BSM Writers
Laura Rutledge is Thriving on Her Journey at ESPN
“They don’t need to remember what I said because I’m there to make them shine, and that will be what I hope people would say about me.”
Published
3 months agoon
When Laura Rutledge looks back at the early days of the revamped NFL Live, she recognizes how she occupied a cavernous studio alone while everyone else was in remote locations carrying out their roles. In trying to adhere to health and safety protocols due to the global pandemic, the network had made adaptations to many of its studio shows. Although everyone involved was excited for the new show, the external situations surrounding the endeavor placed it in a unique situation compared to the launch of other studio programming.
“I remember very early on being discouraged and feeling like we weren’t really given a fair shake, and it was basically out of everybody’s control,” Rutledge said. “There was nothing anyone could do about it, and so instead of wallowing in that, I decided, ‘Okay, we’re not going to use that as an excuse. We’re going to find some way to make this really work.’”
Rutledge had faced different levels of adversity in establishing herself and working in sports media. At this stage in her career though, she is largely recognized as one of ESPN’s versatile, star talents. Aside from her natural hosting abilities, she has exhibited unyielding poise and a commitment to enhancing her colleagues. Every weekday, Rutledge is joined by ESPN NFL analysts Dan Orlovsky, Mina Kimes, Marcus Spears and Ryan Clark on NFL Live, a show that genuinely blends congeniality with proficiency pertaining to a predominant sport.
“I know some people are like, ‘Wow, is it really this good? Do you guys really like each other this much,’ and I would just tell you it’s just family,” Rutledge said. “We’ve been there for each other through a lot over these last few years, and so I think that’s very rare to find in TV in general, but I desperately hold on to the chemistry that we’ve created because I know that it’s something rare and special.”
Rutledge left her ego behind at the entrance to the long and winding road towards Bristol, Conn., and she has worked to build off each opportunity placed in her direction. Viewing chances to broaden her skillset as stepping stones instead of obstacles, she prepares to cross these rivers with a confident composure. As time has progressed, Rutledge has improved her ability to construct bridges that put her in the fast lane of success.
The airport is a common destination on some of these drives since she frequently travels throughout the football season to host and report on various network programs. Before she was a passenger on an airplane preparing for takeoff, Rutledge was on the runway herself competing in beauty pageants. As a longtime member of the Miss America organization, Rutledge sought to win scholarship money while in college at the University of Florida. While she eventually won the title of Miss Florida in the summer of 2012, the process helped her refine key fundamentals in her sports media pursuits.
“I really didn’t know how to be in front of a camera and I would deal with debilitating nerves trying to do that, so this forced me so outside my comfort zone that I had to learn pretty quickly how to make it all work,” Rutledge said. “I think if you can be on a stage in front of people, being on a camera isn’t nearly as bad.”
From a young age, Rutledge possessed a keen interest in the arts and ballet dancing, and although she enjoyed sports, she did not closely scrutinize teams and leagues. Upon matriculating at the University of Florida, she was using some of her academic scholarship funds to pay for ballet classes and needed to find a job to help alleviate some of the costs. A friend subsequently told her she had a good voice and should consider joining WRUF, the campus radio station. In the spring of her freshman year, Rutledge applied and was informed sports was the only opening, and she did not hesitate to oblige.
In order to learn about what she was covering, Rutledge engaged in deft preparation and displayed a steadfast yearning to excel. As she focused her major on telecommunications and news, she discerned the widespread passion for college sports and made her voice heard. Outside of her own work, she watched and drew inspiration from ESPN television personalities such as Mike Greenberg, Paul Finebaum and Scott Van Pelt. Rutledge, however, thought she was going to work in radio but was open to any chance to assimilate into the industry.
After relentless attempts to land an internship, she began working with FOX Sports Florida in her senior year and primarily copied DVDs over the summer. Despite crossing through an open doorway, Rutledge felt discouraged and that the role was somewhat a waste of time.
From her propensity to take action, she approached management and asked if she could write positional previews for Florida and Florida State football. Even without a guarantee that they would be published, she set out on the project and looked to imbue the website with fresh, relevant content. In the end, every single article was posted, and the gamble parlayed itself into a position as a sideline reporter for the Tampa Bay Rays while still in school, catalyzing her career in television.
“One of the great things about a baseball season and being a regional reporter is that if you have a bad game, you can come back out the next day and do it again,” Rutledge explained. “I felt that bounce-back opportunity for me after many bad games and many times when I would think, ‘Oh my goodness – I can’t even have any success at this,’ that was really beneficial.”
Rutledge eventually relocated to the FOX Sports-branded regional sports network in San Diego, which later became Bally Sports San Diego. While there, she further bolstered her portfolio by reporting on San Diego Padres games and serving as a fill-in host in the studio. Even so, she had an inclination to do more and pitched a new show, SDLive, on which she would produce, write and host.
“I look back and I’m like, ‘Oh man, I could have done that so much better now,’ but at the time for being as young as I was in the business but also really passionate about trying to grow the producer side of my brain, it was great experience and I loved it,” Rutledge said. “I was very sad to leave San Diego; the only thing that pulled me away was the opportunity with ESPN.”
Several weeks before the college football season, Rutledge interviewed with ESPN at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and had a willingness to do anything to land an opportunity. She was subsequently added to the talent roster ahead of the debut of the SEC Network and quickly began reporting on football, gymnastics, softball and college baseball games. From the onset, Rutledge aimed to adequately perform her roles and serve as an asset rather than a liability in the grand scheme of coverage.
“I learned a lot, I think, in those early days, but I think the keys to getting more opportunities at ESPN was showing that I didn’t care what it was going to be that they were going to ask me to do,” Rutledge said. “I was going to find a way to do it and hopefully perform at a high and acceptable level.”
When Rutledge was named the host of SEC Nation in 2017, she sought to find a way to bring the feel of a college atmosphere to viewers at home. The show broadcasts live at gameday on select college campuses throughout the season with analysts Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper, Tim Tebow and Paul Finebaum. College football reporters Marty Smith and Ryan McGee also contribute to the program, which informs viewers through entertainment and keeps them coming back each week.
“It is this mix of these really interesting, fun personalities who are very football-minded and very smart,” Rutledge said, “and so that’s a show I’m incredibly proud of and I really, really look forward to doing every single week during college football season.”
Rutledge continues to balance her hosting commitments on both SEC Nation and NFL Live and travels for both programs throughout the year. Regardless of the show, she looks to remain out of the way and elevate the people around her so they can flourish. Although she is in front of the camera, Rutledge looks to remain somewhat in the background to cultivate memorable moments. She truly seeks to be a team player, placing her colleagues before herself and doing things in the best interest of the show.
“They don’t need to remember what I said because I’m there to make them shine, and that will be what I hope people would say about me,” Rutledge said. “I hope that’s what my coworkers would say about me because that’s my ultimate goal.”
From watching other sports programming, Rutledge feels that conversation sometimes becomes too serious in a medium implementing entertainment value. Whenever she is working, Rutledge tries to remember people who have bad things happening in their lives and simply yearn for a reprieve.
“At this point, I’ve done so many embarrassing things on TV and had so many weird moments that there’s nothing that I’m really that afraid of because I will always just be who I am,” Rutledge said. “It took a long time for me to get there, but in life I’m sort of goofy and I love a blooper and I just love to laugh and have fun.”
While NFL Live utilizes analytics and other esoteric concepts of the game, it also confers on other topics others may perceive as trivial. There are disagreements at times, but the show largely eschews from contentiousness and retains a level of comfortability and education within its segments. Everyone on the show has respect for one another and is cognizant of the importance of actively listening rather than steady interruption. Contrarily though, there are times where entropy has etched the show into the minds of viewers, but it is always with the backing of strong trust across the panel.
“We know that of course we understand the football that we’re talking, and we love to inform; we love to be at a high level X-and-O wise,” Rutledge outlined, “but I think the most memorable moments from the show have been things that have been completely spontaneous and unplanned.”
Cast members of the program and production staff take part in a daily meeting prior to the show to discuss topics for the show. Throughout the week, the analysts on the program reveal what they are interested in bringing to light and maintain a consistent dialogue. Since the show is daily rather than weekly, it has the flexibility to move segments or discussion points in order to react to the dynamic news cycle in real time. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter famously broke news of quarterback Aaron Rodgers being traded to the New York Jets during an edition of the program, allowing viewers to experience their reactions in real time.
“Our staff gets to weigh in on what they’d be interested in,” Rutledge said. “That’s always interesting because it gives us a nice barometer to see what fans – people who aren’t analysts but do work on the show – what [they would] care about. We really take that seriously, and then we talk to the analysts throughout the day – the people who are going to be on the show – [and] they sort of tell us, ‘Hey, I saw this,’ or, ‘I’m interested in that,’ and then we kind of sort through it and we’ll have a lot of conversations.”
Although there is some overlap in the preparation process for sideline reporting, Rutledge has had to make alterations in order to balance all of her responsibilities. She frequently feels fatigued but reminds herself of how lucky she is to be in her position. As a result, there are times where she has to sacrifice the amount of detail to complete the essential tasks prior to a contest.
During this past NFL regular season, Rutledge was the sideline reporter for Monday Night Football games in the three weeks ESPN presented doubleheaders. Additionally, she was on the broadcast for the network’s first ever NFL divisional round playoff game in addition to its Wild Card weekend game the week prior.
“I think one of the things that’s helped me a lot is finding ways to prepare where I really just focus in on whatever that sport is in a short time period and knowing that my brain can handle that and just cramming it all in and then moving to the next thing,” Rutledge articulated, “and then when I’m done with it, I kind of flush a lot out and then I hope there’s something left in case I had to go back to that team or that sport or that show or whatever it may be, and I found some success that way.”
Retaining credibility and being well-versed in the subject matter helps Rutledge suppress the surrounding criticism and misogyny to which she has been subjected. Every time she is on the air, she looks to remain consistent in her craft and serve as a role model for aspiring professionals. There were moments where she would let commentary affect her, but she has been able to effectively tune it out and not allow them to linger in her headspace.
“I think for me, I’ve always tried to live in a world where I don’t use that as an excuse,” Rutledge said. “While there may be people who would say ugly things or people who would treat people differently, I’ve tried to find ways to just move past that, and it’s not always possible, and so I’m very sensitive to people who have had examples where that hasn’t been the case for them.”
When Rutledge was seeking to ascend in the industry, she did not feel there was much assistance in finding the road forward. Whereas she used to be focused on her performances to define her level of success, she has broadened her scope and augmented the output as a whole. Rutledge believes there are chances for everyone, and she wants to assist others in knowing where to look and getting started.
“I think for me, that’s going to continue to be my priority no matter how long they’ll have me doing this,” Rutledge said. “At some point, I won’t be doing this anymore and I’ll be old news, and that’s great because that means it’s time for somebody else to take over.”
Rutledge is currently in the final year of her existing contract at ESPN, which is set to expire this summer, and she has interest in remaining at the network. At the same time though, she is receptive to other opportunities to cover the best events and continue performing a variety of different roles. Regardless of where she is next football season, she aspires to continue sideline reporting and experiencing moments of pure exhilaration.
“To be holding a microphone on Monday Night Football with people that I respect so much who are on those broadcast teams and the crew that does such an amazing job is beyond a dream come true,” Rutledge said. “It’s something that never in a million years I would have imagined, so I think just the more the better, and I would be thankful for anything that comes my way.”
I never take for granted the time coaches give us for interviews. It’s the last thing they want to be doing most of the time especially after losing a big game. This one shows how much coach Saban enjoyed this @AlabamaFTBL team. pic.twitter.com/nbudVuwH4r
— Laura Rutledge (@LauraRutledge) January 2, 2024
Despite having hosted and reported on several games during her years in the business, Rutledge feels a nervous excitement ahead of each broadcast. There is undoubtedly a commitment to her performance, but it comes with a greater perspective of bolstering the aggregate product. In a time of mass layoffs throughout the media industry replete with dissemination platforms, it is clear to Rutledge that the industry is changing.
“I think it’s just extremely important that we never lose sight of what our ultimate goal is, which is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere,” Rutledge said. “At times you see things that sort of looks like maybe we’ve fallen away from that, and that’s true for any business in any company, and just making sure that we’re always keeping our eyes squarely on that focus I think will allow for a ton of success for everybody at ESPN moving forward.”
Rutledge always has a strong sense of gratitude and considers herself fortunate to keep a packed schedule. Between SEC Nation, NFL Live and reporting assignments, along with being present for her family, moments of respite are few and far between.
In the moments where they do occur though, she thinks about the people who have and continue to support her on the journey. Instead of tracking a bonafide rise per se, she keeps her eyes focused on the road and free of distractions continuing forward towards an unknown final stop.
“I’ve worked so hard to earn every single thing and to earn it through credibility and professionalism,” Rutledge said. “And so to me, nothing that comes my way is worth doing unless that’s how I’ve earned it, so I hope that continues. Maybe one day I’ll stop and smell some roses, but for the meantime I’m just going to keep on trucking as long as they’ll let me.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Sports Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @derekfutterman.
BSM Writers
NBA Fans Will Find the Games Wherever They Air
That isn’t an offer, it’s a shark attack.
Published
3 hours agoon
May 1, 2024
Is NBC getting played, or is the NBA actually considering a seismic shift?
As always, the money will answer.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, executives at NBC Sports have prepared a massive broadcasting rights offer to the NBA in hopes of shoving out longtime hoops home Turner Sports. (Yes, TNT is the home of the most popular and successful studio show in the known sports universe, Inside the NBA.)
NBC’s reported bid of $2.5 billion per year more than doubles what TNT is paying the league under its current deal. That isn’t an offer, it’s a shark attack. And it shifts the attention to Turner’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, to see how close it’ll come to matching.
Prediction: Not that close, since Warner CEO David Zaslav was quoted in 2022 as saying, “We don’t need the NBA,” and has been on a cost-cutting jag across the company’s various entertainment divisions for years.
But where does that leave the rest of us?
First: It doesn’t really matter. We talk all the time about game productions and play-by-play kings and top analysts, but the reality is that every major player in the sports media world has a roster of talent capable of being adapted to fit a need – in this case, the NBA on NBC.
As it happens, as noted by Front Office Sports, NBC already has Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle under contract. Both have extensive hoops broadcasting experience, including the NBA, and Tirico is the voice of the network’s most significant sports ventures, period.
Beyond them, I wouldn’t waste a moment wondering whether NBC would commit two and a half billion dollars a year to the NBA and then fail to assemble a rock-solid game-day crew, from production through to talent. That isn’t going to happen.
If the Comcast-owned company wins the NBA bid, you will see a thoroughly finished NBA product. Maybe – over time – that product would include some of the voices you now associate with the Turner crew, people like Kevin Harlan, Brian Anderson and Ian Eagle. Top talent usually finds its proper home.
It also matters less than it ever did where we happen to go to consume our sports content. We’re more nimble as viewers than we used to be – not necessarily by choice, but certainly by adaptation.
If the league powers suddenly moved the NFL off of, say, FOX Sports, I’d be a little baffled as to why, but I’d have no trouble locating the games wherever they did land. Same with the NBA and Turner/TNT, despite their long history together.
NBC has plenty of its own history with pro basketball, having held rights from 1990 to 2002. It also knows how to sweeten the deal: In addition to wanting regular season and playoff games, the bid includes plans to broadcast in prime time twice a week. You can do that when you still own a network.
Warner Bros. Discovery has the contractual right to match any third-party bid, but that may not matter. The company also had an exclusive negotiating window in which to strike a new deal with the NBA, but that window closed last week without a contract.
And, really, what we’re talking about is simply a rich redistribution of the NBA’s assets – the same thing that is happening all across the sports media landscape. The NBC deal, if it happens, will include streaming rights through NBCUniversal’s Peacock app, which adds to the NBA’s exposure through ESPN/ABC and its likely new streaming partner Amazon Prime.
For all these reasons, it’s easy to take NBC’s interest in the NBA seriously, and to understand why the league would in turn negotiate in good faith. If Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t have the stomach for such a huge uptick in its rights fees, NBC and its related apps make for a soft landing and a prime-time destination.
Again – back to us. The truth is, a move like this would leave most of us wondering only one thing: What happens to Inside the NBA.
Bad news there: The reality is, by contract, that show belongs to TNT, not anybody else. If Charles, Shaq, Ernie and Kenny wanted to take their show on the road, they’d have to have some serious lawyering done. And Turner has other sports properties, like the NCAA tournament, the NHL and NASCAR.
Chuck on NASCAR? It could work. First, though, we’ll have to see if the money talks – and what it says.
Mark Kreidler is a national award-winning writer whose work has appeared at ESPN, the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, Newsweek and dozens of other publications. He’s also a sports-talk veteran with stops in San Francisco and Sacramento, and the author of three books, including the bestselling “Four Days to Glory.” More of his writing can be found at https://markkreidler.substack.com. He is also reachable on Twitter @MarkKreidler.
BSM Writers
Shae Cornette is Comfortable in Her Dream Job on ESPN ‘SportsCenter’
“I feel like I’m proving to myself every day that I can do this.”
Published
3 hours agoon
May 1, 2024
When Shae Cornette hears the synonymous introduction associated with the SportsCenter program, it functions as a point of no return sans the negative connotation. Since she has been working as a full-time anchor for the ESPN flagship program over the last several months, Cornette has worked to come into her own on the show through delivering sports news, analysis and highlights to a global audience.
Cornette is part of a lineup of SportsCenter anchors that continue to keep the program relevant and safeguard it from becoming regarded as an anachronistic relic of the past. Although viewers can receive highlights near instantaneously through digital media platforms, the tradition of SportsCenter and innovation taking place on the show has allowed it to continue to thrive in the current media ecosystem.
Cornette regards the role as a genuine dream job, especially as someone who grew up watching the show and had an early penchant for sports. There are several hosts who adeptly integrate their personalities into the program, but it took time for Cornette to reach that point where she can speak without a teleprompter as a parachute.
“In the beginning when I first started filling in on SportsCenter, I did not ad-lib very much at all,” Cornette said. “I’ll be the first to admit it – I was afraid. I didn’t want to be the one to blow up SportsCenter. Now I have a little bit more ownership on the show obviously because it’s my full-time gig and I truly am now a SportsCenter anchor, so I feel more comfortable and I have a little bit more liberties to be able to say things or ad-lib.”
Displaying personality to the viewer and giving them an incentive to tune in that spans beyond highlights or the heralded SportsCenter Top 10 has resulted in success for the property. In fact, ESPN recently reported year-over-year viewership growth across all the editions of the show. Part of that can be attributed to the relatability of the hosts, some of whom have decided to openly express their allegiances to certain sports teams. In essence, the people working on the show are legitimate fans of what they are covering, demonstrating passion and dedication to the craft.
“I’ve said multiple times on air, ‘Hey guys, this is a few good months for me and my Bears fandom to actually shine because after the NFL Draft, I don’t really know where it’s going to go,’” Cornette said. “I can make those kinds of jokes now, and I think that’s why SportsCenter has evolved in such a cool way where personalities can be shown, and I love that.”
While Cornette has always been a sports fan, she did not initially realize that it would be at the center of her professional endeavors. Instead, she originally wanted to be a marine biologist until taking a public speaking class at Indiana University. After giving an ad-lib about a chair in the classroom for more than four minutes, her professor recognized her propensity for conversation and suggested she consider pursuing a career in broadcast journalism. At the same time, Cornette became interested in college basketball where she regarded the game as resembling a religion, and everything gradually began to fall into place.
“I went around asking students what they had thought about what was going on with Kelvin Sampson, and I sent it into Big Ten Network and they ran it because they just didn’t have a lot of talent,” Cornette said. “They were brand-new; it was a boots-on-the-ground situation. I’m sure I was horrible, but it was something that they could use and they could run.”
Cornette spent time materializing connections and capitalizing on professional opportunities, interning at both Showtime and MTV while she was a college student. Moreover, she served as a production assistant for Chicago Bears games broadcast on CBS. Upon her graduation with a dual degree in journalism and kinesiology, Cornette spent time seizing any opportunity she could land, including as a field reporter for football games on the Big Ten Network. Additionally, she was a correspondent for The Chicago Huddle Bears pregame show on ABC7 Chicago and both hosted and reported for Campus Insiders and 120 Sports.
As time went on, Cornette began to cover the Bears on a variety of different platforms, including becoming the first woman to host a show predominantly about the team on FOX 32 Chicago, which was called Bears Unleashed. The station named her its beat reporter for the team where she appeared on newscasts to discuss the team and also hosted pregame and postgame coverage. During her formative years covering the day-to-day occurrences of the team and being in the locker room, she worked to gain respect from her peers and make her voice heard.
“I remember when I first started going into locker rooms or being in scrums and things like that, and I would try to ask a question, and 85 dudes who have been writers for 50 million years would speak over me, and I used to get so frustrated,” Cornette said. “You think that happens now? No way. Maybe one person will speak over you if you’re new just to get you acclimated, but it’s much more, ‘You’ve got a question. You go next.’”
At the same time, Cornette also met her future husband, former Notre Dame basketball player Jordan Cornette, while they were both working at Campus Insiders. Jordan was the co-host of Kap & Company on ESPN 1000, but he eventually relocated to Bristol, Conn. to work at ESPN on television. Shae ended up being selected to assume the co-host role and began co-hosting the afternoon program alongside David Kaplan in 2018. The invaluable experience spending time on an audio medium contributed to her evolution as a broadcaster and ability to connect with the audience.
“You can’t hide in radio,” Cornette said. “If you don’t know what you’re talking about, everyone will know in five seconds. It just allows you to be able to have a more open dialogue about things that you’re maybe not as comfortable talking about.”
Shae Cornette eventually made the transition to host on ESPN Radio’s national platform after working on SiriusXM NFL Radio throughout the week. Aside from the ability to speak to an audience en masse, Cornette valued the opportunity to work alongside her husband, Jordan, on GameDay during the football season in afternoon drive. Becoming the first married couple to co-host a national ESPN Radio program, there were inherent advantages to the job related to preparation and chemistry. The audience was hearing something different, a partnership that had been cemented through friendship and subsequent matrimony, and became enamored with their dynamic on the air.
“Whenever anyone asks us about working together, it’s what everyone thinks it is,” Cornette said. “If we’re fighting in real life, we’re fighting on the air and everyone knows it. You can’t hide it, and that’s okay – we’re married – it’s fine, and I think it actually just made us a little bit more relatable.”
As her career continued to flourish and led to a daily television show with her husband, SportsNation on ESPN+, Cornette utilized her versatility and ability to adapt in order to thrive. Along with her early repetitions in sports media, she had also explored the world of entertainment and taken part in several ventures within the space. Some of these included filling in on Morning Dose on The CW and hosting for Celeb.TV. With her hosting endeavors across various ESPN platforms, she was cognizant of the fact that the sports media company does more than solely inform its viewers about the latest events in sports.
“ESPN is not just sports; we’re there to entertain as well,” Cornette said. “So if I can draw parallels to anything that is going on in the entertainment world or phrases that people are saying nowadays, I think that keeps us relevant.”
Over her four years at ESPN, Cornette has filled in on several of the network’s radio and television studio programs in addition to its coverage of college sports. During her time with the company though, she has not reported as much as she had on other events in the past. The dichotomy between the two occupations became more clear to her while in Chicago, and she ultimately gravitated more towards hosting programming.
“I love reporting, especially for a team that I’m passionate about or an event,” Cornette said. “I really like it – I like being the eyes and ears of the viewer [for] things that they can’t see and do – but with hosting, I feel like you have a much greater opportunity to show personality, show knowledge [and] give unique perspective. And look, I know SportsCenter isn’t the most personality-driven show, but I’m trying really hard to inject that where I can, and there have been a lot of people that have paved the way for that.”
.@SethOnHoops says we could see Duke win the NCAA championship 👀
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 21, 2022
"They showed a championship DNA, a championship identity in the last five minutes of the game that could propel them to a championship in Coach K's last season." pic.twitter.com/ofB2H0zKCM
Cornette was recently named a full-time SportsCenter anchor and is intrigued by the unpredictability of her days in the studio. Since the program covers all sports, she and the production team need to remain aware about events happening in real time. Additionally, the SportsCenter Top 10 provides a lens into leagues and games that gives them time to shine in the spotlight. The key for Cornette is simply slowing down, feedback she has been told for years and has worked to implement.
“I naturally have a fast energy about me, which can be good and can be bad, but I definitely try and be a little bit more casual and conversational,” Cornette said. “Ultimately, I want that to be relatable.”
For the last several months, Cornette has co-hosted afternoon editions of the program and is rarely behind the desk alone. The preparation process leading up to a typical program involves watching games, reading articles, searching social media and reviewing statistics. Cornette also implements sports talk radio into her daily commute to the SportsCenter studio and listens to a variety of different marketplaces.
“That’s how I kind of soak it in,” Cornette said, “and then when I get into work and I look through my rundown, I’ll go back and re-watch highlights if I haven’t seen something.”
There exist moments where SportsCenter anchors have to forsake the rundown in order to cover breaking news. Cornette recently announced the death of former NFL running back O.J. Simpson. The show broke its regular programming with a breaking news bumper where Cornette relayed the information and read a statement from the family. SportsCenter then continued the discussion with Outside the Lines host and ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap. While Cornette did not foresee this moment taking place during her program, she did her best to handle it with poise and aplomb.
“When the unknown comes in and keeps you on your toes, it keeps me constantly having to know what’s going on obviously in the sports world [and] constantly having to understand every sport, which can be difficult sometimes,” Cornette said, “but I think that’s what makes us good at our jobs.”
Conversely, there is news that does not always break amid an edition of SportsCenter that she hopes comes to light while she is hosting. As a Chicago Bears fan and former reporter covering the team, she was hoping that news surrounding quarterback Justin Fields would end up breaking on the show. While the topic was evidently discussed on SportsCenter upon his trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers, information surrounding the transaction was not divulged while Cornette was hosting.
“There’s days where you just hope for that kind of news because it’s so fun and invigorating,” Cornette explained. “You get to, in real time with the viewer, share the excitement of this breaking news and what’s going to happen, and we’re all learning it together.”
Advances in technology and alterations in consumer habits have required different companies to evaluate their performances in the marketplaces and make necessary adjustments. Cornette understands that SportsCenter cannot be a show that is all highlight driven; rather, there needs to be an incentive to tune in that goes beyond its initial premise.
“It’s just not your average sports show that is niche,” Cornette said. “It covers a little bit of everything for everyone, and I think that’s why people tune in because they want to hear what is going on in [various sports]. The fact that SportsCenter continues to stretch its wings over so many sports while also having personality and also still having its core fundamentals – those highlights and whatnot – is what makes it, I think, a special program.”
Cornette feels motivated to give extra effort and perform at a high level from her family, but she also feels she is proving herself on a daily basis. Whenever she is slated to anchor an edition of the program, she tries to represent herself and ESPN with professionalism and proficiency. As she continues working as a full-time SportsCenter anchor, Cornette looks to remain dedicated to the program and convey relatability to the audience. Beyond the SportsCenter property, she aspires to host live event coverage within the large rights portfolio that has been amassed and maintained by ESPN over the years.
“I would love to have that same sort of live television feeling at a live event now through the ESPN channel,” Cornette said. “So I’m hoping that that maybe will be something that comes in my future, but for right now, I’m just trying to nail the daily grind.”
As the lights turn on and eminent jingle resonates with the audience, Cornette continues to carry the legacy and credibility of SportsCenter that has been built and retained over generations. Every day she takes part in the show, she appreciates the ability to highlight stellar performances, uncover meaningful stories and exhibit the breadth of ESPN’s portfolio in the sports media space.
“I feel like I’m proving to myself every day that I can do this,” Cornette said. “…[T]his really was a dream job of mine, and every day that I come out of that studio feeling like I did something better or did something brand new and I did a good job at it is really a fulfilling feeling.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Sports Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @derekfutterman.
BSM Writers
The NFL Today on CBS Had to Get Younger, But I’m Not Sure It Will Be Better
“The names and faces may be different, but the problem is still the same. I’m not convinced that the show is more than just background noise.”
Published
1 day agoon
April 30, 2024
It was beyond time for CBS to do something. I’m in my early 40s and am probably among the younger people in the audience that remember Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason actually playing in the NFL.
The NFL Today felt dated and at times even disconnected from modern football. Even Nate Burleson, who has taken on a more prominent role in recent years, hasn’t been on the field in a decade. Bidding Simms and Esiason adieu and bringing Matt Ryan out of the booth and into the studio certainly makes The NFL Today feel a little more relevant, but does it actually make the show better?
CBS will now offer viewers James Brown and the quartet of Ryan, Burleson, Bill Cowher and JJ Watt during the pregame, postgame and halftime. I would argue that while Ryan proved himself a capable analyst, I never found him overly compelling. Actually, I don’t find anyone in the group particularly compelling.
The names and faces may be different, but the problem is still the same. I’m not convinced that the show is more than just background noise.
FOX built FOX NFL Sunday into what it is by hiring opinionated people and then letting the team marinate together. Sure, they cook now, but even before the show left its competition behind, there was a reason to tune in. Terry Bradshaw was larger than life, Howie Long was outspoken and opinionated, and Jimmie Johnson brought gravitas. The mixture proved it worked before people like Michael Strahan and Rob Gronkowski were added.
Even after a major changing of the guard, ESPN never lost sight of the fact that what brings eyeballs to Sunday NFL Countdown is unique perspectives. That’s why the current variation is built around Randy Moss and Rex Ryan.
CBS may have been missing that ingredient, but it never seemed to be because they didn’t have the guy. Boomer Esiason wouldn’t be on top of morning radio in New York for as long as he has if he were not compelling and capable of entertaining an audience. You could see his willingness to channel what the audience was thinking during halftime of the 2022 AFC Championship Game when CBS’s halftime show was drowned out by an on-field concert from country artist Walker Hays. For some reason, those types of moments were a treat and not the norm. It felt like Esiason was reigned in or being told not to do too much.
CBS’s problem is CBS. The whole network just feels like it’s operating in a time warp. Bombast is frowned upon or reigned in. In the case of the new lineup of The NFL Today, it feels like an effort was made to avoid it entirely.
Nate Burleson is great on the Nickelodeon games. He brings so much energy and really leans into the fun. The version of he we get on The NFL Today doesn’t feel especially different from who he is on CBS This Morning, a show that is meant to serve as background noise. That’s a problem, and for CBS, being comfortable with being background noise is a problem that feels all too common.
This new The NFL Today lineup feels milquetoast, but that’s kinda what CBS Sports does now. Its top broadcaster is bland. Its top college football broadcast felt like it was an afterthought. Even when it comes to the Final Four, the network farms being fun and interesting out to the Inside the NBA crew.
No one on the show is a problem individually. The problem is the combination of Brown, Burleson, Cowher, Ryan and Watt. Who can I count on to make me laugh or raise an eyebrow?
Matt Ryan is a capable analyst, but if he’s the quarterback on the show, shouldn’t the coach be someone like Pete Carrol? Nate Burleson is an excellent broadcaster, but if he’s the receiver on the show, shouldn’t CBS have filled the QB role with someone like Cam Newton or Ben Roethlisberger?
Kudos to CBS for recognizing that the age and distance away from their time on the field made The NFL Today crew feel disconnected from the game. The show had to get younger and it did. But getting younger is all it did. It doesn’t feel like the network solved its pregame show’s biggest problem.
Demetri Ravanos is the Assistant Content Director for Barrett Sports Media. He hosts the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas. Previous stops include WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC. You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos and reach him by email at [email protected].
