Local Sports Radio
By : Holden Wheeler
Local sports can sometimes get lost in the madness of professional sports, not getting the coverage or support that a professional team five states over gets. The hosts at ESPN Fresno 1430, pay attention to the little man, while still being able to cover national sports like other media outlets.
One of the main reasons for the focus on local sports is Gabe Camarillo, a Fresno State alum and host of “Home Field Advantage,” a daily two-hour radio show that covers high school, junior college, and Fresno State athletics. Camarillo is out at the events watching and capturing the action, as well as bringing the talent to the studio.
“You hear about these guys in the NFL and college football, but they started here in the central valley. A lot of them started in the central valley to be able to meet some of those guys, talk to them, have them in studio. It helps keep me company,” said Camarillo.
Camarillo isn’t alone in bringing local sports coverage. Jose Gonzalez is one of the longest-tenured hosts at the station and host of the aptly named Jose Gonzalez Show. He actually didn’t go to school for journalism as he was a political science major. Gonzalez still ended up behind a microphone talking sports in the early hours of the day.
“In the radio industry morning show, afternoon show is where you want to be,” said Gonzalez. “Did I want to wake up every day at 4 a.m.? Absolutely not, but knowing I’m speaking to people before anybody else gets to do it, I’m giving you news no one else is giving you yet. We break news. If news breaks, I will scratch whatever I’m talking about, and talk about that breaking news.”
Being one of the hosts who has been with the station the longest doesn’t just mean he gets the prime real estate of an early show. He also gets a little more freedom in what he wants to talk about while live on air.
“I’m lucky I get to talk college football. I get to talk NFL, major league baseball, and then I can go back and talk local sports if I want to, and if it warrants being talked about, which I do every single week,” said Gonzalez.
Between Camarillo and Gonzalez they get a lot of the sports in the Fresno area covered. They’re not the only personalities on the station covering these events. If you want more information about that you can visit their website.
These are the people bringing you local sports coverage for the ESPN 1430 radio station.
You can watch the video version of the story here.