Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast

In episode 65, Kevin chats with Sean McDonough, broadcaster for ESPN and the Boston Red Sox Radio Network. McDonough has been at ESPN since 1989. He's currently the voice of the Stanley Cup Finals and he can be heard on one of college football's biggest games every Saturday. He calls a College Football Playoff semifinal before voicing the national championship for ESPN Radio. He also is the play-by-play broadcaster for ACC Big Monday on ESPN. During baseball season, McDonough can be heard calling Red Sox games, and that's where his origin story begins. You'll hear how being the son of Boston Globe legend Will McDonough helped shape Sean, what led to his big break in getting the Red Sox play-by-play gig, and what he's learned along the way. McDonough was named the National Sports Media Association broadcaster of the year, and the NSMA is this podcast's title sponsor. Head to nationalsportsmedia.org for more information. Hear how Sean McDonough broke in.

In episode 64, Kevin chats with Ryan Glasspiegel, media and entertainment reporter at Front Office sports. Prior to his time at FOS, Ryan wrote for the New York Post. One of the top sports media reporters in the country, Ryan explains why the sports media world is still undercovered, and offers his perspective of the landscape for those trying to break in. His own origin story includes working for a furniture store, starting his own blog, getting a gig with Sports Illustrated after a chance run-in, and how that all led to his opportunity at The Big Lead. Hear how Ryan Glasspiegel broke in.

In episode 63, Kevin chats with Joe Healy, writer at D1Baseball, co-editor of SEC Extra, D1Baseball's premium SEC subsite, and co-host of Highway to Hoover, D1Baseball's SEC-focused podcast. Healy has been writing about college baseball since not long after college, and he joined D1 Baseball in October 2022. You'll hear about Healy's unique journalism path, which included time at a tech job that allowed him nights and weekends to go write about college baseball for a variety of websites. Ahead of the College World Series, Healy's story is one of perseverance and passion for a relatively niche sport, but it's got him to Omaha every summer. Hear how Joe Healy broke in.

In episode 62, Kevin chats with Chris Herring, senior lecturer at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and author of "Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks." Prior to his job at Northwestern, Herring covered the NBA for ESPN, his second stint with the network after writing about the NBA for them from 2016-21. Herring's first job out of college? The Wall Street Journal, and in this episode, you'll hear how he got his start in journalism in high school and used opportunities at Michigan to make connections and eventually land an internship at WSJ. With the Knicks in the NBA Finals, Herring has great perspective on what this means for the city. Hear how Chris Herring broke in.

In episode 61, Kevin chats with Paul Tenorio, senior writer at The Athletic covering soccer and author of “The Messi Effect,” available now. Before becoming one of the country’s authorities on soccer, Tenorio studied journalism at Northwestern, and you’ll hear about his internship at the St. Louis Dispatch and what he learned from trying to write about Jim Edmonds. Tenorio’s first full-time job was at the Washington Post, a dream for many journalists and he’ll detail how he got the job and what he learned getting started. Ahead of the World Cup, you’ll want to hear how Paul Tenorio broke in.