Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Episode 197 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests — ESPN investigative reporter Paula Lavigne and ESPN senior writer Tom Junod. They are the co-authors of “Untold,” a 30,000-word piece that investigates the horrific actions of Todd Hodne, a former football player and student at Penn State in the late 1970s who was a serial predator and ultimately a murder. The piece took two years to rep...

Episode 196 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests — Lisa Byington and Kate Scott, the first women full-time TV play-by-play broadcasters for a major men's professional sports team. Byington calls Milwaukee Bucks games and Scott calls the Philadelphia 76ers. In this podcast, Byington and Scott reflect on their first season in the NBA; the biggest challenges for them this season and how th...

We’re sharing a special preview of the new season of Against the Rules from Pushkin Industries. On Against the Rules, bestselling author Michael Lewis takes a searing look at what’s happened to fairness in American life. In the preview you’re about to hear, Michael speaks with baseball statistician Bill James. Bill is the man at the heart of Michael's bestselling book, Moneyball , and he's transfo...

Episode 195 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Chad Finn, a sports media writer and general columnist for the Boston Globe. He is followed by Charlotte Carroll who covers UConn basketball and WNBA for The Athletic In this podcast, Finn discusses the interest in national broadcasts of baseball; whether MLB expanding to streaming services such as Amazon and Apple+ is good f...

Episode 194 of the Sports Media Podcast features Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Davis, who replaces Joe Buck as the lead television voice of the World Series. Davis is also the television voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In this podcast, Davis discusses how he found out he was getting the job; what his reaction was to that promotion; his awareness of Joe Buck wanted to step back from calling baseball...

Episode 193 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is James Andrew Miller, best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN and Saturday Night Live and HBO. He is hosting a new chapter of the podcast “Origins” titled “HBO: Present, Past, and Future.” He is followed by Grant Wahl, who writes the Futbol with Grant Wahl at GrantWahl.com and works with CBS Sports and Meadowlark Media. In t...

Episode 192 of the Sports Media Podcast features Paul Heyman, the longtime WWE performer who will be part of  the main event of WrestleMania 38, the WWE’s signature event, which is set for April 2-3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. In this podcast Heyman discusses how he approaches this stage of his career and how long he wants to perform; the ability to align yourself with great performer...

Episode 191 of the Sports Media Podcast features Isabelle Khurshudyan, a foreign correspondent for The Washington Post based in Odessa, Ukraine, and a former sports writer who covered the Washington Capitals for the Post. In this podcast, Khurshudyan discusses what her days are like covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; what the city of Odessa, where she is situated, is like; her safety level in...

Episode 190 of the Sports Media Podcast features Taylor Rooks, a host and reporter for Bleacher Report and Turner Sports and Alex Sherman, who covers technology, media and telecommunications for CNBC. In this podcast Rooks discusses her “Taylor Rooks X vodcast, whose recent interviews include DeMar DeRozan, DK Metcalf and Micah Parsons; the challenges of booking guests and how much of that is rela...

Episode 189 of the Sports Media Podcast features ESPN basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo and ESPN reporter Holly Rowe. Both have significant on-air roles during ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament including being part of the Final Four and national title game telecast. In this podcast, Lobo and Rowe discuss their preparation for the NCAA Tournament; how this tournamen...

Episode 188 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is T.J. Quinn, the ESPN investigative reporter. He is followed by Chad Finn, the sports media writer for the Boston Globe.  In this podcast Quinn discusses his reporting on WNBA star Brittney Griner being detained in Russia; the road ahead for Griner; the political component to this story; whether she can she get a fair trial in...

Episode 187 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Bomani Jones, the sports journalist and commentator whose new HBO show, “Game Theory with Bomani Jones,” debuts this month. He is followed by Jeff Pearlman, the best-selling author of nine books. HBO’s new docudrama “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” is based on Pearlman’s 2014 best-seller “Showtime: Magic, Kareem...

Episode 186 of the Sports Media Podcast features Bryan Curtis, the Editor-At-Large for The Ringer and also the co-host with David Shoemaker of The Press Box podcast. In this podcast, Curtis and Deitsch discuss how news is presented on television versus sports; whether you can do policy-based programming on cable news; the reverberations from Troy Aikman's move to ESPN; how Fox would handle the los...

Episode 185 of the Sports Media Podcasts focuses on the state of the Canadian sports media. The guests are Shireen Ahmed, a senior contributor with CBC Sports and a co-host of the “Burn It All Down” podcast; Donnovan Bennett, a multi-media host and writer for Sportsnet; Morgan Campbell, a Senior Contributor for CBC Sports; James Cybulski, a play by play voice for EA Sports’ NHL 21 and longtime spo...

Episode 184 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Sports Illustrated writer Jimmy Traina about the impending move of Troy Aikman to join ESPN’s Monday Night Football. In this podcast, Traina and Deitsch discuss the impending move, first reported by the New York Post; what the move means for ESPN and Fox; who could potentially partner with Aikman; how Fox will handle the move; wh...

Episode 183 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests. First up is NBC Sports host and play by play broadcaster Mike Tirico, whose assignments include the Olympics, NFL, horse racing, golf, and Notre Dame Football. He is followed by a panel featuring Austin Karp, managing editor/digital of Sports Business Journal and Jon Lewis, founder and editor of Sports Media Watch and the Sports Media...

Episode 182 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Michele Tafoya, the longtime sideline reporter for NBC Sports who is leaving sports broadcasting for both a role in Minnesota politics and political commentating. She is followed by USA Today sports columnist Nancy Armour, who is onsite at the Beijing Games. In this podcast, Tafoya discusses why this was the right time for he...

Episode 181 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests. First up is Jim Trotter, a reporter for NFL Media and a longtime NFL writer and Jane McManus, the Director of the Marist's Center for Sports Communication. They are followed by Chris Herring, a Sports Illustrated senior writer and NYT best-selling author of “Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks.” In th...

Episode 180 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Burke Magnus, the President, Programming and Original Content for ESPN. He is followed by Tim Layden, writer at large for NBC Sports In this podcast, Magnus discusses how ESPN negotiates sports rights deals; his philosophy when it comes to rights acquisition and negotiation; how negotiating with the NFL is different than othe...

Episode 179 of the Sports Media Podcast features Fox NFL analyst and Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman.  He is followed by Chad Finn, the sports media writer of the Boston Globe.   In this podcast, Aikman discusses how long he wants to remain in broadcasting; his future at Fox Sports and links to working for Amazon; the launch of a his low-cal, low-carb light beer called Eight; attending John...

Episode 178 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Mike Golic, the longtime ESPN staffer who now works for a variety of places including Westwood One Audio, Learfield and Meadowlark Media, and Peacock. He is followed by Jay Glazer, the Fox NFL insider and the author of “Unbreakable: How I Turned My Depression and Anxiety into Motivation and You Can Too.” In this podcast, Goli...

Episode 177 of the Sports Media Podcast features four guests for a roundtable on the future of hockey reporting. The guests are Michael Farber, the Hall of Fame hockey writer and longtime Sports Illustrated writer and TSN contributor; ESPN hockey reporter Emily Kaplan, Michael Russo, a senior writer covering the Minnesota Wild and the NHL for The Athletic and Fluto Shinzawa, a senior writer for Th...

Episode 176 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests: First up is Britt Ghiroli, a national baseball writer for The Athletic. She is followed by Chad Finn, the sports media writer and columnist for the Boston Globe. In this podcast, Ghiroli discusses Ken Rosenthal (who works with us at The Athletic) not being retained by MLB Network; her experiences working with Rosenthal; whether MLB Netwo...

Episode 175 of the Sports Media Podcast features Fred Gaudelli, the executive producer of NBC's Sunday Night Football. In Sept. 2021, he began his 32nd season as the lead producer for an NFL primetime game, and his 16th season producing SNF. In this podcast Gaudelli discusses his relationship with Madden; his first meeting with him; the last time he spoke and visited with Madden; what made Madden...

Episode 174 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests. First up is a conversation with Donnovan Bennett, a host, podcaster and writer for Sportsnet in Canada, and Amil Delic, the senior producer of original audio for Sportsnet in Canada. They are followed by Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur.  In this podcast Bennett and Delic discuss the nexus of sports and COVID; how that nexus is view...