Feature: Media: Game On
The proof, staffers say, is easy to hear. One afternoon in March, Missanelli left ESPN contributor Sal Paolantonio on hold for a scheduled interview when he found out Sal Pal had already called in to the station that day; off-air f-bombs between the two men ensued. Missanelli ripped his own station’s syndicated morning-show host, ex-Eagle Mike Golic, for saying Donovan McNabb “never received his due” from Philly fans. Then there’s Missanelli’s now-infamous nuking of ESPN analyst Skip Bayless, who had trashed Philly sports fans — a tirade that devolved into Bayless threatening to hang up and Missanelli taunting, “Aw, don’t hang up. Don’t cry! Come on, Skip. Don’t cry. Let’s have a debate.”
It’s all evidence that the old, short-tempered Mikey Miss still lurks beneath the surface. Some weeks, Missanelli’s a likeable, warm guy; others, he’s in a funk for no apparent reason, and sources say he’s been warned his foul moods sometimes translate to on-air attitude. At a recent live show at a Slack’s Hoagie Shack, Missanelli snapped about a wobbly table he was using; another day, he was angry when he couldn’t work the TV in his studio. Tension follows him outside the station as well. When WPHL-17 decided not to bring Missanelli’s girlfriend, Kerry Walsh, back as a reporter for the Phillies post-game show he hosts on Sundays, his sour attitude was palpable. “It can be a grind coming in here sometimes,” says one Fanatic staffer. “He’s a mood changer. If he’s miserable, everyone’s asking, ‘Have you seen Mike? How’s he doing?’”
Like Cataldi, Missanelli is the engine that drives an entire station. So for now, at least, management and co-workers are resigned to handling their volatile star delicately. Everyone has a story about being berated by Mikey Miss, says one Fanatic source, but “We all take it because we love him. It’s like being a battered wife. But none of us are stupid. Without him, the hosts, the producers, management — no one has a job. The station exists because of Mike.”
ASIDE FROM THEIR on-air talent, the two stations are also a study in corporate contrasts. WIP has the deep pockets of CBS Radio, but that also means everything from how much to pay the talent to which brand of toilet paper to stock requires a committee to get an answer. The Fanatic is an ESPN affiliate, but it’s owned by Greater Media, a mom-and-pop shop compared to CBS. WIP insiders complain that Bloom is never around, and when he is, he’s often nitpicking, or yelling about something insignificant. At The Fanatic, program director Matt Nahigian is well-liked, but intense. Most days, he’s either running into the studio with frequent critiques or sending text suggestions to producers.
