Jason Whitlock is one of my favorite Conservative Inc. commentators, particularly because I like sports and how it intersects with culture. Whitlock is not the sharpest political pundit, but he is among the most earnest in the industry, which counts for something. Last week, he announced a series of reforms to his shows, such as timing, guests, and personnel. But the announcement that got the most attention was his termination of Steve Kim, his main contributor over the last 5 years.
This is a major change, one that understandably did not go well with the audience. Though the split is amicable, Jason Whitlock cited that Kim was difficult to work with and let his raw talent make up for his unwillingness to watch the events he would be commenting on. The most specific example was Steve Kim’s unwillingness to watch WNBA.
Steve Kim would often make fun of the topic, appearing disinterested. Whitlock referenced this in the creative differences between the two. But this was Steve Kim being a stand in for the large portion of the audience (as indicated in the comment section) who skip the WNBA segments.
Thus, on the surface, Jason Whitlock fired his best contributor and this is a massive fumble for his program. However, there are other considerations. Kim is not a Christian, which puts a ceiling on how much he will contribute to the mission of Fearless.
Steve Kim’s Response
Steve Kim expressed gratitude for his 5 years on Fearless and the impact it had on his media career. He disputed what Whitlock said about his work ethic and said that Whitlock, about 2 years ago, asked him about watching the WNBA once and hadn’t since. Jason Whitlock, in turned, thanked Steve Kim for his classy departure.
Final Thoughts
I lean towards Jason Whitlock having made a blunder getting rid of his best contributor, especially since women’s basketball appears to be the impetus. Though it’s bigger than that, Steve Kim was more expensive for Whitlock to retain, cited as the second most expensive contributor in show history. Money matters for producing content. The profit is in the production costs, not the revenue at that level. So it’s hard to ignore this in factoring in Whitlock’s frustration with Steve Kim, that he was getting paid more and doing less than his other contributors. That’s capitalism, as well as the value of Whitlock and Kim’s chemistry on air. That alone was worth watching, and maybe one other contributor can match that energy.
