Media Savvy
No Job Skills Required
By Stan Savran

I have always maintained that the people who have the least amount of respect for the broadcast media are the ones who run it. Broadcasting ownership and management, the very people you would think would be most anxious to protect and uphold the principles of broadcast journalism are the very ones who ignore it. And in recent weeks, we have seen two more examples dropped into a seemingly bottomless pit.

ABC's decision to dump, and I use this word purposely, Lisa Guerrero on the sidelines to 'report' on Monday Night Football is a classic example of how much respect broadcast executives have for the business they control. If you were forced to come up with descriptive terms for Ms. Guerrero, curvaceous, attractive and sexy would come to mind. Her attributes are obvious whether natural or the result of a plastic surgeon's skill. However, would anyone include insightful or knowledgeable?

No, I didn't think so.

Say what you want about Melissa Stark, at least she had a background in journalism and sports broadcasting. ABC could have called on Suzy Kolber of sister network ESPN, much as they did when hiring Stark. Kolber doesn't know as much about football as she thinks she does, but she certainly knows more than Guerrero, who I sincerely doubt can decide whether a football is blown up or stuffed.

Let me cite an example. A few years back, Penn State played USC in the Kickoff Classic. Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh sent a crew to Giants Stadium to cover the game. Fox Sports West in Los Angeles sent Guerrero, with the understanding Pittsburgh would provide a producer and a photographer. After the game, she was supposed to do interviews in both locker rooms. When it came time, she purred to our producer, 'I don't know what questions to ask.' WHAT? You're an alleged reporter, and you don't know what questions to ask? And now she's going to be 'reporting' on Monday Night Football? It ended up that our producer did all the locker room interviews, while she stood outside working hard on her hair and makeup. The most laughable thing about her came after her departure from the equally laughable The Best Damn Sports Show, Period. She said she was leaving to pursue a career in acting. What did she think she had been doing, investigative journalism?

The second article of impeachment against the ABC/ESPN twin towers of evil is the hiring of Rush Limbaugh to appear on ESPN's overblown, overhyped, and generally way too loud pre-game show. Now up front, I will admit that I abhor Limbaugh's politics, so if you think I'm biased on the subject, you're right. But he belongs on the pre-game show talking football about as much as Mike Tyson talking politics and government on Limbaugh's syndicated radio show.

What are his qualifications for talking football? He likes it? I like ice cream, but I can't converse intelligently on how it's made. ESPN's official reason for this transparent attempt at a ratings grab is that Limbaugh will represent the 'average fan'. Does the average fan make $20 million a year? Please, spare me. This average fan routine is really getting hackneyed. With sports talk shows and message boards and letters to the editor, the average fan has a multitude of ways to express himself. He doesn't need Rush Limbaugh, or anyone else, to speak for him.

Limbaugh will add a name to the proceedings, but not one whit of useful information about or insight into professional football. However, if overhyped, overblown and too loud is the issue, he's probably a perfect fit.

However, I would much rather hear from a former coach or general manager who was actually willing to say something, and not just sit there and laugh at Deion Sanders or Michael Irvin, which is pretty much what you get now.

With these two recent hires, the ABC/ESPN evil empire has once again displayed a disregard, even a disdain, for insightful commentary from qualified people. But alleged 'entertainment' seems to be a much more valuable component to these people. Then again, they're owned by the Disney Corporation, so why would I be surprised?

Stan Savran hosts a sports talk show 3-6 pm weekdays on WBGG Fox Sports Radio 970.