Jordan Bernfield, ESPN play-by-play guy and host/anchor at 670 The Score in Chicago, is the guest this week. Here’s some of the stuff we talked about: the weirdest part of being an engaged couple (1:53), the many name-related stages of a relationship (4:47), how the industry nowadays is such that you basically have to do a lot of things (7:05), the fear of the jack of all trades, master of none label that could come from wearing as many hats as he does professionally (10:09), dealing with fan expectations of you when you switch on-air jobs (12:46), the difficulty of being both a reporter and a talk show host (16:17), if he could only pick one job, it would be…and why? (19:55), one of the really fun benefits of being a network play-by-play guy—inside access (22:39), the interestingly personal relationship with coaches as a play-by-play guy (26:16), how an internship in the promotions department wound up being a blessing in disguise (34:08), how he was able to turn an internship with David Kaplan–someone who he had no relationship with prior to–into a friendship, and not just a generic networking contact (36:04), the seemingly awful production jobs he was offered as a product of his internships and how that was an incredible foot in the door (38:09), how he was able to work as a producer at WGN, while also doing all sorts of on-air jobs simultaneously to help stay in a big market like Chicago (39:57), why networking should be reciprocal, not just a one-sided relationship (42:40), how being a lunch-getting, sort-of-errand-running intern was beneficial to his career (44:45), developing his own style as a play-by-play guy, avoiding ripping off the people you grew up listening to and why he doesn’t pre-write any of his calls (52:20), how much prep goes into each game he does for ESPN (56:20), how he can tell what sort of a game it was based on how much of his prep he had to use (1:01:09), the one thing that young broadcasters do incorrectly (1:03:20), why young broadcasters need to be more than just sports fans, but be sports media fans (1:05:06) and Jordan takes his turn to ask me (2) question(s)… gets a bit real (1:10:01).
scott spinelli 