczyk showed how the play developed pointing out how McKinnon allowed Pittsburgh’s Evgenii Malkin to come in close before making the past to Drouin.

The TNT production team then showed a graphic displaying that McKinnon is now second all-time in longest home points streaks trailing only Wayne Gretzky. This was a sublime sequence of symmetry between talent and technicians like a songwriter, musician, and singer creating beautiful music.

What was supposed to be a blowout win for Colorado had now become a hockey barn burner, and the TNT crew was up to the task. Every goal and key play was followed up with replays from multiple angles showing the genesis of the action.

TNT has certainly taken to the velocity of the hockey broadcast with movement that challenges directors, graphics professionals, and videographers.

When there were breaks in this non-stop action, Olczyk was at his best. No hockey analyst draws on his experience as a player and explains that experience better to viewers. The TNT broadcast also lets Boucher freewheel and join in the flow of discussion without having to be introduced.

TNT does not merely rely on the traditional wide shot of the entire rink. We see close-up shots of each goaltender after a great save and the sweat of players on the bench or in the penalty box.

When McKinnon tied the game at 4-4 with 4:38 left in the third period, we got a series of tremendous crowd shots showing the Colorado fans going absolutely berserk. The sage Albert and Olczyk wisely remained quiet for several seconds, letting the cheers do the talking.

When Drouin scored the game winner at 4:06 of overtime, Albert exercised controlled enthusiasm, raising his voice on the call of the goal, but not becoming the show and overshadowing the play itself. He is definitely in the mold of Dan Kelly, Gary Thorne, and Sean McDonough, announcers who enhance but do not supersede the game.

Putting a cherry on top of this hockey Sunday, TNT showed a graphic that the Avalanche now led the NHL in comeback wins this season with 25 and that they were riding a 9-game winning streak. In analyzing the goal, Olczyk opined that the altitude of playing in Colorado was prevalent as the Penguins seemed to tire as the game progressed – really interesting insight.

In the postgame show, Anson Carter made a great point that the chemistry between Drouin and MacKinnon stems from the fact that they have been playing together going back to junior hockey. McKinnon joined in from the arena for a postgame interview. The analysts asked solid questions and even did a funny MVP chant together as the interview ended.

The NHL on TNT takes no back seat to its elder NBA sister. The broadcast provides viewers with flash, dash, and serious hockey talk from every angle – in studio, from the broadcast booth, and on the ice.

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How to Help Your Clients with Low Website Conversions

Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

Jeff Caves

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Graphic for how to increase website conversions
Credit: WPDesigner.Biz

Are your clients dealing with low website conversions? Whenever a marketing campaign is run, and the goal is to convert website visitors into leads, the temptation is to blame low traffic, amongst other issues, for low form fills or appointments being generated.  Just spend more money, you may think! Sometimes, you must look at at least four other potential issues to tackle poor conversion rates. Here are some actionable steps using the IT services industry to increase website conversions.

IT Solutions specializes in providing products, services, or solutions related to technology, particularly in areas such as software development, hardware sales, IT consulting, cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, and digital transformations. They faced challenges with their website conversions. Despite driving substantial traffic through Google Ads and other SEO tactics, they struggled to convert website visitors into form fills for appointment requests. A 2% to 5% conversion rate could be considered reasonable. Of course, conversion rates can vary based on various factors, such as the competitiveness of the local market, the quality of the website (and radio stations help most to fix that) and its user experience, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, and the reputation and offerings of the IT solutions business. Focusing on improving the quality of leads and providing exceptional customer service can be just as crucial as achieving high conversion rates. Don’t blame EVERYTHING on the marketing tactics! 

The Diagnosis

Upon thorough analysis, several critical issues were identified with IT Solutions’ website:

1. High Bounce Rate: Nobody was checking out the business. If 70% or more of website visitors only visit the landing page, that is an issue.  It could be slow loading times, irrelevant content, poor user experience, or unclear calls-to-action that prevent them from wanting to know more about IT Solutions. You can check the bounce rate on the Google Analytics page for the website in the left-hand sidebar, click on “Behavior” to expand the menu, then click on “Site Content,” and finally, click on “Landing Pages.” You’ll see a list of landing pages and their respective bounce rates.

2. Complex Navigation: It was hard to move around the website to find relevant information about IT services, and it was unclear who they were initiating contact with and for what purpose.

3. Unclear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): The website lacked clear and compelling CTAs guiding visitors toward requesting an appointment. Simply stating “click here for an appointment” is like asking for a meeting whenever or without establishing value. Here are 28 CTAs for free.

4. Lengthy Forms: The appointment forms were long, without qualifying information, and requested excessive information upfront, deterring potential leads from completing them.

Action Plan

1. Optimize Landing Pages:

   – Redo high-traffic landing pages with clear messaging and compelling CTAs.

   – Showcase IT Solutions’ services as benefits, making it easier for users to request appointments, thereby increasing user engagement and conversions.

2. Simplify Navigation:

   – Reorganize the menu and add more action-oriented links.

   – Provide additional options for users to access relevant information, such as “Get a free IT Solutions 15-point checkup NOW” and “Take this 5-question survey to diagnose your IT issues,” motivating them to book appointments.

3. Enhance CTAs:

   – Utilize concise and persuasive messaging throughout the website.

   – Encourage visitors to take action, whether requesting a free download about “5 things you can do to solve your IT issues on your own” or “get a free pizza for booking an appointment.”

4. Improve the Form Fill:

   – Add a further line about the number of employees who qualify for incoming leads.

   – Highlight the value of leads based on company size, prioritizing forms with higher potential impact.

Review landing pages, navigation, CTAs, and form experience to address website conversion issues. Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

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