On the most recent episode of his podcast Fair Territory, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal broke down his daily schedule covering the World Series for Fox and The Athletic. It was a fascinating look into how the highest-level reporters in sports do their job on gameday.
Rosenthal types and prints 15-20 nuggets or topics for each game and shares them with his fellow Fox broadcasters. Then, the crew arrives at the ballpark about five hours pregame for meetings and interviews with the teams’ managers.
After that, Rosenthal shoots a recorded interview with a player or manager to air some time during the broadcast. He does a live hit during the Fox pregame show too.
Throughout the rest of the pregame run, Rosenthal is gathering intel for his final live report before first pitch.
“That report lasts about 30 seconds in most cases. It’s difficult to do because it’s live, the stadium is loud at that time, I would say it is the most difficult thing I do on television,” Rosenthal explained. “Because you have to nail it.
“You have to have it pretty much memorized … and you can’t lose your train of thought because the game’s about to begin.”
More “Fair Territory”
How I cover the World Series for Fox Sports and The Athletic…
YouTube: https://t.co/FiAiVYGw3T
Apple: https://t.co/LN7LxGowRQ
Spotify: https://t.co/gn4PhJlwVY pic.twitter.com/q45QHe7ZWq— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 30, 2023
Once the game starts, Rosenthal is in constant dialogue with Fox’s producers about his intel. Rosenthal will do a couple live reports during the game plus occasional in-game interviews.
As the game nears its end, Rosenthal begins planning his walkoff interview. That typically is with the star of the game, but heroics in the later innings can throw Fox for a loop.
“Obviously a situation like Game One where there is a walkoff, your plans go to smithereens and you kind have to adapt right at the end,” Rosenthal said. “That’s the beauty of live television.”
After that interview, Rosenthal’s Fox commitments end. And he goes into writer mode to file his postgame story for The Athletic. He attends postgame press conferences, makes the rounds in the clubhouse, and strategizes with Athletic colleagues to cover every angle.
Rosenthal returns to his hotel and writes until 3 a.m. ET. Then he gets up the next day to be back to the stadium by 3 p.m. ET.
“You go on adrenaline in a lot of ways, and you’re fired up to be there,” he said.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.