In episode 14, Kevin chats with Tyler Kepner, who has covered Major League Baseball for more than 30 years, dating back to when he made a baseball magazine out of his house as a high schooler. Kepner, who has authored "K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches" and "The Grandest Stage: A History of The World Series" covered baseball for the New York Times from 2000-23. His origin story begins with that magazine, which opened doors with his hometown Phillies, before he got his first professional job covering the Angels, and then the Mariners. He tells those stories, and what he learned from writing about some of the biggest names in baseball. Hear how Tyler Kepner broke in.
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Adam Amin, Chicago Bulls play-by-play and Fox NFL/MLB broadcaster
In episode 13, Kevin chats with Adam Amin, the voice of the Chicago Bulls on Chicago Sports Network, and a play-by-play broadcaster for Fox doing NFL and Major League Baseball. Amin was voted the 2021 Illinois Sportscaster of the Year. A graduate from Valparaiso, Amin discusses how he first got into broadcasting before taking his first job at a radio station in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Amin reflects on what he learned from that challenging experience, how he got his first minor league job, and how that led him to ESPN. Hear how Adam Amin broke in.
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Vincent Goodwill, Yahoo senior NBA reporter
In episode 12, Kevin chats with Vinnie Goodwill, senior reporter at Yahoo covering the NBA. He's been there since 2018, following a few seasons covering the Bulls at NBC Sports Chicago. Vinnie got his start on the NBA beat with the Pistons at the Detroit News, and he describes his origin story as a "villain" origin story. He battled some doubters in his efforts to move from freelancer to full-time beat writer. Learn about the English teacher who set Vinnie on the path to journalism, what "agate" is, and an angry Richard Hamilton. Hear how Vincent Goodwill broke in.
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Emily Kaplan, ESPN NHL reporter
In episode 11, Kevin chats with Emily Kaplan, who's covered the NHL for ESPN since 2017. In addition to breaking news and writing about hockey, Kaplan is the between-the-glass reporter for ESPN's biggest games, interviewing the star of the game afterward. Before becoming one of the preeminent voices in the hockey world, Kaplan got her first job at Sports Illustrated, covering the NFL at the MMQB. She'll share how she got her way to SI from internships at the Boston Globe and Philadelphia Inquirer, the impact of her dad on her interest in hockey, and how Peter King's mentorship helped set her up for success. Hear how Emily Kaplan broke in.
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Mark Potash, longtime Chicago Sun-Times sportswriter
In episode 10, Kevin chats with Mark Potash, who has spent 38 years as a sportswriter at the Chicago Sun-Times. Before he helped chronicle the Bulls dynasty, covered the Blackhawks Stanley Cups and worked on the Bears beat, Potash was a college student covering Marv Levy's Kansas City Chiefs. Then he was off to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he covered high school sports. The 2024 Illinois Sportswriter of the Year is full of stories about covering sports in the '80's. Hear how Mark Potash broke in.
About Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast
Kevin Fishbain, senior writer at The Athletic, interviews sports media personalities about their origin stories. Each week, reporters, columnists, play-by-play announcers, sports radio hosts, television anchors, producers and more will tell Kevin about their first jobs in the industry, and how they broke in.
Listen to Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast, See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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