Baseball broadcasting in the digital age: The role of narrative storytelling Steven Henneberry CAPSTONE PROJECT University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication June 29, 2016 Table of Contents About the Author………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………… 4 Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………… 5 Introduction/Background…………………………………………………………………… 6 Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Primary Research Studies Study I: Content Analysis…………………………………………………………… 17 Study II: Broadcaster Interviews………………………………………………… 31 Study III: Baseball Fan Interviews……………………………………………… 48 Conclusion/Recommendations…………………………………………………………… 60 References………………………………………………………………………………………….. 65 Appendix (A) Study I: Broadcaster Biographies Vin Scully……………………………………………………………………… 69 Pat Hughes…………………………………………………………………… 72 Ron Coomer…………………………………………………………………… 72 Cory Provus…………………………………………………………………… 73 Dan Gladden…………………………………………………………………… 73 Jon Miller………………………………………………………………………… 74 (B) Study II: Broadcaster Interview Transcripts Pat Hughes…………………………………………………………………… 75 Cory Provus…………………………………………………………………… 82 Jon Miller……………………………………………………………………… 90 (C) Study III: Baseball Fan Interview Transcripts Donna McAllister……………………………………………………………… 108 Rick Moore……………………………………………………………………… 113 Rowdy Pyle……………………………………………………………………… 120 Sam Kraemer…………………………………………………………………… 121 Henneberry 2 About the Author The sound of Chicago Cubs baseball has been a near constant part of Steve Henneberry’s life. Whether in the car, at home or now on the iPhone, the highs and lows of countless games have filled in around the rest of life’s events. So, he decided it’s only fitting this project includes it as well. By the time he hit high school in Chicago, Henneberry realized his dreams of actually playing professional baseball were nonexistent. So, he turned his focus to sports broadcasting. That led to calling basketball and football in high school and baseball and softball in college. Eventually, he landed a job in television sports in Omaha, Nebraska. After a few years of Husker football, Creighton basketball and high school sports, the long hours and weekends caught up to him. Now, he works as the assistant director of the University News Service at the University of Minnesota. In that role, he was struck by the impact stories have on people’s lives. Tell someone a good story, they’ll remember it and be better suited to support you. Few professions do storytelling better than radio baseball broadcasters, which led to the genesis of this project. Henneberry earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism (News and Public Relations tracks) from Creighton University in 2010. After swearing off any more school, he relented in 2014, enrolling in the University of Minnesota’s Strategic Communications master’s program to strengthen and advance his communications skills. He’s glad he did. Henneberry 3 Acknowledgements When we began this program, we were told: don’t switch jobs, get married or have a child. I, and many others in Cohort 10, didn’t listen. This capstone is dedicated to Kelly, my wife and the most patient person I know, and my son, Thomas, born in August 2015. At times, the combination of parenting, working full time and both in graduate school, was overwhelming. But, we made it! Without Kelly’s constant support and encouragement, these last two years would’ve been much more difficult. Thomas’ many smiles also kept me going. Additional thanks go to: • My in-laws, Chris and Carol Tangen, who were always willing to help. Whether it was “Tuesdays with Thomas,” weekend babysitting or taking Wrigley to the dog park, they allowed us to somehow handle our lives. • My immediate family – Dad, Mary and Meredith – for their encouragement. • Carol Zuegner, who talked things through, asked thoughtful, probing questions and had a significant impact on this project. • My capstone committee – Steve Wehrenberg, Michelle Wood and Sid Bedingfield. Their guidance, feedback and patience was most helpful. • My bosses and coworkers who allowed me flexibility to complete my coursework. • Brittney Goodsen, who transcribed many of the interviews conducted for this project. Apologies, again, for the 90-minute recording of Jon Miller. • The brilliant and hilarious members of Cohort 10. I thoroughly enjoyed spending each Tuesday and Thursday night with – as Jared would say – y’all. Henneberry 4 Executive Summary This paper explores the impact a “digitalized lifestyle” has on sports radio broadcasting, specifically Major League Baseball (MLB), and how professional baseball announcers attempt to keep listeners engaged. One tool used is narrative storytelling, which was studied throughout the project. Three studies — 1) a content analysis of three MLB broadcasts, 2) in-depth interviews with professional baseball announcers and 3) in-depth interviews with baseball fans — were undertaken to address those topics. Additional research areas included whether the age of the broadcaster impacted use of narrative storytelling and the role of the color analyst. Overall, findings indicate that the biggest impact of the ease of information access today is in the broadcaster’s preparation process. While storytelling is utilized and acknowledged as necessary by announcers and fans, the game itself is the most important reason for listening or broadcasting. Announcers of varied ages do broadcast in different ways and the role of the color analyst is critical in the eyes of the broadcasters. Baseball on the radio elicits strong emotions and memories, from the announcers themselves and the listeners. The conclusion of this paper summarizes additional findings and offers recommendations for broadcasters. Henneberry 5 Introduction According to Nielsen’s 2015 Year in Sports Media report, “the growing influence of Netflix, Amazon Prime, on demand/time shifting, streaming, and social media are all having a dramatic impact on the way people are consuming content…” (Nielsen, 2015, p. 2). Live sports continue to be an exception (Nielsen, 2015, p. 2-3). In 2015, “sports events only made up 1.4 percent of TV programming [but] close to 50 percent of all Twitter TV conversation,” (Nielsen, 2015, p. 5). While live sports often occur over the course of a few hours, consumers’ attention spans are short. A 2015 study from Microsoft Corp., as reported by Time, found people now typically lose concentration after eight seconds, “highlighting the effects of an increasingly digitalized lifestyle on the brain,” (McSpadden, 2015). So, what impact does this “digitalized lifestyle” have on sports radio broadcasting, specifically Major League Baseball (MLB)? And how do baseball announcers attempt to keep listeners engaged? Narrative storytelling is one tool, and will be explored in this paper. Background The MLB AtBat app, which includes video and audio of all MLB games from Opening Day through the World Series, debuted in 2008 (Macworld, 2008). Last season, 2015, it was the top grossing sports app in the U.S. for the seventh straight year (MLB Advanced Media, 2015). An AtBat subscription costs $19.99 per year, or $2.99 per month, and is included for those who purchase a MLB.TV subscription (MLB Advanced Media, 2015). Downloads exceeded 13 million in 2015, a more than 20 percent jump year over year (MLBAM, 2015). It also was the top grossing sports Henneberry 6 app in 97 countries, with baseball fans using the app for 8.4 million minutes in 2015. (MLBAM, 2015) Ratings for MLB games vary by market. However, on television, in 2015, 10 teams were the highest-rated, most-viewed programming in prime time with another six coming in at number two (Brown, 2015). If broadcast stations are excluded, 25 of the 30 MLB clubs were ranked the number one rated program on cable (Brown, 2015). Currently, listeners to sports radio are rising. Increases have been seen in each year from 2011 to 2015, with the “Average Quarter-Hour (AQH) share now at 4.6 percent,” according to Nielsen’s 2015 Year in Sports Media report (Nielsen, 2015, p. 6). Winning baseball teams can also lead to more listeners. For example, in 2016, Chicago Cubs1 games began airing on WSCR 670-AM for the first time and the station is already seeing the benefits. Media blogger Robert Feder reported that in 2016, the station “moved up from 18th place in March with a 2.5 percent audience share to a tie for ninth in April with a 3.2 share all the way up to fourth in May with a 4.2 share,” according to Nielsen Audio ratings (Feder, 2016a). Feder said the ratings are the station’s highest-ever marks. In total, Feder, citing Nielsen, said the station’s weekly cumulative audience is 535,200 (Feder, 2016b). In 2010, the top 15 MLB teams individually averaged over 176,100 listeners per game in their home market (Arbitron, 2010). In 2012, while the New York Yankees continued to have the largest audience (297,200), that figure was down by more than 150,000 from 2010 (Broughton, 2012). It is unclear what the drop may 1as of the writing of this paper in June 2016, the Cubs had the best record in Major League Baseball Henneberry 7 be exactly attributable to. Among teams in the top 10 for audience size, San Francisco, Detroit, Chicago (White Sox), and Seattle saw increases between 2010 and 2012 (Broughton, 2012). Los Angeles (Dodgers) saw the biggest surge that year, with nearly 100,000 listeners representing a 40 percent increase from 2011 (Broughton, 2012). Arbitron, now owned by Nielsen, has not done a comprehensive MLB radio report