Tony Bruno (Sports Radio Host)

So who are you? 

     My name is Tony Bruno and I'm a sports radio host. 

How long have you been doing sports radio?

A hundred and fifty years......Since 1973. I've been all over the country with various stations, including a nationally syndicated show I did with Sirius.

What’s your relationship with technology as a sports radio host?

Now you have to have it. You have to use technology, it makes it easier. Back in the day, 20 years ago you had to watch all the games and you couldn't just research stuff. Now with technology, you can see any highlight you want, watch any game you want, and get the information you want. That's the advantage of technology.

What are some of the positive and negative things that have come along with the digital age pertaining to sports radio?

The biggest negative from technology is that is has allowed micro-managing to get out of control. The rating system is now instantaneous and there a people who have meters for who is listening to the station and the manager will sit in their office and see how many people are listening to the station and if someone tunes out they freak out because they believe that you aren't talking about the right thing. I think that certain part of the technology has caused management in radio to overreact to one person out hundreds of thousands of people tuning out of the radio station at a given time.

Anything you’d like to change or see happen with technology and sports radio?

Not really. Technology has helped out a lot with instant polling, it helps people communicate with the radio station, contests. Without this technology, most radio stations could just end up being automated. The live stations that remain could be automated especially with music. A lot of them are. A lot of them are based in L.A. and just voice tracked. To keep people on the air and employed technology is important because the local people who are working at radio stations have instant contact with their listeners.

And finally, any plugs you'd like to make?

Well, you can tune into my weekly sports podcast "The Tony Bruno Show" which airs live every Wednesday night and can be downloaded from almost anywhere you get podcasts.