14 illinoisentertainer . com april 2023
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LEADING ON THE SCORE
M
itch Rosen is Operations Manager and Brand Manager for AM 670 The Score and has been in that role now for nearly twenty years .
“ February of ’ 05 is when I started at the Score ,” he explains . “ Paul Agase was the station manager and reached out to me and asked me to come back to the business . I had ironically been at the direct competitor WMVP ( AM 1000 ) for nine years before that , so it was an exciting opportunity to work for the rival . I ’ ve never looked back . It was the right decision for me .” One of his first big moves at the Score was helping to Mitch Rosen secure the rights to the White Sox games .
“ I remember it was a chilly day game in April at the ballpark . Our management team was in one suite , and the White Sox brass was in another suite , and we ’ d meet during the game and then return to our suites to discuss it amongst ourselves . We got a deal done in April . It was a very radio-stationfriendly agreement . Nobody knew how far the Sox would go that year . And my goodness , they won the World Series . We had imaging live on the air the second they won it , announcing that the Score was the new home of the World champion White Sox . I think it was a critical moment in Score history . To have an MLB franchise on this frequency was monumental .”
The Score ’ s timing in securing the Cubs ' radio rights was even more fortuitous . “ Sometimes you ’ d rather be lucky than good ,” Rosen agrees . “ What an exciting year . The Cubs had been at WGN Radio for 90 years , and we were a sister station ( CBS ) with WBBM- Radio , who carried the Cubs in their first non- WGN season ( 2015 ). In the agreement , we had an out-clause with the White Sox , and we had seven business days to move the Cubs from WBBM to the Score , and we exercised that . It was bittersweet because we had a great relationship with the White Sox , but in this market , the Cubs just have a bigger fan base . It turned out to be a good move because the Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years that season . It was magical . To hear Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer make that call . I was fortunate to be there to witness it . To see lifelong Cubs fan Ron Coomer with tears rolling down his cheek . At the time it set the Nielson record for most fans listening to the radio . It was just incredible .”
Regular listeners of Cubs broadcasts will often hear Mitch Rosen ’ s name during the games . He and the broadcast team have become close . “ Pat and I really bonded . I got to know what he needed . Got rid of any distractions . Gave him whatever tools he needed to do a great job . That was my mission . We built a true friendship in the process . He truly is one of the best to ever do what he does . He has built
By Rick Kaempfer
strong relationships with the listeners . Baseball and the radio . There ’ s nothing like a warm summer day or night with the radio , spending time with Pat ’ s friendly voice .”
Mitch was there to celebrate Pat ’ s recent induction into the Hall of Fame . “ The Hall of Fame truly keeps it secret and under wraps until they make the call to the Ford C . Frick Award winner . Pat was at his house that day . Crane Kenney with the Cubs was there with him . Pat was supposed to get the call at 10:30 , and Crane was supposed to call me with the news as soon as he got it .’ Crane texted me at
10:38 (“ He ’ s in ”), and I drove over to Pat ’ s house to share that moment . To see the look of joy on his face was just so special . I ’ ll never forget it .”
Obviously running a radio station like the Score is about more than just handling the Cubs . Rosen also has to manage people and egos all day long . “ But that ’ s what I love about my job ,” Mitch says . “ Working with people , especially these people . I really enjoy working with the producers and the talent .”
And deciding who works with who is no easy task , either . “ Getting it right is more of an art than a science ,” Rosen admits . “ For instance , in June of 2022 , we put Dan Bernstein and Laurence Holmes together — two people who have been here for years and years — but had never been teamed up before . I honestly never thought about pairing them . I give Greg Solk the credit for that . He is the VP of programming for the company , and he suggested that we put the two of them together . Both are great hosts and like each other , but sometimes it takes someone from outside the station to see something like that . It has been a smash hit .”
But there have also been some difficult moments . “ The hardest moments have been when we lost a few of our people when [ former Chicago Bears linebacker and Score host ] Doug Buffone died . When the [ storied overnight host Les Grobstein ] Grobber died . I had to call [ morning co-host ] David Haugh moments before he went on the air to fill him in on Les ’ death . He had to announce it to our audience . Those have been some of the hardest moments of my career . Our audience looks at our hosts as their friends . That was not just hard for us , it was hard for all of our listeners .”