North: Why we need the sports equivalent of Fox News
S.E. Cupp, a political conservative commentator, wrote a column that originally appeared in the New York Daily News with the headline "Stop whining about ESPN, and compete."
I read that column in the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday under Opinions and Viewpoints with the headline "ESPN needs conservative competitor."
Cupp writes of the recent cut of 100 employees at ESPN and how, along with a few other reasons, the company's liberal approach has cost it ratings and revenue. And she suggests it may be time for the start of a conservative national sports station.
It's no secret that I've been working on the possible launch of another sports station that could fill the void she mentions.
To refresh everyone's memory, I co-hosted a sports talk show with Dan Jiggetts at the Score (WSCR 670-AM). At that time, different sports views were welcomed and encouraged, and I guess it made for a good listen because our show was very successful.
I was a conservative voice in sports in Chicago, and Dan was more the liberal guy, so if we were interviewing football great and political activist Jim Brown, it was a balanced conversation instead of a one-sided approach like it so often is now. Our show wasn't just a safe haven for guests.
Today's media landscape has been littered with hardened personalities such as former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. His hire for a variety of NFL football roles, including "Monday Night Football," always puzzled me. How could ESPN ignore his involvement in a double murder in Atlanta after the Super Bowl in 2000? (Editor's note: Lewis was originally charged with two counts of murder. Those charges were dropped after he agreed to testify against two friends in exchange for pleading guilty to obstruction of justice. The two friends were later acquitted of all charges and no one has been arrested in the deaths.)
Lewis has now parted ways with ESPN, and I believe his hire was the beginning of ESPN's negative ratings. They have lost 12.1 million subscribers over the past six years, and will continue to lose unless they start to give the flyover states some representation.
Sports media needs a bit of an overhaul right now. Just look what happened recently at ABC 7, which suspended Mark Giangreco, its lead sports anchor, after he tweeted that President Donald Trump was a "cartoon lunatic" and Trump voters were "simpletons" resulting.
If Barack Obama voters had been similarly insulted, I believe the penalty would have been a firing and not just an unpaid suspension.
I'm not sure if the people running the stations don't realize the climate of the country or just don't care.
In fairness, when a sports talk host is hired the job is to talk sports, but interesting dialogue includes more than one topic and crosses lines. Good sports talk is similar to restaurant table conversation - it includes entertainment, work, and sometimes politics.
Of course if it's not the belief of your bosses or your company, then your job might be at risk.
Today, podcasts provide much more freedom to speak out, and mine, "Sticks and Stones," is sold out with two more on the way. Maybe listeners and sponsors want something new, too!
• Follow Mike on Twitter @north2north. Check out his podcast Monday-Friday at podcastarena.com, iTunes or audioboom. His column appears each Friday in the Daily Herald. For more, visit northtonorth.com.