Who’s Next? Dave Rothenberg

**UPDATE 05-01-2012: Dave Rothenberg is now hosting 7p-10p on ESPN Radio 98.7 FM in New York City.

Programmers are always asking me “Who’s out there?”, “Where’s the next talent?” So, periodically, here on the blog, I’ll be shining a light on rising stars in radio.

Dave Rothenberg is “who’s next” today. Dave, a New Yorker by birth, has recently picked up some shifts on 1050 ESPN in New York. He’s tells LarryGifford.com that he’s excited for the opportunity, “It means everything.  I am a born and bred New Yorker with a crazy passion for the New York sports scene.”

Dave has a familiar story. 13 years ago he started running the board and providing the halftime show on high school football broadcasts on WGCH-AM 1490 in Greenwich.  He was a weekly football expert on WALE-AM 990 in Providence, RI.  He skipped around with stops at Air America, Sirius, and Cablevision. in October 2007, he moved to Raleigh, NC to help launch 99.9 FM The Fan.  He was recently a casualty of budget cuts.

So, how’s a guy who’s laid-off in Raleigh end up on 1050 ESPN in New York?

Dave says, “The key to having any success in this business is perseverance.  I have always tried to make good connections and stay in touch with them.  The problem with sports talk is there are always decisions made that make you scratch your head.  I had the number one sports talk show in a market and lost my job.  My last check included my ratings bonus.  But, no matter how little sense things make at times, you need to keep positive and look ahead to bigger and better. I set up a meeting on a trip to New York City with Justin Craig, the PD of ESPN New York and I guess impressed him enough to land this great opportunity.”

Networking. Networking. Networking. Should I say it again? Networking.

Dave has a marathon on 1050 ESPN starting this weekend: Sunday, December 5th 7a-9a, overnight Sunday into Monday Midnight to 5am (part of the Jets 24  hour pre-game show), and then overnight Monday into Tuesday. Take a listen (online at www.espnnewyork.com)

You can contact Dave directly at Dave@DaveRothenberg.com and his website is www.daverothenberg.com