The Best and Worst of St. Louis Media

The city of St. Louis has long been regarded as one of the nation’s foremost havens for sports intellectuals. But with such a lofty distinction comes the need for outstanding journalistic coverage on a mass scale.

Whether it’s via print, radio, television, or any one of the many forms of the digital movement, as is the case with patrons in any city, St. Louis fans rely heavily upon local media personalities to quench their thirst for sports knowledge, as well as feed the need for a little good-natured controversy and debate.

That is not to say, however, that some don’t manage to pull it off better than others. This list is a biased look at the difference between the two.

Television

Steve Savard - A former NFL linebacker with the Dallas Cowboys, Savard is an imposing figure in front of the cameras, with his broad shoulders and wide frame being matched only by his penchant for smooth diction and a captivating delivery.

Savard could easily land a more prestigious position in a more lucrative market, but the St. Louis native has chosen to stay true to his roots.  After an all-conference career at Northwest Missouri State University, Savard had his professional football dreams cut short because of injury, leading him to pursue his second love—journalism.

Now a six-time Emmy Award-winner, Savard—the sports director at KMOV-TV, St. Louis’ CBS affiliate, as well as the play-by-play voice for Rams radio broadcasts—is widely seen as the hands-down best sportscaster in the city.

Honorable Mention: Malcolm Briggs - former KSDK-TV sports personality

Rene Knott - Situated blocks away from KMOV, on Market Street in downtown St. Louis, is KSDK-TV, where Knott continually outdoes himself to set a new standard in journalistic ineptitude on a daily basis. Appointed the sports director in 2004, Knott has spent the past five years failing to fulfill the expectations set forth by his predecessor, long-time KSDK veteran Mike Bush.

A seasoned television personality with considerable experience, including a stint as lead sports anchor at Washington D.C.’s WJLA, Knott seldom goes a newscast without tripping over his lines or making a folly of the St. Louis sports scene with his dry commentary.

Of course, this assessment is purely subjective, but it’s alarming how the same NBC affiliate whose sports department produced two ESPN-worthy personalities (Trey Wingo and Matt Winer) could tolerate such mediocrity.

Dishonorable Mention: Frank Cusumano - current KSDK-TV sports personality

Print

Rick Hummel - Like his long-time colleague, legendary columnist and Hall-of-Fame sportswriter Bob Broeg, Rick Hummel’s name is as synonymous with Cardinals baseball as it is with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the city’s oldest and most broadly circulated newspaper.

Hummel’s lengthy tenure at the Post-Dispatch began in 1971, at a time when Broeg, who had been covering the Cardinals since 1946, was already well established as the paper’s premiere journalist and the city’s well for baseball knowledge.

And as Broeg’s involvement with the baseball Hall of Fame—as a member of its Board of Directors—grew, Hummel’s grooming process to become the next great St. Louis baseball writer accelerated.

Now in his 25th year writing about baseball in the city that arguably epitomizes the grandeur and nostalgia of the sport, Hummel has eloquently carried on the excellence bred by Broeg and provided nearly two generations of Redbird fans with his meticulous insight.

Responsible for covering some of the most memorable moments in franchise history, including Mark McGwire’s epic home-run record chase in 1998, Hummel currently contributes to the Post-Dispatch as a national baseball writer and weekly columnist.

Honorable Mention: John Rawlings - Senior Vice President/Editor, Sporting News

Bernie Miklasz - Some feathers will surely be ruffled amongst my St. Louis brethren with this pick, as Mr. Miklasz has long been a fixture on the local scene, but my humble opinion shall be stated nonetheless.

His rotund and sometimes disheveled exterior pretty much setting the standard for what all sportswriters should look like, Miklasz has splattered his daily column at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch with predictable fervor for the last 20 years.

Like all serviceable writers, Miklasz doesn’t shy away from stirring the pot, often issuing ultimatums ordering each of the city’s sports franchises to do this or that, but his methods have about as much flavor as a stack of milk toast.

To his credit, Miklasz is well-versed in St. Louis sports—and it shows. But in far too many cases he has contradicted himself, easily letting the natural ebb and flow of the sports landscape influence his ideals.

Dishonorable Mention: Miklasz’s buddy-in-crime, fellow Post-Dispatch columnist Brian Burwell  

Radio

Mike Shannon - Shannon holds no formal education in broadcasting, but St. Louis Cardinals fans could care less. His style will never be emulated, nor will his tone ever be recommended for aspiring broadcasters, but both are what make him so damn great.

A native son, Shannon grew up on St. Louis’ south side and attended the University of Missouri, where he left a promising football career behind for baseball.

Though he finished his nine major-league seasons (all of which were spent with St. Louis) as a .255 hitter, Shannon helped the Cardinals to World Series titles in 1964 and 1967 with a pair of crucial home runs.

The rare kidney disease nephritis cut Shannon’s career short in 1970, and he joined the Cardinals’ radio booth two years later. The ying to former broadcast partner Jack Buck’s yang, Shannon represented everything atypical of a seasoned broadcast professional for nearly 30 years while manning the side of the late Hall-of-Famer.

Now seven years removed from Buck’s passing, Shannon still warms the hearts of fans spread across Cardinal Nation with his pedestrian and conversational approach. Only adding to his appeal is the fact that his nonsensical epithets and propensity for calling a game in the company of a six-pack are well-documented.

And it is this originality and genuineness that not only makes him the best untrained voice in the game, but an Emmy Award-winner as well.

Honorable Mention: Kevin Slaten - Host of The Kevin Slaten Show (2 PM-6 PM) on KSLG (1380 AM)

Frank Cusumano - It’s certainly no secret throughout the Gateway City that if you want your ass kissed, you go see Cusumano.

A true brown-noser dressed in an eight-time Emmy Award-winner’s clothing, this former basketball standout at St. Louis’ DeSmet High School has an intricate network of connections and a wealth of experience—both of which he utilizes as the host of KFNS’ (590 AM) The Press Box by day and a sports anchor at KSDK-TV by night—but that’s where the excitement stops.

If he’s not firing off some cheesy analogy or attempting some half-concocted catch phrase on television, Cusumano’s spending his afternoon radio program wedging his head up the rear ends of the Cardinals’ ownership group.

I do not disregard Cusumano as an unintelligent man, for I have no doubt he has at least some idea of what he is talking about.

But perhaps if he didn’t spend so much time telling people what they want to hear and shying away from tougher questions, his audience would acknowledge some semblance of a backbone and Cusumano would gain credibility beyond what is used to obtain high-profile guests for what usually amounts to G-rated talk suitable for Disney Radio.

Dishonorable Mention: John Hadley, co-host of Sportsnight on KTRS (550 AM) from 6 PM-9 PM weeknights

Note: This list excludes those St. Louis media personalities who are deceased.