Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast

Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain is a sports media career podcast with a narrow, useful focus. It asks accomplished media figures to explain the early stretch, before the recognizable job title arrived. The show favors origin stories over hot takes. That gives the conversations a practical, almost archival feel, especially when guests describe the odd jobs, campus work, internships, and self-made projects that helped them stand out. Dane Brugler’s episode turns an NFL Draft obsession into a larger story about scouting, self-teaching, and building a draft guide long before it became The Beast. His path runs through Mount Union, meetings with NFL scouts, and a high-pressure Packers interview where he had to present player reports to a room of decision-makers. John Fanta’s episode has a different rhythm. It follows a broadcaster who wanted the job early, called games in high school, worked across Seton Hall athletics, interned at Fox Sports, and stepped into a digital media role created by the Big East. Laurence Holmes brings history and perspective from Chicago sports radio. His episode traces many early roles at The Score, the experience of building toward his own show, and the viewpoint of someone who also teaches broadcasting. Across episodes, the show keeps returning to the same useful pattern. Talent matters, but so do persistence, preparation, relationships, and the willingness to make work visible before a formal opening exists. The conversations are especially rewarding for listeners who already know the public-facing side of sports media and want the backstage version. It is not a gossip show. It is more like a guided career oral history, with recognizable names explaining the unglamorous steps behind familiar microphones, columns, broadcasts, and analysis.