Amy Lawrence hinted that she wanted something new. Less than a year ago, she told Awful Announcing that she was ready for a new opportunity after over a decade in overnight sports radio. Recently, she said goodbye to her After Hours program on Infinity Sports Network (formerly CBS Sports Radio) after receiving a contract offer that did not sit well with her.
Lawrence did her final show on Super Bowl Sunday and published a blog on her X account detailing her decision to step away. During her conversation with host Jessica Kleinschmidt on AA’s Short and to the Point, she opened up about her transition and the significant lifestyle change it brought.
“It’s not just a professional change, but it’s also a personal change,” Lawrence explained. “There’s a little bit of both that went into this decision. It wasn’t one that I arrived at lightly. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t a split second, ‘Oh, you know what? On a whim.’ This is something I’ve been considering for at least a year and a half. Before I got married, my husband got a lot of blame for this, but it’s not that simple. He’s actually been very supportive; if I chose to sign another contract on overnights, I know he would’ve rolled with the punches and made sacrifices. He rarely gets the TV remote because it’s always about the sports schedule.”
“The biggest thing was needing a change both personally and professionally. After 12 years of doing the same thing, I didn’t not enjoy it; I loved it. Yet, the routine became a little stale. With many changes in our business — mostly for the worse — it’s fewer people doing more work, which is a heavy load to carry.”
“Overnights come with their own challenges,” Lawrence continued. “I’ve read articles about how working overnight is detrimental to your health, and I laughed, thinking, ‘That’s funny, I can be the exception.’ But eventually, it does catch up with you. Including the eight years at ESPN Radio, which was mostly nights, plus the 12 years of overnights with CBS Sports Radio, it’s been two decades of this. I feel like I’ve been getting old before my time.”
“So it’s time for a change,” she added. Lawrence is ‘thankful’ that she doesn’t have an immediate opportunity lined up because she needs time to find her footing. “I am looking for a new challenge professionally as well, wanting something that isn’t solely tied to the events happening on the field, court, or ice. Working nights, I was committed — or at least I felt I was — to discussing results as they happened or breaking news. Since the pandemic, I’ve grown more interested in topical radio, long-form discussions, and longer interviews; I want to be less tethered to events occurring at night.”
After years of overnight shifts, she’s ready to rewrite her career on her own terms. Wherever she lands next, it won’t be long before her unmistakable voice finds a new audience. “I have too much to say to go away for very long,” she adds. “I will be around. Radio has been my passion since I was 16. It’s a first love, and I couldn’t just quit because it’s part of who I am and something I still genuinely enjoy doing.”
