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Meet The Market Managers: Michael Spacciapolli, Audacy Pittsburgh
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“There’s not a playbook you can use to guarantee success. You’re going to have to work really hard, build relationships, and understand that it’s an all the time job now.”
If you’ve had the good fortune of spending time with Michael Spacciapolli, you’ve learned quickly that he loves what he does professionally. He’s driven to succeed, passionate about his brands and staff, and uninterested in being complacent. If there’s a way to improve even one small area of his product, Spacc as he’s affectionately known by his crew wants to hear about it. If difficult discussions have to be had to ensure progress, he’s ready and willing to have them.
Since earning the promotion to GM in July 2018, Audacy Pittsburgh’s leader has continued looking for ways to innovate. His two talk brands, 93.7 The Fan and Newsradio KDKA, have been consistent revenue and ratings performers, allowing all involved with both brands to place a greater emphasis on digital evolution. It’s all part of taking great radio brands and making them even more accessible and important anywhere consumers enjoy content.
In this discussion presented by our friends at Point to Point Marketing, Spacc and I review his personal progression as a GM, the growth of KDKA and 93.7 The Fan, what he sought when adding two new programmers to guide his sports and news/talk brands, the challenge and opportunities associated with recruiting, and which sales categories he sees future growth opportunities in. I’m sure you’ll enjoy learning more about Spacc, and I invite you to reach out to him by email to learn more about Audacy Pittsburgh.
Jason Barrett: Your 4 year anniversary is just around the corner, July 2018. We’ll dive into the specific items involving both spoken word brands in a minute but before I get into that, I’d like to ask you about your management style and core beliefs. If I asked an employee inside your building to describe how you lead, what would they tell me?
Michael Spacciapolli: I’m sure most would tell you that I am incredibly hands on. I have great leaders who work for me and I empower them to do their jobs, but I stay involved in everything we do. I think the key to running a successful operation is to have good people and good communication. Then it’s about giving your team the tools they need to do their jobs. I know that taking care of and collecting great talent is an ongoing part of maintaining a brand’s success, and we never stop working on those things.
JB: Let’s reflect on the past 4-years for a minute. The pandemic aside, you’ve enjoyed a lot of success. When you look back at the past few years, what are you most proud of, and what have been the toughest challenges and hardest lessons you had to learn?
MS: The brand extensions have been our biggest strengths. From the studio design, to the increase in video, to the growth of our app and streams, I’m pleased with the way we’re becoming more multiplatform focused. A lot of these things come down to attention to detail. It can’t just be what you hear out of the speakers anymore. We have to make our brands bigger and more accessible in multiple locations.
If there’s been one challenge, the FM signal addition for KDKA was great but we’re still trying to make sure the brand remains a viable resource to people. That’s harder to do with so many options available these days. We’re still in a strong position, but like anything, we’re always aiming to be better. On the other hand, 93.7 The Fan’s main challenge is taking a very good station to a dominant level on a consistent basis. We’ve built a product that people know and trust. The challenge is just making it one of the very best consistently.
JB: The two stations under your watch which our readers will have the most interest in are 93.7 The Fan, and News Radio KDKA. Both of these brands are extremely successful in your city, and are recognized as leaders in their respective formats. Starting with KDKA, aside from longevity, what makes the brand so important to the community that it’s remained a part of people’s lives for over a century?
MS: 100 years plus is incredible. Everyone understands the importance of this station in radio but in Pittsburgh, this brand is right there with the identity of our local sports teams. People over 18 know the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins. They’re just as aware of KDKA, and what it means, and the impact it’s had on many people’s lives. It’s where people go when something happens in Pittsburgh. They turn to us for information and know they can count on us to inform them.
Our position in the market remains strong because we have a great team and lengthy track record of serving the Pittsburgh community. We’re committed to doing that. The challenge for us is just making sure that future generations care about us the way others have before them.
JB: 93.7 The Fan on the other hand has been around for just over 12 years. During that time it’s cemented its position as the go to source for sports talk in Pittsburgh. What do you attribute the brand’s success to?
MS: Jay it’s all about the consistent daily delivery of local sports. That’s what’s made The Fan important to people. Whether it’s on-air, on mobile, on digital, they’re always going to be served Pittsburgh sports talk. The Fan controls the dialogue here. We’re fortunate to be in a city where people care deeply about these teams, and we have great talent on the air talking about issues that matter to local sports fans. Because of that local sports passion and the talent we’ve put in place, people know they can come here and be part of a conversation.
JB: The Fan has the play by play rights to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Steelers are heard elsewhere in the market. Many would say those two teams are important to the local sports conversation, yet you’ve been able to establish a strong identity without them on your airwaves. Taking that into account, does that influence the way you view the importance of play by play?
MS: I still think play by play is important despite our success. We’ve seen success with the Pirates on our own airwaves despite the team not being great the past few years. Being in the sports business, we can own things outside of the play by play hours, and that’s what we focus on. We can own coverage and engagement around the Steelers, Pens and Pirates. We can provide consistent programming without interruptions due to not having games cut into our schedule. But having great play by play still matters. If you don’t have it though you can still find other ways to connect to the local teams and remain vital to an audience.
JB: Over the past twelve years, 93.7 The Fan has been led by a number of accomplished programmers. Terry Foxx launched the station, Ryan Maguire followed him, Jim Graci came next, and now the station is being led by Kraig Riley. Unlike his predecessors, Kraig didn’t have a number of stops around the country before he earned the opportunity to guide the brand, but he has spent more time inside the building than anyone else who had managed it. When you were going through the process and trying to determine who was the right person to lead The Fan forward, what was it about Kraig that gave you confidence that he was ready for the next step?
MS: I never forget that someone took a chance on me once. I’m a big believer that it’s about talent not experience. Kraig was fortunate that I was the GM because I was willing to give him a shot, and he’s making the most of it. I needed energy, talent, and someone who lived and breathed the brand every day. That’s Kraig. Attention to detail and passion are important to the PD role, and Kraig loves this station, and he works his tail off.
The challenge for anyone moving from behind the scenes to becoming the PD is getting your teammates to trust and respect your decision making. That transition takes time. Kraig knew he’d have to earn the staff’s respect to be seen as the PD not a producer, and he’s doing that. If you do the right things, are fair, and treat people good, you’ll be fine. So far, he’s done a tremendous job and I’m confident even better days are ahead.
JB: When The Fan changed direction, so too did KDKA. That was necessary because Jim Graci previously managed both sports and news. You turned to Dave Labrozzi, who’s resume speaks for itself, to lead KDKA forward. What was it about Dave’s style that you felt would put KDKA in position to have even greater success?
MS: As you mentioned Jay, Dave’s accomplishments are well known. He’s managed a number of great brands and has had a lot of success. I was lucky that this was a homecoming for him. He’d worked in Pittsburgh before, loved the area, and the timing was good.
What I can add about Dave is that he’s a great tactician. He digs into the different things that we need to do a better job of including talent coaching and the Nielsen game. Focusing on social is another area he learned a lot about at WABC. That’s something we have to be better at with KDKA. He’s interested in video, digital content creation, and he does his homework. His knowledge and ability is helping us raise the bar for where KDKA can go.
JB: Considering how strong each of these brands are, I’m sure you have expectations for where they should be when it comes to ratings and revenue. With that in mind, what defines a great year for 93.7 The Fan and KDKA?
MS: A great year in my opinion is hitting plan and growing at a substantial rate. How are we diversifying our stations? How are we doing in spot business? If we’re growing in different areas that’s important to me. Are we seeing progress in video sponsorships? Is there growth in the way people are digitally consuming us? These are two strong brands that are going to be here for a long time so we know we should perform well because they matter to people. But that’s why it’s so important to grow beyond the usual metrics. We have to stay focused on those things because the way people consume and where they invest is going to continue changing and we have to be ready for it.
JB: One challenge that every GM has to conquer in order to grow ratings and revenue is retaining and recruiting strong talent. That applies to management, on-air, sales and every other department. Given how many options exist today, and the way good talent are sought after by groups outside of radio, how do you make sure the job, the brands, and the company remain important and attractive to those already working for you or considering joining you?
MS: There’s nothing I enjoy more than recruiting. It allows me to bring in great people. It’s an everyday part of our job. If someone doesn’t believe that I think they’re missing a key part of the job. Having a great culture backs you up when you’re trying to add great people to your organization.
Now when you get great talent in the building at all levels, how you utilize them becomes the second part of recruiting, which is retention. We see a lot coming at our people, and that speaks to their level of talent. If we do the right things and put them in good situations, it gives them a reason to stay. Those applying to work for you may know your reputation but it goes even further if the message they hear is coming from those who’ve been a part of it.
When I was working in DC for WTOP, people would ask about non-competes and I’d say ‘if you want to leave here, we’re not going to stand in your way‘. I felt and many others did that there was no better place to work in that market, which is why most didn’t leave. I’ve always felt that if you build the right culture and give people a chance to make a great living, they’re going to want to stay for a long time. That’s how you continue growing.
JB: Another situation that you have to balance is making sure you’re doing what’s best for local while also helping corporate advance their key initiatives. That can be frustrating for sellers who want more inventory, digital folks who have to promote certain things on the brand’s socials or hosts who hear a podcast being promoted during their show and want to know why. How do you navigate those waters?
MS: We discuss that a lot. It can be frustrating when local folks don’t understand the bigger picture. That comes down to our department heads needing to communicate why we’re doing certain things. If we share information, hopefully we can get them to at least understand. They’re not always going to agree. If the company wins, it helps us, even if sometimes it may not look that way to those inside the building.
The reality is that we work for a great company, and our company is always looking to grow. They invest in a lot of areas and it requires us on the local level to help them promote things. I think we can remain successful doing what we do while still helping the company improve its business.
JB: Pennsylvania is a state where sports betting is legal. This is a space that Audacy is doing a lot of work in between local brands and the BetQL network. For sports radio, the sports betting category has been a key revenue driver the past few years, whereas others such as auto haven’t been as dependable as they’ve been in the past. So much can change in the years to come, but when you look into your crystal ball today to try and figure out which categories will provide the biggest upside for radio revenue in the near future, which ones are you most excited about and why?
MS: The event business is something we see being very important. We’ve been active in that space and have done well in it. I expect that to continue. I have great relationships in the auto industry from growing up in it, and fortunately we’ve done ok in that category even if some others have been down a bit. I think that once we have that inventory right, we’ll see a bounce back in the auto category.
Another category I think will be interesting is recruiting. Going forward, companies are going to have to tell their story more to attract people. As new industries arrive and people’s wants, needs and lifestyles change, that becomes an opportunity for us. I know there has also been some discussion of emerging businesses such as Crypto, and though some may feel differently, I don’t see that being a major play for us in the near future.
JB: Prior to becoming a leader in Pittsburgh, I know you spent time in Washington DC working for WTOP. That’s a brand that many view as the most successful station in the industry. What did you learn about leadership there that you carry with you today?
MS: First Jay, I would argue with anyone who says it isn’t the best brand in the industry. Its results year after year support that opinion. When I was there, I worked for great people. Joel Oxley is an incredible GM and forward thinker. Matt Mills, the DOS is one of the best systems guys I’ve ever been around. They’re smart people.
What I took away first was how important it is to have an incredible product. WTOP has that and it opens a lot of doors to discuss business. The culture and leadership there also matter. Everyone had a role on the team and they knew how to play it. From Joel to Matt to the former PD Jim Farley and everyone else, they all contributed to the culture and mission, which was to win. They also made it a point to look ahead often. That’s something we can do better.
Leaving there was hard. I married a Pittsburgh girl and lucked out joining a great company which has allowed me to grow but being part of WTOP was an important part of my career. A guy like Matt has had multiple opportunities to leave and become a GM and he’s never done it. It’s because he’s in a great situation. It goes back to what I said earlier, if you work somewhere great, and the culture is good, and you’re given the tools to do your job and make a good living, why leave?
JB: If you can offer a piece of advice about managing to anyone currently in management or considering a path in media management, what would it be?
MS: I say two things. There’s not a playbook you can use to guarantee success. You’re going to have to work really hard, build relationships, and understand that it’s an all the time job now. Those who can dedicate themselves to it are the ones who I think will see the best results. Balance is important, and I’m all for that but you have to be completely engaged and constantly thinking about this when you’re at this level.
As far as day to day stuff goes, I think a lot of this is about the people you work with and putting them in good situations. If you care about them, value them, and are fair and honest, you’ll have their trust and respect. You need those things if you expect to create a winning culture.
The last thing I’ll say, which I learned as a DOS, was to be honest and transparent with upper management. If you screwed up, tell them that you did and share what you’re doing to fix it. There’s very few people in the 100% club. Sometimes you’re going to be off. They see the numbers. They know. Don’t try and make it seem as if it’s always good. Give them the facts, be accountable, and have a plan for improving.
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.
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Carl Dukes went from DJing clubs to holding every job there is in a radio building. Now he is dominating 92.9 The Game in Atlanta. Check out his conversation with Stephen Strom.
iTunes: https://buff.ly/3xYq3Oe
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iHeart: https://buff.ly/3JWPFQS
Google: https://buff.ly/3w9RBzX
Amazon: https://buff.ly/3psPDGZ
Stephen Strom can be heard hosting ‘The Sports Talkers Podcast’ for Barrett Sports Media. In addition to hosting here, Stephen works as a broadcasting assistant for the Miami Heat and color analyst for Nova Southeastern. Additional career experiences include working for SiriusXM, performing analyst duties for Princeton basketball, and hosting shows for TalkNorth.com. You can find him on Twitter @SStrom_.
“In Columbia, South Carolina Gamecock fans are in 150 percent. These people love football. The Atlanta experience, the taste of it in Lexington really gave me a good foundation for what we have here in Columbia.”
If he had to put a number on the big decision he made last year it would be 150 percent. Sure, leaving Lexington, KY and 96.1 WZNN didn’t happen without thought and consideration for Terry Ford, but the opportunity to work for one of the most respected names in the business was too much to pass up.
In late November of 2021, Ford was named the new program director and host at 107.5 The Game in Columbia, SC. The opportunity originally came about during a conversation between Ford and Jason Barrett. That’s one of the benefits of being part of the Member Directory. Ford had always wanted to work with Bruce Gilbert. Barrett knew this, so when the position under the Cumulus umbrella opened, he urged Ford to consider the position.
“I’ve always wanted to work for Bruce,” Ford said. “Jason told me there was an opportunity to work with Bruce and I talked to the market manager Tammy O’Dell. She was fantastic. Everything was just too good. It was 150 percent the right decision. This has been nothing but a phenomenal experience.”
Columbia is the exact market you think it is. Situated in a college town, which breeds incredible passion for Gamecock athletics. South Carolina has had success in basketball and baseball, but to its core, it’s like most other SEC markets in that college football rules the day. To an outsider, that can sometimes be a challenge to immediately grasp and understand. But Ford is no outsider when it comes to the SEC. His previous stop was in Lexington and he even did a stint in Atlanta at 790 The Zone. He knows the landscape of the SEC.
“When I was at 790 The Zone, I’ll never forget the PD Bob Richards was like, ‘ok, you have to understand, we might have pro sports here but the Georgia Bulldogs are gigantic’,” Ford said. “This is SEC country. I kind of learned then and there that if Georgia was sniffing around some 9th grader that runs a 4.2 40-yard dash, that’s a story. When you’re in SEC country, everything is a story that matters to the local program. Atlanta gave me my first taste of the passion of the SEC football fan. Lexington was different because it’s a basketball school. And in Columbia, South Carolina Gamecock fans are in 150 percent. These people love football. The Atlanta experience, the taste of it in Lexington really gave me a good foundation for what we have here in Columbia.”
But there was much more to his new gig than just understanding how much passion there is in Columbia for Gamecock football. His biggest challenge was going to be to earn the respect and trust of his on-air staff as their new PD, as well as blend into the three-man show he was going to be a part of. So how did he do that?
“It’s kind of a tightrope,” Ford said. “You’re the PD, but you’re also in the octagon with them. I really think talking with hosts in ‘hosts talk’ is the best way to connect with them when you go to another market. We hosts are different. When you can sit and talk like hosts together I think it builds a connection. I think all hosts, when you get a new PD, you’re like, ‘ok, what the hell have you done’? You’re going to be in charge of me as a host, have you hosted? I think that’s natural for a host, whether it’s outward or internal. I’ve done the same thing.”
Ford has more than 20 years of experience in sports radio. That will garner him some respect in the building, but not as much as his continued eagerness to learn from others. That could very well be one of the best traits for any PD, no matter their age or experience. If you’re always eager to learn, you’ll undoubtedly be better. Ford is just that. He wants to learn from as many people as possible.
“I’ve always wanted to learn from guys like Scott Masteller or Bruce Gilbert or Jason Barrett,” Ford said. “People who have done this successfully at a high level. And learning from guys who’ve done it in different size markets. You can’t take things from Philadelphia and apply them to Oklahoma City. It’s a different level. I wanted to learn how different guys in different markets program their brands. I wanted to learn all aspects of the business.”
Ford’s eagerness to learn isn’t where his characteristics of being a good PD ends. In the eyes of a host, it can be appreciated that the PD in the building has also seen things from their side. Ford has done exactly that. In a closed-door meeting, he’s now the one delivering the news, good or bad, to a host. But it wasn’t long ago when he was the one sitting on the opposite side of the desk.
“I never want to forget when I went into programming, what it’s like to sit on the other side of the desk in that other chair,” Ford said. “Because it can suck. I’ve sat in that chair and gotten good news and I’ve sat in that chair and got some crappy news. I just never want to forget what it’s like to be the guy sitting there getting news. I want to take all those experiences and all that knowledge and you come in and deal with a Heath Cline, or a Jay Phillips, or Bill Gunter, or a Pearson Fowler, who’s under 30, or Patrick Perret, who’s under 30. I want to be able to relate to them and talk to them in their host language, where they say, ‘ok, this dude speaks the language. He gets where I’m coming from’. It’s just about finding a way to relate to everyone.”
To be completely transparent, the phone call I had with Ford only lasted 20 minutes. But even in that short time, I found myself saying, ‘wow, this is a PD I would love to work for’. He’s intelligent and passionate about the business, incredibly skilled and genuinely cares about relating to his hosts. He’s also really funny. Each question he answered was well-thought-out and insightful, but it wasn’t said without a short joke until he broke out with a serious answer. He’s a guy that knows what he’s doing but isn’t the dreadful guy that sucks the life out of the building. Columbia seems lucky to have him.
“Sometimes you get good fortune from the radio gods and other times you feel like you can’t get any luck they’re taking a dump on you,” Ford said. “They smiled on me through circumstance and with the help of a guy like Jason Barrett I ended up with a good opportunity in Columbia. It was too good to turn down. It was one of the moments where, if I turn this down, I’m a dope. I’ve been a dope in my life and this time I decided not to be one.”
I’ve always been interested in the daily life of someone who’s both a host and a PD. I don’t envy it because you have to perfectly delegate your time to fulfill both duties. So how does Ford go about it?
“Massive chaos at high speed while blindfolded,” joked Ford. “I get up around 6:30 in the morning and away from the office, I try to put in a couple hours of prep. That way people aren’t asking me about stuff and I’m not doing PD things. All I’m doing is trying to prep like a host. I try to give myself a couple hours of that before I come into the office. I’ll be honest, prepping as a PD and prepping as a host, good luck. I tell the guys here, I’m probably about 75 percent of a host right now, in terms of effectiveness. I just can’t prep like I want to. I’m a prepping dork. I jump down all sorts of rabbit holes and I’m deep-diving into stuff. As a PD you don’t have that time to dive.”
Ford started his radio career outside of sports talk. But he was always captivated by the business and spent many nights debating sports with his friends. It was a passion, even though he wasn’t yet hosting a show.
“I always was captivated by sports talk, but when I was growing up it was a certain way,” Ford said. “It really wasn’t the way that I wanted to do it. I said, man, if it ever becomes where you can be opinionated, compelling but you can also have some fun, I’m all in. I always had an eyeball on sports while doing music radio. Around 2000, I said, I love sports, talking sports, you know what, screw it, I’m going to start looking for sports talk openings.”
So he did, but while searching for openings, Ford had to refine his craft, while also building a demo. He did it in a way that perfectly sums up who he is as both a talent and a person. He made it fun
“I was doing rock radio at the time, and you talk to dudes, and what I would do is start sports conversations with them and record it. I would save those and put a riff in front of it like a monologue and I would take these calls and I built a demo by talking to drunk guys at a rock station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I got the gig off of that for Sporting News magazine in Seattle.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
He is always upbeat, but never over the top. No screaming, but his energy remains consistent and smooth throughout a broadcast.
It wasn’t all that long ago, that Kevin Burkhardt was selling cars in New Jersey. Now that’s all in his rearview mirror and Burkhardt is getting ready to enter his first season as the main play-by-play voice of the NFL on Fox. You could say he could be the definition of ‘perseverance’, doing whatever it took to chase a dream. That focus has certainly paid off nicely for Burkhardt. The leap he made in two decades time is amazing and not often duplicated.
Growing up in Bloomfield, New Jersey, Burkhardt, would do play-by-play for his Nintendo games back in his Junior High days. He loved Gary Cohen and tried to emulate him as best he could. Strangely enough, he would end up working with Cohen on Mets broadcasts on SNY.
A 1997 graduate of William Paterson University, Burkhardt earned a degree in broadcasting. He took that degree to radio station WGHT in Northern New Jersey, spending eight years working for the station. It was a 1,000-watt, daytime only AM station. Burkhardt delivered local news and called high school football. While at WGHT he also worked at Jukebox Radio, broadcasting New Jersey Jackals minor league games for WJUX. To make ends meet while doing freelance work, Burkhardt began working as a sales associate at Pine Belt Chevrolet in Eatontown, New Jersey. Over the next six-plus years Burkhardt could not find a larger station willing to take a chance on him.
He recalled the frustrated feeling he had back then, when he spoke with Sports Illustrated in 2013. . “I thought I was good enough to make it [in broadcasting], but after so many years of busting my tail, I was making $18,000 a year and working all kinds of odd hours,” says Burkhardt. “It just wasn’t happening for me.”
Finally, Burkhardt got a part-time job working at WCBS-AM in New York, which in turn put him on the radar of the all sports station, WFAN. He began to work there part-time, then eventually became the station’s full-time New York Jets reporter. He got the break he needed.
After his stint at WFAN, Burkhardt joined the Mets broadcast team starting the 2007 season for SNY. He appeared on shows such as Mets Hot Stove, Mets Pregame Live, Mets Postgame Live and Mets Year in Review. His main duties though were as the field reporter during Mets telecasts. He would also call select games during both Spring Training and the regular season.
Also, while employed at SNY, he called Dallas Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks from 2011 until 2013. That’s when he left for Fox. But, sandwiched in between was an opportunity to be seen by Fox execs. He called a Mets/Braves game with SI’s Tom Verducci on their network. The Fox brass liked what they saw.
According to that 2013 SI article, Burkhardt’s agent initially had discussions with the network about his client calling college football this season but those talks morphed into an NFL opportunity. “When my agent called me with that, I was floored,” Burkhardt says. “I’m sure you hear people say ‘this is my dream job’ all the time, but I literally dropped to one knee on the floor. I could not believe what he was saying on the other end.”
He started with the #4 broadcast team and of course has worked his way up from there. Now, some 9 years later he’s on the top crew. After Joe Buck left for ESPN earlier this year, Burkhardt was promoted to the #1 broadcast team for the NFL on Fox, alongside Greg Olsen.
Football isn’t the only thing Burkhardt has exceled in at the network. He is the lead studio host for Major League Baseball coverage on Fox and FS1 during the regular season, for the MLB All-Star Game and throughout the entire MLB Postseason.
When Buck left for ESPN, in my opinion Burkhardt was the obvious choice to replace him. Buck leaves some big shoes to fill, but Burkhardt has the ability to make this work. It’s never easy to replace a well-known commodity like Buck, but Burkhardt himself has been featured prominently on the network. As mentioned, his other high-profile assignments have made him visible and appreciated by viewers.
If social media is a good judge, I almost got that out without a chuckle, the choice was a good one. Even the outgoing play-by-play man was on board with the decision.
After 20 years of calling the @nflonfox I can’t tell you how excited I am for @kevinburkhardt to take over. He’s terrific on the air and a wonderful person. I could NOT be more excited for him and @foxsports. Go kill it Kevin! Glad to be your friend and out of your way! Well done
Burkhardt will do a great job and will become a fixture on Sunday afternoons.
WHY IS HE SO GOOD?
Maybe we’re finding out that he was a great car salesman through his work on television. I mean there’s a friendliness and something reassuring about the way he calls a game. It’s positive, almost downright cheerful in his delivery. You know what you’re going to get from a Burkhardt broadcast. He is always upbeat, but never over the top. No screaming, but his energy remains consistent and smooth throughout a broadcast. I really enjoy watching everything he does.
While the style may be more lighthearted in nature, the information and description are right on the mark. The presentation seems much more relaxed than some announcers that can be a little ‘in your face’ at times. I say relaxed as a compliment, because as much as you want, a broadcaster can’t be ‘hyped up’ all the time. That would be disconcerting to say the least to the viewer.
The fact that he has such a diverse background in the business really helps. Having done radio, he can understand the importance of brevity. That comes in handy when calling a game on television, especially when you want your analyst to feel free to make points. The reporting and studio hosting on his resume allow him to be very conversational and at ease. Those assignments also tune up your listening skills, which helps when calling action and working with your analyst. It didn’t hurt either that he had so much experience on the big stage of New York.
I know I’ve said this a million times, but he genuinely sounds like he’s having the time of his life every time he works a game or hosts a show. Considering where he came from, I’m not surprised.
In 2019, he called select games for FOX Sports Sun, the television home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Since getting his break, Burkhardt has appeared as the celebrity endorser of Pine Belt Chevrolet, his former employer, in Eatontown, N.J.
In 2019, Burkhardt and his wife established the Kevin and Rachel Burkhardt Scholarship at William Paterson University in New Jersey, their alma mater, for a fulltime student majoring in Communications and preparing for a career in broadcast journalism.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
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