Watch the Media with John Shrader

As part of a year-long study into the state of sports journalism and sports media, John Shrader takes a closer look at what he has dubbed the “Sports Attention Industry.” Others have called it the ‘hot take’ industry. It is often the business of who yells the loudest; it’s about how you get the attention and how you keep it. As you will hear in this report,journalists at both intrigued and concerned.  You will hear from journalist and professor J.A. Adande;Jerry Brewer of the Washington Post, Sarah Spain, podcast host and former ESPN radio and TV host; Chris Myers of Fox Sports; author and journalist Keith O’Brien; sports media journalist and podcast host Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated; and author and professor Michael Serazio. John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sportsbroadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio andTV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.

SEAN CALLAHAN is the owner and publisher of HuskerOnline, part of the On3 Network; a web site dedicated to covering University of Nebraska sports and recruiting. He has covered the Huskers for more than 20 years, also doing work for KFAB Radio, KETV Channel 7 and the Big Red Wrap-Up on Nebraska Public Media. In this conversation we talk about the current state of the Huskers football program leading to the Las Vegas Bowl December 31, including the portal, the coaching, and more. Recorded December 16, 2025 THE SHOW:Features interviewswith sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-awardwinning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio andTV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.  

MICHAEL BRUNTZ has been with the CBS Sports outlet Husker 247 for 15 years. He’s now in his 19th season covering the Huskers, primarily football and baseball but the other programs as well. In this conversation we talk about the football program, at a time when the coach Matt Rhule has fired three assistant coaches, and is preparing for an appearance against Utah in the December 31st Las Vegas Bowl. We talk about where the program sits, decisions that are being made. Also, the undefeated men’s basketball team, women’s basketball team and the top-rated Volleyball team are on the docket. Recorded December 10, 2025 THE SHOW:Features interviewswith sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-awardwinning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska.His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio andTV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com. 

JERRY BREWER has been a sports columnist for the Washington Post since 2015. Before that, he spent eight years as a columnist with the Seattle Times. The Western Kentucky graduate has worked for newspapers in Louisville, Orlando and Philadelphia. While he is watching the business change, Jerry is bullish on newspapers and on journalism. He writes a column but he can also write features and long-form, deep, contextual journalism. In this conversation he talks about what he does, why, how and for whom. Season 11, Episode 40Recorded August 20, 2025 THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska.His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com

ANDY KENDEIGH has been the sports director at KETV Channel 7 in Omaha for 15 years. He leads a team of three people covering the Huskers, Creighton, high schools and more. The news show at KETV is overwhelmingly the highest rated in the state of Nebraska. He talks about covering the Huskers and high schools, about the groove of the job, building relationships and the changing business in which he works.Recorded November 12, 2025THE SHOW:Features interviews with sports media people from around the country, regionally and in Nebraska. John Shrader is an Emmy-award winning sports broadcaster and journalist who teaches Sports Media and Broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His career includes more than 30 years in San Francisco, 15 years at KNBR Radio, the home of the Giants and the 49ers. He was the voice of the San Jose Earthquakes on radio and TV for 15 years; and spent about a decade as voice of San Jose State football and basketball. He was the primary 49ers reporter for KNBR for most of those 15 years. John is a free-lance writer for Soccer America and hosts and produces the weekly Soccer Media Podcast.For more information and inquiries about John's free lance work, go to www.ShraderMedia.com.