A newspaper guy and a TV guy walk into a radio studio …
That’s the state of Chicago sports radio, where the talent pipeline apparently has dried up, creating opportunities for radio neophytes to learn on the job.
How else to explain The Score’s forthcoming pairing of former WGN sports anchor Jarrett Payton with former reporter and columnist David Haugh on its morning show? The station announced Monday that Payton would replace the fired Mike Mulligan beginning next Monday.
Payton was at WGN for more than a decade and the defunct CLTV before that. He’s personable and charismatic, he’s well-liked and he’s the son of “Sweetness,” legendary Bears running back Walter Payton. No team in town moves the needle like the Bears. Payton could be a hit.
Or he could be hit, as in the ratings. Payton will move from half-hour TV shows to 4 ½-hour radio shows. Does he have enough opinions to fill that airtime? Will those opinions be critical of the Bears, particularly team ownership, which treats him like family? Can he speak with authority about the Cubs’ and White Sox’ playoff pushes? He’s entering a different world.
Haugh has been on The Score’s morning show since 2018, when previous management unceremoniously replaced Brian Hanley, who did nothing to deserve it. Yes, Hanley was a newspaper guy, too, but he excelled in radio, often carrying Mulligan. He had been at the station since its inception in 1992.
We might never know what hypnosis Haugh has performed on Chicago radio and TV executives. What we do know is that never before has someone who has said so little been given so much airtime to say it. In addition to mornings on The Score, he appears in the evening on Chicago Sports Network’s “The Chicago Lead” and “The Big Pro Football Show” because … well, he can.
Don’t get me wrong. Haugh is a nice enough guy. After years of criticizing his blandness and overexposure, I approached him at the Barrett Sports Media Summit when it was in town last year. I introduced myself and asked if there was anything he wanted to say to me, and he politely replied, “No.” I told him my criticism was purely professional, we chatted a bit and I went on my way.
I once wrote that Haugh used to write long for the Tribune, and now he talks long for The Score. The point still stands. He might have to talk even more — gasp! — until Payton gets his sea legs. There could be some rough waters in the beginning. The most opinionated person on the show is executive producer Dustin Rhoades. That’s a problem.
While Haugh helps hone Payton — gasp! — Payton will try to bring more out of Haugh. A personality, perhaps. A veteran of the radio business once asked me what I knew about Haugh off the air. My answer: very little. The vet said that’s an issue because it can prevent a connection with listeners. Even for sports-talk hosts, sports only go so far.
Payton isn’t shy talking about himself, his family, his kids and his father. Will he be able to draw more out of Haugh on a personal level? If the last eight years are any indication, he might need a power tool to drill deep enough.
Haugh has done what he was hired to do: play the hits. In other words, stick to sports. That was management’s mantra when Haugh arrived, as the sports landscape became overwhelmed with political and social issues. Maybe it’s just not in his nature to talk about himself.
Which begs the question: Why not replace “Mully and Haugh” completely? The Score made the right move in finally ending Mulligan’s reign of revolting radio – meandering questions, unfinished thoughts, inaudible words. Why not blow it up and start over?
According to sources, The Score contacted former host Danny Parkins, who now appears on FS1’s “First Things First.” Parkins left the station on good terms and is still connected through his annual radiothon for brain-cancer research. But the sides never came close.
That speaks to the dried-up pipeline at The Score, which in the last few years lost Parkins, fired Dan Bernstein and wasn’t able to bring back Jason Goff, a homegrown talent also needlessly let go by previous management. Goff worked his way up as a producer, earning prime hosting jobs. Who’s the next to follow that path?
We’re entering a fantastic time in Chicago sports. The Bears are a hot team nationally, the Cubs and Sox are on track to make the playoffs, Patrick Kane is back with the Blackhawks and the Bulls might have a star in Caleb Wilson. There’s a ton to talk about.
Are the best people in place to do the talking?