Paul Finebaum: My Show is ‘a Conversation’ and ‘Not About Me’

Over the years broadcasting his sports talk program, Paul Finebaum has built a dedicated legion of callers who provide invaluable contributions to the program through their insights, expertise and other elements of entertainment. The program has been on television for the last 11 years and has been working in radio for parts of four decades, making his name at the local and national levels.

During the Tuesday edition of The Paul Finebaum Show on the SEC Network and simulcasting on affiliated stations nationwide, Mike from Missouri called in and spoke about how Finebaum has profound influence in the industry. As a result, he wanted to talk about the responsibility that comes along with having this power. Within his inquiry, he asked about how much pressure he feels in gathering these people to speak. In response, Finebaum spoke about how he has hosted the show for a long time and the passion he has on the airwaves.

“First of all, it’s a long show,” Finebaum said. “It needs to be informative, entertaining – we have to have a semblance of balance, fairness – but this show is not about selling a product,” Finebaum said. “This show is not about being boastful of what we do or don’t do. It’s a conversation, and that part we take very, very seriously, and I think there are too many people out there in my industry who make it about them. This show is not about me.”

Finebaum acknowledged the title of the program but added that his presence is not what it is about. Part of the reason the show has found success, he feels, comes from the audience feeling like it has a voice, a sentiment with which the caller concurred. In fact, Mike from Missouri averred that he could not imagine any SEC coach ever turning him down when asking for an interview.

“There have been times where relationships get very awkward, and to explain the program a little bit, I don’t think I say that much here that causes issues,” Finebaum articulated. “But when I’m on other shows – let’s say I’m on with Stephen A. Smith – I will more than likely say something that reverberates back to these coaches, and do they get upset? Yes. My goal is not to have enemies, it’s to have everybody want to be here, but there are some difficult moments, I can assure you.”

Although Finebaum has thrived in the sports media space, he understands his weaknesses and shortcomings. One of his, for example, is forgetting that battles between callers do not equate to being on the playground, but he still wants people to have fun with it nonetheless.

“This is not that serious,” Finebaum said. “Sometimes we have people on who treat this as life or death, and I’m well aware how important these games are – don’t misunderstand me – but I want the audience to enjoy it though.”

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