CONNOR HAPPER is the morning host of the sports radioshow “Happer and Schaefer” on 1620 The Zone in Omaha. Happer has been at the station since 2022, and took over the morning show in early 2026. He and Schaefer had done someradio together at 93.7 The Ticket in Omaha. Happer is an Omaha native, who went to school at UNL. He is the PA voice of Huskers Women’s Basketball and does on site work with…
GEOFF EXSTROM is the Director of Communications, Media and Broadcasting for the Major League Volleyball (MLV)team Omaha Supernovas . The team, which plays in the CHI Health Center, is a former MLV champion and has been in the finals twice in its three-year existence. In this conversation we talk about John Cook, one of the team’s owners and its general manager, the new coach Chris McGown, Omaha’s…
NATE ROHR is the voice of the Nebraska softball team, which opens the NCAA tournament as the fourth seed and, according to the coaches poll, the Number One ranked team in the country. Nate has called the games for more than two decades; he is also the stadium Public Address announcer for Nebraska football. He’s a native Nebraskan and UNL college of journalism grad. His work can be heard on…
MATT McMASTER is the midday host at sports radio station 1620 The Zone in Omaha, Nebraska. He’s a Chicago native who earned a sports media and broadcasting degree fromthe University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Matt says he has wanted to be a sports radio host since he was about ten years old. He got his start in Omaha working on the morning show with Gary Sharp. Recorded May 4, 2026 THE SHOW: Features…
JAKE BARTECKI , a Chicago native and graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Journalism and Mass Communications, has been calling games and covering newsand sports in Nebraska for five years. He’s the Sports Director of KWBE Radio in Beatrice, where he calls games for Beatrice High School, as well as other schools in the area and calls a Doane College game here and there. Jake also…
JOSEPH REINA is the host and producer of Soccer Signal on MASL TV, a program produced by the Major Arena Soccer League. Joseph is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications. He is a writer and analyst for the league, based in his hometown of Milwaukee. In this conversation we talk about the league, the game of indoor soccer, his work as a writer…
LAUREN MICHELSON is starting her third year as a sports reporter/anchor for KETV Channel 7 in Omaha. She covers almost everything Huskers as well as Creighton and Omaha and high school sports in the area. The University of Missouri grad worked in Lincoln for two years out of college. In this conversation we talk about her career, building an audience in the 21st century, how to cover sports in…
ROBIN WASHUT has been with Husker Online , whichis now the On3 affiliate in Nebraska, since 2008. Robin is the 2025 NSMA Sport Writer of the Year. He’s a UNL grad who covers mostly Huskers football and men’s basketball and some recruiting. He has some clearly articulated and direct thoughts about the football program. We also talk about the need for regulation in big-time football and big-time…
ADAM KRUEGER has been the sports director of KMTV Channel 3 in Omaha since August of 2016. He covers the Huskers, Creighton, Omaha and high schools in the Omaha and greater Nebraska market. The graduate of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications worked at Channel 10/11 in Lincoln before moving to Nebraska’s biggest city and biggest media market. In this conversation we talk about…
LUKE MULLIN is the Huskers football writer for the Lincoln Journal Star, where he started working while still a student at the University of Nebraska. He’s now through four seasons covering the Huskers. In this conversation we talk about reporting on a football team that lost its last three games and five of its last seven. Also, the coach, the off-season, the perception of the program locally and…
As part of a year-long study into the state of sports journalism and sports media, John Shrader takes a closer look at what he has dubbed the “Sports Attention Industry.” Others have called it the ‘hot take’ industry. It is often the business of who yells the loudest; it’s about how you get the attention and how you keep it. As you will hear in this report,journalists at both intrigued and…
