Alright, so I'm going to just go ahead and throw it out there, I'm die-hard Giants fan. Last year was an awesome season and the most recent one had its highlights, but no back-back Lombardi trophies for Big Blue.
Anyway, Bob Papa has been the voice of the New York Giants on 660am WFAN for as long as I can remember. Everyweek during the football season any Giants fan or football fan for that matter can tune and listen to one of the purest voices on the airwaves. Here is a quick clip of Bob Papa, in it he is discussing Michael Strahan's retirement with colleague Steve Somers.
http://www.wfan.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=2567195
The reason I bring so much attention towards this guy, is because Bob was recently hired by the NFL network to give the play-by-play for the leagues game being broadcasted on their new network. "The NFL has long been regarded as the preeminent television sport, a position attributed to the number of games that enhances the value of each contest and the league's position as the pioneer in using national television as an instrument of growth and influence (Wenner, 81). Someone in the front office of the NFL threw Papa's name out there during a meeting and the collective decision was to hire the man with the most authentic voice in the industry. The weight placed on his shoulders would be tremendous considering the league wanted this man to represent their product. The league picked a guy whose roots are secured in radio history, not one of the John Madden types as I would call them.
So from what I have mentioned above it is clear that executives in the NFL think highly of radio announcers and their ability to bring a sense of realism to the games. Here is a link to show you what some of the fans are thinking: http://www.fangsbites.com/2008/11/bob-papa-is-way-better-than-bryant.html.
Accoridng to John W. Owens, Emmis Broadcasting created WFAN more than 20 years ago. "The station's call letters were changed to WFAN and with that Emmis brought 24-hour, all-sports radio to the Big Apple (Raney, 123)." Not to toot my own horn, but if there is anyplace in the world where a 24-hour sports radio station could thrive it would undoubtly be New York. The city never sleeps so why would their sports fans! Sports talk radio has evolved into a huge commercial enterprise with radio shows now recieving significant television coverage and also the expansion of this format into the satellite arena. Emmis Broadcasting was taking on a huge risk when they decided to pursue this route and in time they quickly revolutionized the sports world. "Sponsors were attracted to the loyal nature of the all-sports audience and the fact that a majority of listeners represented the ever-elusive male demographic (Raney, 123).
ESPN came first, then it was WFAN leading the way in radio and now technology has evolved so greatly that it has become harder to pin-point where the loyal sports fan goes in their quest for knowledge. My guess would be the radio, even though it is considered old-school there is no place better to learn about the inner spectrum of the sports world then this medium.
Dan Huvane
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Dan,
ReplyDeleteThe world of journalism has evolved to a new point where sports reporters are expected to be involved with many different mediums. Michael Wilbon, of Pardon The Interruption, started as a newspaper columnist for the Washington Post. In the 2000s, many reporters are asked to jump from one medium to another and be able to handle the tasks at hand. Michael Wilbon and Bob Papa are just a few of these examples of successful journalists who have made the jump from one medium to the next. With this recession-striken economy, I believe many journalists will be willing to expand themselves to other levels to make a better payday.
Sports radio has always been a popular choice for sports journalists to advance themselves and their audiences. Michael Kay, better known as the play by play TV voice of the Yankees, started as a newspaper reporter before moving on to radio and eventually TV. He has since signed on with ESPN for the Michael Kay show which is one of the most popular sports radio shows in NY.
The Handbook of Sports and Media mentions the evolution of sports radio from its infancy of KDKA boxing matches and baseball games (Raney 119,120) to the birth of WFAN(Raney 123). Sports radio had failed before with the 1st all-sports radio talk show of KMVP in Denver just lasting two years (Raney 123) but WFAN was something different and evolved into the pre-eminent sports radio talk station in America.
WFAN has transcended sports with allowing the fans to voice their opinions on their favorite team, sport, and city. Previously, sports fans would just talk amongst themselves or write into a sports reporter from the local paper if they disagreed. Now, the fan has a say and the players/coaches have a listen. Players can't avoid the spotlight from the papers, radio, and TV anymore as the fans have a vocal clasp on joining the conversation to praise or denounce athletes. Players and athletes often take it with a grain of salt, but they do listen and it can affect them. Players may be played badly and to hear the fans get on their case may invoke more pressure and further bring down the numbers.
Sports talk has upped the ante for these many sports fans and has many more into their sports than ever before. It has also created a venue for sports radio icons like Mike Francesa to pave the way for others. Sports radio is a must in this society. It provides fans with a say and a mediator (sports host) to chime in with questions and answers for favorite teams across the country. Sure, satellite radio strives to do the same but there is nothing like a local sports radio show to get the locals pumped up.
According to John Owens on page 124 of the Handbook of Sports and Media, sports talk radio is "the format was also credited with reviving a quickly dying AM band."
ReplyDeleteThey saved it, and kept it afloat for a long time. Well beyond it's lifespan.
On the topic of Bob Papa has seen time on both the radio and television. According to his bio on WFAN.com, Papa served as the blow-by-blow commentator for boxing on ESPN for seven years. Boxing was one of the first sports broadcast over the radio, and according to Betts (1974), "when the Dempsey-Tunney championship bout was broadcast in 1927, it was estimated that it generated sales of over $90,000 worth of radio receivers in one New York department store alone."
For the era, that number seems astronomical.
Anyway, I'd like to touch on a point that Mike Randomski brings up in his first paragraph, which also speaks to a point brought up by Dan Huvane: Journalists should no longer be married to one media.
I'm surprised that Papa hasn't delved into the print field yet.
With WFAN going strong, even with the loss (is it really a loss?) of Chris Russo to satellite radio, until companies can put TV's in cars for as cheap as they can put a radio receiver in, it looks like it will continue to stick around.
Just like print columnists, many of these voices on the radio, Mike Francesa especially, are there to serve as the jumping off point. People love to listen to him to see what silly, ridiculous thing he's going to do next. Unfortunately, I think he's overplayed his hand and has forced some people away. I know I cannot even stand to listen (or watch, on YES) to this man.
With all that WFAN and sports talk radio has expanded and grown, now with two major sports talk radio stations in New York, they're still hampered by the technology of the AM band.
Unfortunately, as both a Mets and Giants fan, I still have to suffer through the murkiness and randomness of AM radio.
WFAN is looking for ways to expand, and when the Mets re-upped with the station, they also presented a "HD" station in the new contract. So not only will the Mets be on WFAN, they'll also be on 92.3 HD3, which will provide a crisper, clearer broadcast of the games.
Unfortunately for me, I don't have the technology in my car to receive the new band. I'm amazed more teams or even entire stations haven't made a full jump to FM radio. The listernership is obviously there, why can't they upgrade to a clearer, more powerful FM station? I'm yet to fully understand that one.
With so many different mediums of media, it's amazing that AM sports talk radio has held on, and more specifically grown in this time frame. I do feel it's days are numbered though. If I was leading WFAN right now, I'd be feverishly searching for a way to move to an FM station.
-AV
Signal strength has always been a problem for AM radio. I hate that when I go under overpasses or drive under a power line, the signal gets all messed up. This has especially been the case for 1050 ESPN New York, WEPN-AM.
ReplyDeleteAccording to John W. Owens on page 124, "In 1992, ESPN rolled out ESPN radio, which provided 170 affiliates with commentary during drive time ('ESPN Radio,' 2004). Today, ESPN Radio provides some level of talk and play-by-play coverage for more than 700 affiliates including exclusive national broadcast radio rights to Major League Baseball, the World Series, the college football Bowl Championship Series, and the WNBA ('ESPN Radio,' 2004)."
In the Metropolitan New York area, 1050's signal is awful. This is one of the many reasons why I tune in WFAN more. Besides the fact that its signal is better, it is more localized. Yes, 1050 has Michael Kay, but many of its hosts are national. If I want to hear talk about the teams I like, I will tune into the people who know the teams best.
The same goes for announcing, and this is where the aforementioned Bob Papa comes in. I absolutely love listening to the local play-by-play guys. They're ridiculous homers (paging: John Sterling), but they're hilarious and you can tell they love their jobs.
Papa is not a homer. In fact, he's a terrific broadcast, and I'm just lucky enough that he calls games for my favorite football team. He gets excited when it's warranted, but he's never blatantly rooting for the New York Giants.
I feel that that aspect of listening to the game is lost during national broadcasts (i.e. Joe Buck, Al Michaels, Dave Campbell, etc.). They usually just go through the motions for most of the game. If it gets close, the announcer may go up a few decibels.
If my team is taking part in one of the 700 games ESPN Radio has to offer, according to Owens, I'd rather listen to the local broadcast and not the national announcer.
Sports on radio is a concept which will be with us for years to come, despite all of the various forms of media we see coming into our society today, and there are a few reasons for this.
ReplyDeleteFirst, and foremost, is the local flavor that sports talk radio provides. As Owens mentions on page 124, ESPN radio came out with 170 stations around the country in 1992. While I prefer not to listen to ESPN because of the personalities on there, they are hitting home with a very distinct audience. People want to hear about what they know, about local sports. No one wants to hear Joe Schmo in Seattle talking about the Knicks when he's not in New York, and doesn't know the team like a Mike Francesa might. There's even subtleties like accent, attitude which just come from the area you're in. Mike Francesa is successful in New York because he IS New York. He wouldn't succeed in a place like Indianapolis because he's too different. If you lose that individuality of each place, all you have are generic, national broadcasters that don't represent the culture of the town.
And as mentioned in the Handbook of Sports and Media, we've seen the sport evolve from covering boxing in the 20's, to nearly broadcasting every major sport today, for large amounts of money. I think that we may see a trend moving away from listening to the game on the radio and towards listening on the internet, but radio will still survive.
The only place people generally listen to the radio now is in the car, few people have radios in their homes. But, everyone has a computer, and teams and media outlets know this. We've seen this already begin with things like Stattracker, MLB Gameday, and even where you can pay to listen to your broadcast online. Despite this, radio is a staple of our society. Unlike newspapers, radio is a unique medium which cannot be replicated the way print can on a computer screen. So while I think we'll see things move towards online broadcasting, radio will still stay.
So is radio dying, or is it just getting a makeover? I often listen online, is that truly listening to the radio? The bottom line is that it doesn't really matter. Whether it's online or through the AM dial in your car, listening to a game simply offers the listener more freedom than watching does. In Chapter 5 of MediaSport the author discusses how television and sports are made for each other, a marriage that breeds superstars and appeals to the masses. I often hear teachers in my broadcast journalism classes say how you can't beat the medium of TV, because nothing matches the beauty of great words to great video.
But, you will always have that core audience that loves to listen to the game, to hear a Howie Rose or John Sterling paint that picture for you in a way that transcends what you'd really see. There is magic in radio that cannot be captured anywhere else.
And you have an interactivity factor which cannot be equaled by television. Shows like PTI and Around the Horn, while providing interesting banter, do not allow the viewers to be involved. Radio talk show hosts develop relationships with their listeners, folks like Steve Somers at WFAN has tons of regulars that call in to him every night. That is something you will not find on TV.
So AM radio may not have the clearest signal, and may not be the fanciest medium around. But it is so unique that it will not completely die out. It may evolve over the years, whether heading online or to all FM stations. But the basic principles of sports on radio and sports talk radio are here to stay.
-Jamie Palatini
In the Handbook of Sports and Media, Chapter 7 author John Owens states that, “an audio-only presentation of sports is more simplistic than video, easily archived in digital form and completely portable” (Raney and Bryant 128). Although the radio listener will not have the benefit of flashing images and replays, they are seemingly afforded more substance, a higher level of convenience, and certainly, more interaction.
ReplyDeleteOwens’ dissection of the history of sports coverage on radio touched upon many findings, from radio’s "Golden Age" in the 1920s all the way up to the coverage today. One such researcher, Hagg, “describes sports talk radio as an important democratizing element in today’s detached information age” and I agree (125). Although media claim to be the ultimate form of communication, it is often one-dimensional. When you watch television you don’t have the opportunity to call the host and ask them a question, you just have to sit there and ingest what they are saying, agreeing/disagreeing without providing actual feedback. Talk radio breaks down these boundaries that television hides behind.
An opposing view to Hagg’s theory was provided by Goldberg who states, “[s]upporting one’s team has taken the place of what it was like supporting one’s country, right or wrong” (125). Although I have witnessed “the licensed arrogance of self-opinionated expression” that Goldberg outlines, I do not agree that all of the viewpoints are one-sided. Talk radio provides an outlet for diverse opinions; it enables those who disagree to speak their mind. Whether they get ample airtime, or are cut off, depends on the specific station/host, but at least they have the opportunity to try.
I agree with you Dan that it is becoming increasingly hard “to pin-point where the loyal sports fan goes in their quest for knowledge,” due to what Bellamy refers to as the “changing media environment” (Wenner 74). However, based on the fact that there are no bells and whistles attached to radio listenership the way that there are in television, it is in the fan’s best interest to turn to radio for the substance.
Back in the day I could imagine Bob Papa’s move to NFL’s play-by-play would have been regarded as “selling out.” I today's fans realize that media is integrated, and you must evolve with the changing times if you are going to survive in the business. Bellamy’s chapter in Media Sport , though centered around television, was really about the money behind the sports “marketplace.” By quoting Ozanian, “[sports] is one of the fastest-growing industries in the US, and it is intertwined with virtually every aspect of the economy” Bellamy highlights the saturation of sports in our society (Wenner 78). In this un-stable economy, why wouldn’t Papa move to another (and arguably bigger) network? He is likely to take his fan base with him, thus adding more-so to this era of convergence.
The texts used for this class feature quite a bit of summarizing of previous predictions. Well I have one of my own. At the end of the day it’s all about the money. Pretty soon parents will be forcing their kids to pay more attention to sports than to their studies, as really “making it” in the sports industry is sure to land you more money than 10 Ph.D.s combined.
-Alison Dolan