Few sports radio brands have earned as much recognition from the National Association of Broadcasters as Boston’s WEEI. In the 20 years since the annual Marconi Awards established sports radio as its own category for Station of the Year, WEEI has taken home the award for Best Sports Station six times, more than any other sports radio brand. Rich Keefe has called WEEI home for the past decade, ever since crossing the street from rival 98.5 The Sports Hub in 2016.
“It’s really cool to be consistently recognized by the industry,” said Keefe about WEEI winning its sixth Marconi Station of the Year award. “It was early on in my time with WEEI that we won it. The first time since 2018, I was a part of that as well. I feel fortunate and lucky to be a part of those wins.”
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Keefe’s story is unique because he’s been part of Marconi Award-winning teams at both WEEI and 98.5 The Sports Hub. During his previous tenure with Beasley Media Group, Keefe was a rising star in the market. Best known for his sports updates, he demonstrated an ability to multitask across on-air, online and reporting roles with the brand.
His efforts caught the attention of former WEEI program director Joe Zambrano, who hired Keefe in 2016 to join the station’s afternoon show alongside Dale Arnold and Michael Holley. Keefe was an original member of The Sports Hub, brought in by Mike Thomas, who oversaw the assembly and launch of the brand. Now, nearly 20 years later, Keefe finds himself working under Thomas again. Thomas, who now oversees WEEI as its brand manager, continues to guide the station’s direction.
“I can’t believe I’ve known Mike [Thomas] for almost twenty years now. It’s funny how this business works,” said Keefe. “I leave stations, he leaves the state. Yet, somehow we’re intertwined again. He’s done a great job putting the best lineup and shows we can have out there. He’s always trying to get the most out of us.”
Keys To Award Winning Success
Today, Keefe finds himself in an unfamiliar role at WEEI, one he didn’t necessarily expect. As the station’s longest-tenured on-air talent, he doesn’t feel any added responsibility as a station leader. Currently, Keefe co-hosts Jones & Keefe alongside Adam Jones during middays. The pairing represents the fifth different show configuration he’s experienced during his time at WEEI.
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Despite the turnover and changes he’s had to navigate, Keefe keeps his formula for success and keys to longevity remarkably simple.
“It’s super corny but just be yourself. Be genuine. Don’t try to be something that you think people are going to like, because that’s just being fake,” noted Keefe. “With all the different shows I’ve been a part of, I never tried to do or say something just to get a reaction I want. I always go on how I feel that day, and hopefully there’s enough people that will latch onto that. There’s enough smart listeners today that will sniff out something that’s fake.”
Keefe believes his experience working with so many different personalities has benefited the way he hosts his programs today. Finding new workflows and developing chemistry with different co-hosts, he says, has been both a fun and exciting process.
Without question, WEEI has experienced significant change during Keefe’s decade with the station. However, he pointed to one element of the lineup in 2026 that stands out compared with the environment he encountered when he first walked through the doors of the Audacy-owned brand.
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“There’s more comradery between the shows today. It’s not the most important thing in the world. If the shows are good, they’re good. That’s how I see it,” said Keefe. “But in between the shows, there’s a bit more a sense that everyone is pulling in the same direction than there was when I first joined WEEI.”
No One Winning Formula
Boston’s sports radio market is among the most competitive in the country. Fueled by passion, loyalty and a run of championships rarely seen in modern sports history, the market has an audience that demands plenty from its local media. However, despite WEEI’s industry recognition and Marconi Awards, the ratings tell a different story, with a considerable gap between first and second place.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings from this past summer, 98.5 The Sports Hub finished first in the key demographic of men ages 25-54 with a 10.4 share. WEEI finished seventh in the same demographic with a 4.4 share. With every ratings book scrutinized by the local media, competing publicly while accepting industry recognition could present a challenge. Keefe, however, takes a different approach.
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“You want to do well in every metric possible and improve on them. You’re not only going to embrace the items where you’re good and ignore the bad parts. You want to do well across the board,” explained Keefe. “We see where the ratings are at, but then you see the downloads and all the interactions we get. I don’t know how you take that all in, but the amount of engagement we get is reassuring that’s there plenty of people that are engaged with the show.”
As for the competition between the two brands, Keefe wouldn’t have it any other way. He believes competition raises the bar and pushes everyone to deliver their best. There’s nothing personal about the rivalry, he says, and no bad blood between the brands. He also believes there’s plenty of room for both stations to succeed in their own ways.
Keefe’s daily focus is giving the audience a reason to stick with the show. That means finding topics and avenues of discussion that encourage engagement from listeners and viewers. He also understands that midday programming reaches people during the workday, making it important to meet the audience where they are.
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“We’re trying to maximize the four-hour live show. But we know that people will listen to parts of the show on demand via podcast or clips on social media. To be everywhere is so key to success,” said Keefe. “People keep discounting radio, that’s not true. The content is not old. People want to talk about the teams in town and attach it to their favorite personalities. We’ve made it pretty easy, wherever you are, to find us. That’s great.”
Enjoy What You Love
Connecting with the audience also means exploring niche topics outside of sports. Keefe has hosted several podcasts during his career in sports media, but his weekly DorkPodcast has been the most rewarding.
Alongside his longtime co-host and high school friend, Ryan Davey, Keefe uses the podcast to explore comics, movies and other topics far removed from the Boston sports scene.
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“I’ve been co-hosting the DorkPodcast before I joined WEEI. When I got to WEEI, they wanted me to do a podcast. I asked about sticking with the DorkPodcast, but at first some of the talk was about doing something about the Celtics or Patriots. That’s fine, but I’m probably going to say a lot of the same things on that one that I will on the show,” explained Keefe. “One of the great things about my job is I don’t consider it a job. Anything outside of the main role has to be something you’re passionate about. Otherwise, it likely won’t work.”
For Keefe, longevity in sports radio hasn’t been about finding a formula that guarantees success or chasing the latest trend. Instead, it’s about remaining genuine, embracing new opportunities and surrounding himself with people who make the experience enjoyable.
After nearly 20 years in the Boston sports radio market and a decade at WEEI, he’s experienced the changes, competition and different personalities that come with the business. Through it all, he’s maintained the same approach that brought him this far: Be yourself, give the audience a reason to listen and never lose sight of what makes you passionate about the work.
“I want to keep this job for twenty years. This is something I want to do. It’s my dream job,” said Keefe. “I get to talk about sports on a daily basis. I haven’t lost the fandom for these teams. This is what I want to do, be as successful as possible. And do it for as long as I possibly can.”
In an industry where longevity can be difficult to achieve, Keefe has built a career without losing the enthusiasm that got him started. The Marconi Awards and industry recognition are meaningful milestones, but his greatest measure of success may be something much simpler: continuing to enjoy the work, connecting with the audience and having the opportunity to do what he loves for years to come.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
