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"Once you get into radio, you never really get out."
A common mantra according to people in the business, but no truer
words were ever spoken. | |  | | Jason Smith |
Almost like the mafia, once you get in,
you're in. I began doing radio at Syracuse University as a freshman,
and as a sophomore I hosted the morning show on the campus radio
station. Getting up at 5:30 a.m. five days a week as a 17-year old
wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but it was just so much fun I
couldn't ever think of doing anything else. After I graduated I spent
the summer applying for every radio job I saw, hired a headhunting
agency and . . .
Nothing.
I couldn't get a job in Syracuse, Binghamton, Springfield, anywhere.
So I interned in the marketing department of ESPN in New York City (my
hometown) the summer after I graduated. When my internship was over,
I was allowed to interview in Bristol, Conn. for a job as a production
assistant for the TV network. Suffice it to say, I wasn't prepared
for the in-depth sports grilling I got in my interview. ("Who was the
best high school basketball player in the
country last year?" "Who are your top five goalies in the NHL?"
"Who is your least favorite ESPN SportsCenter anchor?") I mean, I
was a huge sports fan but how was I supposed to know any of that? I
spent the last four years without cable!
So suffice it to say they didn't call me for awhile.
After my internship ended in N.Y.C., and STILL couldn't get a radio
job, I moved back to Syracuse looking for whatever you look for when
you're 21 and have no idea what your life has in store for you. All I
could get was a minimum-wage job as a clerk at Blockbuster Video,
working 20 hours a week. But here's where karma intervened for me for
the first time in my life. May 10th, 1993, was my one-year
anniversary of graduating college. On that night, I found myself in
the back of a guy's pickup truck (who just got out of jail), with a
can of gasoline and my two best friends. My car had run out of fuel
and we hiked to the gas station to fill up the can, and too tired to
walk back to my car about two miles away, we flagged down this guy to
give us a ride back to my car. I sat there in the back of the truck
thinking that a year ago was one of the greatest days in my life, and
here I am, one year later, getting driven to my no-gas-having-car by
an ex-con. I vowed then I had to wind up doing something better with
my life, and soon.
The next day, ESPN called to offer me a job as a production assistant.
Swear to God.
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More about Jason Smith
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Top 5 Favorite Teams
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New York Jets
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New York Mets
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Syracuse Orange
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Hartford Whalers
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New York Jets
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Five Least Favorite Teams
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New England Patriots
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Miami Dolphins
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Buffalo Bills (sensing a theme here?)
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New York Yankees
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Minnesota Lynx
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Five Favorite Movies
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Caddyshack
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Office Space
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Midnight Run
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Slap Shot
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Yentl
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Five Favorite TV Shows
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Deadwood
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Entourage
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Arrested Development
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The Simpsons
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Lost
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Quick Hits
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Favorite Recipe: Ice
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Favorite Food: Ravioli
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Favorite Video Game: Robotron
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Favorite Beastie Boy: Mike Diamond
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Favorite 'West Wing' episode: Two Cathedrals
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Last time in church that didn't involve a wedding or christening: 1982
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Last time Jets won two playoff games in a season: 1982 (coincidence?)
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So for the next three years I became immersed in the world of TV
production, and didn't really think about radio at all. Craig
Kilborn, back when he was a SportsCenter anchor, tried to hook me up
with a friend of his doing radio in California, but after writing a
skit or two for him I dropped it. In 1996 I moved to Los Angeles to
be a producer for Fox Sports Net and continued on in TV through 1999
when I went back to the Disney corporation and became a sports
producer for KABC-TV in Los Angeles. It was around this time I
started thinking about radio and how much fun I had doing it and just
how I got so far away from it. I never got further than fantasizing
about it, because I was living in Los Angeles, and how do you break
into radio, on-air no less, in the number two market in the country?
Enter: Karma, Part Two.
I was producing a sports/variety show for KABC at the time, and the
co-host of the show was Ellen K, from 'Rick Dees in the Morning'
and now 'On-Air with Ryan Seacrest'. For some reason she thought I
would make a good sports-talk radio host. (Yeah, I know) I laughed
and told her not to tease me. But she was serious, and said to me,
"Jason, I'm married to the boss of three stations here in Los Angeles.
You want me to get you a meeting, I'll get you a
meeting. We'll go in through the back door, but I'll get you in."
I couldn't believe it. Shortly after that, she pulled some strings
and got me into the office of the Program Director at XTRA Sports
1150-AM, who, on Ellen's recommendation, allowed me to fill in with
one of their hosts, Lee Klein (who is still on the air in Los
Angeles). Lee and I got along well, and soon I was filling in on
shows with him on a regular basis.
Thank you Ellen. Thank you Lee. I owe you both more than I could
ever say. I've been in radio ever since, and have no plans to leave.
Coming 'home' again to ESPN is something I'm both fortunate for and proud of. I remember when I first started filling in for the
network in late 2004, and talk about pressure, wow. If you do
sports-talk radio, ESPN is the mecca. They're the Yankees, the
Canadiens, they're USC. All the dynasties rolled into one. After
meeting with mangement in October of last year, they gave me some
fill-in days for Colin Cowherd in late December. Do you think I
didn't spend every waking moment of every day thinking about that?
(Talk about having bye weeks to prepare!) After I did the shows, I
sat on pins and needles, waiting until after the holidays to catch
up with management again to get feedback on how I did. Did they
like it? Was I awful? Would they ever use me again? Yes, we
radio folks are a paranoid and worrisome bunch. On vacation in Detroit
(I know, 'Who goes to Detroit for vacation in December?') my
girlfriend and I were shopping in Lowe's and my cell phone rang.
It was an 860 area code which I know is Bristol, Connecticut. I
got all tingly for five seconds and answered. It was operations
manager Pete Gianesini who was wondering if I could fill in on
'SportsBash' for Eric Kuselias in early January. I knew right then
good things were going to happen. Soon after I started hosting on
the weekends with Mel Kiper, Jr., and continued subbing for Colin,
The Bash, GameNight, Dan Patrick and of course, AllNight, which is
now my home. I hope to stay a long, long time.
So that's my story (at least the first 30 or so years of it, you'll
have to wait longer for the sequel). So why did I feel it
necessary to tell you how I got to this point? Because I want you
to know who I am, as that's the type of show you'll get from me
every night. I'll always tell you what I think of the topics we
talk about and how it affects me, and in turn how it affects you.
I'll always be real, we'll always have fun and hopefully the time
will pass by as quickly for you as it does for me. There's nothing
I take more seriously than the responsibility I have to put on the
best possible show for you, and you will get my best all night,
every night.
Talk to you soon . . .
AllNight with Jason Smith is heard Sunday-Thursday nights from 1-6 a.m. ET on these ESPN Radio affiliates
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