On July 7th, 2019, we interviewed Jason Samuel who has 31 years of experience commentating sports on radio stations. We met him at Goshen College. Jason Samuel is currently the General Manager and Program Director of The Globe and has worked there for 17 years. We talked to him about how he feels about play-by-play commentating on his radio station.
Jason Samuel works with play-by-play commentating for his radio station. He narrates live for the radio. His audience has no visuals about the game. Jason Samuel is their “eyes” as the listener has no way to see the game. Commentating on radio requires more description and the commentators are almost always talking unlike on television.
Sports television shows like ESPN may seem superior to the radio, but there are advantages to both. Radio is much more portable and you can listen “on the go”, unlike television. While listening to play-by-play radio, it tends to be much more descriptive. You can listen while traveling anytime in your car.
Commentating live sports on the radio can be tough. Every little thing is unknown to the listener, as they cannot see anything. Jason Samuel says “Your best ability is availability.” Jason Samuel is such a good radio reporter because he is available, dependable, and can meet deadlines.