A turn down an uncharted path in the never-ending maze that is St. Louis sports-talk radio is set to take place next month when a woman who has no substantial professional sportscasting experience or ties to this market— and whose claim to fame is a stint on a reality TV show — becomes Kevin Slaten's co-host at KFNS.
Ashlee Feldman is set to join Slaten when his program moves to 590 AM from KSLG (1380 AM) beginning Jan. 3, as it flips stations with the current show in the 3-6 p.m. slot on KFNS.
Feldman, 24, is from New Jersey and attended Northeastern University in Boston, where she played basketball, then was on the cast of MTV's "Real World New Orleans'' this year. Her presence seems a strange fit with Slaten, the outspoken host who specializes in taking local teams and sports personalities to task when he thinks the situation merits and has carved out a big niche for himself in that role.
Feldman was hired by Grand Slam Sports president Dave Greene, whose company owns 590 and 1380.
"I had someone point the ("Real World") show out to me and tell me there was a cast member who wanted to do radio,'' he said. "At the same time Kevin and I started some dialogue and knew if we were going to do something with him on 590 it needed to be different. Ashlee and I connected.''
He said the new show will be fast-paced.
"There will be plenty of Kevin being Kevin, giving strong opinions on the hot sports topics and doing great interviews,'' Greene said. "Ashlee won't lack for strong opinions either. She grew up with a football coach for a father and was a big-time Division I college basketball player, so she understands sports. She will also bring entertainment value to the show with some other bits and segments to break up the monotony of hard-core sports talk all of the time. People want to be entertained, not bored out of their minds with stats and fence-riding opinions.''
Slaten already has an entertainment value with humorous sound clips dropped in at times and bizarre conversations with a couple of callers portrayed as being mentally troubled. But the base of his success is his hammer-to-stone approach. Pop culture segments and a co-host with little local knowledge seem to be the opposite of what his core audience expects, but Slaten said he'll keep his foundation while adding a fresh angle.
"They asked me if I'd be interested in working with a female and I said I would depending on what her personality was like,'' he said, adding that after Feldman appeared recently on the show he liked what she did. "She's good, sassy with a great personality. She understands the show; (it) won't change its tenor. I'll still do what I do. You'll hear the same stuff, but have a different perspective, too. I'll still lead the show. Everyone who likes what I do will still have what I do.''
LEARNING ON THE JOB
Feldman acknowledges she has a lot to learn but says her energy will compensate.
"My personality is my biggest thing going,'' she said. "I'd be the first one to say I don't know everything there is to know about the Blues and Cardinals. I'm pretty good with football and basketball. I'm very much an East Coast girl, I have an East Coast (attitude), so I'm a little nervous, but anxious, to get to the Midwest.''
Greene is prepared for it to be a work in progress.
"Kevin has enough sports knowledge to carry the show, and until she gets up to speed with the local teams and players,'' he said. "There will be times when she backs off a bit and lets Kevin do his thing. But she is also going to jump right in, trying to get out and meet as many of the players, coaches and behind-the-scenes people as she can.''
Feldman didn't hold back about her goals with reality TV.
"I knew MTV was going to use me to make money, so I knew I could use this show to my advantage,'' she said. "I go from the show 'Real World' to the literal real world. The fan following I have from that and social media will be good for the station.''
She was a communications media major in college and eventually wants to be on TV as a sidelines reporter. But first she is set to mix with Slaten.
"I know Kevin scares a lot of people, but Kevin doesn't scare me,'' she said. "I might be a good calming influence on him, which is kind of funny for me to say because I'm not that calm. I would say we're polar opposites. I can tell him everything there is from handbags to shoes and he can tell me everything there is from free throws to anything sports related. I definitely think we can balance each other. I know my sports, too, and I'm very vocal. The stuff I'm confident in talking about, you'll never hear me stop talking. But I'm not afraid to say 'I have no idea,' either.''
RAMS REPORT
The Rams-49ers game Sunday will be Fox's feature contest in the early time block, as the noon game is going to 61 percent of the nation. Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Daryl Johnston (analysis) and Tony Siragusa (sidelines/analysis) do the broadcasting.
Among the major markets slated to get the telecast are Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. It airs locally on KTVI (Channel 2).
Fox's main game, at 3:15 p.m., is the Giants-Packers game in Green Bay, to be broadcast by Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (analysis). It goes to 90 percent of the country.
But the St. Louis market gets the Seattle-Tampa Bay game because the Seahawks and Rams are fighting for the NFC West title. Thom Brennaman (play-by-play) and Brian Billick (analysis) work on that telecast. That game goes to just 6 percent of the nation, and St. Louis is the only market outside areas of regional interest in the competing teams scheduled to receive the broadcast.
BILLIKENS BEAT
Fox Sports Midwest has picked up St. Louis University men's basketball game on New Year's Day, when it entertains Bowling Green at 3 p.m., increasing the number of TV outlets carrying SLU this season to seven. Pat Parris (play-by-play) and Scott Highmark (analysis) will be on the call.
