Chuck Swirsky: Bulls and more

Chuck Swirsky has been in sports broadcasting for 50 years and does play-by-play for the Chicago Bulls. He talks about his book, Always a Pleasure; doing radio in Columbus, Cleveland, and Seattle; moving to Chicago to work at WCFL; learning on the job and taking risks; filling in for White Sox baseball with Steve Stone; doing basketball vs baseball; working at WLUP/The Loop and WGN Radio; moving to WJR in Detroit; working DePaul games with coach Ray Meyer; broadcasting University of Michigan Athletics games; joining the Toronto Raptors and becoming a Canadian citizen; getting his dream job with the Chicago Bulls; discipline, working hard, dealing with challenges and mistakes; working with all kinds of athletes, coaches, broadcasters, and programmers; meeting The Pope and giving him a Bulls shirt; Jerry Reinsdorf; what he's learned over the years, including the best advice, “You better take care of your homework, because if you don’t, somebody will," and more.

This is from a livestream that we did.

Click this link to play the interview - http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG209.mp3

Jay Zawaski: Hawks talent

Jay Zawaski is living the dream: he worked for The Score/WSCR and was so successful with his Blackhawks podcast, CHGO Sports asked him to join. Now he's doing everything Hawks on the network and also co-hosts the I'm Fat Podcast. He talks about working at The Score, going digital, podcasting, success, authenticity, sports media, and more.

This is from a livestream that we did.

Click this link to play the interview - http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG207.mp3

Steve Scott: now in San Francisco

I've interviewed Steve Scott twice: talking about WLS and when he was at WCBS. When WCBS ceased to exist, Steve got a job at KCBS, where he anchors news. He is also the PA announcer for the Golden State Warriors in his home state of California. He talks about WCBS pulling the plug, what San Francisco is like, crime stories, his alma mater town San Jose, news reporting, NBA announcing, and more.

This is from a livestream that we did.

Click this link to play the interview - http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG206.mp3

Listen to the previous interview from 2020 when he just got his college degree, and the first interview from 2012 when he talked about WLS, WCBS, and announcing for the Bulls and Knicks.

George Ofman: ten years later!

I interviewed sportscaster George Ofman with Dave Kerner at WBBM Newsradio ten years ago and wanted to get an update because he's written a book, Tell Me a Story I Don't Know, based on his popular podcast series, and now has a new career. He talks about writing for radio, storytelling with sound, his long radio broadcasting career at The Score/WSCR, WMAQ, WGN, WBBM Newsradio, NPR, the BBC, and in Canada at the CBC and CJCL. He's had a lot of success for several years and even got an awesome job at Midtown Athletics: that's the story he wants to tell.

This is from a livestream that we did.

Click this link to play the interview - http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG205.mp3

Tom Shaer: Legendary Sportscaster

Tom Shaer is part of Chicago radio history. He was one of the first broadcasters hired at The Score, WSCR. He starts talking about Rich King and a Crain’s Chicago Business article 1982; why ego is important; being and having an agent: wins, lies, challenges, advice; how the biz has changed; treatment of Mark Giangreco; sports staff issues; working in news and sports; the importance of working in different media; writing and editing; going from sports to news; pre-Internet show prep; Larry Bird and access to athletes; going from TV to radio; working at NBC 5 TV, WBBM Newsradio, and The Score WSCR; doing sports talk in the early days; issues in sports media; why The Score did well; broadcasting and adjusting to Chicago; sportscasters reporting news; being square and the drama at The Score; Mike Ditka, Jack Brickhouse, and Harry Caray; why The Score is a good station with past mistakes; how he got into the media; and he talks about several people, including Ron Gleason, Mike North, Rick Gieser, Dan McNeil, Dan Jiggetts, Drew Hayes and Michael Damsky, Chet Coppock, Howard Cosell, Jerry Reinsdorf, Mitch Rosen, Ron Magers and Carol Marin, and more (let me know who else I should list).

This is from a livestream that we did.

Click this link to play the interview - http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG202.mp3

Ron Gleason: The Score, WBBM, Sports

Listen at http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG197.mp3

Ron Gleason worked in sports for many years before switching to news at WBBM Newsradio. He talks about Sports Phone, doing play-by-play, sportscasting, being the boss at WSCR The Score, Mike North and Dan Jiggetts, radio before and during the Internet, how radio can be effective and entertaining, being management vs on the air, starting his radio career in his home state of California, doing sports in Joliet at WJOL, the end of WMAQ news station in Chicago and WCBS in New York, revenue declines, talented broadcasters, going from The Score to WBBM as an anchor then boss, his workflow, advice for getting a job, how sports helps news, how the radio biz has changed, and much more! This is probably the most extensive interview that Ron has ever done and is from a livestream that we did.

"I loved it and I just I knew radio was all I ever wanted to do."

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac). 

Listen at http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG197.mp3

Watch the Radiogirl livestreams and videos on the Radiogirl FB page and on YouTube.

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Sam Panayotovich: from Chicago sports radio to Boston TV

The last time I interviewed Sam Panayotovich, he was just getting his career started in sports radio. Now Sam is on NESN and Fox Sports TV. He talks about his journey from Chicago to Las Vegas to Boston, his sociability, sports betting, working hard and paying your dues, comparisons between Boston and Chicago, advice, locker rooms, covering pro teams, and more. This is from a livestream that we did in the summer (when the White Sox weren't doing so well and the football season hadn't started yet). Listen to the first interview that we did eight years ago here.

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG184.mp3

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

Watch the Radiogirl livestreams and videos at the Radiogirl FB page and on YouTube (also live-streaming on Radiogirl Twitter, Metrolingua Twitter, and my own Fakebook page).

And thanks to the people who have contributed at my Buy Me a Coffee page! 

Rob Martier: from Chicago to Canada and back

Rob Martier is a news and sports broadcaster at WLS Radio, where he covers Illini teams. He previously worked at WGN Radio after spending several years in Montreal, Canada covering sports at CJAD radio. He talks about what Canada is like, why he considers Montreal home, being a beat reporter for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, getting started in media at Glenbrook South High School, interning with Robert Murphy at Q101, what Robert Murphy was like, why he likes doing radio more than TV, how to create a concise, compelling story; fact checking; the Jussie Smollett story (which allegedly happened pretty much below the NBC Tower, where WLS Radio is located); how journalism has changed; working in sports journalism; why he loves covering sports; working in Canada vs the U.S.; how he went from sports to news; why news shouldn’t be biased; advice for getting into journalism and media; why you should not major in journalism; Illini football, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG168.mp3

Jordan Bernfield: six years later, doing sports and news on TV and radio

Jordan Bernfield is now doing news and sports at WGN Radio, in addition to doing play-by-play for ESPN, BTN, and NBC. He gives advice for getting into radio and media, talks about working at WSCR The Score, how to deal with competition, how to do sports prep and play-by-play effectively, how doing sports has helped him write and cover news, what it’s like to work in both news and sports, what it’s like to do TV vs radio, why being versatile is important, and more. I first interviewed him exactly six years ago at WGN.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG164.mp3

Here's a video I did when he was at WGN Radio earlier in his career:

Mike North: radio boxer

Mike North got into radio via an interesting route, and has worked in TV and digital as well. He talks about money, the Vietnam draft, what he thinks of smartphones, his radio and TV career; his online endeavors including Bears Barroom and Mike at the Movies; why former WSCR/The Score Program Director Ron Gleason is wonderful, how Mike got The Score job in the early days and why he left; what Mayor Daley I was like; meeting famous people at his hot dog stand; why honesty is important, what's lacking in today's media climate, what being successful and wealthy is like; drinking, meeting Harry Caray and Rush Limbaugh; how the biz has changed; why people play it safe; the Bears, Bulls GM Jerry Krause; the White Sox's tax incentives; why he doesn't trust media people; the Chicago Sports Webio fiasco aka his "Vietnam;" dealing with setbacks; how he got a movie made about his life, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG160.mp3

John Siuntres: radio broadcaster and podcasting pioneer

John Siuntres is a radio broadcaster (currently at WBBM Newsradio) and is one of the pioneers of podcasting...he started way back in 2005, when there weren't many podcasts at all (now there are lots of them), with his popular Word Balloon podcast. He talks about how he got into radio, covering boxing on Chet Coppock's show on WLUP The Loop; being part of the early staff when WSCR The Score started; writing about boxing for Boxing Illustrated; working on Dan McNeil and Terry Boers' afternoon show on The Score; working at Sporting News Radio; his very successful Word Balloon podcast; doing production including imaging for WSHE 100.3, and commercials for WDRV The Drive and The Mix WTMX at Hubbard; interviewing the boxing greats, why he loved boxing, and the quirks of the boxing biz; what he thinks of the radio biz; what the early days of The Score were like; his parody songs (sampled in the interview); how radio was the original social media and how social media has affected radio; why he started his podcast and what makes a successful podcast; getting on TV as a commentator on the Prophets of Science Fiction show; how his podcast became successful and which famous people he's talked to among his almost 800 interviews, and more.


Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG157.mp3

Rey Diaz: decent sports radio guy

Rey Diaz has the dream job for a lot of guys (and some gals) working in sports radio as a content producer for 670 The Score’s (WSCR) morning and midday shows and as a studio producer for Bears Radio on WBBM. He talks about how he got into radio, WNTD, being Mexican, Polish, and Italian (he looks Puerto Rican); working for the Mancow show at Q101 and digitizing his carts (and deleting people from audio bits whom Mancow didn’t like); what Mancow was like, how much Mancow does during and after the show; working at WVON; getting robbed and beaten (and injured), interviewing for a job with a shut mouth; expressing himself on social media, working in sports media, how he went from WVON to WBBM, overcoming failure, how he started working for Bears radio, how he got to The Score, advice for getting into sports radio, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG155.mp3

Josh Liss: sports dream achieved

Josh Liss is living the sports radio dream: he’s spent his entire career in sports, and has been the sports director and morning sports anchor on WBBM since 1998. He talks about how he preps, how he writes effective stories, how the internet has changed his reporting, how he deals with superfans, how he got into radio, playing sports and dealing with obstacles, working at WVVX Radio and WSCR The Score in the early years, advice for getting into sports media, how sports reporting is different from broadcasting sports opinion, what athletes might think about media attention, specializing in sports, working at WMAQ, how he got his fantastic WBBM gig, mistakes, his videos, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG151.mp3

Dave Kerner and George Ofman: extreme sports fun

Dave Kerner and George Ofman do sports at WBBM Radio in Chicago, and I interviewed them for this same podcast because they consistently have a great time on the air and off the air; I've never seen them express negativity or take themselves seriously.

First up is Dave Kerner: he talks about working in Buffalo, downstate New York, northeast Pennsylvania, and Scranton before coming to Chicago; working at The Score (WSCR), then WBBM; the difference between working at an all-sports station vs a station with sports updates; his original goals; what makes good sports talk radio; the difference between Buffalo and Chicago; why he likes the NHL (hockey) and NFL (football) the best; how he’s been able to thrive in sports radio; advice for getting into sports radio; seeing the Miracle on Ice hockey game (US vs Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics); why he went into radio; why he likes Marv Albert and other broadcasters, and more.

After the "break" is George Ofman: he talks about working in radio for over 40 years, including being one of the original people at The Score (WSCR); the difference between anchoring and doing sports talk; how radio is changing; what makes good sports journalism; his passion for sports and fun; working at Sports Phone (where lots of other people also started); getting fired; writing for NPR, BBC, and CBC; working with various people at WMAQ, RKO, WGN, and WBBM; his first break; turning down Toronto's "The Fan" 590 CJCL before going to The Score with “interesting” personalities; how he got so much freelance work; his vocal issues; getting help from Dave Eanet at WGN; advice for getting into sports radio; how he writes sports reports, and more. (George also makes a cameo appearance in a video I did about WBBM, featuring Lisa Fielding).

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG143.mp3

Rick Gregg: talented sportscaster

Rick Gregg is a sports reporter and anchor at WBBM Newsradio in Chicago, and talks about his career and views, including what live games are like; working in locker rooms; what to do when athletes don't seem to say much; why writing is so important in sports broadcasting; why he likes doing sports more than news and how they're different; how he learned writing; working at radio stations in Carbondale (WSIU, WCIL, WJPF) and doing play-by-play; how he got to do news on WLS in Chicago; how he got hired at WBBM radio; doing sports in St. Louis; how writing for broadcast is different from other kinds of writing; how he quickly puts stories together on the road; why he likes podcasts (he's done voice work for the Disney World podcast); what it’s like to have a dream job; advice for people who want to work in sports, why talk radio will survive, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG139.mp3

Brian "Sludge" Haddad: in the zone

Brian Haddad is the Creative Director and on-air host at sports radio 94WIP in Philadelphia and talks about how he handles show prep and production responsibilities; writing with Spike Eskin; how he comes up with effective imaging, including drama and storylines for promos; his work at WRCX Rock 103-5 (where Dave Richards was a great boss) and Q101 WKQX in Chicago; making the transition from music radio to sports radio; what made radio fun; what Metallica is like; Chris Farley in the Hancock; how his agent Steve Mandell has helped his career; why he went to WXCD The Zone from Q101, and how he dealt with being out of work after The Zone’s demise; his brief gig with Adam Carolla; why people should have more than one skill; his successful morning show in Richmond at WDYL Y101; doing mornings in Phoenix at KDKB-FM; how he landed at WIP; what makes a good sports show; how listeners responded to him when he was first in Philadelphia; working in Toledo Ohio at WIOT FM-104; how he got into radio; what's great about Detroit; advice for people who've lost jobs; how he realized that "every day I'm with myself," and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG137.mp3

Spike Eskin: no yelling

Spike Eskin is the Program Director of sports radio 94WIP in Philadelphia and talks about Delaware county, Philadelphia's idiosyncrasies, if being from Philadelphia helps his reputation with listeners; working at WYSP in Philadelphia and Q101 in Chicago (where he was the assistant program director and music director); working in sports radio vs music radio and the difference between managing a music station and sports station; how music radio has changed; his sports podcast; why people should do their own projects and have their own websites; why he likes being a PD; dealing with air talent; the role of social media and the power of Twitter; how he rebranded himself when he was out of work and how his website helped him get work; why he didn't use his last name for a while; what it's like to be his dad's boss (sports media star Howard Eskin) and what he learned from him; radio yellers, interviewing Howard Stern, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG136.mp3

Jordan Bernfield: sports show prep

Jordan Bernfield: Sports Radio Prep from Margaret Larkin on Vimeo.

Jordan Bernfield talks about being at the Cubs game during the Steve Bartman incident and explains how he's been prepping for hosting the David Kaplan Show with Mark Carman on WGN Radio in Chicago.

Sam Panayotovich: driven (and youngest?) sports guy

Sam Panayotovich says he is the youngest guy on sports radio in Chicago; he hosts a show on 87.7 The Game with Jerry Riles, and hosts Preps Plus Chicago on WGN Radio and Campus Tailgate on The Game, both with Jordan Bernfield. He talks about his broadcasting start with Most Valuable Network in high school; being on the air on WEFT at the University of Illinois; how his dad was a state representative and was very good friends with infamous politician Ed Vrdolyak; working hard; talking sports on Garry Meier's show; reporting for the Blackhawks and Bears; interviewing Jay Cutler; why basketball is his favorite sport; how playing sports has helped him in media; why he respects Dan Patrick; his ultimate media gig; why he likes play-by-play (he currently does it for UIC men's basketball; advice he got from Roe Conn; why he likes doing radio; Serbian Christmas; Bob Collins; Mark Carman and napgate; cupcakes at Ken Smith's, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG131.mp3

Ken Smith: Al Roker Jr and more

Ken Smith was known as "Al Roker Jr." on the Mancow show, and now does sports updates on Jonathan Brandmeier's show and has his own show on The Game Chicago. He talks about how he got his nickname; why he got gastric bypass surgery; the south side and living near President Barack Obama; working at V103/WVAZ-FM with Richard Steele, John Davis, George Willborn, John Monds, and Bonnie DeShong; meeting Ray Charles and James Brown; working at white and black radio stations; being a Rush and Duran Duran fan; how he got on the Mancow show; being the only black person around white people; working for Mancow’s show at Q101 and Rock 103.5; naked adventures; the Howard Stern/Mancow rivalry; his podcast, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG127.mp3