Paul Finebaum has been in the radio business a long time, getting his start in the mid-1980s. He’s still going strong, hosting a four-hour daily show on ESPN Radio, The Paul Finebaum Show.
But Finebaum, now 69, doesn’t have much hope for the radio industry these days. In an appearance Thursday on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast, Finebaum addressed a question about the current “state of the radio.”
Finebaum’s damning response. He definitely wouldn’t recommend radio to anyone as a career today.
“I think it’s pretty bad and you know, I got to ESPN Radio in 2013, and I don’t need to tell you how many times the hosts have changed and that’s an indicator,” Finebaum said. “I just think the art of radio is gone. And that’s why I really love what I do. It’s still a little different. I’m in a television studio. It’s simulcast and you do have to be concerned about that.
“I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone today. I’m on campuses every Friday and students ask me, [or say] ‘I want to do this. I want to do that.’ I wouldn’t recommend becoming a print reporter or a radio talk show host because there’s just not much runway for either one. But I’m still a fan. I grew up listening to the great broadcasters and there’s still something about that.”
Finebaum credits his ESPN Radio show’s success to its call-in format, and his willingness to let listeners talk at length. He mentioned some of the current stars in the industry, from Chris Russo and Mike Francesa to Colin Cowherd and Jim Rome, and admits he couldn’t do a show with that format.
“I am not like ‘Mad Dog’ or Francesca or Cowherd or Rome where I come on and [share opinions] for 30 or 40 minutes,” Finebaum said. “I’ve never been that. I was a newspaper columnist, but … I’ve never been that crazy about my own opinion.
“And one thing we found early on on this show when I was in Birmingham, Alabama, was people love to hear themselves talk. And while most talk show hosts abhor letting anyone get in the way, we embraced it.”
As for trying to imitate the format of Mad Dog and others, Finebaum said it’s just not his style.
“I would be in a hospital after 15 minutes of trying to sound like Russo,” Finebaum joked.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.