The Sports Drive: Written Q and A with Radio Personality Andy Slater
Introduction
Andy Slater is a South Florida sports radio talk show host. He currently hosts The Andy Slater Show, airing weekdays(Monday-Friday) on Fox Sports 640 AM South Florida. He has hosted his own show since 2008, and has received praise from the Miami Herald as the area’s best sports reporter, and has been recognized by the Miami Times as the region’s hardest working audio reporter. The Lynn University graduate also makes frequent appearances on the local sports segment of Miami ABC affiliate WPLG 10.
I recently reached out to Slater via email to conduct a written Q and A to explore the theme and creative nature behind his show.
Q 1: The Slater Scoop
Danny Miegel: Talk about the importance of developing trademark segments such as the “Slater Scoop” whether it be on-air or in this case largely through social media to help your audience identify with not only you as the talk show host but with the overall attitude of your show.
Andy Slater: The journalism industry is about being correct. If you can be correct and first to report the news, now you’ve carved your niche. For me, that’s a big part of what I do. And I enjoy every minute of it. Some people get their energy from drinks or who knows what, I get mine from scoops. I’m thankful to have built many trusted relationships over the years which allows me to give people accurate information before anybody else does. It’s a big part of what I do. It’s important to separate yourself from others and that’s how I connect with my audience in a unique way.
Q 2: Lt. Camacho
DM: In a sports-driven talk show, Lt. Camacho from the Florida Highway Patrol joins you on air as one of your regular guests every Wednesday. Athletes and sports figures often take pride in their appreciation and relationship with law enforcement. Aside from hearing informative and knowledgeable insight about our great heroes in the blue uniform, do you feel as though a guest such as Lt. Camacho provides a certain balance that keeps sports talk fresh before and after he appears on the show?
AS: I always felt in the radio business, if your audience can relate to what you’re discussing, you’re going to be just fine. Who is going to turn off their radio or change the station if they are hearing a cop telling a story about a ticket or road rage? It’s the equivalent of rubbernecking while you drive. Not only can the segment with the Florida Highway Patrol be extremely informative, but I also keep it entertaining. Connecting the community with law enforcement has always been important, and having a weekly segment that involves the audience, to me, is a great way to do it. Between current events and most South Floridians always being on the road, there’s so much to engage in during this 10–15 minute discussion.
Q 3: Broadcasting Remotely
DM: Oftentimes you’ve broadcast your show from remote locations such as another country in Medellin, Colombia, or another state Las Vegas, Nevada. How different is the preparation for producing these shows in remote places as opposed to broadcasting them out of the Fox Sports 640 AM South Florida Studio?
AS: I take my show prep seriously and the same way no matter what continent I’m broadcasting from… and I’ve done it from many. Thankfully nowadays with technology, you can be anywhere and have access to everything you have in your hometown. Production has also gotten much easier with technology. Being single and without kids gives me the ability to travel often and take my audience along for the ride, even when they physically can’t. If somebody wants to travel, I do my best to give them the feeling that they are there with me, wherever I may be broadcasting from that day.
Q 4: Warm Climate Hockey Fan
DM: You don’t shy away from your love of our local hockey team, the Florida Panthers. Growing up in Miami, what moment do you think it was in Panthers history that made you forever appreciate ice hockey in spite of being from a warm climate here in South Florida?
AS: I actually got into hockey before the Florida Panthers existed. My first game was at Expo Hall on the Florida State Fairgrounds watching the Tampa Bay Lightning. Small building and an experience you couldn’t forget. From that moment on, I loved watching hockey games, even on TV.
When the Florida Panthers came to town, I would be at every game. Such an exciting sport, especially when you’re watching it in person.
I know hockey is not the most popular sport in South Florida, but it’s definitely up there with excitement. It’s been tough being a Panthers fan over time, but I hope they really do have better days ahead.
Q 5: Radio Advertising/Marketing
DM: Often times in your show, you make a quick transition from talking about Tua and the Dolphins or Jimmy Butler and the Heat, to advertising about Dean’s Gold or the Costa Rica dental team, and often times those ads fall right in the flow of things after finishing a point your making on one of our sports teams. What is the most effective way in your opinion to craft that skill of lead-in advertising?
AS: Everything I do is on the spot. I know what I am going to discuss in each segment unless breaking news comes my way, but I don’t know every exact word I am going to say. When I feel the time is right to make a transition off of a phrase or word I just said, then boom, I go. None of that is planned. I do my best to tie segments together with my great show partners being involved in them. They are all very important to me and are part of my brand.
Q 6: Know Your Audience
DM: The unique part about living in South Florida is we have so many New Yorkers in the audience that unlike most other places, we carry an out-of-state team(New York Yankees) on our local station Fox Sports 640AM. Being a local sports talk show host, and you’ve put an emphasis on being locally focused, how do you equate the Yankees on your show, treating them like one of our own while knowing you’re in a different territory than the other teams you focus on here in the South Florida area?
AS: You have to understand and know your audience. You can’t just discuss a subject that you love. This isn’t all about you. It’s about the people you are talking to. What are they interested in? If you create a restaurant, things customers enjoy will sell. If they don’t like something and it is on your menu only because you love it, it’s not going to sell. I give my audience what they want. South Florida sports. Part of the South Florida area contains many New York fans, particularly the Yankees. Since we have many people tuned in who listen to Yankees games on the station, I talk to them. I don’t devote much of the show to them, but if they want a bit of that popular Yankees feel in South Florida, I give them a place to get it.
DM: Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me, Andy.
Click on the link below to have access to all the latest “ Slater Scoops” and more at https://www.foxsports640.com/shows/the-andy-slater-show/