John Skipper and Dan Le Batard’s new sports content venture, Meadowlark Media, continues to add talent to its roster. A week after the company announced a new podcast featuring Hank Azaria’s Jim Brockmire character doing celebrity and sports media interviews, Meadowlark has added Jemele Hill and Mike Schur to help generate ideas and consult on projects behind the scenes.
Hill has been linked to Meadowlark ever since reports of Skipper and Le Batard’s new venture began to circulate. In January, she told Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy that “working with them again always felt like it was inevitable.”
Since leaving ESPN in 2018, Hill has launched a podcast on Spotify, written for The Atlantic, co-hosted a VICE TV show with Cari Champion, and is producing several documentaries, including an ESPN series on Colin Kaepernick. She’s a provocative media presence whose name will certainly draw attention to whatever projects she works on with Meadowlark.
“This is a partnership that made too much sense,” Hill said in Meadowlark’s official release. “Skipper was one of my biggest champions while at ESPN and I have such deep, unconditional respect for Dan and greatly admire his boundless creativity.
“At this stage in my career, I just want to be aligned with creative people who are like-minded. That doesn’t mean we always have to agree, but there is a core belief system that we share. This partnership checks every box for me.”
Hill’s production company, Lodge Freeway Media, has a first-look deal with Meadowlark on all sports-related projects.
Related: Jemele Hill thought Michael Smith resented her for ending their ‘SC6’ show on ESPN
Schur has co-created, written, and produced several acclaimed TV comedies in recent years including The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Parks and Recreation. He was also a writer and producer for The Office. Additionally, Schur earned plenty of sports credibility for his role with Fire Joe Morgan, a site that sharply criticized baseball media, its slow embrace of advanced metrics, and the tendency to follow easy narratives.
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“Three years ago, I flew to Miami to write an article about Dan, Stu, and the Shipping Container of Frightened Refugees responsible for the best sports radio show in America,” said Schur.
“At the end of the experience, I found myself convinced that they have built something very special – both with the issues they discuss and the way they discuss them.”
Related: ‘Fire Joe Morgan’ creator Mike Schur admits always regretting that name for his baseball blog
Again, Hill and Schur will have advisory roles with Meadowlark that will involve initiating ideas for upcoming projects while providing creative guidance and feedback on projects already in development. Additionally, the two will consult on the company’s business growth.
About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.