Kornheiser says print is hard, radio easy, TV can make you rich

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007

He explained that he found he was stifled in his stint as an analyst on ‘‘NFL Monday Night Football” because of the limits of the play clock and competition for air time with Theismann. He provided his thoughts on Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder’s management style and why his ESPN show ‘‘Pardon the Interruption” is so popular.

Sitting next to Kornheiser was Benjamin Bradlee, vice president at large of The Washington Post. ‘‘Tony and I are buddies,” he said. ‘‘I promised we wouldn’t do anything requiring a lot of gray matter.”

Kornheiser explained that he grew up in Long Island and got his first journalism job at Newsday. When asked how he got that job, Bradlee made kissing sounds.

His second job was with The New York Times and in 1979 he moved to The Washington Post, writing for the Style and sports sections.

Working in radio is much easier than print, he said. ‘‘It’s easy. It’s so hard to type,” he said. ‘‘Writing a story is so much harder than what I do — yodeling on the radio. ... Television can make you rich. Radio on some level is the most fun.” Last week Kornheiser signed on with Washington Post Radio to host a midmorning radio show.

Working in print is the most satisfying, he said, but harder. ‘‘You have to be right. You have to be clever. That print lives forever. The other stuff gets lost in the ozone,” he said.

Kornheiser and fellow Post columnist Michael Wilbon began appearing on ESPN’s ‘‘Pardon the Interruption,” in 2001. Kornheiser said the show is so successful because he and Wilbon are like an old married couple. ‘‘[A] black guy and white guy yell at each other, love each other. That’s the majority of that show,” he said.

Kornheiser was asked about his relationship with Theismann on Monday Night Football, where the two are often found arguing or talking over each other.

‘‘Monday Night Football’s hard. You have a limited amount of time,” he said. Once a play has ended there is 25 seconds before the next play, ‘‘and Joe likes to take 28 of those. It was a struggle to find room [to speak]. Then you kind of plow through like Rosie O’Donnell on ‘The View.’ You knock everybody over.”

Among his other observations:

The Baseball Hall of Fame — slugger Mark McGwire should gain entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame, even though he came along in the age of steroids. Pete Rose should be inducted also because of his play on the field. But both the plaque for McGwire should mention steroids and Rose’s should talk about his gambling. Rafael Palmeiro is unlikely to ever be admitted to the hall of fame because he lied to the American public about using steroids.

The Washington Redskins — Kornheiser said the team was ‘‘really bad” this past season, and said of team owner, Dan Snyder, ‘‘He would be impossible for me to work for.” He added, ‘‘He started off just buying famous names. Now he’s buying coaches. ... Why isn’t Joe Gibbs calling all the plays? When Joe Gibbs leaves, I think Snyder will go out and get someone splashy,” like Bill Parcells.

Predicting the winner of Sunday’s Super Bowl — Kornheiser gives the edge to the Indianapolis Colts over the Chicago Bears, if quarterback Peyton Manning remains protected.

Sports and sports writing — ‘‘Sports is the language of men in America. It’s a currency you can trade in.” Sports reporting is the place for creative writing, he said. ‘‘Like all sports writers, I’m a failed athlete.”

On the relationship between sports and politics — ‘‘God, I’m so impressed that Hillary Clinton became a Yankees fan three hours after moving in [New York] state,” he said.

E-mail Jason Babcock at jbabcock@somdnews.com.