Christie among candidates for sports radio job

After spending the better part of the past three years competing for a future life in politics – president, vice president or a senior role in the White House – Governor Christie could soon be in contention for a job that would give him a megaphone in the country's largest media market: sports talk radio host.

WFAN 660-AM, the region's dominant sports-talk radio station, will "be looking to do stuff" at the end of the year, when longtime afternoon drive host Mike Francesa's contract with the station ends, said Mark Chernoff, the station's program director and vice president of its parent company, CBS Radio New York. Christie, whose name has been rumored as a possible replacement for Francesa, is among "plenty of candidates" the station is contemplating to fill the void left by Francesa, Chernoff said.

"I would certainly at least want to consider him," Chernoff said in an interview this week. "If he's interested and we're interested, it's worth pursuing."

The same attributes that catapulted Christie to national fame in his first term – unabashed volubility and acerbic reflexes – translate well to sports talk radio, radio industry experts say, and those qualities may soon serve him in a second act that is potentially far more lucrative and certainly less consequential.

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The intrigue and speculation over Christie's next move has largely been contained within the realm of politics and whether he will make it to the White House serving President Donald Trump. But Christie has repeatedly said that he does not envision a future in Washington, D.C. And his frequent co-hosting appearances on WFAN's "Boomer and Carton" show – he's done it 10 times since last year – have fueled rumors that he could be a contender for Francesa's afternoon slot.

Francesa is set to leave the station at the end of the year, and Christie will leave office less than three weeks later.

Christie's office declined to comment. But Christie himself has repeatedly declared his interest in a career move to sports broadcasting.

"As my son said – he said, 'I can’t believe I’ve been listening to you talk about sports my entire life and that someone might actually pay you to do that.' He said, 'I can’t imagine how great that would be for you,'" Christie said during an appearance on the SNY cable network last week. "And so, yeah, that’s certainly one of the things that I hope I’ll have a chance to consider when I get out and stop being governor."

Christie has said his plan after leaving office is to return to the private sector in a job where he can have fun, spend more time with his family and make money. A job in the Trump's administration would appear to fulfill none of that: He would be 230 miles from home, back under heavy scrutiny, and still on a public servant's salary.

Even the most well-paid staff in the White House make about $175,000 a year, according to a list released by then-President Barack Obama last year, the same salary Christie makes as governor. The Christies earned more than $900,000 in each of the past two years, but the household's primary earner, Mary Pat Christie, left her Wall Street job last year, and the governor will lose his salary once he leaves office.

Christie would be unlikely to command the nearly $4 million salary that Francesa reportedly earns, industry experts say, but a full-time job in radio could at least maintain his family's quality of life. Those experts agree that the same attributes that put Christie on the national stage work well on radio.

A successful radio host is often someone who is well-known, has a deep knowledge of the subject matter and a willingness to give an opinion regardless of the consequences, industry experts said.

"He's got the goods," Michael Harrison, the editor and publisher of Talkers Magazine, a radio industry publication, said of Christie. "I have the highest regard for Mike Francesa as a talent and as a friend, and I think that Chris Christie would be a very, very appropriate heir apparent for that show."

Francesa typically takes about six weeks of vacation during the summer, and Chernoff said that if Christie has the time, "we'll probably let him do some afternoon shows" to test him out in an unfamiliar time slot.

Chernoff said Christie's appearances have been popular with listeners, regardless of whether they agree with his opinions. He has certainly drawn attention to the morning show whenever he appears. His most recent appearance, last week, led to viral news stories about a meatloaf lunch with Trump and stinging responses from Philadelphians after Christie called Phillies fans "angry, awful people" and said the team's ballpark is "not safe for civilized people."

"I think he’s just bitter and has got nowhere to go," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, said on that city's sports station WIP 94.1-FM. "Who’s going to hire him?"

But having a favorite target, especially in a rival market – Christie's favorite baseball team, the Mets, have a long-standing feud with the Phillies – can actually work well for a host.

"There's an old saying: 'There's no money in the middle,'" said B. Eric Rhoads, the founder and publisher of Radio Ink Magazine. "You make a lot of money by making people mad, or you can make a lot of money by making a lot of friends. But being in the middle is boring."

Francesa has been a mainstay of WFAN from 1 to 6:30 p.m. since 1989 and a perennial ratings leader, whether by himself or with his longtime on-air partner, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, who left in 2008 for Sirius XM Radio. Chernoff said "those are huge shoes to fill," but it is "not likely" that whoever replaces Francesa will do so for the full afternoon drive.

"I can't say that the next person or team doing the show will do five-and-a-half hours," Chernoff said.

Rick Scott, chief executive of RSA Sports International, a sports radio marketing and programming firm, said the "magic formula" for radio hosts is to have charisma, speak their mind and hold their ground.

A successful radio host does not have to be likable, Scott said, just entertaining enough so that people, whether they like the host or not, "have to listen to the show."

"If he wants to have fun, make money and spend time with his family, radio could be a really good fit," Scott said.