Indianapolis Sports Media Twitter Rankings – Sterling and Buckner Continue to Pile Up New Followers

Indianapolis Star Pacers reporter Candace Buckner did a very nice job keeping fans updated Saturday morning as Andrew Bynum moved closer and closer to signing with the team.  That kind of timely delivery of information is what drives follower growth, and she grew by 15.1% from January 1st through this morning.

Click here to follow Kent Sterling on Twitter

Bound to the studio during Saturday’s “Ahead of the Curve,” I relied upon Candace for updates along with a couple of national columnists to keep listeners apprised of Bynum’s status.

For the sports media, Twitter is a direct and cost-free portal into the minds of fans.  For a guy like Dan Dakich who hosts a radio show in Indianapolis and serves as an analyst for ESPN on college basketball games, the growth can be profound.  His two positions have provided him with a route to gather 69,100 followers, which makes his feed every bit a impactful a marking platform as a billboard next to an interstate.

He doesn’t get the same number of impressions, but because Twitter is an interactive two-way doorway into fans who express an affinity for Dan through opting in, he can strongly affect his own brand as well as that of others through retweets.

Those who embrace Twitter can become the pilot of their own brand awareness.  Those who don’t, simply don’t understand their jobs.

People in the media love to see themselves on TV and billboards.  Twitter makes it possible for media figures to launch their own media campaign.  Why wait for your bosses to invest the cash in building your brand when you can do it yourself?

Here are the rankings for January growth:

Sports Radio in Indy

1. Kent Sterling – 1070 the Fan      5,400 to 6,025      +11.6%
2. Dan Dakich – 1070 the Fan                64,912 to 69,100         +6.5%
3. JMV                                                        21,101 to 22,200          +5.2%
4. Derek Schultz – 1260 WNDE             4,357 to 4,571              +4.9%
5. Michael Grady – 1070 the Fan          10,804 to 11,300          +4.6%
6. Conrad Bruner 1070thefan.com       6,508 to 6,798             +4.5%
7. Mark Boyle – Pacers play-by-play     9,004 to 9,389            +4.3%
8. Greg Rakestraw – 1070 the Fan         5,966 to 6,207             +4.0%
9. Jake Query 1260 WNDE                     8,255 to 8,504            +3.0%
10. Eddie White – Pacers Postgame        4,962 to 5,100             +2.8%
11. Kevin Lee – 1070 the Fan/NBC          6,782 to 6,871             +1.3%

TV Sports Anchors/Reporters in Indy

1. Charly Arnolt – Fox 59                2,680 to 2,966        +10.7%
2. Larry Hawley – Fox 59                       1,423 to 1,533                +7.7%
3. Chris Denari – FSIN                           9,569 to 10,200             +6.6%
4. Dave Calabro – WTHR                       9,004 to 9,580              +6.4%
5. Rich Nye – WTHR                               4,869 to 5,125               +5.3%
6. Anthony Calhoun – WISH                 6,745 to 7,094               +5.2%
7. Chris Hagan – Fox 59                         5,277 to 5,524                +4.7%
8. Dave Furst – RTV6                             4,820 to 4,932               +2.3%
9. Jason Spells – RTV6                           1,961 to 2,003               +2.1%
10. Jeremiah Johnson – FSIN                4,612 to 4,702                +2.0%
11. Chris Widlic – WISH                          1,705 to 1,747                +1.5%
12. Amanda Maynard – WISH                1,016 to 1,078               +1.3%
13. Brad Brown – RTV6                            567 to 572                      +0.9%

Print/Digital – all with Indianapolis Star unless otherwise noted (beat in parenthesis)

1. Candace Buckner (Pacers)        4,495 to 5.175             +15.1%
2. Zach Osterman (IU Hoops)               5,744 to 6,037                  +5.10%
3. Mark Ambrogi                                      2,062 to 2,167                  +5.09%
4. Zak Keefer (Butler)                             4,991 to 5,210                   +4.4%
5. Mike Chappell (Colts)                        16,794 to 17,500               +4.203%
6. Bob Kravitz (columnist)                   39,732 to 41,400               +4.198%
7. Stephen Holder (Colts)                      10,545 to 10,900              +3.4%
8. Kyle Neddenriep (Preps)                  12,194 to 12,600               +3.33%
9. David Woods (IU Football)               5,616 to 5,801                  +3.29%
10. Phillip B. Wilson                                15,886 to 16,300               +2.6%
11. Mike Wells (Colts/ESPN)                27,994 to 28,700               +2.5%
12. Phil Richards                                        3,137 to 3,206                  +2.2%
13. Dustin Dopirak (Bton H-T)               7,949 to 8,111                   +2.0%
14. Michael Pointer                                   3,848 to 3,897                  +1.3%
15. Curt Cavin (Racing)                          12,847 to 13,000               +1.2%

Digital

1. Tom Lewis @IndyCornrows                 4,829 to 5,004        +3.6%
2. Chronic Hoosier (hoosierchronicles.com) 17,310 to 17,800          +2.8%
3. Ken Bikoff @kbikoff                                         2,003 to 2,038           +1.7%
4. Alex Bozich @insidethehall                           19,988 to 20,300        +1.6%
5. Mike Pegram  @peegs                                    13,719 to 13,900          +1.3%
6. Terry Hutchens (Fox – IU)                             13,118 to 13,200          +0.63%
7. Jeff Rabjohns                                                    16,600

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