Sports Media is Work

Talking sports, whether it be on the radio or any other medium, has a common misconception.  That misconception is that it’s easy and simple. It is perceived as if it isn’t work. It’s actually hard and takes a lot of focus and time.  The amount of effort that it takes to have a successful show takes more than just sitting down in front of a mic and spitting out thoughts.

A common problem of why this issue isn’t talked about more is because people think it’s just a fun job, which it is, but it’s also a lot of work.  I get a lot of joy talking sports, and it is fun, but it’s a job. I can easily walk up grab the mic and start saying something like “The pirates are a horribly run organization.” OK I just did that..now what? What is my reasoning? What are my facts? Why do I think that? These questions would be asked by anyone who is listening to me. So what do I do? Well if I took the time to prepare and do research,  then I would be able to give more information.   I would try to convince more people of why they should believe me.

If you watch any live sports talk show or even a live taping of a radio show,  you will see that they have papers all around them.  These papers have stats, records, names, etc. They might not even need some of those pages, but it’s best to have them in case they need to use it to bring across their point.

During “Sports Talk Live”,  the sports radio show I host at IUP,  we have our laptops and phones out looking up information and other things we can say to get people on our side. The best plan is to always have information available.   It doesn’t matter if it’s in a notebook, a laptop, or a phone. Always take notes and write down your opinions.  Don’t worry about having too much or looking weird with all those pages scattered around you.  The more you have,  the more prepared you are. Even if you don’t use it all, just having it means you take it seriously and you want the show to be great.

Like I said, always be prepared. Don’t walk into the studio disorganized. The audience will notice.  If the audience can tell that you’re not putting the time in or even trying, they will stop tuning in.

But now I want to pass a question on to you guys. Have you ever seen or heard a sports media program where the host or anyone involved sounded unprepared?  Please post your answers/stories below, I would love to read them.

As always if you want to keep up with me and my daily thoughts on everything going on in the sports world you can follow me on Twitter @Warm_Bean.   Feel free to tweet at me too.

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