Posted by chicagomedia.org on June 25, 2008 at 08:06:42:
Mariotti a natural for radio show
Those taken aback by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti's criticism of his colleagues and the rest of the local sports and media establishment missed the real revelation of his verbal jousting with John Callaway on WTTW-Ch. 11 the other day.
Mariotti absolutely belongs on local radio.
It wasn't anything particular that he said, although the mental image of a prepubescent, squeaky-voiced Jay arguing with his dad that the hometown Pittsburgh Steelers should stick with then-young and erratic quarterback Terry Bradshaw was entertaining.
Anyone who has ever spent time around Mariotti—and I logged a couple years as one of his fellow Sun-Times sports columnists back in the 1990s—has heard most of his criticisms before. Specifics change, but, as his fans know, his targets and overall complaints rarely do.
It was the passion and absolute certainty with which he expressed himself that should have been a wake-up call to the program director and general manager of every talk or sports radio station in town. His unwavering sense of outrage and righteousness, which might grow wearying day after day online or in print, is thoroughly energizing when broadcast.
Check out the video on WTTW.com. This guy should be venting over the air on a daily basis. On sports, on media, the price of gas, City Hall, the presidential race, the "Sex and the City" movie, the European Union, whatever grinds his gears.
Despite whatever success he has enjoyed in print and on television, radio is Mariotti's most effective medium. He has had gigs before, and for a variety of reasons, they haven't lasted. Pity.
He has an opinion on everything and, as Callaway found out, there isn't a question or subject he can't bat back at a longtime listener, first-time caller. Or a longtime caller, first-time listener, for that matter.
Mariotti writes his column the way Rocky Balboa went at sides of beef and, after 17 years at the Sun-Times, readers pretty much know what his take will be in response to any given occurrence, even if it's not necessarily the same take he has pounded home earlier.
ESPN's "Around the Horn," an exercise in fending off other sportswriters trying to out-Jay Jay, has the feel of oral pro wrestling. It has raised Mariotti's national profile but hardly shown him to best advantage.
The format of a daily radio program demands he not dwell too long on any one subject, and even the most forceful opinion vanishes into the ether almost as soon as it is uttered. It's a far better match. A reasonably deft and confident sidekick would be a plus—not to push his buttons, which tend to come pre-pushed, but to keep things moving along.
A helpful co-host also might prod Mariotti to take calls he doesn't want to take and into confrontations he mostly steers clear of in other media, including with those he has criticized and those with opposing viewpoints. Clearly, the guy can handle himself, no matter what those who would squelch opposing viewpoints in print and shut down online rebuttals to his columns might think.
Mariotti just got a three-year contract extension from the Sun-Times, so he's probably going to be around for some time to come.
If you own a radio station, don't be discouraged by his willingness to rip his co-workers on Channel 11. Whether you hire him or some other outlet does, you run the risk he'll cause you headaches; you might as well profit from them.
(Tribune)