Bernie Miklasz out at 101.1 ESPN

[RUBillsFan]

15 minutes ago, Box and Won said:

Among the P-D's sportswriters, David Kvidahl is the only SLU grad I can think of.

I don't know / remember Kvidahl's excitement level during the Majerus years, but I recall he was pretty much indifferent during the Crews years (not that I blame him).  He's all in now and pretty regularly tweets things about the team.  Given that Kvidahl covers St. Louis HS sports I'm sure having a bunch of St. Louis guys on the team is a big factor for him.

[Clock_Tower]

On 5/2/2020 at 1:12 PM, willie said:

They would be easier to name if we had a journalism school. I agree with Next Year. It’s all about winning. I think our coverage is good when we win and are relevant. I thought our coverage last year was pretty decent. 

Yes and no.   When our Bills win a big game, there is coverage.  When we won the A10 Tournament, yes, there was coverage.   When we played our NCAA Tourney game, yes, there was coverage.   No complaints from me as to these.  And the more games we win, yes, it follows that there will be more coverage.   So yes, the more we win, the more the coverage.

At the same time, the local media likes to put our wins and accomplishments "in perspective" for us.   After Grawer and Bonner, Gray and Douglas took our neglected program from the ashes to The Big Apple - NIT Final, Kevin Horrigan found it necessary to throw cold water on our program and let all local fans know that the NIT is not what it was in 1948 or what the NCAA Tourney now is.  Thanks Kevin, did not know that.  When our program made the NCAA Tournament  under Spoon (which Grawer could not do), our accomplishments were compared to Mizzou and the Illini to put our accomplishments "in perspective".  When we actually got to play Mizzou and the Illini, the games were soon stopped by Mizzou and Illinois and our local media kindly reminded us that we were not on the level of Kansa, Michigan State, etc. and that games against us were not necessary -- no need for Mizzou and Illinois to play in St. Louis twice in a given year - not when these titans play each other in the Bragging Rights game. Apparently, the local media did NOT want more big games played here locally - why would they?  When we then made more NCAA Tournaments, our local media found it necessary to provide an equal update on Mizzou for all our benefit.  And not just when we win, the local media looks our for us such as when we struggled and the Valley enjoyed their success, the local media found it necessary to assist us by telling us which conference would be best for us. And when we land a big local recruit, just seems like a good time to provide an update on local recruits going to Mizzou as well in the same article - fair and balanced, right?  Funny, but when Mizzou lands a big name recruit, the name SLU never appears in the article or same day/week of coverage. Not that local writers should be cheerleaders, but we seem to have more coverage after the game/season than prior.  And if the game/season does not go so well, then it turns out there really is no need for the coverage.

[Clock_Tower]

28 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

Ben Hochman - Mizzou

Dave Matter - Mizzou

Bryan Burwell - Virginia State University

Derrick Goold - MIzzou

Stu Durando - CSU-Fullerton

I liked John Sondregger, and always thought he did a good job for us, but he is a grad of Mizzou's J School as well.

[Slowry]

What’s the push to keep Michelle Smallmon on the air?  It’s tough to listen to her in the air.  I can only hear the term “mothership” so many times. And every guest she crossed paths with in Bristol is “her guy”.   

[wgstl]

34 minutes ago, Slowry said:

What’s the push to keep Michelle Smallmon on the air?  It’s tough to listen to her in the air.  I can only hear the term “mothership” so many times. And every guest she crossed paths with in Bristol is “her guy”.   

[RUBillsFan]

2 hours ago, Slowry said:

What’s the push to keep Michelle Smallmon on the air?  It’s tough to listen to her in the air.  I can only hear the term “mothership” so many times. And every guest she crossed paths with in Bristol is “her guy”.   

This is a cynical view point, but gender pay gap would be my guess.  Her salary is likely way less than Bernie's and they need someone on the air.  I haven't listened in a while, but I always thought Smallmon worked well with Bernie.

[cheeseman]

101.1 has been shedding salaries for a year now.  They are keeping all the low paid hosts regardless of gender.  If I was Randy K I would be concerned.

[Bay Area Billiken]

I hope Bernie stays in St. Louis. One way or the other, be it in St. Louis or not, he should be able to get a new job. He is a nationally known sports columnist, probably the best known in St. Louis nationally.

[cheeseman]

11 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

I hope Bernie stays in St. Louis. One way or the other, be it in St. Louis or not, he should be able to get a new job. He is a nationally known sports columnist, probably the best known in St. Louis nationally.

The whole sports reporting business model is changing and jobs as we knew it just don't exist much anymore.  

[RUBillsFan]

Did Bernie lose his gig with The Athletic as well?  I know he was writing there,  but the last article I see from him is dated in February 2020.

[cheeseman]

7 hours ago, RUBillsFan said:

Did Bernie lose his gig with The Athletic as well?  I know he was writing there,  but the last article I see from him is dated in February 2020.

I think when he had that health issue he was trying to cut back on his time demands.

[kappy96]

On 5/5/2020 at 9:18 AM, Slowry said:

What’s the push to keep Michelle Smallmon on the air?  It’s tough to listen to her in the air.  I can only hear the term “mothership” so many times. And every guest she crossed paths with in Bristol is “her guy”.   

No dog in this fight and I'm not going to tell anyone they can't have and voice an opinion but you have to give her some respect for leaving STL, moving to Bristol to get experience while developing national relationships and positioning herself for career opportunities.  She comes back to put that experience to work in her hometown while rounding out her skill set wearing multiple hats at the station.  Seems like a pretty good career path if you want to me in sports media.  As for her on-air personality, you can't please everyone and like most jobs, you learn and hone your craft each day...lord knows there are people who, rightfully, think I'm no good at what I do.  

I don't tune in to 101.1 to listen to her so not sure why I felt compelled to weigh in here...no offense Slowry...guess I just have respect for people who are willing to work their way up...as many in the media do.  

I feel better know.

[Slowry]

4 hours ago, kappy96 said:

No dog in this fight and I'm not going to tell anyone they can't have and voice an opinion but you have to give her some respect for leaving STL, moving to Bristol to get experience while developing national relationships and positioning herself for career opportunities.  She comes back to put that experience to work in her hometown while rounding out her skill set wearing multiple hats at the station.  Seems like a pretty good career path if you want to me in sports media.  As for her on-air personality, you can't please everyone and like most jobs, you learn and hone your craft each day...lord knows there are people who, rightfully, think I'm no good at what I do.  

I don't tune in to 101.1 to listen to her so not sure why I felt compelled to weigh in here...no offense Slowry...guess I just have respect for people who are willing to work their way up...as many in the media do.  

I feel better know.

None taken.  I give her credit for doing that also.  But I think she pulls it out if the bag to use as a crutch is all.  I don’t have any I’ll feeling towards her.  I’m just not a fan and for me she’s hard to listen to.  But I’m sure for some people she’s their favorite.  It’s all personal taste.