Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Bob Richards steps down as Emmis Indy market manager – Taja Graham to replace him

Bob Richard did a lot of heavy lifting while running Emmis Indianapolis.

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”  William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2

People listen to a radio station without much interest in how the words and music they hear get to their ears.  Management is the farthest thing from the minds of listeners as they hear Dan Dakich hammer IU for a lackluster performance, Hammer & Nigel Records latest release, a new country song, or an old favorite pop song from the 1980, but it’s a very important link in the chain between the creation of content and its arrival in the listeners’ ears.

Emmis Communications announced today a peaceful transition of power at its Indianapolis cluster of radio stations.  Market manager Bob Richards will leave and vice president of sales Taja Graham will succeed him after a period that will end with the beginning of the Emmis 2022 fiscal year – March 1.

I can’t pretend to know Bob well.  We worked together for a couple of months in late 2009 and shared a few lunches after that as his responsibilities grew from programming to market manager.  Over the years of listening to WIBC, 1075 the Fan, Hank 97.1, B105, and Network Indiana, I’ve grown to admire Bob’s ability to shepherd the resources of Emmis into products that regularly exceed audience expectations.

These are tough times to be a good manager in media.  Whether in TV, print, digital, or radio, the game is to find a way to create compelling content with fewer resources – and that means fewer people.  It’s sarcastically referred to by staff as “Cutting our way to profitability!”  

While staff mocks the cuts as they take jobs from co-workers and friends, it’s also extremely difficult for managers to execute these cuts.  I haven’t been around as any of the many rounds of cuts have been orchestrated and executed by Bob and his staff, but I’m sure there were sleepless nights – and they likely continue. 

One of the things people rarely consider when cuts are made is how many jobs were saved by managers like Bob and his staff.  In the building where Bob leads, I’ve seen managers stand and shout their defenses of employees who fell onto the list of cuts.  Some were saved, and others were not, but no one outside those in the room knew who was taken from the list because of a passionate defense.  Some of the who were saved became the harshest critics of management after the cuts were announced.

It takes a special kind of human being to ride herd over repeated layoffs, while trying to maintain enough profitability to be a viable part of a corporate family.  Bob has somehow managed to lead Emmis Indianapolis through cuts without gutting the locality of the product.  In fact, WIBC and The Fan are more local today than they were when I was there.  That is a remarkable accomplishment.

No one stops by Bob’s office to say thanks, but they should.  He has done the work asked of him in the utter loneliness of middle management.  Despite being on top of the pyramid at Emmis Indianapolis, Bob answers to corporate, just as his management team answers to him.  There is no praise for a market manager – just a begrudging gratefulness among those who remain after cuts are announced.

Everyone in radio understands their turn will come, and one of the primary responsibilities of the market manager will be to minimize those episodes as much as possible by leading the staff to success in sales and programming.  It’s exhausting, and Bob has done it well enough that listening to Emmis properties is more enjoyable today as it was when he took the job to run the cluster.

That’s a hell of an accomplishment for which all Emmis employees – past and present – should be thankful.  These aren’t easy times to lead in media.  Bob’s hard work can be heard on four outstanding radio stations, one statewide network, and a variety of digital platforms.

Now, Taja will find herself in the big chair where decisions are made.  She has always been a very smart, humane, good natured, and trusting person, so I assume that will be reflected in her management.  The last four people to sit in her new chair have shown dignity and agility in their leadership.  Christine Woodward Duncan, Tom Severino, Charlie Morgan, and Bob Richards were capable stewards of the brands, employees, and listeners who trust Emmis to deliver a unique workplace and great content.

God’s speed and thanks, Bob.  Good luck, Taja.

Philip Rivers retires – what now for the Colts?

Philip Rivers retirement statement is filled with Rivers-isms that speak to his professionalism, humor, pride, and devotion.

The Colts decision about whether Philip Rivers should return as starting quarterback was made for them today by Rivers, who has decided he’s ready to move on with the next step in his life.

Rivers played valiantly throughout his only season with the Colts, leading them to an 11-5 record and a return to the playoffs.  He established himself as a solid citizen in the Indianapolis community, despite having limited contact and exposure to fans and media.

There was no doubt that the Colts were staring at a difficult decision regarding Rivers regardless of which decision they made.  Moving on without him would be tough because from the neck up, there is no one better.  Bringing him back would be tough because everything below his neck was less dynamic than necessary to get to the Super Bowl.

There was a fixed ceiling with Rivers, but also a fixed floor.

So now the Colts need to figure out what to do at the most important position in football while having only one quarterback under contract.  That quarterback has not only never taken a live NFL snap; he’s never dressed for a game.

There is the possibility that the Colts re-sign back-up Jacoby Brissett, but the Colts and their fans know what that likely means – a season of mistake-free football that also fails to produce explosive plays or more than seven wins.

Reliable free agent quarterbacks at the level necessary for the Colts to take a step forward simply do not exist, and trading for one will cost the Colts draft assets they loathe parting with.  That leaves general manager Chris Ballard in a tough spot, and that means that it’s time for him to earn his money.

Ballard has done an excellent job of building his roster from the inside out, but the time has come to find a longterm leader who can take that foundation and lead them beyond 11-5 and a first round playoff exit before it ages out of relevance.

AFC rivals boast young talented quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Tua Tagovailoa, Joe Burrow, Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, and Justin Herbert.  The Jaguars are going to select Trevor Lawrence #1 in this year’s NFL Draft.  The Jets will likely take Justin Fields second.  That’s 10 really good young quarterbacks in the AFC without mentioning Ben Roethlisberger and Ryan Tannehill.

Whomever the Colts deal for, develop, or select, he will be coach Frank Reich’s fourth different starting quarterback in four seasons, which must be some kind of record for a team with a winning record during the first three seasons of a coach’s tenure.

Rivers will be remembered for being tough, smart, verbose, and stationary during the final stanza of his hall of fame career.  There were plenty of reasons to doubt that Rivers was the answer to get the Colts back into the playoffs, but there they were – as tough and relentless as their quarterback – going toe-to-toe with a team that could very well win the Super Bowl.

Ballard was right when he went all in with $25-million of Jim Irsay’s cash behind an old man I can beat in a 40-yard dash, and he needs to be right again.  But this time the stakes are higher because the collateral damage of the wrong call could take years to undo.  Rivers was a one-year roll of the dice.  This time, getting his man will cost more than dollars and so the risk is elevated.

The ingredients for a championship cocktail have been acquired and poured.  All Ballard needs now is a straw to stir it.

Dan Dakich tells the truth about the disappointment of Indiana Basketball in 2020

Dań Dakich spoke about “his program” today. He gave 18 years to IU Basketball, so he has earned that right.

Dan Dakich has earned the right to speak his mind about Indiana Basketball, and he did just that during the open of his show on 1075 the Fan in Indianapolis today.

There are people who have called it “scorched earth” on social media.  I call it truth articulated by one who knows because he has been there and done that for as long as Khristian Lander has been alive.

From 1981-1997 and again during the tumultuous final year of the Kelvin Sampson darkness, Dan worked to contribute to the winning and honorable culture of Indiana Basketball.  When he watches others refuse to reflect and respect what Indiana Basketball means to him, Dan can get raw and honest.

And he should.

When Indiana is outclassed, outworked, and out-executed at Assembly Hall by Purdue, as they were in last night’s 12-point loss, Dan has earned his place at the pulpit from which to proselytize.

Dan spoke of basketball fundamentals that Purdue exhibited and Indiana seems to ignore, like putting a shoulder to the hip of a screener, keeping hands above elbows ready to catch as you come off a screen, and having your momentum forward during a shot.  He also mentioned the clear lack of pride shown by the Hoosiers, and an unwillingness to do what’s necessary to reverse the malaise that has engulfed IU Hoops through the last 18 years.

In his final season as a player, Dan and the Hoosiers played in the 1986 NIT.  Despite playing UCLA in the championship game, Dan sees that season as a failure because, well, of course being passed over for the NCAA Tournament was a failure back then.  Hell, it’s even a failure now, even though Indiana hasn’t played in an NCAA Tournament since 2016.

Dan spoke eloquently about the sacrifices Steve Alford, Todd Meier, and Daryl Thomas made during the summer of ’86 to turn that failure into Indiana’s fifth and final National Championship in 1987.  He correctly assessed the current Indiana team as being unwilling to pay the price needed to win.  Evidence of that lack of emotional investment are in the results of all four of Miller’s teams.

In his 27-minute long genuine and forthright monologue, Dan read texts of exasperation from former IU players he received last night during the loss that communicated a sense of abandonment by their university and their program.

Archie Miller is never going to be a part of that world.  There isn’t an Indiana fan on the planet that doesn’t understand that Miller is the head coach at IU because former athletic director Fred Glass offered him $24M over seven years with $20.5M guaranteed to take the gig.  This wasn’t about work that Miller would do for free because he loves the IU and Bloomington – nor should it be that for anyone.  But it was a business deal for Miller, and he took the job despite having no inkling what Indiana Basketball means to the people here or how to win in Bloomington.

So, Dan and other former players are angry that bad basketball is being played by a bunch of kids who seem to be committed to piss away an opportunity to engage in a collective effort to accomplish something meaningful.  The alums know these four years go by way too quickly, and never come around again.

I’m sure they players ask, “Who are these old heads trying to tell how it is?”  I get it.  I used to listen to alums talk about life, and think about how different today was from 30 years ago.  I’ll tell you what isn’t different from back in Dan’s day – how to come off a screen, get your hands up ready to receive the ball, and the fundamentals of shooting – three of the many areas where the Hoosiers are sorely lacking.

One thing has changed completely though – Purdue is a lock to kick Indiana’s ass twice a year.  That has nothing to do with the psychology of today’s elite athlete.  It has to do with Purdue’s culture of toughness and fundamental execution.

See, like Dan asked today, “What does Indiana Basketball stand for?”  Any fool could see what Purdue stands for basketball played the right way as part of a culture of toughness developed over 40 years by Gene Keady and Matt Painter.  Indiana seems to stand for comfort.

So instead of laughing at the old heads, maybe IU players should embrace playing at a higher level and holding each other accountable for that.  And maybe Indiana University should once listen to a group of men who understand first hand the sacrifices necessary to win at their alma mater, and who might succeed at bringing him to Bloomington.