Claim OwnershipWatch the Media with John Shrader
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© John Shrader
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An inside look at the media business, with interviews and analysis from a college professor and long time radio and TV broadcaster.
224 Episodes
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JEFF SHELDON and LINCOLN ARNEAL are the hosts and producers of the podcast Volleyball State, focused on Nebraska volleyball. It’s part of the I-80 Club team of podcasts. They are veterans of covering volleyball for the Omaha World Herald, and now write as well for Husker Max, an online site focused on Nebraska sports. They talk here about putting the podcast together; about the importance of volleyball in the state; about their history as reporters; and much more. Recorded September 3, 2025
JOHN BAYLOR first called Huskers volleyball on theradio in 1994. He is now is in his 32nd year calling those games. He was on the mic for five national championships and is now working with his third coach. He talks about the first coach Terry Pettit and his contributions to the program; also, he talks about calling games in his unique style; about working with former coach John Cook's daughter Lauren and her unique style; and about his ‘real job’ as owner of On to College, and much more. Recorded August 28, 2025
Chris Aumueller is the Founder and CEO of FanWord, a sports technology company based in Lincoln, Nebraska that helps athletic communication departments create content. The company provides AI tools to help make this work better and more productive. Aumueller is a former college tennis player at Nebraska who turned his interest in storytelling and entrepreneurship into this venture in 2018.Recorded August 21, 2025
PHIL BERGMAN is a former television sportscaster whois now the Associate Athletic Director at UIC, Creative Content and Broadcasting. He has added a couple of other things to his portfolio as well. Phil talks about the media content produced on college campuses, for the department and by young people. He also talks about NIL, about which he teaches a class; about storytelling in the 21st century; how media are consumed and delivered, and much more. The University of Missouri journalism grad worked in local television in both Lincoln and Omaha before getting a master’s degree in sports management, and before Chicago he worked at the U.S. Naval Academy. Recorded July 22, 2205
SARAH SPAIN is the host and manager of the daily podcast Good Game with Sarah Spain, from IHeart and, and heard on Apple podcasts. It is the only daily podcast dedicated to the coverage of women's sports. Spain is also the author of the new book Runs in the Family. She is a former radio host and reporter for ESPN who writes for ESPNw. Sarah talks here about the state of journalism, especially regarding women in sport, and shares the advice she gives young women who want to be in the sports media business. She also talks about women in sport historically, and how she approaches the content of her show (hint: it’s about journalism.)Recorded July 23, 2025
The Herd with COLIN COWHERD Is heard weekdays on FoxSports Radio and seen on FS1; it’s also on a number of other places including Premiere Radio. Cowherd’s podcast company is The Volume. Among his high-profile hosts are Draymond Green, Richard Sherman, and Colin Cowherd. He’s from a small town in Washington and says that has had an impact on who he is. It’s audio, not just radio. Podcasting is different than good old-fashioned terrestrial radio. It’s all part of Colin Cowherd’s ecosystem. Recorded April 18, 2025
JOSH PETERSON is the co-host of the “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” radio program on 1620 The Zone in Omaha, weekday afternoons. He’s a graduate of the University of Nebraska’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications. He and John Bishop have done the show for more than 11 years now – entering their 12th football season together. Josh has a growing podcast and Patreon effort, I-80 Club. He and Jack Mitchell of KLIN Radio do regular podcasting, they have a podcast series “Groin Kick Chronicles” (you need to listen to get the full context), and they have a volleyball podcast (with Jeff Sheldon and Lincoln Arneal.) Radio, podcasting, writing, entrepreneurship and more. Recorded July 18, 2025
MITCH SHERMAN enters his seventh season coveringNebraska athletics for The Athletic. Mitch is a Nebraska native who before his time with the New York Times owned publication worked at the Omaha World Herald and ESPN. He is a native Nebraskan, a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications. He talks here about his job covering the biggest sports brand in the state as well as Locked on Nebraska, the daily podcast he co-hosts with Omaha radio talk show host Connor Happer of 1620 The Zone. Recorded July 15, 2025
MARTY LENZ has for eight years been the co-anchor of Colorado’s Morning News on KOA Radio in Denver. The 100-year-old, 50,000 watt radio station puts it programming on AM, FM, the IHeart app, as well as Alexas and Siri. Such is the business in 2025.He talks about what they do, how they work to reach younger audiences, to keep the older, more established audience and do it with the same kinds of news standards in place for many of those 100 years. Recorded January 27, 2025
CHRIS MYERS has been a play-by-play announcer andstudio host at Fox Sports for about 25 years, after spending a decade at ESPN. He does the NFL, NASCAR, Major League Baseball and hosts the Westminster Dog Show. Among his jobs at ESPN was four years as host of the interview show Up Close. His book That Deserves a Wow was published in 2024 by William Morrow. He talks passionately about many experiences of his life, both professional and personal.Recorded June 19, 2025
MICHAEL BRUNTZ has been with Husker247 for 14 years now. As Senior Writer he covers baseball, football, recruiting and whatever else comes up. He started a Husker baseball podcast in 2025. He talks here about what the Men’s College World Series means to Nebraskans and particularly the people of Omaha; the new direct payment of athletes, covering the Huskers baseball program; the 12-month, 24/7 nature of covering Huskers football; and much more. Recorded June 18, 2025
DAVID BERRI is professor of economics at Southern UtahUniversity. He researches and writes about sports economics. His latest book is Slaying the Trolls, co-authored with Nefertiti Walker, focused on women and sports. About 75 percent will go to football, 15 percent to men’s basketball and the other sports will divide what’s left over. Berri says there will be victims of the new world, most likely starting with coaches’ salaries.Questions remain about the impact this will have on facilities, women’s sports, and the so-called Olympic sports. Recorded June 10, 2025
STEVE SIPPLE has now been with Husker Online for nearly three years after more than three decades with the Lincoln Journal Star. We catch up on a few things here: Matt Rhule’s tenure at Nebraska, covering the Huskers 24/7 and 12 months a year, three hours of radio every day, the grind of doing daily journalism, and much more. He drops in a tidbit about Scott Frost and why he probably should not have taken the Huskers job, and the relationship he had/has with many other Huskers football coaches.Recorded June 5, 2025
SEAN CALLAHAN is the owner and publisher of HuskerOnline, which is a media company covering Nebraska football, affiliated with the On3 Network. We talk here aboutcovering Huskers football, which is the biggest and most popular game in the state; about the access issues all journalists are dealing with; about his new book; Scott Frost and much more. Callahan is a native Nebraskan who also covers Huskers football for other outlets in the state, including KETV, KFAB and NPM. Interview conducted May 29, 2025
TYLER CAVALLI has worked for the Nebraska Rural RadioAssociation [NRRA] for more than a decade. He has anchored news, done sports broadcasting and is now operations and programming manager in Lexington. KRVN and 14 other stations are owned by the NRRA, which is owned by farmers and ranchers in Nebraska. Tyler talks here about what he does, the values of rural radio, and how radio can and should be innovated.Interview conducted January 29, 2025Posted May 15, 2025
KEITH O’BRIEN is a journalist and author. In April2024 he wrote a piece in The Atlantic, “You’re Going to Miss Sports Journalism When it is Gone.” In this conversation, recorded in April 2025, he says not much has changed in that year to make him optimistic about where the business is going. We talk about the conditions in the industry, about young people and their interest in it, some ideas about how the information is and how it should be imparted, and muchmore. O’Brien’s latest book is Charlie Hustle: The Rise andFall of Pete Rose and the Last Glory Days of Baseball.Recorded April 25, 2025
This episode is mostly about TAYLOR TWELLMAN. We chatted on the phone about his life and career. How that career ended and why he is so committed to making people aware of TBI (traumatic brain injury.) He talks about his broadcast career, its process and so much more. You can read more about Twellman in a Soccer America profile I wrote, at socceramerica.com. JAKE ZIVIN is Taylor's broadcast partner. A conversation with him follows the Twellman interview. Twellman recorded April 18, 2025Zivin recorded April 23, 2025
PAULA LAVIGNE is in her 18th year at ESPN, doing investigative reporting, working with the Enterprise andInvestigative unit. Paula, a Nebraska native, has worked at daily newspapers all over the country and has settled in nicely at ESPN. In this conversation we talk about what she does, how she does it and how the industry is beinginnovated [32:45].We also chat a bit about how sports are covered in Nebraska [13 Minutes]; about what is so important to her about this job [18:30]; ESPN’s partnerships and how they impact the journalism [22:40]; young people working in the sports media business [24:30]; women in sports media, particularly at ESPN [28:30]; transparency and access [31:45]. Recorded April 15, 2025Season 11, Episode 15
MICHAEL COHEN & DOUG WREN Put together the first broadcast in the history of Major League Soccer. It was April 6, 1996, at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, the home standing Clash (now Earthquakes) and DC United. Early in the 30th MLS season I talked with both of them about that first broadcast. Cohen was the producer, Wren the director. [The announce team of Phil Schoen, Ty Keough and Bill McDermott appear in another podcast.] This game was played in front of nearly 32,000 fans, on national television, and it went right down the wire before they got a goal. This conversation also includes bigger-picture topics about how soccer is broadcast in this country and abroad.This is one of two episodes. Recorded February 25, 2025. Part 1 30:50Part 2 33:30
MICHAEL COHEN & DOUG WREN Put together the first broadcast in the history of Major League Soccer. It was April 6, 1996, at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, the homestanding Clash (now Earthquakes) and DC United. Early in the 30th MLS season I talked with both of them about that first broadcast. Cohen was the producer, Wren the director. [The announce team of Phil Schoen, Ty Keough and Bill McDermott appear in another podcast.] This game was played in front of nearly 32,000 fans, on national television, and it went right down to the wire before they got a goal. [No spoilers here.] This conversation also includes bigger-picture topics about how soccer is broadcast in this country and abroad.This is one of two episodes. Recorded February 25, 2025. Part 1 30:50Part 2 33:30
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