Awful Announcing Podcast: Jessica Kleinschmidt on Oakland A’s, social media, Moneyball, and more

On this episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast, host Brandon Contes interviews Oakland Athletics broadcaster and Short and to the Point host Jessica Kleinschmidt. Contes and Kleinschmidt discuss a wide range of topics including quitting a government job to pursue a sports broadcasting career, building a social media brand and dealing with the hate, working for the Oakland A’s, how A’s fans like Moneyball, working for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, and more.

Here’s the full breakdown.

• :47: Meeting the Oakland Coliseum opossum
• 1:21: Is the opossum a menace or a nice animal?
• 2:24: Oakland Coliseum
• 5:43: Growing up an A’s fan
• 9:10: Covering the A’s
• 9:59: Dropping out of college and work before sports
• 13:08: Moving to the Bay Area without an established job
• 17:44: Role with the A’s
• 19:47: A’s Cast
• 21:25: Taking callers on the radio
• 23:19: Things the A’s fanbase should be proud of
• 26:41: Building a social media presence
• 30:10: People Jessica looked up to in broadcasting
• 32:21: Playing baseball
• 34:13: Being a woman in a male dominated industry
• 36:23: Dealing with social media hate
• 38:19: Mentors
• 42:25: Mentoring others
• 48:45: Becoming friends with players while also covering them
• 54:11: Players Jessica interviewed who have a future in media
• 56:21: Do A’s fans like the movie Moneyball?
• 59:24: Hosting Short and to the Point/working for Awful Announcing and The Comeback
• 1:02:54: Dave Portnoy responding to the Jared Carrabis episode of Short and to the Point
• 1:04:16: Career goals
• 1:06:36: Thoughts about Chris “Mad Dog” Russo

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