Watch the Media with John Shrader

JOSEPH REINA is the host and producer of Soccer Signal on MASL TV, a program produced by the Major Arena Soccer League. Joseph is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications. He is a writer and analyst for the league, based in his hometown of Milwaukee.In this conversation we talk about the league, the game of indoor soccer, his work as a writer and host, and his work with J.P. Dellacamera, one of the legends of American soccer who works closely with MASL.THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska.John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer Americaand hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free-lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com. 

LAUREN MICHELSON is starting her third year as a sports reporter/anchor for KETV Channel 7 in Omaha. She covers almost everything Huskers as well as Creighton and Omaha and high school sports in the area.  The University of Missouri grad worked in Lincoln for two years out of college. In this conversation we talk about her career, building an audience in the 21st century, how to cover sports in this new media era, and much more.Recorded February 5, 2026 THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports mediapeople from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska.John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.

ROBIN WASHUT has been with Husker Online, whichis now the On3 affiliate in Nebraska, since 2008. Robin is the 2025 NSMA Sport Writer of the Year. He’s a UNL grad who covers mostly Huskers football and men’s basketball and some recruiting. He has some clearly articulated and direct thoughts about the football program. We also talk about the need for regulation in big-time football and big-time college athletics. Also, about a Huskers men’s hoops team that has made its way into the Top Ten. And, we talk about the changing nature of reporting and the delivery of information. Recorded January 12, 2026 THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska.John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska.His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer Americaand hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.   

ADAM KRUEGER has been the sports director of KMTV Channel 3 in Omaha since August of 2016. He covers the Huskers, Creighton, Omaha and high schools in the Omaha and greater Nebraska market. The graduate of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications worked at Channel 10/11 in Lincoln before moving to Nebraska’s biggest city and biggest media market. In this conversation we talk about covering the Huskers, the biggest sports brand in the state, as well as the other things a television sportscaster must do on a regular basis. Recorded January 3, 2026 THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska.John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska.His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com. 

LUKE MULLIN is the Huskers football writer for the Lincoln Journal Star, where he started working while still a student at the University of Nebraska. He’s now through four seasons covering the Huskers. In this conversation we talk about reporting on a football team that lost its last three games and five of its last seven. Also, the coach, the off-season, the perception of the program locally and nationally. Recorded January 2, 2026THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska.John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sportsbroadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska.His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for SoccerAmerica and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.

As part of a year-long study into the state of sports journalism and sports media, John Shrader takes a closer look at what he has dubbed the “Sports Attention Industry.” Others have called it the ‘hot take’ industry. It is often the business of who yells the loudest; it’s about how you get the attention and how you keep it. As you will hear in this report,journalists at both intrigued and concerned.  You will hear from journalist and professor J.A. Adande;Jerry Brewer of the Washington Post, Sarah Spain, podcast host and former ESPN radio and TV host; Chris Myers of Fox Sports; author and journalist Keith O’Brien; sports media journalist and podcast host Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated; and author and professor Michael Serazio. John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sportsbroadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio andTV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.

MICHAEL BRUNTZ has been with the CBS Sports outlet Husker 247 for 15 years. He’s now in his 19th season covering the Huskers, primarily football and baseball but the other programs as well. In this conversation we talk about the football program, at a time when the coach Matt Rhule has fired three assistant coaches, and is preparing for an appearance against Utah in the December 31st Las Vegas Bowl. We talk about where the program sits, decisions that are being made. Also, the undefeated men’s basketball team, women’s basketball team and the top-rated Volleyball team are on the docket. Recorded December 10, 2025 THE SHOW:Features interviewswith sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-awardwinning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska.His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio andTV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com. 

JERRY BREWER has been a sports columnist for the Washington Post since 2015. Before that, he spent eight years as a columnist with the Seattle Times. The Western Kentucky graduate has worked for newspapers in Louisville, Orlando and Philadelphia. While he is watching the business change, Jerry is bullish on newspapers and on journalism. He writes a column but he can also write features and long-form, deep, contextual journalism. In this conversation he talks about what he does, why, how and for whom. Season 11, Episode 40Recorded August 20, 2025 THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska.His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com

ANDY KENDEIGH has been the sports director at KETV Channel 7 in Omaha for 15 years. He leads a team of three people covering the Huskers, Creighton, high schools and more. The news show at KETV is overwhelmingly the highest rated in the state of Nebraska. He talks about covering the Huskers and high schools, about the groove of the job, building relationships and the changing business in which he works.Recorded November 12, 2025THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.

THIS EPISODEGEOFF EXSTROM is the Director of Communications, Media and Broadcast for the professional volleyball team Omaha Supernovas. He is starting his third year with the team that is now in Major League Volleyball (MLV).  He is a graduate of theUniversity of Nebraska’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Geoff works in nearly all areas of the club, with the exception of team operations.Here, he talks about the addition of John Cook as General Manager and part owner, and helps us understand the national volleyball landscape in 2025-26. Recorded November 5, 2025 THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com. 

Episode:MIKE’L SEVERE has been in the Omaha media market fornearly a quarter century. He worked as a local TV news reporter (KETV) and a sports talk host (1620 the Zone.) He is now the Executive Director of the Jet Award Foundation, which raised money for students in community colleges who want to work in the technical trades. The foundation isnamed after Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers, a Heisman-trophy winning Nebraska football legend and Omaha native. In this conversation, John and Mike’l talk about the foundation’s work, covering Nebraska sports, specifically football, the media market, and much more. Recorded October 23, 2025THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University ofNebraska-Lincoln. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.

EPISODE NOTES:DOUG DUDA has been doing radio in Kearney, Nebraskasince 1997. He’s the program director for ESPN Tri-Cities (Kearny, Hastings, Grand Island), hosts a talk and interview show “Doug and Daddy” 11-12 daily and does play-by-play of college and high school sports in Central Nebraska. He andJohn talk about the groove of doing hundreds of broadcasts a year, the decision-making process of what games to carry on the radio station, and much more. Recorded October 13, 2025THE SHOW:WATCH THE MEDIA with John Shrader is an interview-stylepodcast focusing on sports media people – reporters, broadcasters, editors, podcasters and more. John is Associate Professor of Sports Media and Broadcastingat the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was a radio and television sports broadcaster in San Francisco for more than 30 years. He produces more than 30 new episodes a year. Season 11, Episode 36

KENT PAVELKA first started broadcasting Huskerssports in 1974, three years out of Journalism school at Nebraska. He worked with legends Lyell Bremser and Jack Payne. He was the third voice in the football booth and the play-by-play voice of men’s basketball and then ascendedto the football play-by-play role in 1984. He’s had ups and downs, highs and lows, but along the way he has broadcast well over a thousand men’s basketball games, and still waiting for an NCAA tournament win. He has a special familyconnection to one of the great Willa Cather books. We talk about these things and more. Recorded October 8, 2025

JOHN BISHOP has been the co-host of the radio show Unsportsmanlike Conduct at 1620 The Zone in Omaha since 2012. The show is heard 2-6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday. He and Josh Peterson have been co-hosts since 2014. John is also the long-time radio voice of Creighton Universitymen’s basketball and baseball.  He’s a graduate of the journalism and broadcast program at the University ofNebraska-Lincoln. Bishop was a play-by-play announcer and radio host at KLIN in Lincoln for nearly 20 years.  We talkhere about the value of radio today, preparing for the show, the role of podcasting, the approaches to doing the show, the audience, and much more.Recorded September 24, 2025

VICTOR ROJAS spent nearly two decades as thetelevision voice of the Los Angeles Angels. He’s been in baseball for much of his adult life; he also worked at the MLB Network and spent two years as the General Manager of the Double-A team the Frisco Roughriders in Frisco, Texas. He is now the new baseball coach at Hastings College, in Hasting, Nebraska. We talk about the transition to college coaching; also, his life in baseball as the son of former big leaguer Cookie Rojas; coaching his son, his Cuban heritage, his work at ESPN (which will continue) and much more.  Recorded September 19, 2025

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