Media: April 2023 • Leading on the Score
WSCR’s Mitch Rosen
Mitch Rosen is Operations Manager and Brand Manager for AM 670 The Score and has been in that role for nearly twenty years.
“February of ’05 is when I started at the Score,” he explains. “Paul Agase was the station manager and reached out to me and asked me to come back to the business. I had ironically been at the direct competitor WMVP (AM 1000) for nine years before that, so it was an exciting opportunity to work for the rival. I’ve never looked back. It was the right decision for me.”
One of his first big moves at the Score was helping to secure the rights to the White Sox games.
“I remember it was a chilly day game in April at the ballpark. Our management team was in one suite, and the White Sox brass was in another suite, and we’d meet during the game and then return to our suites to discuss it amongst ourselves. We got a deal done in April. It was a very radio-station-friendly agreement. Nobody knew how far the Sox would go that year. And my goodness, they won the World Series. We had imaging live on the air the second they won it, announcing that the Score was the new home of the World Champion White Sox. I think it was a critical moment in Score history. To have an MLB franchise on this frequency was monumental.”
The Score’s timing in securing the Cubs’ radio rights was even more fortuitous.
“Sometimes you’d rather be lucky than good,” Rosen agrees. “What an exciting year. The Cubs had been at WGN Radio for 90 years, and we were a sister station (CBS) with WBBM-Radio, which carried the Cubs in their first non-WGN season (2015). In the agreement, we had an out-clause with the White Sox, and we had seven business days to move the Cubs from WBBM to the Score, and we exercised that. It was bittersweet because we had a great relationship with the White Sox, but in this market, the Cubs just have a bigger fan base. It turned out to be a good move because the Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years that season. It was magical. To hear Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer make that call. I was fortunate to be there to witness it. To see lifelong Cubs fan Ron Coomer with tears rolling down his cheek. At the time, it set the Nielsen [radio ratings] record for most fans listening to the radio. It was just incredible.”
Regular listeners of Cubs broadcasts will often hear Mitch Rosen’s name during the games. He and the broadcast team have become close.
“Pat and I really bonded. I got to know what he needed—got rid of any distractions. Gave him whatever tools he needed to do a great job. That was my mission. We built a true friendship in the process. He truly is one of the best to ever do what he does. He has built strong relationships with the listeners. Baseball and the radio. There’s nothing like a warm summer day or night with the radio, spending time with Pat’s friendly voice.”
Mitch was there to celebrate Pat’s recent induction into the Hall of Fame.
“The Hall of Fame truly keeps it secret and under wraps until they make the call to the Ford C. Frick Award winner. Pat was at his house that day. Crane Kenney with the Cubs was there with him. Pat was supposed to get the call at 10:30, and Crane was supposed to call me with the news as soon as he got it.’ Crane texted me at 10:38 (“He’s in”), and I drove over to Pat’s house to share that moment. To see the look of joy on his face was just so special. I’ll never forget it.”
Running a radio station like the Score is about more than just handling the Cubs; Rosen also has to manage people and egos all day.
“But that’s what I love about my job,” Mitch says. “Working with people, especially these people. I really enjoy working with the producers and the talent.”
And deciding who works with who is no easy task, either.
“Getting it right is more of an art than a science,” Rosen admits. “For instance, in June of 2022, we put Dan Bernstein and Laurence Holmes together — two people who have been here for years and years — but had never been teamed up before. I honestly never thought about pairing them. I give Greg Solk the credit for that. He is the VP of programming for the company, and he suggested that we put the two of them together. Both are great hosts and like each other, but sometimes it takes someone from outside the station to see something like that. It has been a smash hit.”
But there have also been some difficult moments.
“The hardest moments have been when we lost a few of our people when [former Chicago Bears linebacker and Score host] Doug Buffone died. When the [storied overnight host Les Grobstein] Grobber died. I had to call [morning co-host] David Haugh moments before he went on the air to fill him in on Les’ death. He had to announce it to our audience. Those have been some of the hardest moments of my career. Our audience looks at our hosts as their friends. That was not just hard for us; it was hard for all our listeners.”
– Rick Kaempfer
