...with David Brody.

Thurman Munson

So, you’re hosting a show on August 2nd in NYC and a guy calls and says, ‘’Do you know what happened on this date in sports history?’’ Your response is, ‘’No, tell me.’’
Wrong answer. Actually that was the answer my spy heard as he listened to the mid-day show on Thursday, August 2nd on WFAN in NYC. The two co-hosts had no idea Thurman Munson was killed on August 2nd until the caller brought it up. That my friends is what is known as horrible show prep.

If the talent were doing their homework, they would have known that Thurman Munson, aka ‘’the captain’’ was killed on August 2, 1979 and they would have prepared accordingly. This year the date is even more significant because of the ESPN show ‘’The Bronx is Burning.’’ The show chronicles the 1977 NY Yankees, and the guy in the middle of most of the action is Thurman Munson.

According to my spy, he began listening to WFAN at about 9:30 am on the 2nd and was waiting for Munson conversation, which he didn’t hear until 12:35 pm.. My spy admits he took a couple of mini bathroom breaks and might have missed a mention, but it would have been nothing more than a mention since these bathroom breaks were quick (the kind that doesn’t require a newspaper). What my spy did hear on the 2nd was a lot of talk about football (WFAN was broadcasting from Jets camp), A-Rod’s mini-slump, the lack of baseball trades prior to the trading deadline and yes, the NJ Nets, who reside with Jimmy Hoffa on a swamp in East Rutherford. You know the guys who draw fewer fans than a Ruben Studdard concert.

By not preparing for the show, the hosts on WFAN blew it. This should never happen to you. Don’t expect the news to come to you. You need to go to the news. Reading is a great tool for gaining information, such as key dates in sports history in his or her town. The internet makes doing show prep very simple.

So what should the hosts on WFAN have done to honor their late captain? For starters, they could have tracked down Reggie Jackson. True, Reggie and Thurman did not get along for most of their time together with the Yankees, however, that changed toward the end of Munson’s life. In fact, Reggie was supposed to join Munson on that tragic flight, but declined because he felt it was too dangerous for Thurman to fly a plane.
Another ideal guest would have been Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer, who delivered the eulogy at Munson’s funeral, and later that night delivered the winning double against the Baltimore Orioles.

A good programmer will find the key stories and will make sure his talent talks about them. A good host tells his PD not to worry, that he has the situation under control.
Remember, as the host, you drive the bus. Don’t rely on the audience to do your research. You steer the show in the right direction, while the audience hops on for the ride. On August 2nd, Thurman Munson never received the homage he deserved because the WFAN bus drivers missed their stop.

David Brody is a three-time New Jersey Radio Sportscaster of the Year. He is the former voice of the Princeton Tigers and has hosted on WIP in Philadelphia and on the Sports Byline Radio Network. David is an award winning sportscaster with over 25 years of on-air and talent coaching experience, currently utilizing those coaching skills as the driving force behind BMS.

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