Watch the Media with John Shrader

JOHN BAYLOR will enter his 31st season as the radio voice of the Huskers Volleyball team in Fall 2024. He has added some television work, calling games on News Channel Nebraska for the Omaha Supernovas of the Pro Volleyball Federation. We talk about the Huskers, the new volleyball league and some of the distinctions between doing radio and television.

CHRIS WITTYNGHAM is a young American soccer announcer. He does games for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+ and Serie A games on Paramount Plus and CBS. He does other soccer announcing as well, including radio for Inter Miami of MLS. He represents the new generation of soccer announcers; he’s young, multilingual, multicultural and learned the business calling hundreds of matches in front of a TV monitor.

JAVIER ORTIZ is the general manager, California for the Latino Media Network. He manages radio stations in Fresno, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He also manages the company’s relationship with the Los Angeles Dodgers Spanish-language broadcasts.  Ortiz has worked in a number of roles in the radio and television business and has worked in marketing and media with professional sports teams. The Latino Media Network is a two-year old company whose co-founders and CEO are all Latina.

JOSH PETERSON co-hosts the "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" radio show with John Bishop, 2-6 p.m. weekdays at 1620 The Zone radio in Omaha. They've been together for nearly ten years. Sports talk radio in Omaha appears to be alive and well. Josh says Caitlin Clark is the 'biggest start in college basketball" - woman or man. We also talk about finding the chemistry of radio hosts, the 'journalism' of sports talk, and the need to be both entertaining and informative.

John Shrader looks at the changing nature of American soccer broadcasting and the young people who dream of making this their long-term career. They would be the first generation of American announcers who started their careers working only in soccer.

STEVEN CALDWELL is a former professional soccer player – in Scotland, the English Premiere League, English Championship and Major League Soccer. He’s a Scotsman who now plies his trade in Toronto, where he runs an academy; his highest profile work is as a television analyst for TSN. We talk here about the role of the TV analyst, the emergence of soccer in North America, his view of the future of Major League Soccer [and you may or may not be surprised what he thinks of the long-term future of MLS] and the responsibility of all people in soccer to keep moving the game forward, for the betterment of men and women who play the game.

MICHAEL DIXONis the Play by Play voice of the Lincoln Saltdogs of minor league baseball's American Association. This winter [summer Down Under] Michael has been announcing games for the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League. He talked with me from Melbourne about what the work he's doing, baseball's place in Australian life, and what this opportunity means to his career and future prospects.

DAVE JOHNSON is the original voice of DC United of Major League Soccer, and has been for nearly 30 years the radio voice of the NBA’s Washington Wizards.

Dave was for the first 27 years of its existence the TV voice of DC United, but that ended when Apple TV+ took over the national television contract for MLS. He talks about not being one of the announcers selected for Apple, the emergence and impact of young soccer announcers, his work with the Wizards and WTOP Radio.

Interview recorded: December 19, 2023

:20 Jacob Schrantz and Skylee Nelson with a personal podcast/radio show featuring interviews, discussion and personal observations about recruiting. Interviews in this program include Kelly Mosier of Hudl, Mike Sautter of Hurrdat Sports covering high school sports, and Lincoln Southwest High School athletic director Andrew Sherman.

41:10 Camden Cohn talks about his love for cross country, including conversations with former Lincoln East High School teammates Chase Kavanaugh and Ella Lessig.

:50 SARAH PERSON[19:04] a personal view of her love affair with the Nebraska volleyball team.

19:30 CAMDEN COHN[10:12] a professional profile of Milwaukee Brewers announcer and former Huskers announcer Lane Grindle.

29:40 SKYLEE NELSON[20:11] a personal journey of discovery in sports and in sports media, that will take her next to Bristol, CT.

49:50 ALEX NEILL[9:59] a professional profile of D-Wayne Taylor, a vocal entrepreneur who works in local radio and is the stadium voice of Huskers athletics.

GEOFF EXSTROM is a Broadcasting and Sports Media and Communication alum of UNL’s CoJMC. He is now the Director of Communications and Media Relations for the Omaha Supernovas, one of the seven founding members of the Pro Volleyball Federation.

In this interview recorded December 16, 2023 he talks about the new team, his new job, the value of volleyball in the state of Nebraska. We also talk about the Huskers and Texas NCAA title match before it was played on December 17.

MIKE WATTS is one of America’s up-and-coming soccer announcers. He broadcasts USL and NWSL among the more than 200 events he does in a year, mostly on TV but he also does radio for Westwood One. He is the pre-season voice of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mike is an Ohio native who went to college at Fordham, where many national voices were educated, from Vin Scully to Mike Breen.

DAVID BERRI is professor of economics at Southern Utah University. He researches, writes and teaches sports and economics.

Here we talk about the College Sports Industry, the incredible amounts of money in college athletics and some context about where they fit into a university budget, NIL and more. [We almost certainly will talk about paying a football coach $78 million to no longer coach for your university, which may be Texas A&M.]

You can find David on social at @wagesofwins.

NICK BADDERS is going into his second year in 2024 as the voice of the Kansas City Royals Triple-A team in Omaha. His father is an Omaha native, his grandfather was a fan of the Kansas City Athletics. Nick is a Northern California native who graduated from the Cronkite School at Arizona State.

JAKE ZIVINhas been a Major League Soccer announcer for more than a decade, first as the voice of the Portland Timbers, and now one of the lead announcers for the Apple TV+ presentation of MLS. He’s a native of Evanston, Illinois, who worked local TV in Missoula, Montana and Eugene, Oregon. He’s one of the new generation - maybe the first generation - of soccer announcers, men and women who can make a full-time career of doing games on radio and TV in the U.S. and abroad.

LIZ MERRILL has been with ESPN for nearly 16 years. She is a senior writer, specializing in long form, investigative and takeout stories.

In this interview she talks about her career, how it got started and talks about of her big stories, including Chiefsaholic and former basketball great who is now cloistered nun. She also talks about Nebraska’s Volleyball Day in the summer of 2023, for which she wrote a preview piece on ESPN.

Liz is a Nebraska native and a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

ALEXI LALAS is the top soccer analyst for Fox Sports. He works in the studio for many of their soccer productions, including the Men’s and Women’s World Cups. They were in Qatar in November 2022 and Australia/New Zealand in July 2023. He is the lightning rod of their broadcasts. He is outspoken, confident and sometimes controversial. He’s a Hall of Fame player who has forged a nice career in front of the camera. He is also a musician and a podcaster.

LAUREN MICHELSON has been the sports director of KLKN-TV Channel 8 in Lincoln since May 2022. She is the weeknight sports anchor who shoots, produces, writes and delivers sports at least five days a week. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri journalism school. We talk about getting a career started, being a woman in a male-dominated business, the absolute joy she has in the work, and much more.

SHOW NOTES:

:00       Introduction –examples of her work - greetings and welcome

2:40     How did you end up in Lincoln, Nebraska?

4:05     What have you learned about Nebraska and Nebraska football?

5:50     Do you feel like you’ve needed to know the history of Nebraska football?

8:00     What kind of advice did you get when you took the job?

9:10     How do you keep enthusiasm every day

10:45   How have you been treated by the local media, including competitors?

12:00   When did you first think you might want to be a sportscaster?

15:00   When did the light go on for you at Mizzou?

16:40   What is a typical week for you?

19:00   How much better at this are you now after a little more than a year?

21:15   What do you enjoy most about this job, this work?

22:30   Managing the journalism and the performance aspects of the job

24:00   Being a woman in a male-dominated business

26:10   It’s empowering to be a woman in a male-dominated field

27:30   What would you tell the teenage Lauren?

29:20   Do you ever get disrespectful comments? (says yes in person and on social media) and how do you deal with it?

30:40   Shrader opines and offers advice regarding a woman’s place in the business [based on his experience]

31:45   Where do you want this career to go?

33:00   And the start of the goodbye

TOM SHATEL was hired on September 1, 1991 as the sports columnist of the Omaha World Herald. He has been there since. In this conversation he talks about what he does. Also, Scott Frost, Tom Osborne, Bo Pelini and the importance of facing the sources when you write something critical of them. He talks about what makes him unique, his enjoyment of being at games, with coaches and players, and his lifelong stuttering and how he came to terms with it in the last 20 years.

SHOW NOTES

 1:00 Describe what a columnist does [hint: face of the sports section]

5:50 When did you find your ‘voice’? [reference to Jay Novacek AND Bill Plaschke]

10:30 How do fans respond when they disagree with you?

12:30 Lawrence Phillips and Tom Osborne and what did you hear from the coach?  

14:00 You better show up if you’re going to be critical [and the story of where Tom met Osborne]

18:50 Could you have imagined in 1991 you would still be here 32 years later? [talks about his job interview and the scene he found in Omaha]

24:00 The good Nebraska karma was found there when in college at Missouri [anecdote about Larry Porter sidebar from NU / Mizzou game in 1978]

29:20 The value of seeing practice and having better access to coaches and players

32:50 Provides authority in your reporting and writing

34:30 Getting special access to the coaches and players [and into an anecdote about Pelini]

37:20 Tom talks about dealing with stuttering his entire life, and how he publicly came to terms with it

41:45 Scott Frost – when did you first have an inkling it might now work out?

46:40 When did you start questioning Frost and his work here?

49:30 Shrader asks about reporting after Frost firing that they knew things were not right, but didn’t report during his tenure here [no implication that Shatel did that]

52:40 We talk about Frost’s enjoyment of the job, and Shatel says he thinks maybe Frost ‘couldn’t turn it down’

55:00 Matt Davison’s role in the Frost era and his in Frost’s hiring [Shrader offers opinion]

59:00 How has the job changed in the 32 years?

ANDY KENDEIGH is the Sports Director at KETV, Channel 7 in Omaha.

The station's Newswatch 7 news shows have been number one in the market for many years. He is a veteran of the high school coverage as well as the Huskers. We talk about those things as well as the process of the job and what the audience wants and expects.

SHOW NOTES:

:20 Hello and Welcome

1:15 Oregon and Washington join Big Ten (happened same day the interview was recorded) and what it means to the athletes and the conference and their fans

6:00 Channel 7 is the number-one news show and why is that?

7:40 How do you keep that competitive edge when your news show is so far ahead of the others in the ratings?

10:05 What are the challenges of covering other schools and sports, with Nebraska football being so overarching?

12:45 How do you separate your coverage of the Huskers from all the other outlets doing some of the same things?

15:50 What's the first thing you hope people will know about Andy Kendeigh the TV sports anchor and reporter?

18:30 What gets you out the door in the morning? [talks about the young people he works with at Channel 7]

21:50 This is a job that can be consuming

25:00 You have to be your best at the end of the day

27:00 Keeping on-air talent together on a news show is important to success

28:20 How do you balance work and family?

SAM MC KEWON is the sports editor of the Omaha World Herald. He also covers Huskers football. He is a rather non-traditional editor in that he writes and reports, including covering the highest-profile team in the state, Nebraska football. He talks about the paper’s relationship with the Lincoln Journal Star, delivery of the news in the 21st century, the Big Ten adding Washington and Oregon.

Interview recorded August 4, 2023

SHOW NOTES:

:20       introduction

1:45     what do you do?

4:00     does the printed newspaper still drive the business?

5:50     World Herald and Journal Star owned by the same company, how does that work?

8:00     what about the competition in the market? [these two newspapers were once fierce competitors]

11:00   had you aspired to be the Sports Editor when the job came open in 2021? [makes references to the assistant sports editor, Kristin Donovan]

16:00   the value of editing and style of writing

19:00   what is the value of a ‘game story’ in 2023? [and a conversation about the way news is delivered these days – online, social, print, et al]

23:00   we’re in the midst of a transformation in the business – is it challenging and exciting?

24:00   Big Ten adding Washington and Oregon – the process of reporting it is discussed

26:30   is it a good thing that the Pac-12 is dead? [good remarks about the big picture issues regarding college athletics and media delivery, including reference to Apple TV and sports delivery]

29:30   goodbye

KARIM ZIDAN is an investigative journalist working at the intersection of sports and politics. His newsletter at Substack is called Sports Politika. We talk here about sports washing and so much more, including how sports fits into the wide world of business and politics. He talks about Saudi Arabia, LIV golf, FIFA and IOC (“they are big mafias”) and the state of American sports journalism.

INTERVIEW NOTES:

00:00   introduces Zidan

00:45   admiration for the New York Times and that newspaper’s decision to outsource its sports to a subsidiary, The Athletic [includes personal history in interest for the paper]

5:30     Includes talk of his experiences reporting and writing for the Times]

7:30     The Athletic works differently than the Times sports department

9:30     question: the sports business worldwide is seeing a lot of money and attention and Zidan says they need inspection [refers to the ‘two big mafias, the IOC and FIFA]

12:30   Messi to Miami; context is important

15:40   Benzema to Saudi Arabia

17:15   Henderson from Liverpool to Saudi Arabia [who was a big supporter of LGBTQ causes]

20:50   Sportswashing

21:30   the great American value of capitalism [the bottom feeders of some sports, such as LIV golf, underpaid UFC fighters]

24:40   Reference to WWE and Saudi Arabia

26:20   The rules of capitalism are out the window [competing with Saudi’s ‘bottomless pit of money’]

27:30   reference to Billie Jean King’s comment that they should talk with the Saudis

31:00   what’s difference in sportswashing and the NBA in China?

KARIM ZIDAN is an investigative journalist working at the intersection of sports and politics. His newsletter at Substack is called Sports Politika. We talk here about sports washing and so much more, including how sports fits into the wide world of business and politics. He talks about Saudi Arabia, LIV golf, FIFA and IOC (“they are big mafias”) and the state of American sports journalism.

INTERVIEW NOTES:

Karim Zidan Part 1

00:00   previewing the conversation

2:45     introduction, sports and politics, and Karim’s history

9:00     what is the genesis of the investigative journalism [Kadyrov]

10:45   doing television commentary gets him to Russia

15:40   more on Kadyrov and MMA

27:00   UFC Dana White, with a brief reference to Endeavor

28:30   Wagner Group and MMA fighters

32:20   US extreme militia members, Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and recruiting through sports [a lot taking shape since 2017]

STEVE SIPPLE is columnist for Husker Online and the On3 Network. He joined Husker Online in the summer of 2022 after 33 years with the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper.

This conversation is an update, a check-in on various matters related to sports journalism, coverage of sports in Nebraska, especially Huskers, and what’s going on generally in the sports media business. We talk about new football coach Matt Rhule and a bit about the former coach Scott Frost.

[Interview conducted July 2023]

TIMELINE OF TOPICS

Hello

:25

How has the last year been since you left the Journal Star?

1:30

The business of the sports media and newspaper businesses

 3:15

The newspaper business and its business model going back 50 years

5:00

Journal Star and World Herald are part of the same company now after decades of stiff competition

8:30

Describe what you see as sports journalism today [including references to New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and ESPN]

15:20

Where does sports talk radio fit into the sports journalism conversation? [includes some talk about Skip Bayless]

22:40

Dealing with the former Huskers coach Scott Frost and the new coach Matt Rhule

SARATH GANJI

Fellow, Center for a New American Security

Director, Autocracy and Global Sports Initiative

He researches and writes about a number of things related to global sports and security, and has become one of the world’s leading authorities and critics of what has become known as Sportswashing. That is the term used to describe how state actors, like Saudi Arabia and many others, use sports to mitigate criticism of their human rights abuses or other autocratic activity. Ganji talks here about what it is and how it’s manifested.

DAVID BERRI is a professor of economics, a researcher and author of books on sports and economics and sports and gender. Here he talks at NIL (Name, Image and Likeness.) He also talks about the impact the new marketplace has on the college sports industry; about its sustainability, about where it’s been and where it’s going. [We do not talk about the IRS, which came down with some rules regarding collectives after this interview was recorded] SHOW NOTES:

:40     What is the update on NIL? 6:50     Athletes getting direct pay changes the salary structure for coaches

9:30     What business do you know that has a third party pay their employees?

11:50   Putting into context the coach’s salary in the university’s overall budget

13:00   Why university presidents and chancellors spend so much time on athletics

17:00   It’s different here in smaller schools like the one David works at, SUU

19:20   Is this system sustainable?

24:00   What about collectives for the students through which they can bargain?

29:15   How is NIL impacting women in college sports?

34:00   Do you see billionaires looking to invest in women’s sports as they are in men’s sports?

38:45   The EA Sports talks to return to publishing college sports video games

42:30   For now, ‘this is the system we have’

43:45   Treatment of young athletes on social media

48:00   These are great topics for a researcher and author in sports economics

51:00   Do many sports orgs reach out to you for advice?

MIKE'L SEVEREhas worked in the television, radio and newspaper business in Omaha over the last 20 years. Most recently, he was a media producer for the city of Papillion, Nebraska, after leaving his job as co-host of the morning show at 1620 The Zone. He's now the Executive Director of the Jet Awards Foundation, which honors the best college football return, named for one of the great college players in history Johnny Rodgers. Here, Mike'l talks about the new job, the ambitions of the awards committee and Johnny, "The Jet."

Gary Sharp is the co-host of Sharp and Handley in the Morning on 1620 The Zone sports radio in Omaha. He was one of a handful of broadcasters who presented the MCWS games on the radio station. [This was recorded on Saturday morning before the final series between LSU and Florida got started.]

JP DELLACAMERA has been a national soccer announcer since the mid-1980s. He has worked 16 World Cups, and will be in Australia and New Zealand for the Women’s World Cup in July/August 2023. His first WC was in 1986. He has missed one – either men or women – since. He talks about soccer in this country, about the process of broadcasting the games, the American style of doing soccer, and much more.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 Opens with show introduction and overview

4:00 Hello from JP; talks about his career

7:00 Still enjoy doing all the prep and other things needed to do this job?

9:00 Did you believe back in 1986 that soccer would have exploded here as it has?

12:00 A little favor of what it was like in the early 1990s when the men got back into the World Cup

14:15 Where did you get this idea you wanted to be a soccer announcer?

18:20 American style of soccer announcing

22:00 The values and nuances of announcing, PxP and Color roles [including radio and television distinctions]

31:00 Looking ahead to the World Cup in 2026, and talk of Women's World Cup, and possibly in USA and Mexico in 2027

36:00 US and Mexico ties and rivalry

40:30 The dynasty of Women's national soccer team

48:00 The challenges and joys of the work

55:50 What kind of feedback do you get?

58:00 Montage of some of JP's work on the mic.

JAY NEUHAUS is the Vice-President for Event Planning for Premiere Partnerships (part of Play Fly Sports.) He has worked in Europe for FIFA and EUFA, and in South America for an IMG Endeavor company, FC Diez. He is a Nebraska native who is returning to the U.S. after five years in Asuncion, Paraguay.

SHOW NOTES

3:00     Introduction, where’s Jay been and where’s he's going

7:30     The most lucrative, revenue-generating event ever, the 2026 World Cup?

10:45   You have been in the world football scene for 25 years

15:00   US is now competing for the Latino market for players in their prime

19:30   What are opportunities for Americans to work in Europe and other places?

22:15   The value of young people speaking multiple languages, especially Spanish

23:30   What should a kid from Neligh, Nebraska (the host’s hometown) know about working in Global sports?

28:15   What’s the next big thing in the sports business?

30:50   Sports consumption by young people and how it’s changing

33:00   Any reason to believe the sports business won’t continue to explode?

DUSTYN STORTZUMis in his first full year as track announcer at Fonner Park, the premiere horse racing venue in Nebraska. He grew up around horse tracks, but it’s been a rather recent development that led him to his job in Grand Island. He talks about his mentor, the late Fonner announcer Steve Anderson, who helped teach him the job; also, the process of calling a race, the business and his family connections to horse racing.

SHOW NOTES:

2:00     Learning the business from the late track announcer Steve Anderson

6:30     Learning how to call a horse race

15:15   How does Fonner Park fit into the big picture of horse racing in America

23:00   You learn the horses, the names, the jockeys to call the race

29:40   Best thing about the job

34:45   How long have you wanted to do this?

40:20   How far back with your family in the horse racing business?

43:00   Talks about how tough the business can be

46:20   More details on the family, father, uncle and mother [what is an equine dentist, valet, farrier?]

53:30   What does your father think of the new track announcer at Fonner Park? [and more personal information about family]

DAMON HACKcovers golf as a studio host and on-course reporter for Golf Channel and NBC Sports. He has now spent more than a decade at Golf Channel after a newspaper and magazine career (New York Times, Newsday, Sacramento Bee, Sports Illustrated).

Show Notes:

:30       Introduction, New role at NBC Sports

5:45     Process of doing the on-course interviews

11:20   Journalism, human drama and entertainment

13:30   How golf is produced on television 

16:25   Diversity in golf

19:00   Damon’s role in the conversation about race in sport

23:00   Covering the Masters

25:00   LIV golf 

32:15   Woods and McIlroy leadership roles in PGA and challenges of LIV golf

34:00   Keeping the job fresh

Mike Woitalla talks about the Reynas and Gregg Berhalter, at length and with deep knowledge. We also talk about news from FIFA and women's soccer and American investment. And we chat about Grant Wahl, the great American soccer reporter who passed away while covering the World Cup in Qatar.

Show Notes

1:00     Gregg Berhalter and the Reynas, the drama that played out during and after the recent WC

12:00   World Cup news from FIFA, men in US, Mexico and Canada and 2023 Women’s WC

23:00   Grant Wahl, the late sports reporter and writer and his impact on American soccer

28:00   Investment in women’s soccer

33:20   Encouraging atmosphere in American soccer, women and men

EVAN BLAND

Covers Nebraska football and baseball for the Omaha World Herald. He is the 2022 Nebraska sports writer of the year, an honor he shares with fellow World Herald reporter Stu Pospisil. Evan talks about the process of covering sports in Nebraska, including five years of the Scott Frost Era, which started with a lot of promise and ended in the coach's firing.

SHOW NOTES:

00:00 opening remarks about the award and his position and responsibilities

14:00 the challenges of journalism and its delivery

25:30 covering Scott Frost (good honest comments about Frost’s tenure, including the fact Evan thinks Frost didn’t really enjoy the job here)

38:30 the value of good source (coach)/reporter relationship

46:45 the joys of the job

STU POSPISIL is the high school sports editor and golf editor for the Omaha World Herald, the largest newspaper in the state of Nebraska.  

He was named the 2022 Nebraska sports writer of the year by the National Sports Media Association, sharing that honor with his World Herald colleague Evan Bland. Pospisil has been covering high school sports in the state for nearly four decades. 

He says it's his niche, "You can always find somebody to cover college sports."  

DOUG DUDA

Program Director and Sports Director of ESPN Tri-Cities in Kearney, Nebraska. He is the Nebraska Sportscaster of the Year for 2022, as awarded by the National Sports Media Association; the first non-Omaha or Lincoln sportscaster to win the award since 1996. He has been in Kearney for more than 25 years, in the business for more than 35 years. He does more than 150 live sports events a year, covering a few dozen high school teams and college teams in Central Nebraska.

MIKE SCHAEFER is the Nebraska Recruiting Analyst for Husker 247 Sports. 

In this conversation we talk about his role covering the Huskers and at [25:50] we dig deeply into how the Scott Frost story was covered. Mike has some thoughts about how he might change that in the future.

What we do in sports media, why and how with a man who reports, writes, does podcasting and radio. 

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN sports broadcasting students. 

Projects from the Fall 2022 semester 

Josh Lill

Personal podcast [segment length: 19:50]

Interview with musical group The Larks

Connor Clark

Profile of Cubs broadcasting great Pat Hughes [segment length: 10:00]

Jackson Reddick

Personal podcast [segment length: 19:40]

Impact of the pandemic

Jacob Janousek

Profile of YouTuber and broadcaster Wade Plemons [segment length: 10:00]

WATCH THE MEDIA

January 1, 2023

Student Specials

60:08

All of this audio comes from the BRDC 375 Class Fall 2022:

at :30

Grant HansenStory Time with Steven M Sipple, former Journal Star columnist now with Husker Online

At 20:30

Sam Knoll interviews long time KC Royals play by play announcer Steve Physioc

At 30:20

Connor Clark chats with CoJMC professors Jason Stamm and Matt Waite

at 50:20

Ashtyn Tridletalks with News Channel Nebraska executive and sportscaster Brand Aksamit

All of this audio comes from Sports Broadcasting Class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Fall 2022:

at :30 

Sam Knoll on working with his dad broadcasting high school football games :30

at 14:00 

Dillon Pelster personal podcast interview his friends about sports coverage 14:00

at 34:00 

Thomas Codo interviews long time Nebraska volleyball announcer John Baylor 34:00

at 44:00 

Lucas Garton’s overview on the United State action in the 2022 World Cup 44:00

Veteran writerADAM ELDER’s first book focuses on the efforts by the United States men’s national soccer team to get to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years. The 1990 team did make it to Italy for the World Cup. Elder chronicles the path and introduces us to an interesting array of characters. The subtitle is “The totally late ’80s and early ‘90s tale of the team that changed American soccer forever.” This interview gets to the heart of that and to the process of reporting, writing and publishing this book. "New Kids in the World Cup" is published by the University of Nebraska Press. 

TIM KEOWN has been with ESPN since 1998, when they created ESPN, The Magazine. 

Though ESPN no longer publish a magazine, Tim continues to write long form journalism stories that appear on ESPN.com. He also works in the other platforms of ESPN. This conversation centers around the processes of writing and reporting and purposing your work to podcasts and video.

With the Qatar World Cup starting this week, I want to share an interview I did with Grant Wahlin January of 2022.  Grant publishes his journalism at GrantWahl.substack.com. 

We talk about the state of American soccer - granted it's a conversation from early in 2022 - and some big picture stuff about the beautiful game, including the impact the game has had on young Americans. 

CESAR BRIOSO is a digital journalist for USA Today, and the author of two books on Cuban baseball, including the 2019 book “Last Seasons in Havana” and “Havana Hardball," published in 2015. In this conversation we talk about the history of Cuban baseball, its relationship to American baseball and MLB, and the lasting impact of Fidel Castro. It has historical and contemporary context. 

SEAN CALLAHANis the owner/publisher of Husker Online, which is now affiliated with On-3 Sports. Callahan also does local television, local radio and makes public appearances around the state. Among the questions posed: how did the state's media and fans get the Scott Frost thing so wrong? can we in the media learn some lessons from this Frost story? why do so many outlets cover a football program that hasn't been a contender for a long time? what does the change to On-3 mean to your business?  

SHOW NOTES:

How do you keep Huskers coverage fresh?

6:00

What is the audience talking about?

9:00

Frost was well connected but it didn’t work out. What happened?

10:40

When did you first have concerns about Frost?

13:20

Remember, Moos called Frost the ‘Bell of the Ball”

15:45

How could so many have gotten this Frost thing so wrong?

17:20

The media and fans seemed to have turned the page so dramatically from Frost. Why?

23:40

Can we learn something as media group from this?

24:50

Moving from Rivals.com to On-3

31:20

Explain the digital media industry and how it works

33:50

What is the Next Big Thing in media?

37:50

Why is a relatively small media market like Nebraska covered by so many outlets?

41:05 (to quote Bill Callahan, “There’s an unhealthy obsession with the football team here…”

Alexi Lalashas held just about every job in American soccer, including national team player; he played in Serie A and MLS; he was an executive and now a television analyst for about a dozen years, first a ESPN and then Fox Sports. He's outspoken and warm and friendly. He's insightful and irreverent. It's all fair game with Alexi as we near the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, for which he will be part of the broadcast team on Fox Sports. 

TROY CLARDY is a veteran PxP announcer based on the West Coast. He has worked in sports talk radio, live sports production. He is one of the few African American PxP voices working in the U.S. He talks about that, about hustling work in a busy and expensive market, and the process getting where he is and how he manages the work. 

JAKE BARTECKI AND CAELAN DEBBAN WORK AT RADIO AND TELEVISION OUTLETS FOR FLOOD COMMUNICATIONS IN NEBRASKA; BARTECKI AT KWBE IN BEATRICE, DEBBAN AT KUSO/US 92 IN NORFOLK. THEY BOTH COVER NEWS AND SPORTS FOR NEWS CHANNEL NEBRASKA.

THEY TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT OF LOCAL RADIO, THE VALUE OF DOING TELEVISION AND THE PASSION THAT DRIVES THEM TO GET BETTER.

SHOW NOTES:

1:50 Can you imagine how much you’ve learned in the last 15 months?

3:00 Mimosa Fest?

8:40 The impact of local radio

14:00 How much did you know about the business of the radio business?

17:20 What are your assets?

19:20 Caelan, what are the challenges of being interesting three hours a day, five days a week?

21:20 Jake, connecting with the people in Beatrice

23:00 What are the social media of choice for your two operations?

25:50 Contrasting radio and television

31:30 Were you well prepared coming out of college?

38:00 Is this what you had hoped when you first wanted to get into this business?

41:00 So, what do you think might be next for you?

44:45 Comfortable with taking risks?

48:00 Look in the mirror and tell that guy what you’re most proud of

50:00 The joys and the challenges

52:00 What would like to be much better at in the next 15 months?

58:00 Final thoughts, take care of yourself physically and mentally

Guy Harrison is Assistant Professor of Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. His book On the Sidelines: Gendered Neoliberalism and the American Female Sportscaster was published in 2021 by the University of Nebraska Press.

Harrison writes about the current state of women in sports broadcasting, the challenges and the double-standards, and provides some suggestions about how the conditions might improve. A conversation about inclusiveness in the sports business.

Show Notes:

1:30 why did you write this book?

7:30  are we making progress?

10:00 the stereotype of the woman sportscaster

11:50  credibility and appearance

19:00 defining gendered neoliberalism

22:30 Title IX and neoliberalism

25:20  how are women improving their lot?

30:00 investing in women’s sports

32:10  you refer to broadcasting as a capitalistic enterprise

37:00 the audience is still male and heterosexual

41:00  training the audience to hear women’s voices

44:00  some history of women in sports broadcasting

46:30  the emotional labor expended

MIKE WOITALLAHas covered soccer for more than 35 years for Soccer America magazine.

SHOW NOTES

:40 World Cup in Qatar and the US in it and how it impacts MLS

4:00 US should have good showing in Qatar

5:45 Does world take US soccer more seriously?

13:40 Clubs around the world want a piece of the US market?

18:50 Who is driving the increase in soccer interest in the US

22:00 USA still the standard for women’s soccer around the world?

25:00 US training for young soccer players

27:30 US and MLS getting talent players from South and Central America

31:00 The socialism of sports in America

34:00 MLS had a great plan and it’s working well

DAVID BERRI

Economics Professor, Southern Utah University

July 2022

David Berri researches and writes about sports economics. In this conversation we break down the changing economics of college sports. 

Show Notes:

1:30 History of NIL

4:00 College athletes and why they choose schools (hint: it’s changing)

10:00 Will college athletes begin to collectively bargain?

14:30 Will athletic departments soon be paying athetes directly?

17:30 Booster Collectives

21:50 Explain monopsony please

26:30 What will changing economy do to coach’s salaries in college athletics?

31:00 Realignment and TV money

36:00 The college sports industry

38:00 the ‘mythology’ of the college student athlete

STEVE SIPPLE worked at the Lincoln Journal Star for about 30 years, the last 15 as a columnist. His primary beat for much of that time is Huskers football. In June 2022 he left the Journal Star to work for On3, the newest of the sports sites dedicated to college athletics, mostly recruiting but not exclusively; the others are 247 Sports and Rivals. He has a long-term contract to do what he’d been doing in the newspaper business. He says he doesn’t think the local journalists have been too easy on Scott Frost, that the Nebraska football brand could turn around quickly but he’s not sure yet if Frost is the guy to do it. 

A candid interview with one of most senior Nebraska sports journalists.

Adrian Martinezand Geoff Exstromhost the podcast Athletes Unfiltered. They are both recent graduates of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Geoff with a degree in Sports Media and Broadcasting and Adrian in Business. Martinez has since transferred to Kansas State to play his final year of football. They talk about their podcast, how it got started, what they’re trying to do with it and where they go from here.

Gary Sharp hosts the morning show with Damon Benning at 1620 the Zone in Omaha. He talks about the chemistry he has with his partner; also, the difference in planning and delivering an early morning show and a midday show. A little more pop culture in the morning and a little more sports in the middle of day. 

MARK FAINARU-WADAhas been on the investigative team at ESPN for 15 years. He and his brother Steve Fainaru often collaborate and did so on a piece released April 14, 2022, “Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai is the face of NBA’s uneasy China relationship.” John got Mark on the line within hours and recorded this conversation about the story, about the task of reporting on the ESPN's business partners, about the process of chasing down this story, which took a year to report, edit and deliver, and working so often with his older brother.

DAVE RAYMOND enters his sixth season as the television play by play voice of the Ranges. He was the lead announcer of the Houston Astros for seven seasons. The Stanford grad and Nebraska native says it's great to be back after the lockout. He says baseball is taking on its challenges, such as its style of play, which has affected the pace of the game. He says MLB also has a consumption problem, competing with the phone, tablets, other programming that is streamed and on television. The question of getting young people more interested could be answered when those two issues - style and consumption - are resolved.

KEVIN FRANDSEN in 2022 starts his first year as the TV analyst for the Washington Nationals, after two seasons as an analyst on Phillies radio broadcasts. Frandsen played for the Nats and says he thinks his time as a player in DC helped set the tone for his hiring. He thinks baseball should be concerned about its style of play, its TV blackout rules and he likes a good number of the enacted and proposed new rules in the game. 

KEN KORACH has been the lead radio voice of the A’s for 17 years, and with the club overall for 27 years.

DAVE RAYMOND is the lead TV announcer for the Texas Rangers, going into his sixth season. He spent seven years with the Houston Astros in the same capacity.

KEVIN FRANDSEN is entering his first season as the TV analyst for the Washington Nationals after two years in the Phillies radio booth.

All the guests are longtime friends, associates or former colleagues of the host, and they discuss the upcoming season, the lockout and the fans reaction to it and much more.

JB LONG has been the voice of the Rams since they returned to LA in 2016. He’s a Notre Dame grad who grew up in Northern California. The Rams won the Super Bowl in their home stadium in February 2022, an event Long says could be a once in a lifetime honor. Long says his role is as much about calling the games as it is helping the club grow a new generation of fans in Southern California.

Josh Planos is Director of Public Relations and Communications for the Better Business Bureau AND a freelance sports writer. He’s written for Sports Illustrated, Washington Post, and others. Most of his work now appears in the sports vertical of the Nate Silver founded site, Five Thirty Eight. He also does regular hits with CNN Philippines. He talks about the dual life in the media business and how he prepared for it; the process and the joy he gets from scratching both his public relations and journalism itches.

JEFF CARLISLEis a former software engineer who learned the craft of journalism along the way, and is now a Senior Writer covering soccer - mostly Major League Soccer and the national teams - for ESPN. He has seen MLS grow, as he says brick by brick. He has seen the interest in soccer grow in this country, but he says they still need to do a better job of making the game available to everyone.

BILL DOLEMAN 

He is working his fourth Olympic Games in 2022. By his own estimation Bill has done 30-40 different Olympic sports on television. He has worked in Houston and Denver. He has broadcast all the traditional American sports on regional and national television, and worked a number of sports and events in his native Nebraska. 

We spend a lot of time in this conversation talking about the process of doing the Olympics on Television; his career both at the network level and locally; and the absolute love he has for his hometown of Fairbury, Nebraska.

JOHN BISHOP and JOSH PETERSON have been co-hosting the afternoon radio show “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” at 1620 The Zone in Omaha since August 2014. They talk about the process of the show, the rough early patches, the entertainment value of what they do, and much more.  This is a frank conversation about the show, its history and its hosts.

Show Notes

Chapter 1 The show and who they are (to 12:30)

Chapter 2 The history of the show, which was founded by Kevin Kugler (to 25:00)

Chapter 3 Grooming the new man with the help of Dave Tepper  (to 39:00)

Chapter 4 What makes a good show (to 50:00)

Chapter 5 The smart audience and what makes the job fun (59:30)

JOHN BAYLOR has been the voice of the Nebraska volleyball team for nearly 30 years. He's a broadcaster, a teacher, and an entrepreneur. He is philosophical in this conversation about where we are in this country, and how sports and sports broadcasting fit. He has a unique broadcast style and a big picture view. A Stanford grad who wanted to be an actor who then stumbled into mentoring students, and since 1994 he is the Huskers fan's link to their highly ranked women's volleyball team. 

GRANT WAHL, who spent 25 years at Sports Illustrated, is now publishing his world-class soccer journalism at Substack. So, from one of the storied brands in American journalism to the new world. He shares his story with us on Watch the Media, including an inside look at the process of getting his work published atGrantWahl.com. He says soccer is 'cool' for young people and provides some advice to young people who might be interested in the business. 

At the end of 2021, MIKE’L SEVERE left his job as co-host of the morning drive show on 1620 the Zone in Omaha. Severe has been on the media scene in Omaha for about 25 years, much of that time doing sports radio. He says it’s time for a new challenge. He talks about why he got out of radio, the media market, and much more.

Dave Tepper is the Program Director and Operations Manager of Altitude Radio Sports in Denver. He is a former PD of 1620 The Zone in Omaha (2015-2018) where he worked with most of the management and talent who are still there. He talks about the business, its process, molding talent and much more in this conversation.

The Oakland Athletics created a streaming audio network in 2019, and called it A’s Cast. They send all their programming, including live PxP to the stream while some of it still airs terrestrially. Chris Townsend is the founder, host and producer of the enterprise. Cody Elias is multimedia producer and editor. They both joined us in Fall 2021 to talk about the innovations they use to create a new audio delivery system. 

Danny Burke is the host of Rush Hour on VSiN, The Sports Betting Radio Network (5-6 p.m. CT) live from the Bet Rivers Sports Book at the Rivers Casino in suburban Chicago. He also does the Chicago CityCast podcast daily, as well as other media appearances in and around Chicago and nationally

Kevin Kugler, who broadcasts for Fox Sports, Big Ten Network and Westswood One Radio, talks with the students in the Sports Broadcasting class at his alma mater, the University of Nebraska Lincoln. He offer career advice, broadcasting tips and some anecdotes. 

Julian Rodriguez is a graduate of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Ten years ago, he founded the Hispanic Media Initiative at UTA. He has one of the most prominent programs in the country dedicated to teaching students broadcast journalism in both Spanish and English, for both the Spanish- and English-language markets.

He talks about the current state of multilingual journalism and about the trends for and conditions of Spanish language communities in the U.S.

Jay is a native Nebraskan who has worked in soccer for more than two decades. He has worked for UEFA, FIFA and now is the COO of FC Diez, the IMG owned company that produces two major soccer competitions in South America. 

SPORTS MEDIA on Sport in American Culture. Observations from members of the sports media – columnists, reporters, broadcasters, academics – about how sports fits into American culture in 2021; within the context of the pandemic.

Guests commenting on Sport in American Culture, in order:

Dirk Chatelain, Omaha World Herald

Steve Sipple, Lincoln Journal Star

Andrew Billings, University of Alabama

JB Long, LA Rams and Pac-13 Networks

Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle

Mike’l Severe, 1620 The Zone Omaha

Mitch Sherman, The Athletic

Tim Keown, ESPN

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

Matt Maiocco, NBC Sports Bay Area

Chris Schmidt, Hail Varsity Radio and KFOR

Chris Heady, formerly Omaha World Herald

Welch Suggs, University of Georgia

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports

Ted Robinson, Pac-12 Networks

Evan Bland, Omaha World Herald

Tony White, KING TV Seattle

Sean Callahan, Husker Online

Dan Brown, The Athletic

Erin Sorensen, Hail Varsity

Members of the sports media from around the country – reporters, columnists, broadcasters and scholars - talk about their personal view of sports. Answering the simple: How has your personal view of sports change in the last year? There is by no means a consensus.

Here are the contributors and where they appear:

Dirk Chatelain, Omaha World Herald  1:09

JB Long, Radio voice of LA Rams  1:47

Tim Keown, Senior Writer ESPN  3:07

Mitch Sherman, The Athletic  6:41

Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle  7:27

Matt Maiocco, NBC Sports Bay Area  9:48

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times  11:13

Chris Schmidt, KFOR and Hail Varsity Radio 13:40

Evan Bland, Omaha World Herald  14:45

Dan Brown, The Athletic 17:32

Erin Sorensen, Hail Varsity  19:22

Steve Sipple, Lincoln Journal Star 21:20

Chris Heady, formerly Omaha World Herald 22:12

Tony White, KING TV Seattle  24:11

Sean Callahan, Husker Online 25:07

Jake Sorensen, 937 The Ticket Lincoln 26:55

Andrew Billings, U of Alabama  28:42

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports  30:09

Mark Willard, KNBR Radio San Francisco 30:47

Mike’l Severe, 1620 The Zone Omaha 32:39

In this episode I assembled comments from more than two dozen people - among them reporters, columnists, broadcasters and media professors. They provide their observations on the 2020 football season - both college and professional; a season played in the throes of a pandemic, long before a vaccine was available.  

Their comments are personal and illuminative, a kind of oral history of the season. 

Among the contributors are Tim Keown of ESPN, Sam Farmer of the LA Times, national broadcaster Ted Robinson, CBS Sports football reporter Dennis Dodd, SF Chronicle columnist Ann Killion, Dan Brown of The Athletic, media scholar and author Andrew Billings, and a number of local Nebraska reporters and broadcasters.

Watch the Media

June 6, 2021

Sports Journalism after Osaka Withdraws from French OpenAthletes and Sources: Access and Relationships with the Media

J.A. AdandeProfessor Northwestern University, former ESPN, LA Times, Washington Post 

Malcolm MoranProfessor IUPUI, Indianapolis, former New York Times, USA Today

Tim KeownSenior Writer, ESPN [Tim has comments about empathy in reporting and writing and the value of sports journalism]

Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open this week, after citing her anxiety of doing post-match press conferences. She was fined $15,000 after skipping the presser following her first match after which she withdrew. She said it was for her own mental health. She apologized to the fans and to the reporters who cover tennis.

Adande and Moran are both long-time, award-winning sports journalists who now run sports journalism programs at their respective schools. We talk about Osaka, mental health, sourcing, access regarding athletes/sources and journalists. It is deep and timely.

Maya Saenz has been with KMTV News for five years, coming to Omaha from Colorado. She is one of the few Latino or Latina news anchors and/or reporters in Nebraska. She shares her personal story; a young, multilingual, multicultural journalist from a mixed-documented family.

She joined John and the students in a spring class titled Media Representation and Presentation in the Latinx Community.

PABLO URQUIZA

Head of Production / Executive Producer at FC Diez Media (IMG) for Conmebol Libertadores & Conmebol Sudamericana

Pablo is a native of Buenos Aires, a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He talks about the process of producing television and the value of students looking toward a career in international sports.

Professor, Screenwriter, Producer, Show Runner

JOSE SOTO

Is a professor of television at Depaul University and a writer, producer and showrunner for television in the United States and Mexico. He has produced Big Brother for U.S. television, and numerous other programs in both the U.S. and Mexico. He talks about the differences and similarities in producing American television for Spanish language audiences, American television for English language, and television in Mexico.

VICTOR ROJAS left his job as the lead TV announcer for the LA Angels of Anaheim to become President and General Manager of the Frisco Roughriders of the Double-A Central League. He’s the son of former big leaguer Cookie Rojas. He and his wife own an apparel company Big Fly, which was named after his signature home run call. Rojas says he’s been preparing all his professional life to run a baseball team. (Don't miss near the end when he talks about his parents and his Cuban heritage.)

Marc J Spears is Senior NBA Writer for The Undefeated and ESPN. He says this is the most important work he’s done in his career, writing at the intersection of sports, race and culture. Spears has been covering the NBA since 1999, and now works at a place he calls the “Jackie Robinson of sports journalism.”  He says they’re bringing light to things that need it.

Brian Windhorsthas covered the NBA and USA Basketball for ESPN since 2010. He started his career at the Akron Beacon Journal, then went to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He covered LeBron James when LeBron was a high school student in Akron, about whom Windhorst has authored or co-authored four books. He gives us some insights into the multi-platform media giant for whom he works; he has good advice for aspiring journalists; talks about working the pandemic; and the value of being happy.

Danny Burke,a 2018 graduate of UNL’s CoJMC, is the host of Rush Hour, 6-7 pm Central Time on VSiN, the sports betting network. Burke is now based in his hometown of Chicago after spending more than a year in Las Vegas. He worked his way up from social media director, to producer to host. He also does some television work in Chicago on the local Fox affiliate. He says he’s found what he loves and wants to build his brand as well as he can.

ANDY KENDEIGHhas been the Sports Director at KETV, Channel 7 since 2010. He leads a team of three sportscasters on the highest rated news show in Omaha. He says Huskers football is still the number one interest among the viewers; he says the pandemic forced us all to be adaptable, including television news; he talks about the process of doing his job in this market and the stories they develop and cover.

SEAN CALLAHAN s the publisher and owner of Husker Online, the Nebraska affiliate for Rivals.com. He is a graduate of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications. He manages the day-to-day operations as does regular work at KETV, KFAB Radio and NET’s Big Reg Wrap-up. He talks about Scott Frost’s first three years at Nebraska; the immense interest of both the media and fans in Huskers sports, especially football; the impact of Covid on sports fans and his business, and much more.

Gabriel is in his fourth year covering Husker football for the Journal Star. This Wisconsin native is the 2020 Nebraska Sports Writer of the Year. He talks about the process of covering sports, the immense interest in Huskers football, the value of local journalism, the competition he feels with the World Herald and the joy of being one of the lucky ones in the stadium on game day.

An alum of UNL’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications, David Eickholt is in his third year as publisher and beat writer for HawkeyeInsider, the 247 Sports web site covering University of Iowa sports. He says he’s proud of the stories he’s broken. He’s one of the youngest people covering Iowa sports and he thinks he keeps the veterans on their toes. And he loves the competitive nature of the work.

STEVE PHYSIOC

Enters his tenth season in 2021 as one of the radio & TV voices of the Kansas City Royals. He’s been a Major League Baseball announcer for about three decades, along the way announcing football and basketball as well. He is now a published novelist. His third book Walks with the Windis out in February. He talks about the process of writing, his work and family, and how the pandemic has impacted him and the country.

His published books: The Walls of Luccaand Above the Walls.

OSCAR MONTERROSO 

CEO of Tico Productions in Kansas City. A veteran of Spanish-language media his company is now a full-service marketing and content production company. Tico Sports produces broadcasts for five NFL teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs. They also did a Spanish-language broadcast of Nebraska football in October 2019 and when the pandemic allows they will be back in Memorial Stadium to do more Huskers football. He talks about his work, his life, his career path, producing sports and more.

JEFF MOTZ 

Sports Director of KFOR Radio in Lincoln. He does morning sports reports, news reports and high school play by play. He is the 2020 Nebraska Sportscaster of the Year, an honor bestowed by the National Sports Media Association. A Lincoln native, he talks about working in his home town, reaching out to the listeners and the value of understanding the audience.

Students in the Sports Broadcasting class at UNL's CoJMC share their personal podcasts: Brent Bartels looks back at his days at UNL; Peter Krenzer compels us to love professional wrestling; and Bailey Landanger talks about his fraternity's effort to return to campus. 

Students in the Sports Broadcasting class at UNL's CoJMC share their personal podcasts: Cody Frederick talks about his high school's long basketball losing streak; Brandon Idelman on Chicago sports; and Nick Whyman talks about his love and baseball and getting opportunities to write about it. 

Students in the Sports Broadcasting class at UNL's CoJMC share their personal podcasts: Justin Slepicka on his love of the Atlanta Falcons; Ryan Valenta all about his beloved Atlanta Braves and a couple surprises; and Dustyn Stortzum talks with his broadcasting pals and his mom. 

A conversation with Phillies broadcaster Kevin Frandsen,  who is a former big leaguer, former radio host at KNBR in San Francisco, now working in the booth in Philadelphia.  The conversation comes your way in five parts.  Enjoy. 

Chapter two of a conversation with Phillies broadcaster Kevin Frandsen.  He moves rather smoothly into the broadcast business, first in the studio and then to the stadium. 

Chapter three of a conversation with Phillies broadcaster Kevin Frandsen. His big league ascension is derailed by a torn achilles, trades and frequent trips to the minor leagues. 

Fourth chapter of a conversation with Phillies broadcaster Kevin Frandsen. He makes his big league debut in 2006 without one of the most important people in his life. 

Fifth and final chapter of a conversation with Phillies broadcaster Kevin Frandsen. 

Joshua Planos

Is a free-lance writer, based in Nebraska. He has written hundreds of articles for publications around the United States. Much of his work appears these days at Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.com. He has a couple of tenets, ‘try never to say no and always please your editor.’